On 11 February 1916 the naval air station school "Fuerte Barragan" was created near La Plata and the anniversary of this is marked as Naval Aviation Day. In September 1917 three naval lieutenants were sent to the US Naval Air Station Pensacola from where were deployed to Europe to participate in World War I.   COAN was officially established on 17 October 1919 as the Naval Air Service. Over the following years, the COAN operated a variety of aircraft, mainly advanced trainer types imported from the USA including the North American AT-6, the Beechcraft AT-11 and the Consolidated PBY Catalina. Sikorsky S-51 helicopters joined the service shortly after the war in 1949. The COAN received a baptism by fire on 16 June 1955 when naval airplanes, painted with catholic crosses and blessed by priests, participated on the bombing of Plaza de Mayo. Three aircraft were shot down: one by an Argentine Air Force Gloster Meteor in air-to-air combat and two others by anti-aircraft guns. A Grumman J2F was shot down over the town of Saavedra on 18 September that year. Navy pilots would see combat again during 1962–63 internal military fighting between factions known as "Azules y colorados" (blue and reds), culminating in the 1963 Argentine Navy Revolt in which Navy F9F Panthers and F4U Corsairs bombed Argentine Army tanks in defense of the Navy base of Punta Indio. A great change came into effect when the Navy received its first aircraft carrier, , in 1959. At the time, her aircraft inventory included the F4U Corsair, SNJ-5Cs Texan and Grumman S2F-1 (S-2A) Trackers. The Navy also had F9F Panther and F9F Cougar jets but the carrier was not suitable for operating them, although they were embarked on the carrier during their delivery voyage from the United States to Argentina. The Cougar was the first jet to break the sound barrier in Argentina. These jets would be involved in the general mobilization during the 1965 border dispute between Argentina and Chile but no combat occurred. The naval training force received T-28 Trojans, T-34 Mentors and Aermacchi MB-326 jets which would be later reinforced with the most powerful variant MB-339. In 1972 aircraft changed the word "Naval" to "Armada" painted on thempictorial  More aircraft entered service during the 1960s, including the C-47 Dakota (which were extensively used in Antarctica including the first national landing on the South Pole made in 1962 by Captain Hermes Quijada who departed from Ellsworth Station), Sikorsky S-55 helicopters and shore based aircraft P-2 Neptunes for maritime patrol duties.