Request by the military authorities to Ponte de Sor City Hall concerning the land for the installation of an aviation center

"Considering the installation of several aviation centers in the Country and Ponte de Sor being one of these centers, "the Headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief of the Operation Forces asked the Ponte de Sor City Hall to inquire whether a portion of the land could be obtained to be ceded or sold to the State, for this purpose, with the following characteristics: area of 31 hectares with as much square shape as possible; health conditions for crews' housing, water, communication routes and near the railway line; flat and without large ditches or trees.

The newspaper O Século reports about the beginning of the landscaping for an airfield in Ponte de Sor

The Secretary of War officiated to the Administrator of the municipality of Ponte de Sor, asking for clarification on the veracity of the news published in O Século.

The airfield is ready to receive landings

At the meeting of the Ponte de Sor Town Hall, it is decided to inform the Directorate of Military Aeronautics that the services indicated by Lieutenant Aviator Anselmo Vilardebó are finished and the landings can begin.

The Directorate of Military Aeronautics asks the Ponte de Sor Town Council to guarantee conditions of airfield security, cutting trees and changing the telegraph line

In order that "the Ponte de Sor airfield can be used without danger to the navigation" and according to the indications given by pilots who have already landed in it, the Aeronautics Directorate asks the City Council to remove existing obstacles by cutting trees (the pines to the south of the field, to the last houses of the village; trees to the west, near the edge of the field, and some trees in the northeast corner of the field) and changing the telegraph line, which runs along the road, 200 meters to the east.

It is anticipated that the Junkers airplane will land in the airfield

A Mocidade writes that on this day, at 3:00 pm, the famous Junkers plane lands at the Aviation Field and that there will be flights of 15 to 30 minutes, if there are enough people interested. The newspaper further informs us that the same airplane will be part of the program for the party of the local Volunteer Firefighters on the 29th and the 30th.

A plane from the Amadora squadron lands in the field

The newspaper A Mocidade reports the visit to the airfield of an airplane of the Amadora squadron, manned by an officer of the army: "Many people came to the scene to admire the aircraft. These visits are so rare now that we forget that we have the best landing site in the country”.

It is anticipated that the Farman-Titan commercial airplane, which will carry out «propaganda flights», will land in the airfield

According to A Mocidade, the aforementioned airplane is scheduled to land in the airfield that day, "carrying out on the occasion some propaganda flights, for which many people are already registered. It would be an excellent attraction for the festivities taking place on this day and the following day in honor of Our Lady of Pleasures, which would certainly bring many strangers to the village …”.

Four Avro aircraft of the Tancos squadron land on a training trip, and one of them performs acrobatic maneuvers before the population

According to an article published in A Mocidade, “last Sunday, the 21th, four Avro airplanes of the Tancos squadron, on a training trip, landed in this village’s Aviation Field [...]. They flew out on Monday but the previous day, and before a large crowd, Lieutenant David climbed on his airplane and performed some risky acrobatic maneuvers. Needless to say, there was a constant pilgrimage to the airfield and two days of celebration in Ponte de Sor”. The author of the article laments that, despite the recognized quality of the airfield, “it has been abandoned and does not benefit, as it deserves, of the establishment of a training school”.

Field inspection by order of the Directorate of Military Aeronautics

At a meeting of the Ponte de Sor City Council, one of the members stated that, on the order of the Directorate of Military Aeronautics, on June 18, the camp was inspected by the Lieutenant Aviador Anselmo Vilardebó, who found it to be “under the conditions necessary for the purpose for which it is intended, only requiring a pole with a flag or a shrimp, and a white ‘T’ sign, which will be placed on the occasion of the arrival of airplanes to facilitate landing “. The City Council decided to comply with this request.

Request to the Directorate of Military Aeronautics for some airplanes to inaugurate the Aviation Field on August 31, as part of the festivities in honor of the Pontessorenses that fought in World War I

At the meeting of the Ponte de Sor City Council, it was decided to make such a request, and the arrival of the airplanes was considered a "display of great effect", which would give "greater brilliance" to the celebrations honoring the "heroic Portuguese soldiers from this county who in Africa and Europe ennobled the name of Portugal".

Vote of praise to Captain António Batista de Carvalho for the efforts employed in the establishment of the Aviation Field

By proposal of the President, the Ponte de Sor Town Hall decides to issue a vow of praise to the Captain, “for his efforts with the higher authorities" so that the landing field could be established at Ponte de Sor.

Military aircraft is ordered to land in the countryside on the occasion of the festivities of June 29

The Directorate of Military Aeronautics informs the Mayor of Ponte de Sor that it gave orders to the Military School of Aviation and the Aeronauticsl Depot so that on the 29th they land three airplanes in Ponte de Sor, as part of the local celebrations. There was also the possibility of two more airplanes coming from the "República" Aviation Squadron Group.

Presence of the Army Film Brigade in the Airfield, accompanying the airmen

At the meeting of the Ponte de Sor Town Hall on July 6, 1920, it was decided to officiate to the Director of Graphic Services of the Army thanking the arrival in Ponte de Sor of the Brigade, on June 20, on the occasion of "the stay of our aviators".

The Council Administrator suggests that the International Airstrip be moved to the Ponte de Sor airfield

By letter dated October 7, the General Aeronautical Inspection would like to thank the Ponte de Sor Council Administrator for this suggestion, stating that the matter “is being duly considered and the Ponte de Sor airfield will be considered in due course”.

The Aeronautical Branch Inspection again requests that the Ponte de Sor City Hall makes changes to the field, as a condition of its functionality

The Aeronautical Inspection request is addressed directly to the City Hall, since "it depends on the City Hall whether or not to take advantage of said field for the country’s Military Aviation”. The field, whose land was ceded by the citizen Raul de Carvalho, is good as to the nature of the ground, but small and surrounded by obstacles, as was reported by the first pilots who landed here and confirmed the first time planes came here (one, a faster model, broke down, since it did not fit the track, and another had serious difficulties in landing and leaving the field). For these reasons, the field "does not lend itself to the good airplanes we have", nor can it serve as an international field.

To do this, it is necessary that it has a kilometer of extension (the international course airplanes, for example, need that distance to take flight) and that some trees are felled, which the City Hall would be able to do by buying the land that borders with the field to the south, annexing it to the track and cutting and selling the existing pine trees. Also to the west some isolated trees would have to disappear, making a square with the indicated extension, this being the "land necessary so that Ponte de Sor could then say that it had an airfield".

Responding to the request by the Aeronautical Branch Inspection, the Ponte de Sor City Council decides to make improvements in the field

In that session, in response to the request of the Aeronautical Branch Inspection, the City Council, "having the utmost commitment not only to please that entity but also to promote all the facilities so that this village is not deprived of one of its better perks, decided to officiate Mr. Raul Garcia Marques de Carvalho, owner of the land where the field is located, requesting the dispensation of the necessary range of land and also the cut of the grove that damages the planes during landing, and undertake, if necessary, to buy these trees".

The Ponte de Sor Town Hall requests permission to cut the grove around the Field, as it is an obstacle to aviation

At that time, the Ponte de Sor Town Hall responds to the request for information, made by the Inspection of the Aeronautical Branch, on the possibility of increasing the Aviation Field, to the extension of 1000 meters free of obstacles, in order to make it a national aerodrome, integrated in the Lisbon-Madrid route. The Town Hall informs that there is this possibility, simply by cutting the grove that surrounds the Field; and decides, therefore, to officiate to the owners of the land to authorize the cut, the grove being paid from the municipal budget.

An airplane traveling from England to Lisbon landed in the Field

The local newspaper A Mocidade reported the landing in the Aviation Field of "an airplane manned by an English aviator that was going from England to Lisbon. He made the landing with the greatest of facilities and after having refuelled with gasoline, resumed his flight. We have been informed that this airplane will be used for the great journey that the civilian aviator Carlos Blek plans to carry out to India”.

First reference to the idea of creating an aviation school in the airfield

The newspaper A Mocidade reports that the owner of the field of the Aviation Field, Dr. Raul Garcia Marques de Carvalho, "will order the plowing and sowing of the landing field, due to the oblivion to which our aviation was sent”. The author of the article laments that this is so, "because in the opinion of our aviators who have visited it, it is one of the best we have in Portugal, and perhaps the best in the Península. There was talk of creating here an aviation school, but unfortunately that idea disappeared with the death of the unfortunate Major Castilho Nobre”.

First reference to a football game at the Aviation Field

The newspaper A Mocidade gives an account of this game, between Sporting Galveense and Grupo Desportivo Matuzarense. Other references are to be found in subsequent years.

The Military Public Works Service asks the City Council to carry out improvement work in the Field

The Aeronautical Branch Direction - SOPM, having carried out the detailed survey of the aerodrome plant and verified that it is of immediate necessity to do the landscaping of the trenches and pathways there, as well as plucking several shrubs, without which the landings become dangerous, asks the City Council of Ponte de Sor to carry out such work. At a meeting on May 11, the president, in charge of dealing with the matter, informs that he has responded to the Directorate that he awaits the return from abroad of the landowner, to speak with him about the matter.

The Military Public Works Service insists on the need for the City Council to carry out improvement work on the field and the owner of the land will go to Lisbon to deal with the matter

At a meeting of the Ponte de Sor Town Hall, in response to said communication from The Service including the aerodrome plant and insisting on the need to cut down the existing trees in the indicated areas and to carry out the work already mentioned, the president reports the conversation he had with the owner of the land on this subject, saying that he will go to the Service headquarters in July.

A Haivilland airplane, manned by English airmen, anded in the Field

The newspaper A Mocidade reports the landing in the Aviation Field of a Haivilland airplane, manned by two English aviators, saying that after refuelling it went to Lisbon.

Inspection visit to the Field by the Directorate of the Aeronautical Branch

By letter of August 1, the Direction of the Aeronautical Branch communicates to the Ponte de Sor City Council that two military aircraft will briefly visit for inspection, requesting information on the state of the Field terrain. In an article published in A Mocidade a few days later, the fact was reported, and it was pointed out that "although the Air Force Directorate had been asking for months for several modifications to be made, so that modern airplanes could land in the airfield, so far these modifications have not been made, perhaps because of the negligence of the entities concerned”.

The author draws attention to the urgency of making the necessary changes quickly, even before the inspection visit, "otherwise we will risk losing everything, that is, that the field is deemed incapable and therefore abandoned”. In its session of August 10, the City Council decides, after having ordered the removal of some bush in the Field, to inform the Direction of the good condition of the land.

A military plane, on a mission to map the aeronautical chart, lands in the airfield

The local newspaper A Mocidade writes: "Coming from Amadora, it has landed in the airfield, this past Tuesday, an aircraft manned by Captain Inácio da Silva and Lieutenant Humberto Pais [...], flying on a mission to map the military aeronautical chart. In their conversation with the Administrator, they praised the privileged conditions of the airfield, regretting that its small size prevents the landing of modern airplanes, which are quite fast”.

Article from the local newspaper A Mocidade calls attention to the importance of the field, less and less used

Extensive article about the antiquity, advantages and importance of the Aviation Field of Ponte de Sor, as well as on the impact that the arrival of the planes had on the local population. In spite of this, it is noted that the Field was being used less and less, and the school of military aeronautics that was to be founded here was finally settled in Sintra. It is suggested that Ponte de Sor takes advantage of the context of rearmament and concern for national defense, prior to the start of World War II, to draw the attention of the government to the airfield.

Several devices involved in military maneuvers in the Alto Alentejo and based in Sousel, fly over the Ponte de Sor airfield, but none lands in it.

In two articles published in that month, the local newspaper A Mocidade refers to the subject, lamenting that the Ponte de Sor airfield was "voted to abandon". The author of the texts points out the favorable conditions of the aerodrome, which only needed improvements to assert itself as "the best of Portugal", and accuses local authorities of not doing so: "Why is not the City Council interested in this matter?”

The small size of the Field precludes the expected landing of the Bombardment Group aircraft

A Mocidade reports that the Ponte de Sor runway was waiting for the landing of a patrol of six units of the Bombardment Group, visiting the country’s various airfields. However, the airplanes only flew over the village. The national periodical O Século is quoted with the explanation that "due to the smallness of the field, it was not possible to satisfy such desire (landing), and for this reason the patrol continued on”.

The Directorate of Military Aeronautics encourages the Ponte de Sor City Council to create a landing field capable of receiving passenger aircraft

In an official letter to the Municipal Council of Ponte de Sor, the Directorate of Military Aeronautics addresses the natural advantage of the Alentejo for the creation of airfields capable of supporting national and international air routes. “The Portuguese military aviation, relying on the patriotism of the city council, hopes that it will make its best effort in order to achieve that within the municipality it is created an airfield capable of supporting national and international air routes, a landing field where national and foreign aircraft, messengers of peace and progress, can rest their body and their wings, and where the people of the Counties of Portugal can receive and embrace the new heroes of the Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral aerial epic”.

Visit of the director of the Military Public Works Service to the Field, to study its possible conversion into a national airfield

On January 20, 1931, the Directorate of the Aeronautical Branch informed the City Council that "soon it will send to Ponte de Sor the officer engineer, Director of SOPM, to visit the airfield of Ponte de Sor in order to study its application, so that it could be considered as a National Aerodrome, necessary for the country’s military defense”. At a meeting of the Chamber on February 9, the president announced that he was prepared to receive the aforementioned director, summoning Dr. Raul Garcia Marques de Carvalho, owner of the Aviation Field, to the meeting.

In a letter dated February 13, the visiting director thanked the City Council for its good reception, stating that it had stressed in its report "the praiseworthy efforts that the City Council has been making to provide Ponte de Sor with a good landing field”. In a session on March 2, the president clarified that "all praises should be attributed to Dr. Raul de Carvalho and his Family, inasmuch as they have provided all facilities for the said field, which is their property, to be fit for the intended purpose”.

Information Aviation Group #1 requests the attention of the City Hall to the aerodrome

Addressing the mayor of Ponte de Sor, Lieutenant Colonel Ribeiro da Fonseca is "requesting attention to the Ponte de Sor aerodrome, which is excelent due to its location as well as to the nature of the terrain, but unfortunately is still too small to land military or commercial airplanes. [...] This field, served by a railway station, near an important village, having a magnificent ground, because it does not flood with the rains and is not rigid in the summer, and being strategically located, it is a patriotic duty patriotic to look after it, by widening it and making it one of our military camps”.

Carrying out long-identified improvement work would be beneficial not only to “the good defensive organization of the country” but also to Ponte de Sor, which would have “an invaluable element for its progress” in the aerodrome, for the ease of access to the capital, essential in situations of medical emergency. The Town Hall replied that it had been informed that the landowner "is in the best disposition, facilitating the expansion of the field and removing the obstacles to the movement of the airplanes”.

The landing field works are completed

At the Ponte de Sor Town Hall session, one of the council members reports that the landing field works have been completed and the City Council has decided to officially inform the Minister of War.