# Birth, first steps and pre-war planes of the Spanish Military Aviation



## gekho (May 24, 2011)

On September 5, 1909, Joan Oliver, dubbed "the volaoret" an airplane took off with 200 kilos in the military land in Paterna (Valencia), managed to go 50 meters in the air and land. The unit had a cost of 20,000 pesetas. On April 2, 1910 military aviation was born in Spain by a Royal Order which decreed "the study, for the services of ballooning, aeronautics and aviation airplane type most suitable for the army and the establishment of laboratory aerodynamics." Of these aircraft will service the Corps and the blimp Spain. In March 1911 started the course for the first class of military aviation in Cuatro Vientos, near Madrid. The students belonged entirely to the Weapon Engineers and professors, other than Colonel Vives Vich, was civil. Until the third class in 1912, did not join the Navy officers, two Navy ensigns. Later, on February 28, 1913, when military aircraft already has some riders and media, was created by Royal Decree on Military Service Air Force divided the branch of ballooning and aviation. This service, which is under the command of Colonel Pedro Vives Vich, rests solely with the Minister of Defense, while still connected to the Army Corps of Engineers Section. Two months later, on April 16, 1913 approving the current emblem of the Air Force.

On November 5, 1913, (the 24th of that month according to some sources) the Spanish expeditionary squadron involved in the War of Morocco, acting for the first time in the world as a military aviation unit organized in actual conflict and carrying out the first organized bombing war in history. On this first occasion was used in this mission a unit B-1 Lohner Pfeil. On December 15, 1915 made ​​their first seaplane flight, the military in Spain by Captain Robert Withe Santiago with a Curtiss JN-2 modified. On June 15, 1919 is a milestone for the global aviation because of the first nonstop transatlantic flight by John Alcock British and Arthur Brown flew from Newfoundland to Ireland in a Vickers Vimy biplane.

On July 21, 1921 took place the Annual Disaster and three days after loss Zeluán airfield at the hands of the Kabyle of Abd al-Krim. Spanish Aviation lost twelve aircraft (ten were burned, one down and another was an accident). The government appropriations for the purchase of aircraft and in some provinces popular subscriptions start this purpose. On November 3, 1922 Spanish Military Aviation received the Military Medal collective "work very efficient and the enemy action and cooperation with other forces in few operations were carried out from June 29, 1921." On September 8, 1925 air operations were conducted in collaboration with the French army to support the landing of Alhucemas. They involved 136 aircraft, 18 flying boats of Aeronautics Navy, of which twelve belong to the carrier Daedalus (which also has a tethered balloon and a blimp) and six seaplanes French as well as the 37 th Regiment of bombing the French supported the landing of 18,000 troops in the Bay of Alhucemas.

At the end of the decade of the 20s were completed several construction projects of new devices like the Spanish bill HACR "Pirate" Captain of Engineers Antonio Cañete Heredia, the first seaplane Spanish, which made ​​its first flight on 17 August 1927 and the first gyro, model C-8L Juan de la Cierva, which launched on December 18, 1928. In 1933 he created the General Directorate of Aeronautics, an agency that is responsible for all technical, administrative and training both military aircraft and the civil.Durante the early years of the Republic the organizational structure remains intact. The aviation body was divided into two branches: Military Aviation, under the Army, and Naval Aviation, which provided support work for the Navy. In any case, the Spanish Aviation weapon needed in the mid-30's an urgent upgrading. There were plans to replace the Nieuport-Delage Ni D-52 on the Hawker Fury and XIX Breguet bombers by Martin 199 (B-10), but were suspended with the outbreak of the Civil War. Military Aviation was divided into three teams based in Madrid, Seville and Barcelona, a group under the name African Air Force bases scattered with several Spanish protectorate of Morocco and some squadrons of instruction based primarily on Four Winds and Los Alcazares. Naval Aviation (since 1933, Naval Aviation) was divided into four specialized torpedo squadrons, combat and training, reconnaissance and bombing.


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## gekho (May 24, 2011)

In 1919 the Avro Company gave an Avro 504K to King Alfonso XIII, who donated it to the Army. The Spanish Air Force purchased about 50 copies of the RAF surplus, which were mainly used in the pilot schools Getafe, Four Winds, and Albacete Alcalá, where he trained as pilots some greats like Franco, Gonzalez Gallarza, Estévez, Lóriga, Llorente , Gomez Spencer, Hidalgo de Cisneros, Lacalle, etc. .. They kept flying until 1938 at the Republican schools of Levante. The 504 was the model chosen by Juan de la Cierva autogyro to be transformed to C-6.


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## gekho (May 24, 2011)

Fokker built the house in 1922, a reconnaissance aircraft version of the Fokker CI 1918, which was based on the D. VII fighter of World War I under the name C-III. The wings were of unequal size and composite construction. It had the fuel tank and fairing mounted on the shaft of the landing gear, contributing to lift. In Spain it was used as aircraft in the airfield School in Los Alcazares (Murcia). It was equipped with a Hispano-Suiza engine of 200 hp. From his experience, in 1923 developed the C-IV of the Loring House 20 copies produced that were used by the 3rd Squadron of Melilla, taking part in the landing of Alhucemas.


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## gekho (May 24, 2011)

The Fokker C-IV was a 1923 Dutch reconnaissance plane. 20 were built under license in Spain in the Loring factory at Carabanchel. These aircraft operated with the Army of Africa as part of the 3rd Squadron of Melilla. They were used as trainers until the early 30's. Specifications: Engine 12-cylinder Napier Lion W-450 Hp. Maximum speed: 214 km / h. Roof 5500 m. Range: 1200 km. Empty weight: 1450 kg. 2270 kg maximum. Span 12.9 m. Length 9.2 m. Height 3.4 m. Armament: One or two 7.7 mm Vickers machine guns and two Lewis still 7.7 on a mounting ring back.


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## Gnomey (May 24, 2011)

Good stuff!


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## gekho (May 25, 2011)

Repeated requests by the International Committee of the Red Cross branches to Spanish and French to allow the humanitarian missions to the Rif, caused in part by requests from Abd-El-Krim and the influx of refugees to the International Award Tangier, collided with a stubborn refusal. The argument wielded by the president of the Spanish Red Cross, Marquis de Hoyos, was that the Rif War was not such, or indeed a civil war, a colonial war or a war between states, the three main assumptions that contemplated the intervention of the Red Cross, but was simply a police operation by the Government of Morocco, "necessary to restore order after the rebels, non-belligerent, ignorant of the authority of Makhzen". So there was no Red Cross relief for the civilian population Rif, despite some attempts by the Egyptian and Turkish Red Cross. The Spanish Red Cross, on the contrary, under the energetic leadership of the Duquesa de la Victoria, soon organized a complete system of health care for the Spanish troops wounded, with hospitals in the Protectorate, considerably better than the military, and many others Peninsula, which flowed continuously ships and trains full of wounded due to Malaga, Cartagena, Valencia and Madrid. And a few planes, like the F.13.

The F.13´s Red Cross worked to facilitate communication between the Protectorate of Morocco and the hospitals where the cure, transferring medical personnel, medical supplies and possibly injured. The war in Morocco for years absorbed nearly a quarter of the country's budget and caused tens of thousands dead and wounded in the Spanish troops. Not much is known about low rifeñas, but at least doubled to Spanish, as the proportion of casualties in a colonial war is usually from 1 to 5 to 1 to 20 between colonizers and colonized. This is mainly because the settlers tend to have more number of modern weapons or weapons that have not colonized. As one anonymous military about the main reason for using a terrible weapon as the gun against the Indians: "Because we've got and they do not. "


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## gekho (May 25, 2011)

The Ansaldo SVA (named for Savoia-Verduzio-Ansaldo) was a family of Italian reconnaissance biplane aircraft of World War I and the decade after. Originally conceived as a fighter, the SVA was found inadequate for that role. Nevertheless, its impressive speed, range and operational ceiling, with its top speed making it one of the fastest (if not the fastest) of all Allied combat aircraft in World War I, gave it the right properties to be an excellent reconnaissance aircraft and even light bomber. Production of the aircraft continued well after the war, with the final examples delivered in 1928. Two minor variants were produced, one with reconnaissance cameras, the other without cameras but extra fuel tanks.

The SVA was a conventionally-laid out unequal-span biplane, featuring Warren Truss-style struts, and therefore having no transverse (spanwise) bracing wires. The plywood-skinned fuselage had the typical Ansaldo triangular rear cross-section behind the cockpit, transitioning to a rectangular cross section going forwards through the rear cockpit area, with a full rectangular cross section forward of the cockpit.


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## gekho (May 25, 2011)

More pics


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## gekho (May 25, 2011)

The first F2B arrived in Spain in 1922, as part of the wave of new aircraft equipped African aviation after the disaster of Annual. They were sent to Melilla, where they are used in countless operations of strafing and bombing of the Rif, in actions to support troop movements in Africa and in bombing "punishment" on souks, hamlets and crops. The F2B were the first planes used by the Spanish Army to release poison gas on the villagers of northern Morocco.

This is the official description of a gas attack on a village in the party of April 19, 1925: "This morning, in pursuance of the Order of VE has been bombarded with C-5 Beni Souk El Had -Bu-Yahi, which was crowded, with the explosion managed to cover the scene of the bazaar and its surroundings, the audience to him and those of nearby houses have fled toward the plain, then the devices loaded with TNT and machine guns , had a mission to beat the inhabitants of that town, have pursued those who fled to the plains. "


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## Gnomey (May 25, 2011)

Interesting shots!


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## gekho (May 26, 2011)

Research on Vickers' first amphibious aircraft type began in December 1918 with tests of alternative fuselage/hull designs occurring in an experimental tank at St Albans in Hertfordshire, England. A prototype, registered G-EAOV, was a five-seat cabin biplane with a pusher propeller driven by a Rolls-Royce Falcon water-cooled V 12 engine. Sir John Alcock died taking this aircraft to the Paris exhibition on 18 December 1919, whilst trying to land at Côte d'Evrard, near Rouen, Normandy in foggy weather. The next example, G-EASC, known as the Viking II, had a greater wing span and a 360 hp Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII motor. The Viking III machine, piloted by Captain Cockerell, won first prize in the amphibian class in Air Ministry competitions held in September and October, 1920.

The Type 54 Viking IV incorporated further refinements and had a wider cabin above a hull one foot wider, an example being G-EBBZ in which Ross Smith and J.M. Bennett (partners in the 1919 England to Australia flight) died on 13 April 1922 just outside the Brooklands racetrack near Weybridge in Surrey. Most of these Mark IV Vikings had a Napier Lion engine. The next version was the Viking V, two were built for the RAF for service in Iraq. The last Viking amphibians were built during 1923, but the name was re-used for the twin-engine VC.1 Viking airliner some 22 years later, which saw service as the Valetta with the RAF and other air arms. Some Viking amphibians were built by Canadian Vickers Limited, a subsidiary company in Montreal with no previous plane making experience. A further development with a redesigned wing structure using the 450 hp (340 kW) Napier Lion would have been the Viking VI (Vickers designation Type 78) but known as the Vulture I. A second with a Rolls-Royce Eagle IX (360 hp, 270 kW) was the Type 95 Vulture II. Both Vultures were used for an unsuccessful around the world attempt in 1924 after the Eagle engine of the Vulture II was replaced with a Lion. With registration G-EBHO, the first set off from Calshot Seaplane Base on 25 March 1924, the other was shipped as a spare machine to Tokyo. After mechanical difficulties in earlier staged G-EBHO crashed at Akyab where it was replaced by G-EBGO on 25 June. Encountering heavy fog on the Siberian side of the Bering Sea G-ENGO crashed. Vickers salvaged a large proportion.

The Viking Mark VII ("Type 83" in Vickers numbering) was a development of the Vulture, a three-seat open-cockpit fleet spotter to Air Ministry specification 46/22 given the service name Vanellus when taken on for evaluation by the RAF against the Supermarine Seagull design.


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## gekho (May 26, 2011)

Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) was founded by Jose Ortiz Echagüe in 1923 and began work on a factory in Getafe in May 1924, building Breguet aircraft under license. The first order covered 26 19 A.2s; total production of this type eventually reached 400 units. CASA built a second factory in Cadiz in 1926 to construct a licensed copy of the German Dornier Do. J Wal seaplane. They built 17 aircraft for the Spanish Air Force, 12 for the Naval Aviation branch of the Spanish Navy and two for commercial use. CASA also operated several branch facilities in Spain for the repair and overhaul of aircraft. In 1929 the CASA-1 flew - the first CASA designed aircraft. King Alfonso XIII visited the main factory in 1930. CASA also built the French Breguet XIX, two of which would be made especially famous. One, was the Breguet XIX GR (Grand Raid) named the Jesus del Gran Poder, currently preserved in the Museo del Aire de Cuatro Vientos (Madrid), which flew between Seville and Bahia, (in Brazil), in 1929. This aircraft was piloted by Captains Ignacio Jiménez and Francisco Iglesias and covered 6746 km in 43 hours 50 minutes. The other was the Breguet XIX Super Bidon, named the Four Winds; it was flown by Mariano Barberan and Collar Joaquin Serra to Havana in Cuba in 1933. In 1932 CASA obtained a license from the UK aircraft company, Vickers, to build 25 Vickers Vildebeest land-based torpedo bombers, which were powered by French Hispano 600 hp engines

The CASA III was one of its first designs; it was a light bomber biplane built for the Navy. However its performance was very poor and finally it was used as advanced trainer at the Pollensa´s Naval Air School.


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## gekho (May 26, 2011)

Jorge Loring Martinez (Málaga, October 12, 1889 - Madrid, September 22, 1936) was a Spanish engineer and business man, pioneer of civil aviation in Spain, and considered by the Spanish Patent Office one of the great inventors it recorded its patents. Grandson of the businessman and politician Jorge Loring and Oyarzábal, was born into a wealthy family from the beginning of a century devoted to banking, mining, steel and rail. In 1912 he graduated in Madrid as a civil engineer. In 1916 he joined the administration and was assigned to the Headquarters of Royal City Public Works, but soon asked for leave to pursue his true vocation: aviation. That same year he received the certification of airplane pilot in the National School of Aeronautics, established in Getafe (Madrid), and purchased a plane (type Blériot) made ​​in Spain that tore a bit after landing. 

In 1917 he became a technical director at Casa Pujol, Comabella y Cia. Barcelona, who owns a flying school aircraft at El Prat de Llobregat and some workshops on building cars and planes. In 1920 obtained the concession line aéreopostales service between Seville and Larache (Morocco), and after leaving the House Pujol created in 1921 the Spanish company Air Traffic Services (CETA), which was the first Spanish airline passenger civil transport, that was exploiting the concession of the line until it was integrated with other airlines to form a monopoly firm called CLASSA.1

In 1922 he established a private school for pilots in Carabanchel (Madrid) and was appointed manager of a blimp to travel between Seville and Buenos Aires. The following year began in the workshops Loring, based in Carabanchel (Madrid), manufacture of aircraft for military aviation, especially Dutch Fokker biplanes and different models of the gyros of Juan de la Cierva (in particular the Cierva C.7 and Cierva C.12). Overwhelmed by large financial obligations of its projects in 1931 rejoined the Corps in the state, but three years later founded the Aerospace Industrial Company SA (AISA) to manufacture airplanes and aircraft for military use.


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## Gnomey (May 26, 2011)

Nice shots!


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## vikingBerserker (May 26, 2011)

Very cool!


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## gekho (May 27, 2011)

The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 was a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. Although the first examples reached the Western Front before the Sopwith Camel and it had a much better overall performance, problems with its Hispano-Suiza engine, particularly the geared-output H-S 8B-powered versions, meant that there was a chronic shortage of S.E.5s until well into 1918 and fewer squadrons were equipped with the type than with the Sopwith fighter. Together with the Camel, the S.E.5 was instrumental in regaining allied air superiority in mid-1917 and maintaining this for the rest of the war, ensuring there was no repetition of "Bloody April" 1917 when losses in the Royal Flying Corps were much heavier than in the Luftstreitkräfte. A single unit was sent to Spain to be evaluated. The goverment of Madrid finally decided not to acquired them, but this unit stood in Spain and was used as advanced trainer.


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## gekho (May 27, 2011)

The DH.6 was specifically designed as a military trainer, at a time when it was usual for obsolete service types to be used in this role. Geoffrey de Havilland seems to have had two design criteria in mind. The first was that it should be cheap and easy to build, and above all, simple to repair after the mishaps common in ab-initio training. The top and bottom wings were "brutally" square cut, and were interchangeable. (Hence the roundels in unconventional positions on many wartime photographs of the type.) They were heavily cambered, and braced with cables rather than streamlined wires. On the original version of the type there was no stagger. Even the rudder, on the prototype of the usual curved de Havilland outline, was on production machines cut square. The fuselage structure was a straight box with no attempt at refinement of outline – instructor and pupil sat in tandem on basketwork seats in a single cockpit that was Spartan even by the standards of the time. The standard engine was the ubiquitous and readily available 90 hp (67 kW) RAF 1a. Because of its use in the B.E.2 the engine had the advantage of being very familiar indeed to RFC mechanics. It was stuck onto the front of the DH.6 in the most straightforward way possible, without any type of cowling, and the usual crudely upswept exhaust pipes of this type of engine were fitted. Eventually even stocks of the RAF 1a ran short, and various other engines were fitted to DH.6s, including the 90 hp (67 kW) Curtiss OX-5 and the 80 hp (60 kW) Renault.

This was an era when instructors in the RFC referred to their pupils as “Huns” (the term used for enemy airmen) and casualties at training schools were high. The second design criterion was that the new trainer should be "safe" to fly, both for a new pupil and his instructor. One way to obtain this safety was a "decouple" on the dual controls so that the instructor could take control at any time without having to wrestle with a panicking pupil. Another route to the desired safety was through the new trainer’s flying characteristics. De Havilland’s work at the Royal Aircraft Factory, where much basic research had been carried out into the nature of stability and control in aircraft, left him well qualified to design a "safe" aircraft. In the event, the DH.6 had very gentle flying characteristics; it was probably the most "forgiving" aircraft of its time, allowing itself to be flown “crab wise” in improperly banked turns, and being almost impossible to stall or spin, as it was able to maintain sustained flight at speeds as low as 30 miles per hour (48 km/h)
In fact, the DH.6 has been frequently described as "too safe" to make a good trainer; this referred to its gentle reaction to inexpert piloting rather than to excessive stability however, as it was designed with a degree of inherent instability about all three axes. With the "Skyhook's" low power, strong but rather heavy construction and lack of streamlining, its maximum speed was naturally very low, even by the standards of the time.

Some 60 aircraft were licence-built in Spain from 1921 onward with Hispano-Suiza 8 engines, refined fuselages that included separate cockpits, and rounded "de Havilland style" rudder/fin assemblies. At least some of these found their way into the inventory of two Spanish Air Force training establishments.


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## gekho (May 27, 2011)

The RI Loring was a reconnaissance aircraft produced in Spain in late 1920. This aircraft was the first design that was produced in series of workshops for Eduardo Barrón Carabanchel Loring. It was a conventional design sesquiplane the time, like the Fokker C-IV with a little front spoiler, quite common in many planes of those years dedicated to similar missions. The model was built with welded steel pipe for structure and fabric and wood for the wings. The pilot and observer sat in open cockpits together. Loring built 30 copies to the Military Aeronautics, which served mostly in Spanish Morocco since mid-1926, in observation, liaison and attack.

Between 13 and August 14, 1926 a squadron under Captain Arranz, made ​​the trip to Four Winds to Tetouan, where their fate in Group 5, later moving to the airfield Larache.1. In 1927, febredo Loring became the RI to Spain, becoming the first squadron equipped with 34 of Recognition Group, School of Education of Four Winds. In September 1928 the squadron was disbanded and the remaining aircraft were transferred to the Training Group deployed Getafe airfield, where they were discharged at the end of 1931.


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## vikingBerserker (May 27, 2011)

Excellent


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## Gnomey (May 27, 2011)

Excellent shots!


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## gekho (May 30, 2011)

The Ansaldo A.300 was an Italian general-purpose biplane aircraft built by the Ansaldo company (now part of FIAT) of Turin from 1920 to 1929. It also served as a light bomber, transport, fighter and reconnaissance aircraft, and finally as an advanced trainer, with examples in service as late as 1940. 50 examples were also license-built in Poland at ZM E. Plage T. Laśkiewicz, but were not a success due to poor quality. Based on Ansaldo's highly successful World War I Balilla and S.V.A scouts, the A.300 was a conventional single-engined two-bay open cockpit biplane of mixed metal and wood-and-fabric construction, powered usually by a water-cooled Fiat A.12bis V12 engine. Most variants had two fixed Vickers guns and one mobile gun mounted in the rear cockpit. It first flew in 1919.

Early examples were two seaters, but the A.300/3 was a three-seater intended for reconnaissance use, of which around 90 were delivered. The most significant variant was the A.300/4, again mostly three-seaters, which started full production in 1923, just as Ansaldo was absorbed into FIAT. This became the standard multi-role aircraft in the newly-formed Regia Aeronautica and served in Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Corfu, Libya and Eritrea. The A.300 was one of the most numerous aircraft of its time, with the production run of the A.300/4 alone, at 700 units, exceeding the total production of any other type of the 1920s except the Breguet XIX and Potez 25. Despite this, and possibly because it was Italian rather than French or British, it remains one of the least documented contemporary types, certainly the most obscure produced in anything like these numbers.


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## gekho (May 30, 2011)

The Loring R-1 was a reconnaissance aircraft produced in Spain in the late 1920s. It was the first design by D. Eduardo Barron for Loring, and the firm's first aircraft of its own design. Conventional for its day, it was a sesquiplane with staggered wings that were braced with struts in a Warren truss-like configuration. The pilot and observer sat in open cockpits in tandem and the main units of the fixed, tailskid undercarriage were divided. Thirty examples were produced for the Spanish Army. A refined version was designed as the R-2 before production shifted to the Loring R-3.


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## gekho (May 30, 2011)

The Felixstowe F.2a entered production and service as a patrol aircraft, with about 100 being completed by the end of World War I. In February 1917, the first prototype of the Felixstowe F.3 was flown. This was a larger and heavier development of the F.2a, powered by two 320 hp (239 kW) Sunbeam Cossack engines. Large orders followed, with the production aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce Eagles. The F.3s larger size gave it greater range and heavier bomb load than the F2, but poorer speed and agility. Approximately 100 Felixstowe F.3s were produced before the end of the war, including 18 built in the dockyards at Malta.

The Felixstowe F.5 was intended to combine the good qualities of the F.2 and F.3, with the prototype first flying in May 1918. The prototype showed superior qualities to its predecessors but the production version was modified to make extensive use of components from the F3, in order to ease production, giving lower performance than either the F.2a or F.3. The Felixstowe was re-exported to America, and a re-jigged Felixstowe/Curtiss with the Curtiss Company, provided the basis for NC-4 which was the first plane to fly the Atlantic.

The carrier Dedalo, also known as "España nº6", was the first carrier of the Spanish Navy. It was a merchant of German flag called Neuenfels which was given to Spain by the Weimar Republic after the WWI as compensation for the sinking of Spanish ships suffered at the hands German submarines. It could carry 2 tethered balloons, which could be tied to the port bow, 2 semi-rigid airships SCA 1,500 m³ (1 operating and one in reserve) with tie and open hangar forward. With regard to seaplanes, perfectly stowed on deck could carry twelve to twenty more, with wings folded inside the hangar. It had a deck of 60 m and a forklift to raise or lower the seaplane hangar, but to most they had to remove the wings to be uploaded or downloaded to it. Transported in their years of service seaplane types: Felixstowe F.3, Savoia S.16 and S.16 bis, Macchi M.18 and Supermarine Scarab.


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## gekho (May 31, 2011)

The Airco DH.9 (from de Havilland 9) - also known after 1920 as the de Havilland DH.9 - was a British bomber used in the First World War. A single-engined biplane, it was a development of Airco's earlier, highly successful DH.4 and was ordered in very large numbers for Britain's Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force. Its engine was unreliable, and failed to provide the expected power, giving the DH.9 poorer performance than the aircraft it was meant to replace, and resulting in heavy losses, particularly over the Western Front. The subsequently-developed DH.9A had a more powerful and reliable American Liberty L-12 engine.

After the war, Spain imported some DH-9, but Hispano-Suiza engine with 300 hp and the Hispano Aviation in Guadalajara provided since 1922 over a hundred more. Little used in Morocco, the Spanish Havilland equipped several groups of the Peninsula and, especially, was used as a school aircraft and for training transformation observers, shooting and bombing. Some DH-9 served during the Civil War, spread on both sides. The DH-9A was derived from the DH-9 but larger, more powerful, and that did prove effective in the RAF in the last months of World War I and after the war, equipped with the American Liberty motor 400 hp. Spain in 1922 acquired eight DH-9A with the formidable engine of 450 hp Napier Lion. Napier Havilland Squadron operated in Melilla, coming at a time committed to Tetouan and Larache. In 1928 he became the first unit sent to the Spanish Air Sahara, returning to Melilla after a short time. The decline in Napier Havilland took place around 1930-31.


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## gekho (May 31, 2011)

The Loring R-3 was a 1920s Spanish two-seat sesquiplane reconnaissance aircraft designed by Commandante D. Edurado Barron and built by Dr. Jorge Loring's company, Talleres Loring. It had a two tandem open cockpits and was powered by a 600 hp (447 kW) Hispano-Suiza engine. Some R-3s remained in service until the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.

In early 1926, Loring began manufacturing a new aircraft designed by Barron sesquiplane Loring, R-III. The aim was to introduce this new model of military aviation since this had decided to select a second supplementary reconnaissance plane that made 19 CASA Breguet under license. The Loring R-III competed in this competition with the Potez 25 submitted by La Hispano Aviacion to build under license. The technical quality of the two aircraft was on a par, but the Military Aviation favored the R-III, given the interest of the Military Board of Primo de Rivera in boosting the domestic industry.

In mid-1926, Loring R-III made its test flights, joining once the first devices, numbers 1 to 4 of manufacture, Larache Seville line. These are commercial appliances were replaced Hispano Suiza engines for about 450 hp Junkers L-2 265 hp, consumer much more economical and suitable for this job. The order that the Military Aeronautics held in April 1927 with budgets of 1925 was exceptional, 110 R-III devices, which begin to leave the assembly line in 1929 Carabanchel. Loring Workshops at this time stood at the head of the Spanish aeronautical industry. In the National Aeronautics Exhibition held at the Crystal Palace El Retiro in October and November 1926 to urge the American Conference of Air Navigation, the flag of four models exhibited Loring totally Spanish: The RI, R-III and T-1, biplane school.


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## gekho (Jun 1, 2011)

Before the experimental Cierva C.19 Mk V, autogiros had been controlled in the same way as fixed-wing aircraft, that is by deflecting the air flowing over moving surfaces such as ailerons, elevators and rudder. At the very low speeds encountered in autogiro flight, particularly during landing, these controls became ineffective. The experimental machine showed that the way forward was to have a tilting rotor hub and a control rod coming down from the hub to the pilot's cockpit with which he could change the rotor plane. This was known as "direct control" and was fitted to the C.30. The production variant, called C.30A in England, was preceded by several development machines.

The first production design in the series was the C.30, a radial engined autogiro with a three blade, 37 ft (11.3 m) rotor mounted on an aft-leaning tripod, the control column extending into the rear of the two cockpits. The engine was the five-cylinder, 105 hp (78 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major I used in the C.19 series. The fabric covered fuselage carried an unbraced tailplane, without elevators but with turned up tips. The port side plane had an inverted aerofoil section to offset the roll-axis torque produced in forward flight by the advancing port side blades. As with most autogiros, a high vertical tail was precluded by the sagging resting rotor, so the dorsal fin was long and low, extending well aft of the tailplane like a fixed rudder and augmented by a ventral fin. The wide track undercarriage had a pair of single, wire braced legs and a small tail wheel was fitted. This model flew in April 1933. It was followed by four improved machines designated C.30P (P here for pre-production) which differed in having a four-legged pyramidal rotor mounting and a reinforced undercarriage with three struts per side. The rotor could be folded rearwards for transport. The C.30P used the more powerful (140 hp, 104 kW) seven-cylinder Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major IA radial engine.

The production model, called the C.30A by Avro, was built under licence in Britain, France and Germany and was similar to the C.30P. The main alteration was a further increase in undercarriage track with revised strutting, the uppermost leg having a pronounced knee with wire bracing. There was additional bracing to the tailplane and both it and the fin carried small movable trimming surfaces. Each licensee used nationally built engines and used slightly different names. In all, 143 production C.30s were built, making it by far the most numerous pre-war autogiro. Between 1933 and 1936, de la Cierva used one C.30A (G-ACWF) to perfect his last contribution to autogyro development before his death in a DC-2 (fixed wing) crash in late 1936. To enable the aircraft to take off without forward ground travel, he produced the "Autodynamic" rotor head, which allowed the rotor to be spun up by the engine in the usual way but to higher than take-off r.p.m at zero rotor incidence and then to reach operational positive pitch suddenly enough to jump some 20 ft (6 m) upwards.

Spain bought two of these aircraft for military aviation and two for the Navy. Were used to monitor the events in Asturias in 1934, in what was the first performance of a rotary-wing aircraft in military operations. In 1998 a Spanish technical committee with the involvement of Albacete's Air Arsenal built a replica of this model, in which flights were made until 2000 when it was delivered to the Air Museum.


_View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQAFKWvxBaI_


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## gekho (Jun 1, 2011)

It was a three-engined high-wing braced and full metal construction designed to equip the Squadron Sahara. It was intended that the aircraft could cover a wide range of missions: bombing, transport, recognition ... It was designed by engineer Eduardo Barrón for Loring house, but before the prototype could be completed by Barron, he had to leave the company because of a serious disease. To make matters worse the economic crisis had beaten hard to Loring and all hope to avoid bankruptcy had been put into the contract to produce a series of colonial trimotors for Military Aviation. The test flights took place at the aerodrome of Carabanchel attached to Loring facilities during the summer of 1932. During one of those tests (do not know the date) the aircraft crashed, dying Joaquin Cayón (pilot of LAPE) and two mechanics. As a result of this accident left the project and the Loring house was doomed to a process of industrial restructuring. The Loring Trimotor was fitted with three 9Qa Hispano radial engines of 250 hp (licensed version of the Wright Whirlwind)


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## Gnomey (Jun 1, 2011)

Good stuff!


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## gekho (Jun 2, 2011)

The Goliath was initially designed in 1918 as a heavy bomber capable of carrying 1000 kg of bombs with a range of 1500 km. It was a conventional fixed-undercarriage biplane of wooden construction with canvas covering, powered by two Salmson Z.9 engines. It had a simple and robust, yet light structure. The wings were rectangular with a constant profile. Hollow wooden main wing spars were used for the first time. It was undergoing initial testing when World War I came to an end and Farman realized there would be no orders for his design. Nonetheless he was quick to understand that the big, box-like, fuselage of the Goliath could be easily modified to convert the aircraft into an airliner. Commercial aviation was beginning to appear and was in need of purpose-built aircraft. With the new passenger cabin arrangement, the Goliath could carry up to 12 or 14 passengers. It had large windows to give the passengers a view of the surroundings. The Salmson engines could be replaced by other types (Renault, Lorraine) if a customer desired it. Approximately sixty F.60 Goliath were built. Between 1927 and 1929, eight Goliaths with various engines were built under licence in Czechoslovakia, four by Avia and four by Letov.

In 1922 General Francisco Echagüe, director of Military Aeronautics, thought it was time to replace the aircraft from the stock ally of the Great War for equipment upgrading and new construction and homogenizing the material in the squadrons. To this end he was summoned by Royal Decree of 3 December the same year, a competition for the selection of new equipment in the categories of fighter, reconnaissance and bombing. It envisaged that the service would charge the construction of 30 fighters, 30 reconnaissance aircraft and 10 bombers of the winning models. Testing began in February 1923 in Cuatro Vientos aerodrome. In point of bombing appeared to contest a single device: a French Farman F.60 Goliath. The aircraft was a twin-engine biplane bomber derivative of F.50. Designed in 1918, did not fly in time to participate in the World War. F.60 size and its wide-body did it suitable for transportation of passengers, so we decided to continue its development in that direction. The modified prototype flew in January 1919 and immediately began mass production, exceeding the figure of 60 copies, which was a commercial success. The civil F.60 operated in various airlines and in 1933 some were still flying. Farman continued parallel development of the military version, giving the first bombers F.60 Bn.2 the Aéronautique Militaire in 1922. The production of the different variants of military F.60 reached 300 specimens exported to countries like Japan, Italy, Poland and the USSR.

The Goliath brought in 1923 to Cuatro Vientos mounted engines of 375 hp Lorraine, and during the tests was piloted by French Coupet. The competition in the category of bomber was declared void, but the copy submitted must be purchased by the Service, a Farman F.60 was present at the opening of the airfield Tablada (Sevilla) in April. Goliath would be paid two to be formed with the half squadron of heavy bombardment in the database. This unit featured a device always kept in Melilla making war service. There is no known date of termination of the F.50, but probably if there was one in flying condition in 1923, would retire when it enters service the new F.60. Ignacio Hidalgo de Cisneros (head of the Republican Air Force during the Civil War) carried out bombing missions in Morocco with chemical weapons at the controls of aircraft Farman F.60. From reading the memoirs of Hidalgo de Cisneros is clear that one reason he advised the purchase of the Goliath was his ability to carry 4 or 6 large bombs of 100 kg. loaded with mustard gas (apparently from the Allied war stock.) Bombing with chemical weapons on enemy concentrations were carried out at night to prevent gases volatilize the effect of high daytime temperatures, so they could expand and increase the persistence of its effects. It appears that the adequacy of the justification for these missions F.60 maintenance problems posed by such heavy equipment operating from airfields in Africa. These aircrafts were retired in 1928.


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## vikingBerserker (Jun 2, 2011)

Excellent, I always liked the Farmans


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## gekho (Jun 5, 2011)

In February 1028 the government approved the acquisition of three different models bombers (a Fokker, a Junkers and Rohrbach) for the purpose of tests and select the one best suited to Spanish needs. Seems to have finally arrived in Spain a single Junkers K-30 bomber that would be tested even wearing the same summer the Swedish civil registration S-AABH (due to the restrictions of Versailles the Junkers had moved their production to Malmoe). The K 30 was a three-engined (engine Junkers L 5, 310 hp), low-wing monoplane with fixed landing gear and the cladding of corrugated iron typical Junkers, as can be seen as a clear precursor of the famous Ju-52.

The K-30 received in 1928 was the only specimen of this model acquired by the Spanish Air Force, so late into the civil war there will be no real aircraft bombing in Spain. The Junkers K-30 was the numeral 49-1 and served in the Training Squadron where he usually piloted by Captain Gallego. In late 1931, the Junkers were integrated into the Fleet Trimotor Unit No. 1 (Getafe), accounting for several years the only material that drive wheel, where it would mount Cascón usual captain. By this time the detachments made ​​trimotor newspapers in the Cape Juby airfield (Sahara).


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## gekho (Jun 5, 2011)

Aeronáutica Militar bought a prototype and a license in 1923, and started production in the CASA works, in A2 and B2 variants. The first 19 aircraft were imported, the next 26 completed from French parts, then 177 were manufactured (50 of them had Hispano-Suiza engine, the rest the Lorraine-Dietrich 12Eb engine). The Breguet 19 was the basic equipment of Spanish bomber and reconnaissance units until the initial period of the Spanish Civil War. 

In July 1936, there were less than hundred in service in the Spanish Republican Air Force. They were actively used as bombers during the war, especially on the government's side. In 1936, the Nationalists bought an additional twenty from Poland. With an advent of more modern fighters, the Br.19 suffered many losses, and after 1937 were withdrawn from frontline service. The Republican side lost 28 aircraft, and Nationalists lost 10 (including 2 Republican and 1 Nationalist aircraft, that deserted). The remaining aircraft were used for training until 1940.


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## gekho (Jun 5, 2011)

The Vickers Vildebeest and the similar Vickers Vincent were two very large two- to three-seat single-engined British biplanes designed and built by Vickers and used as a light bomber, torpedo bomber and in the army cooperation roles. While first flown in 1928, it remained in service at the start of the Second World War, with the last Vildebeests flying against Japanese forces over Singapore and Java in 1942.

The Vildebeest was ordered by the Spanish Republic in 1934 and licence production of 27 Vildebeest was undertaken in Spain by CASA most receiving the Hispano-Suiza HS 600 inline engine, though some other engines were also used. Around 20 survived to fight with the Spanish Republican Air Force on the loyalist side of the Spanish Civil War, some equipped with floats.


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## gekho (Jun 5, 2011)

The Spanish "Aeronautica Militar" started to take deliveries of ND-52s in 1930, production continuing until 1933, equipping three fighter units, Grupo 11, Grupo 1 and Grupo 13. The Nieuport fighter (known as the "Hispano-Nieuport" was unpopular in Spanish service, being described as heavy and unresponsive, while it was slower than expected, with Spanish aircraft only able to reach 225 km/h (140 mph) compared with the 260 km/h (162 mph) claimed by Nieuport. Losses to accidents were heavy, with only 56 remaining when the Spanish Civil War broke out on 18 July 1936.


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## gekho (Jun 5, 2011)

On Septembre 1929, comes to Barcelona from Calende Sesto (Italy), the first Savoia SM-62 that later form the basis for making a series of 36 seaplanes, which were manufactured in Barcelona, with Hispano-Suiza engines in the workshops of the Naval Aviation. The first aircrafts were delivered in early 1931 and finished in early 1936. Flew during the SCW on both sides and were discharged at the end of 1938.


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## gekho (Jul 20, 2011)

The Macchi M.18 was a flying boat produced in Italy in the early 1920s. Originally planned as a passenger aircraft, it entered production as a bomber before eventually being offered on the civil market that it was originally intended for. A conventional design for World War I, it was a biplane flying boat with unstaggered wings of unequal span braced by Warren truss-style struts. The engine was mounted pusher-fashion in the interplane gap, and the pilot and observer sat in side-by-side open cockpits. An open position was provided in the bow for a gunner.

In addition to the standard military version, a version with folding wings was produced for shipboard use as the M.18AR. This equipped the Italian Navy's seaplane tender Giuseppe Miraglia and the Spanish Navy's Dédalo. The latter service used the type in action against Moroccan rebels. Six of the 20 machines purchased by Spain remained in service at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War and were used to attack Nationalist forces on Majorca as well as flying reconnaissance patrols. Portugal also operated the type, buying eight examples in 1928.


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## gekho (Aug 25, 2011)

In 1917, George Handasyde of Martinsyde designed a single seat biplane fighter powered by a Rolls-Royce Falcon V-12 engine, the Martinsyde F.3, with a single prototype being built as a private venture without an official order, and had flown at Brooklands aerodrome by October 1917. six being ordered in 1917, with the first flying in November that year. Its performance during testing was impressive, demonstrating a maximum speed of 142 mph (229 km/h), and was described in an official report as "a great advance on all existing fighting scouts", resulting in an order for six pre-production aircraft and 150 production fighters being placed late in 1917. It soon became clear, however, that all Falcon production was required to power Bristol F.2 Fighters, so use of the Falcon for the F.3 would be problematical. To solve this problem, Martinsyde designed a new fighter based on the F.3, but powered by a 300 hp (224 kW) Hispano-Suiza engine, the F.4 Buzzard. The Buzzard, like the F.3, was a single bay tractor biplane powered by a water cooled engine. It had new lower wings compared with the F.3 and the pilot's cockpit was positioned further aft, but otherwise the two aircraft were similar. The prototype F.4 was tested in June 1918, and again demonstrated excellent performance, being easy to fly and maneuverable as well as very fast for the time.[8] Large orders followed, with 1,450 ordered from Martinsyde, Boulton Paul Ltd, Hooper Co and the Standard Motor Company. It was planned to equip the French Aéronautique Militaire as well as the British Royal Air Force, and production of a further 1,500 aircraft in the United States of America was planned.

Deliveries to the RAF had just started when the Armistice between the Allies and Germany was signed. Martinsyde was instructed to only complete those aircraft which were part built, while all other orders were cancelled. The Buzzard was not adopted as a fighter by the post war RAF, the cheaper Sopwith Snipe being preferred despite its lower performance. Martinsyde continued development of the Buzzard, buying back many of the surplus aircraft from the RAF, and producing two seat tourers and floatplanes. After the bankruptcy of Martinsyde in 1924, these aircraft were obtained by the Aircraft Disposal Company which continued to develop and sell F.4 variants for several years.

The Spanish Military Aviation acquired 20 aircraft of this type in 1921, for use in Morocco. In 1931 they were transfered to the Navy. At the beginning of the Civil War in 1936, 10 of these aircrafts are still in service, but only 7 in flight status. Located at the base of San Javier (Murcia) all of them fell in Republican hands. They were coded MS-2, MS-3, MS-5, MS-6, MS-7, MS-8, MS-10, being the MS-6 and MS-7 two-seaters.


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## gekho (Aug 25, 2011)

In 1922 the Navy was testing the possibility of acquiring torpedo planes so in October of that year he sent to Britain to Lieutenant Vincent Cervera Jiménez-Alfaro and to witness the plane's flight test Blackburn T.1 Swift Mk.II to be held in London in November. The Swift Mk.II was the export version of Blackburn T.1 Swift, a large car biplane (14'55 m wingspan) capable of launching a 760 kg Whitehead torpedo. The Swift was designed to operate from aircraft carriers so its wings were folded back. Cervera's report should have been positive as a Royal Order dated March 17, 1923 provides for the granting of a loan of 663 864 pesetas to the acquisition of two Swift Mk.II the Blackburn Aeroplane Motor Sci. On 27 August of that year one of the Spanish Swift held an impressive demonstration of torpedo on the River Humber to representatives of the Admiralty, the British Air Ministry and commissioned a number of foreign governments (should be noted that the Swift also exported to the U.S. and Japan). The next day would be conducted acceptance tests satisfactorily and the two shortstops be declared fit for service by the Spanish Armada. In September both units shipped would be heading to Barcelona would initially framed in the School of Naval Aeronautics, airport El Prat de Llobregat. Received fees and M-M-NTBB NTBA. In this British airfield became instructors for the new type to several Spanish naval pilots. The original Swift cars were planes but apparently to teaching assignments could open some hatches after the position where the pilot could "accommodate" the instructor. However, in the photographs of the Spanish Swift clearly shows the existence of a second equipped with windshield.

In July 1927 approving the acquisition of a third shortstop Blackburn. It was Blackburn T.3 Velos of a Dart T.2 development which in turn derived from T.1 Swift. Unlike their predecessors had been designed as Velos seaplane (although the floats could be easily replaced by a train of wheels). The Velos was a most versatile device that Swift because, in addition to tasks could be used as a torpedo bomber (4 230 lb bombs.) And as a reconnaissance aircraft, for that it had an observer position with dual control and two Lewis guns of 7.95 mm. Scarff ring on front stock. Along with the Velos acquired two sets of floats with which to equip the Navy Swift was still in service. This constitutes the squadron (or Patrol) Aircraft equipped with 3 Torpedo Blackburn. The registry receives T.3 M-T.1 NTAC while new enrollments are M-and M-Ntab NTAA. The Squadron took part in naval maneuvers held in 1928 and 1929. From that date is already being felt material fatigue. On February 27, 1931 Blackburn occupied by Lieutenant Rafael Romero and Jesús Conde Rodríguez Núñez suffered an engine fire in flight. The pilot, barely visible, manages to turn over in the field of Prat was wounded. The machine was completely burnt. Blackburn were relegated to auxiliary tasks, serving in the Aviation Authority (Madrid) and the Photographic Service of Naval Aeronautics (San Javier). In the summer of 1931 had been made in Britain comparative tests between the Vickers and the Blackburn Ripon Vildebeest Mk.IV to select a new torpedo for the Navy. The Vildebeest was selected and a prototype equipped with Hispano-Suiza engine arrived in Spain in 1932 as a model for the national production of 25 copies. That same year was low the last Blackburn Spanish. The three Blackburn had been a great school that would allow the Spanish Naval Aviation to train pilots in the tactics of torpedoing and develop a doctrine of using this type of equipment that would be the basis for Spain in 1936 to have an independent force of three squadrons Vildebeest torpedo (a deterrent to keep in mind too). The outbreak of the Civil War would destroy all these efforts and within months the force of torpedo planes would be nothing to use their aircraft as a scattered land fronts on missions for which they were not designed.

(Translated with Google translator)


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## Gnomey (Aug 25, 2011)

Nice stuff!


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## gekho (Sep 14, 2011)

The Supermarine Scarab was a military flying-boat, based upon the Sea Eagle, built for the Spanish Naval Air Service. It was fitted with a .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun and a bomb load of 1,000 lb 454 kg. In early 1924, the Spanish Goverment acquired 12 reconnaissance and bombing hydroplanes, militarized version of the Supermarine Sea Eagle. Destinated to the carrier Dedalo, five of them were destroyed by an accident in August 25th, being used the rest of them at the landing of Alhucemas


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## gekho (Sep 14, 2011)

The Macchi M.24 was a flying boat produced in Italy during the 1920s. Originally intended as a bomber, it was eventually produced for civilian use as well. The M.24 resembled a scaled-up version of earlier Macchi flying boat bombers such as the M.9 and M.18, sharing their biplane configuration and Warren truss-style interplane struts. However, while these earlier aircraft were single-engine types, the M.24 had twin engines mounted in a tractor-pusher pair on struts in the interplane gap. Also like the M.18, it featured an open position in the bow for a gunner, but added a second such position amidships as well. Two M.24s made a demonstration flight in 1925 from Macchi's home on Lake Varese, crossing the Alps to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Leningrad and home again. This feat was followed by torpedo-launching experiments. The M.24 saw extensive use with the Italian Navy, and several were purchased by the Spanish Navy.

The Spanish Naval Aviation Squadron used 6 Macchi M.24, mainly to reinforce the squadrons of Macchi M.18, Savoia S.16bis and Supermarine Scarab during the time of landing in Alhucemas (1925). They were mainly used for bombing missions, but the dimensions of the aircrafts avoid to be shipped at the Dedalo, and they had to operate from the airfield at Mar Chica (Nador). On September 14, 1925 they were employed in the activities of Cape Quilates, where they saw combat for the first time. Two of these hydroplanes were lost in accidents, being retired in 1927.


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## nuuumannn (Nov 4, 2011)

Really fascinating stuff, Gekho. Enjoying your threads very much. Keep it up. The bottom picture in the D.H.9 lot shows a D.H.4, however. I'm also enjoying the Google translation!


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## gekho (Nov 4, 2011)

nuuumannn said:


> Really fascinating stuff, Gekho. Enjoying your threads very much. Keep it up. The bottom picture in the D.H.9 lot shows a D.H.4, however. I'm also enjoying the Google translation!



You are welcome. I´m always glad to know people enjoy my threads. And sorry if the google translation is not the best, but it´s the faster way to do it.


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## gekho (Nov 4, 2011)

The DH.4 was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland as a light two-seat day bomber powered by the new BHP engine. The prototype first flew in August 1916, powered by a prototype BHP engine rated at 230 hp (170 kW). While the DH.4 trials were promising, the BHP engine required major redesign before entering production, and the Rolls-Royce Eagle engine was selected as the DH.4's powerplant. The first order for 50 DH.4s, powered by 250 hp (186 kW) Eagle III engines was placed at the end of 1916. The aircraft was a conventional tractor biplane, of all wooden construction and with two bay wings. The crew of two were accommodated in widely spaced cockpits, separated by the fuel tank. The observer was armed with one or two .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Guns fitted on a Scarff ring, while a synchronised Vickers machine gun was fitted to the nose. A bombload of 460 lb (210 kg) could be fitted to external racks. While the crew arrangement gave good fields of view for the pilot and observer, it caused communication problems between the two crew members, particularly in combat, where the speaking tube linking the cockpits was of limited use. As production continued, DH.4s were fitted with Eagle engines of increasing power, settling on the 375 hp (280 kW) Eagle VIII, which powered the majority of front line DH.4s by the end of 1917. Because of the chronic shortage of Rolls-Royce aero engines in general, and Eagles in particular, alternative engines were also investigated, with the BHP (230 hp/170 kW), the Royal Aircraft Factory RAF3A (200 hp/150 kW), the Siddeley Puma (230 hp/170 kW) and the 260 hp (190 kW) Fiat, all being used in production aircraft. None of these engines could match the Rolls-Royce Eagle, however there were simply not enough Eagles available.

The Spanish Military Aviation acquired 45 of these aircrafts. They took part in the Morocco War, providing air cover for the Spanish troops in places like Tizzi Assa, Chefchaouen or Tizzi Moren. They carried out the first night bombing of the Spanish Military Aviation, made ​​over Beni Zuia and Zuia of Tisili, as well as other task like provisioning besieged troops . They paid a heavy toll since 35 of these machines were lost in combat or accidents. The last squadron of DH.4 disappeared months before completing the pacification of Morocco.

Source: Ejército del aire. DE HAVILLAND DH-4 -ROLLS- Airco DH.4 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## nuuumannn (Nov 6, 2011)

Aaah, that's more like it. Keep it up gekho; very much enjoying your threads.


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## gekho (Feb 16, 2012)

In 1926 Ramón Franco became a national Spanish hero when he piloted the Dornier Plus Ultra on a trans-Atlantic flight. His co-pilot was Julio Ruiz de Alda Miqueleiz; the other crew members were Teniente de Navio (Navy Lieutenant) Juan Manuel Duran and the mechanic Pablo Rada. The Plus Ultra departed from Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva, Spain on 22 January and arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 26 January. It stopped over at Gran Canaria, Cape Verde, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro and Montevideo. The 10,270 km journey was completed in 59 hours and 39 minutes.

The event appeared in most of the major newspapers world wide, though some of them underlining the fact that the airplane itself plus the technical expertise were foreign. Throughout the Spanish-speaking world the Spanish aviators were glamorously acclaimed, particularly in Argentina and Spain where thousands gathered at Plaza de Colón in Madrid. (Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plus Ultra - see below.) In 1929 Franco attempted another trans-Atlantic flight, this time crashing the airplane to the sea near the Azores. The crew was rescued days later by the aircraft carrier Eagle of the British Royal Navy.


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## gekho (Feb 16, 2012)

In 1928, after the war in Africa, the Spanish Military Aviation (AME) had not heavy bombardment since the Farman F.60 were being removed. To meet this need the government authorized in February of that year the acquisition of three bombers of different models (Fokker, Junkers and Rohrbach Metall-Flugzeugbau) for conducting tests and select the one best suited to Spanish needs. It seems that finally arrived in Spain only the Junkers bomber K 30 / R 42, that would be tested that summer wearing Swedish civil registration even S-AABH (due to restrictions of the Versailles Treaty the Junkers had moved their production to Malmoe), which was acquired after evaluation. The plane was the coded 49-1 and served in the Aviation School where it was usually piloted by Captain Gallego. In late 1931 the Junkers Trimotor integrated into the Fleet Unit No. 1 (Getafe), accounting for several years the only aircraft in that unit. By this time the Trimotor made ​​periodic detachments at Cape Juby airfield, Spanish Sahara. The company CLASSA (Subsidised Airline Company SA) use two trimotors G 24, the first Sevilla-Lisbon flight took place on May 27, 1929 and the following year returned to Germany and replaced by two more advanced. In October of 1931 were added to the fleet of the newly created Postal Airlines LAPE Spanish, who inherited the fleet of the former although they did not serve, as they were written off due to its age.


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## gekho (Jun 15, 2012)

The Dornier Libelle (en:"Dragonfly I"), also designated Do A, was a German open-cockpit, all-metal, parasol wing, monoplane flying-boat aircraft, with partly fabric covered wings. A landplane version , built without sponsons and fitted with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage was produced as the Dornier Spatz. In the twenties Spain acquired a unique example of this small hydro. It was tested at the base of "La Atalaya".


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## gekho (Jun 15, 2012)

In the middle of the second decade of the twentieth century there were a need to incorporate to the Spanish Military Aircraft seaplanes. Unable to get the material in Europe, due to the World War 1, it was decided to contact the American company Curtiss Aeroplane Company, with the intention of buying there overhead lines. This company was created by Glenn Curtiss, aviation pioneer, who often has been regarded as the Father of Naval Aviation. On May 1, 1915, coinciding with the start of construction of what would be Hydro School of Los Alcazares on the proposal of Colonel Vives, depart for the United States Emilio Herrera Linares Captain and Lieutenant John Viniegra Arejúla, both commissioners for assessment, training and purchase of this new material. They come to the city of New York on May 14 and from there leave for what they thought was their final destination, the Curtiss factory in Hammondsports (New York), his surprise was great when he realized after his arrival at the factory , that the assembly of the Curtiss JN-2 aircraft, because of an endless patent litigation with the Wright brothers had been relocated to a new factory, particularly in Toronto (Canada), only 90 kilometers from Hammondsports , to which were displaced. In Canada, Curtiss operate without the restraint of Justice for infringing the patent be mentioned (must qualify that all aircraft built and flown in Europe also infringed the patent law of the United States, as to the roll control system, the impossibility of flying into its territory without the explicit permission of the Wright Brothers flight or construction if the reported profits).

The arrival of our pilots to Toronto coincided with the creation of a pilot school in the same premises of the factory. The instruction offered by this school was necessary for our Airmen could fly with a flight control as individual as those who were being used at that time in all aircraft Curtiss: The roll was achieved with a lateral displacement of the shoulders, the direction turning the wheel of the control column, the depth by pushing or pulling in the same column, and the throttle controlled with the left foot. In this control system is known for "Curtiss-type controls," or (Shoulder yoke aileron control). The flight controls who were accustomed to the Spanish pilots were like "Deperdussin" and type "Wright".

The order would be, first, set at 6 aircraft ground operation, model JN-2s ("s" Standard, not seaplane, as has often been confused). This version was handed over to Spain land more primitive than that received by the 1st Aero Squadron (Signal Corps) of the U.S. Army, although they were delivered to the Military Aeronautics much later date. The difference was in the landing gear being mounted on the train model JN-2s Spanish the JN model, while the mounted ten JN JN-2-2s and Americans, would you come to the Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny". The rest of the order were 6 hydro model JN-2 (as amended), but these were not "standard" that would not only hydro, but because the engine was larger than the Earth, the flight controls were of the Deperdussine in both cabins and larger vertical tail surface, with part of it fixed (stabilizer that would come to ride the famous JN-4 "Jenny") To educate and Viniegra Herrera, turned to Albert J. Curtiss Engel, a seaplane pilot, knowing the Spanish language, which was forged a self-taught in this activity flying the Curtiss Model A-1 Triad, this instruction would be shared with the test driver for Curtiss, Raymond V. Morris. The initial training would be provided by a dual-control models, in which the Spanish pilots become familiar with the control system, a process developed since the arrival of our pilots to the Aviation School in Toronto in mid-May 1915, until it was completed the first of the JN-2 charge at the end of June 1915, with test flights and mencinado test driver, Raymond V. Morris

After several delays in delivery, the boxes containing the disassembled aircraft arrive in late September 1915 the port of Cadiz, along with technical Curtiss, J. H Engel and a mechanic. Rail were sent to Four Winds, terrestrial, and Los Alcazares, the hydro. Compensation for non-delivery took over-the hydro engine, installing engines of 100 hp Curtiss OXX. (While riding the Earth OX-2 of 90 hp.) And parts, that eventually proved not to be sufficient, since that would soon become the United States at war and the lack of it would end the recent deregistration of aircraft in 1919. After the assembly of the first two in Four Winds, Viniegra is responsible for the flight test at first, the morning of October 18, 1915, reporting after the flight controls had found something hard. When operated this discrepancy, the same aircraft is ready in the afternoon for the second test. That evening, at five minutes uploaded flight, the plane stalls, the pilot could not recover, resulting from serious accident with a concussion, serious leg injuries, which would cause the loss of the patella, as well various bruises. As a result of wounds cease active service, passing Mutilated body. That evening, after the accident, Herrera is mounted on the second plane, with such bad luck that at the critical moment of takeoff is injured, the plane hundírsele the plane crashing into the ground. It would virtually unscathed, but the plane would be completely destroyed.

As commented on these two accidents, we can say that the JN-2 enjoyed a justified bad reputation among pilots of the 1st Aero Squadron (Signal Corps) of the U.S. Army, getting them to refuse to fly if it was in dire need or action of war, by low flying qualities, be highly inaccurate in a range of speeds. We have similarity Viniegra accidents and other accidents Herrera and incidents that occurred in the United States. In this country, lived four situations are identical, two of which suffered them Lieutenant JC Morrow, the 1st Aero Squadron, the first of them an unexpected loss of altitude of 100 meters, which was controlled, but flew only 300 feet above the ground, the second had unfortunate results, as Morrow came to takeoff when the plane plane sank to the ground, leaving him and his observer severely wounded. The other two situations were repetitions of the above: one was on takeoff and the other a crash during the flight. 

This lack of stability, coupled with the potential problems that could lead hardness gears that move the wings (remember Viniegra complaint after the first flight controls hardness), might prove fatal. Given the serious problems that the plane had the Aerodynamics Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology chose this aircraft to carry out a study of stability, for which he would use a scale model 1/2: shorten and lengthen her arm the time of tail would experimenting with different angles of incidence of the wings and the horizontal stabilizer and vary the positions of the center of gravity. This laborious study greatly attracted the attention and the Community provided valuable insight aerodynamic Stability in general. Having run out of experienced pilots in the JN-2, was used to Lieutenant James Robert White for the four remaining aircraft ProBase, throwing much courage, got into them with only a few explanations by Herrera, resulting all flights satisfactory. The following month, the Los Alcazares would hydro ready for first test flight, namely November 23, 1915, according to news reports at the time, was made ​​the first flight of the Curtiss JN-2 (mod.) hydro at the controls of Albert J. Engel, technical and pilot of the Curtiss Aeroplane Co.This flight tells us in great detail Luis Manzanares, in an article published in the newspaper "El Eco de Cartagena" dated November 30, 1915, entitled "First Flight" also describes us in his book "A Curtiss in heaven ", 1969.

Source: Curtiss JN-2 y Curtiss JN-2s. Los Jenny españoles

*I am sorry if the translation is not the best, but the google translator is the fastest way to translate such a long text.​*


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## gekho (Jan 6, 2013)

The A 35 was a development of a series of Junkers aircraft from 1918, starting with the J10/J11, the A 20, A 25, A 32, and finally the A 35. It was originally intended as a two-seat multi-purpose fighter aircraft and made its first flight in 1926. Due to the post-war restrictions, Hugo Junkers and the Soviet Government signed a contract about the setup of an aircraft facility at Fili in Russia in December 1922. In 1926, the first Junkers L5 engines were mounted on the Junkers A 20s. With some further tail modifications the new aircraft was designated as A 35. A total of 24 aircraft were originally built as A 35s. A number of A 20s and A 25s were also modified with the Junkers L5 engine. The A 35 was also available with a BMW IV engine.

In the summer of 1924 a Ju.A20W was acquired by the Spanish Military Aviation. It was a hydro with a BMW engine fitted with 185 hp of the Soviet Union made ​​Junkers licensed. From the month of August it began to serve in Melilla. That same autumn suffers major damage due to a somewhat violent landing. The apparatus is disassembled and the workshops of the Military Aviation in Seville. After major repairs, it was decided to turn the plane on earth, being the floats suppressed. Three aircraft of this type flew in Spain. The plane of the picture was dedicated to link and hydro meteorological soundings. They were written off in 1928.


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## Gnomey (Jan 6, 2013)

Nice stuff!


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## gekho (Feb 16, 2013)

Jorge Loring Loring founded the Carabanchel Workshops, which later became AISA, in 1934. The first product of these workshops was the Loring X. This aircraft flew for the first time that year, being presented one year later to a contest for a school aircraft, together with Adaro Chirta, the GP-1 and the Hispano HS-34. The Loring X was eliminated for not reaching 70 km/h, whic was the minimum speed required. It was the most special aircraft, due to the enclosed cab, which is quite unusual then. It was fitted with a 105 hp Walter engine. Only the prototype was built, which was militarized at the outbreak of civil war. It´s fate is unknown


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## gekho (Feb 16, 2013)

No info


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## gekho (Feb 16, 2013)

The SIAI S.16 was an Italian passenger flying-boat later used a military reconnaissance-bomber, claimed to be the most successful flying-boat of the 1920s. The first flying-boat designed by the Societa Idrovolanti Alta Italia (SIAI) for use as a civilian passenger carrier the S.13 was a biplane flying-boat with room for five passengers. The S.16 was powered by a single Fiat A.12bis engine. A military versions were also developed with a bow cockpit for an observer-gunner and bomb-racks fitted underneath the wings. The military version was sold to Brazil, Soviet Union and Spain.

Sixteen seaplanes of this model were manufactured in Barcelona in the workshops of Naval Aviation. They were fitted with an Hispano Suiza HS 12 Fb 300 hp, and first aircrafts were delivered in February 1922. Based in the carrier "Daedalus", they took part in various campaigns in Morocco between 1922 and 1925. They were retired in 1927.


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