Military of Portuguese Macau

[1] The permanent Portuguese military garrison of Macau dates from March 1691, replacing the employment as needed of sailors from warships based in the colony.

During much of the colonial period, the Portuguese garrison of Macau comprised a mixture of units from Portugal itself, African troops from Mozambique and locally recruited indigenous soldiers.

Prior to 1914, a pale blue-grey zouave style uniform was worn by the Mozambiquean askaris with red fezzes and sashes for parade.

Five indigenous companies (Companhia Indígena de Caçadores) were posted at Colane, Flora, Ilha Verde, Mong Ha and Portas do Cerco.

The remaining Portuguese garrison in the colony effectively ceased to exist following the change of government in Portugal in 1974 and agreement on a timetable for a takeover by mainland China by 1999.

For the remaining quarter-century of Portuguese administration, order was kept in the territory by a civilian police force without substantial military backing.

A list of some aircraft stationed in Macau prior to 1974: When it was discovered that neutral Macau was planning to sell aviation fuel to Japan, aircraft from the USS Enterprise bombed and strafed the hangar of the Naval Aviation Centre during the South China Sea raid on 16 January 1945 to destroy the fuel.