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

[gekho]

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.

 

[nuuumannn]

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!

 

[gekho]

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.

 

[gekho]

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

 

[nuuumannn]

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

 

[gekho]

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.

 

[gekho]

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.

 

[gekho]

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".

 

[gekho]

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.​

 

[gekho]

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.

 

[Gnomey]

Nice stuff!

 

[gekho]

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

 

[gekho]

No info

 

[gekho]

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.