THE AIR FORCE HISTORICAL ARCHIVE (AHFA) FROM ITS CREATION TO THE PRESENT…!
By António Francisco Caixeiro, Portuguese Air Force Colonel, Chief/Director of the Portuguese Air Force Historical Archives
The Committee of Military Archives thanks our friend António Caixeiro for his support and his participation to this project.
The ‘Air Force Historical Archive’ (AHFA) celebrates its 42nd anniversary as a Historical Archive on 3 November 2024.
In fact, going back a little to the past, the Revolutionary Council decreed through Decree-Law (DL) No. 868/76, of 28 DEC 1976, the creation of the Air Museum (MUSAR), under the terms of paragraph a) of article 148 of the Constitution, the following:
Article 1
1- The MUSAR, created by DL No. 48 248, of 21 FEB 1968, is an organization of the Air Force General Staff (EMFA) and is installed in the area assigned to the Air Force General Material Depot (DGMFA), in Alverca, where it has been located since 1969.
Article 2
2- The Museum must also contain the ‘Historical Archive of Military Aviation’ (AHAM), with all the documents that can be obtained and will operate in its own library to be duly organized.
From the ‘General Organization of the Air Force’, in its article 21, the cultural bodies (ONC), to which the AHFA belongs (the ONC are dependent on the Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CEMFA), through the Historical-Cultural Directorate of the Air Force (DHCFA, created on 6 June 2023 – with the mission: to support the institutional representation and strategic communication of the FA, to disseminate and guarantee the preservation of its memory and aeronautical historical-cultural heritage that constitutes the collection of the ONC under its dependence, as well as to contribute to national scientific and cultural development, in the field of air and aeronautical sciences.
Previously it was called the ‘Historical-Cultural Commission of the Air Force’ (CHCFA)), also having: MUSAR, the magazine Mais Alto (MALTO)), are intended to ensure the general support activities of the FA in the cultural field, namely to collect, preserve, study and provide consultation or exhibit historical-cultural heritage. aeronautical.
In truth, the AHFA’s mission, in accordance with applicable legislation, is to:
- collect,
- organize,
- describe,
- preserve and
- disseminate
documents that are of historical and cultural interest to aeronautics.
Therefore, the AHFA is responsible for:
- Receiving all documentation produced by the FA with recognized historical value;
- Receiving collections and documentary remains of historical and cultural interest, relating to individuals linked to the FA;
- Processing documents (through description, cataloging and computer registration) of all documentary collections with historical value in its custody;
- Proposing the signing of cooperation protocols or agreements with National and International Archives, with particular emphasis on military counterparts;
- Produce Documentary Description Instruments, such as catalogues, guides, itineraries, inventories and propose their dissemination in Exhibitions, Lectures, Dissertations, Conferences, in the MALTO magazine and at Book Launches;
- Produce and cooperate in research and investigation work with historical and cultural interest in aeronautics (historical events and initiatives, bibliographies, articles, books, Bachelor’s, MBA and Doctoral Theses);
- Keep the heritage safe and preserved, protecting the archival collection from potential attackers.
The AHFA currently cooperates in the discovery, research, analysis and rediscovery of Memorable Moments and Scenes in the History of National and International Aviation and Aeronautics, as well as in the recent History of Portugal, in which ‘Memories are Always Constructed’.
