First Combat Airborne Assault in the Americas (1941)

On the afternoon of July 31, 1941, the Peruvian Armed Forces executed an unprecedented operational feat: the capture of Puerto Bolívar through the first military combat airborne assault in the history of the Western Hemisphere and the third worldwide (preceded only by German operations in Norway/Crete and Soviet maneuvers).

Following the total collapse of opposing defenses in Zarumilla, General Eloy Ureta aimed to secure the strategic coastal maritime port of Puerto Bolívar (El Oro Province) before the diplomatic armistice entered into force at 18:00 hours, thus severing enemy maritime re-supply from Guayaquil.

At 17:45 hours, a Caproni Ca.111 trimotor transport aircraft of the Peruvian Aeronautical Corps (CAP), piloted by Captain Antonio Brandariz Briones and commanded by Major César Álvarez Guerra, took off from the Tumbes Air Base. Flying over Puerto Bolívar at low altitude, three elite military paratroopers leapt into the air:

• Sub-officer Antonio Brandariz
• Sergeant Carlos Raffo García
• Corporal Armando Orozco

The paratroopers executed a precision landing directly onto the harbor esplanade and dock warehouses, catching the defending carabineros and military garrison by complete surprise. The troops immediately seized the telegraph station, secured the docks, and hoisted the Peruvian flag, paralyzing any counteroffensive before the ceasefire took effect. This bold assault was studied internationally as an early benchmark of tactical airborne mobility.