Argentina commemorates 71st anniversary of 1955 Plaza de Mayo bombing

On 16 June 1955, Argentine navy and air‑force aircraft bombed Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, dropping more than a hundred bombs and opening machine‑gun fire. The attack, aimed at overthrowing President Juan Domingo Perón, killed over 300 civilians and injured thousands, becoming the deadliest peacetime air raid in Argentine history. Although the coup failed that day, it set the stage for the successful overthrow of Perón three months later.

Seventy‑one years on, the tragedy is remembered in Argentina. Media reports recount the massive loss of life, the role of pilot Ernesto “Muñeco” Adradas—who later served as a commercial pilot and was honored by Perón in 1973—and the lasting scar the bombing left on the nation’s collective memory.