It is a shame that the Argentinean of the forum does not contribute anything, so...
Horten's first fighter proposal to Argentinian Air Force:
A while ago I wrote a short post in Italian about the
I.Ae. 25 Mañque o Buitre (Vulture) Argentine assault glider:
https://leonardopavese.blogspot.com/2025/06/il-primo-e-lultimo.html The post was about two gliders, the Soviet Groshev GN-4 and the Argentine I. Ae. 25, because the were the first and one of the last military gliders ever built. There are some pictures of the I. Ae. 25 in my post.
The project was launched in Argentina in late 1944. The I.Ae. 25 design traced the design of the WACO CG-4, but it was meant to be built with local woods, because of the lack of the embargo on aeronautical materials imposed by the Allies on Argentina. It was surely the first transport glider built in Latin America. Work began in January 1945. The first I. Ae. 25 was completed on August 11, 1945. The following were the specifications:
Wingspan: m 25,50
Length: m 14,70
Height: m 3,84
Wing Area: m2 79,19
Empty weight: kg 2460
Useful load (payload): kg 1122
Maximum take off weight: kg 3582
Wing Loading: kg/ m2 45,28
Maximum towing speed: km/h 220
Minimum glide speed: km/h 61.
When the glider came out of the factory, it was painted in olive green, except the lower surfaces that were painted light blue. The I. AE. 25 could carry 13 soldiers, a light truck (like a jeep) or a mm 75 Bofors gun. with ammunition.
The Argentines could not procure a suitable Nylon towing rope, so that they used a Sandow elastic steel cable.
The first flights were made under tow by a Martin B-10. The I. AE. 25 glider was released at least once and gliding successfully to a landing.
The glider was assigned to the 13th Airborne Infantry Regiment of Córdoba but it never produced in series. After the revolution that overthrew President Juan Domingo Perón the I.Ae. 25 was demolished, (partly because it was a project he had embraced and supervised as Minister of Defense).
