The 1st Fighter Aviation Group (Portuguese: 1º Grupo de Aviação de Caça, 1st GAvCa) is the first fighter aviation group of the Brazilian Air Force, well known for having participated in the Second World War in the Italian Campaign and in the South Atlantic Campaign, it was created by the first Minister of Aeronautics and first Commander of the Brazilian Air Force, Joaquim Pedro Salgado Filho and Major Nero Moura and aeronautical engineer and Major José Vicente Faria Lima.

[3] On January 20, 1941, with the intention of strengthening the Brazilian Air Force, the Ministry of Aeronautics was founded by the lawyer and politician Joaquim Pedro Salgado Filho, by Major Nero Moura, by the military engineer José Vicente Faria Lima and others including Nélson Freire Lavanère-Wanderley.

[2] After the leaders of the 1st Fighter Aviation Group were integrated into the new corporation, a training process began so that the air forces were well prepared to go to war, Major Nero Moura went to Orlando to negotiate agreements with the United States government.

[5] The pilots of the group went by ship to Italy and landed at the Port of Livorno, on October 6, 1944, and were about to pass the final test, the so-called blood baptism; the planes used by the FAB in the war were taken from the USAAF warehouse.

[9][11] The 1st GAvCa had sixteen planes shot down, losing five of its airmen in combat and another three in accidents; between November 1944 and April 1945 the group completed only 5% of its planned route, but did not complete it due to the end of the war, even so the group was responsible for the destruction of 85% of ammunition deposits, 36% of the deposits of fuel, and 15% of enemy motor vehicles in its entire 7-month campaign, exceeding the expectations of both its allies and its enemies, because of its performance it received the honorable quote from the United States Congress.

He was aided by a group of Italian partisans who took care of him, and, after recovering, the Lieutenant made a journey of 386 km (240 mi), walking 24 days, and losing 19 kg (42 lb), to return to his base.

After several events of resistance he was taken by the partisans, after the end of the war, back to the base where the Captain went to the English Secret Service to sign a document saying that he would not disclose the names or dates of all the people who helped him.

On April 30, German leader, Adolf Hitler committed suicide and on May 2, Nazi Germany surrendered to Allied forces, bringing an end to World War II in Europe.

At that moment I felt a shiver and started thinking about my parents, the parents of (pilots) who had died ... in short, it was an indescribable emotional cluster, and as I always say, this was the mission that moved me the most, it was my last mission, and I did not attack, the war was over and we would no longer lose any companions.After the surrender of Italy and Germany in the war, the group had already fulfilled its role and had no more reason to continue fighting, so in June 1945, all 26 P-47Ds that were used by the 1st Fighter Aviation Group were taken to what is now Naples International Airport at Capodichino.

From New York the officers traveled to the American capital Washington, D. C. by train and there they were met by the United States Army Air Forces at the Shoreham Hotel and later by generals Ira C. Eaker and Hoyt Vandenberg at the Pentagon.

[15] On July 16, 1945, the first pilots of the 1st Fighter Aviation Group landed in Campo dos Afonsos arriving from the war, with them accompanied by the new FAB Thunderbolt that were escorted by a Douglas C-47.

The ship USS General M. C. Meigs, which carried the rest of the FAB pilots and the FEB soldiers, arrived in Rio de Janeiro on July 18, 1945.

[9] The pilots who brought the new fighters joined the rest of the group and with the FEB and 1st ELO troops for a popular parade that had the destination of Praça Mauá, this event became known as the "Parada da Vitória".

The members of the 1st Fighter Aviation Group were in open vehicles and directly behind them the FEB infantry troops, celebrating the Brazilian victory and the return of the heroes of the Second World War.

is the symbol and war cry of the 1st Fighter Aviation Group (1º GAvCa) of the Brazilian Air Force, it is similar to the British "Tally-ho" or the French "À la chasse".

Hence, the group gave itself identity and the expression started to gain strength, as in the words of Austragésilo de Athayde: "Senta a Púa: to launch yourself against the enemy with decision, sight and desire to annihilate him.

In combat, the expression was used to confirm an order of attack, given the distinction of the words: A pilot reports to the leader "I saw a target" - to which the expected answer would be: "Senta a púa!