A formação da “pródiga filha alada” de Getúlio Vargas e suas primeiras façanhas em um conflito mundial (1941-1945)

The participation of the Brazilian Air Force in World War II left indelible marks on the Force organization. In 1941, it was composed of the naval and military aviations as major elements in its formation, which also had elements of the Sao Paulo Security Force in its constitution. It was a dramatic experience for its commissioned and non commissioned officers because they experienced a sudden change of employment and doctrine to meet the needs of the European conflict which, even in a situation of collapse, offered an insane and terrible resistance to its adversaries. This work presents the political circumstances of the Brazilian alignment to Allied Forces in the early 1940s, coinciding precisely with the creation of the Ministry of Aviation and its armed wing - the Brazilian Air Force. Thus we seek to resolve the lack of a historical non institutional military production which portrays our air fighters and their accomplishments not only in the Brazilian airspace but also in the South Atlantic and in Europe, besides knowing their employment and the elements that composed the heroic memory of the Force.