504 Squadron (Portugal)

504 Squadron

Esquadra 504

Dassault Falcon 50 of 504 Squadron

Active| January 12, 1985
Country|  Portugal
Branch| Portuguese Air Force
Role| VIP Transport
Part of| Operational Group 61
Garrison/HQ| Air Base No. 6
Nickname(s)| Linces (Lynxes)
Motto(s)| «Entre gente remota edificaram»
Mascot(s)| Iberian lynx
Website| Esquadra 504
Commanders
Commander| Major João Filipe Dias Gaião Ribeiro Valente[1]
Aircraft flown
Transport| Dassault Falcon 50 Dassault Falcon 900

Military unit

504 Squadron "Linces" (Esquadra 504) is a special transport squadron of the Portuguese Air Force (PoAF). The unit operates the Dassault Falcon 50, and is based at Air Base No. 6, in Montijo, and also operates from the Lisbon Portela Airport.

The squadron is responsible for VIP transport of high level government officials, medical evacuation, urgent transport of human organs for transplant, and verification and calibration of navigational aids.[1]

## History

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The squadron was officially formed on January 12, 1985, at Air Base No. 6 (Portuguese: Base Aérea Nº 6, BA6) upon the purchase of three Dassault Falcon 20, from Federal Express in 1984, for the transport of high level officials of the Portuguese government.[1]

Two Dassault Falcon 50 were later acquired in 1989 and one more was purchased in 1991 to reinforce the squadron's aircraft fleet.[2]

Starting from 1990 the squadron was permanently detached to the Transit Airfield No. 1 (Portuguese: Aeródromo de Trânsito Nº 1, AT1) in Lisbon.[2]

## Aircraft

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* Dassault Falcon 20DC (1984–2005)
* Dassault Falcon 50 (1989–current)
* Dassault Falcon 900 (2023-current)[3]

## See also

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* Air transports of heads of state and government
* Air medical services
* Portuguese Air Force
* List of aircraft of the Portuguese Air Force

## References

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1. ^ a b c "Esquadra 504 - Linces". Portuguese Air Force. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
2. ^ a b "Sobre a Esquadra 504 - Linces". 504 Squadron. Archived from the original on March 12, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
3. ^ "Avião utilizado para tráfico de droga fica para o Estado como pagamento de dívida". TVI Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-02-25.

## External links

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* Official website (in Portuguese)
* Squadron information page, Portuguese Air Force website (in Portuguese)
* History and Mission of 504 Squadron, documentary video produced by the Portuguese Air Force (in Portuguese)