Decades of Rebellion: Mexican Military Aviation in Action, 1920s-1940s

In the decades before Mexico joined the Allies in the Second World War, Mexican military aviation saw a rapid growth and intense involvement in rebellions, internal strife, and in operations against armed banditry.

Aviation was introduced to military service in Mexico during the Revolutionary period of 1910-1920 and the bloody showdown between the subsequent president Don Venustiano Carranza and General Victoriano Huerta. Based on this experience, a strong military aviation service was understood to be an important element for maintaining internal security and was subsequently deployed at almost every opportunity. Mexican military aviation helped defeat several armed uprisings, often through little more than its psychological impact upon the insurgents and the civilian population. In at least one instance, an armed rebellion sought to obtain aircraft of its own and to recruit foreign mercenary pilots to counter the government’s aircraft.

Three decades of small yet intensive combat operations not only proved to be a baptism of fire for many early Mexican aviators, but also played a crucial role in forming nearly all of the commanders that went on to lead the Mexican Air Force during the Second World War.

The Decades of Rebellion mini-series examines the use of air power in Mexico’s internal strife from the 1920s up until the 1940s. This first volume focusses upon the rebellions of the 1920s and includes the fall of Carranza, Cantu’s rebellion in Baja California, De La Huerta’s rebellion and the uprising of the Yaqui people, as well as giving a comprehensive overview of the Mexican Military Aviation Service in this period.

Decades of Rebellion Volume 1: Mexican Military Aviation in the Rebellions of the 1920s is richly illustrated throughout with original photographs and includes the @War series’ signature color artworks with profiles of many unusual aircraft types employed in Mexico at that time.