HISTORY

The Depósito Geral de Material da Força Aérea  (DGMFA) is located in the extensive Ribatejo plain, in, more precisely, the city of Alverca do Ribatejo, and it is in an unusual strategic position, almost unique not only in Portugal but, we can say, also all over the world, while at the same time having all means of transport known: road, rail, sea, with a private platform, and, of course, by air, with one runway of 3000 meters and own aerodrome services.

The DGMFA is one of the oldest units of Portuguese Aviation, having its origins in 1918.

In fact, when in 1912 Military Aviation has started to be spoken in our Country, a commission was designated to start the studies to create an aeronautical school. Curiously, it was proposed to be installed in the actual location of DGMFA, which, due to its unique characteristics and advantages offered as an aerodrome, allowing the simultaneous operation of "airplanes" and "hydroplane planes", with the close Tagus River.

Due to technical and economic reasons, the School of Aeronautics was installed in Vila Nova da Rainha (1916) and then moved to Granja do Marquês - Sintra (1920).

These facts imply the attribution of the oldest aerodrome to Alverca.

In 1918, the "Military Aeronautical Service" included, the "Parque de Material Aeronáutico" definitively installed in Alverca. Its facilities were extremely precarious, being used for such wooden containers, that had served as packaging of airplanes, the group of those containers, looked like a popular fair and for this reason, the inhabitants of Alverca called the "Feira do Major" (Major's Market), as its first Commander, Pedro Fava Ribeiro de Almeida had the rank of Major.

The "Parque" had, by that time, as primary mission:
" Keep, Preserve, Repair, Build and Provide aeronautical material... "

With the publication of Decree 10.094 of the Aeronautical Service, it was officially created on September 12, 1924, the "Depósito de Material Aeronáutico", date that became the Day of the Unit Celebration.

With a common origin with the " Oficinas Gerais de Material Aeronáutico (OGMA), it only took legal expression and administrative independence in 1928.
At the beginning of the thirties, Alverca came to an outstanding position in the scope of the Military Aeronautics, maintaining a "School of Aerostation", with a "Battalion of Aerosteiros". Regarding to balloon activity, it should be remembered that it was in Alverca, on October 6, 1922, that the first parachute launch was carried out by Portuguese.

From here, some of the greatest glories of Portuguese aviation took off for historical flights. On April 29, 1927, the first airline between Portugal and Spain. It was also from Alverca that same year that a Dornier Wall seaplane, named "Argos", departed from the waters of the Tagus, for the memorable 1st night crossing of the South Atlantic.

At the same time there were operating, with the "Battalion of Aerosteiros", the "Independent Aviation and Bombardment Group" and the "International Aviation Camp" which, until 1937, provisionally served as Lisbon Airport. At this time, the installations of the "Depósito de Material Aeronáutico" were no longer the wooden containers previously mentioned, but a building, that no longer exists, located next to the salinas in the southwest corner of the old aerodrome.

In 1937 the military reorganization creates the Air Bases and extinguishes the Battalion of Aerosteiros, moving the "Depósito de Material Aeronáutico"to the place where it still is.

In 1947 by order of the Minister of War is constituted the "Depósito Geral de Material Aeronáutico".

In 1952, the Air Force became an independent service and in 1956 the Depot becomes dependent on the Material Service and got its current designation:

- DEPÓSITO GERAL DE MATERIAL DA FORÇA AÉREA
with the motto:

"E DO MAIS NECESSÁRIO VOS PROVEJA"
- Canto I - Estância 55 de os "Lusíadas", Luís de Camões.