Spanish Civil War: Republican Air Force (FARE)

The Br.460 prototype flew for the first time in 1935; it was a modern two-engine light bomber with a maximun speed of 402 km/h, a range of 900 Km with maximun payload, a crew of four men and an armament of three 23mm machine-guns and 1500 kg of bombs.However the performances of this aircraft were not considered good enough for the standars of that time and the project was cancelled in favour of Br.462, which first flown in october 1936. This prototype arrived to Spain in november 1936 and was destinated to the 11 Group, with base in Cataluña. It was shot down in march 1937 by the AA of the nationalist cruiser "Canarias", in front of the coast of Gerona. Concerning the Br.462, only three of these bombers were built and all of them were sent to Spain.

The Bloch 210.01 prototype flew for the first time in June 1934. It was intended as a twin-float seaplane bomber for the French Navy. A second prototype was designated Bloch 211 N°1 Verdun. Following tests, the production version was ordered as the Bloch 210. A cantilever low-wing monoplane which retained the angular lines of the high-wing Bloch 200, the Bloch 210 was powered by two 678kW Gnome-Rhone 14N engines and had a retractable landing gear, the main units of which retracted into the engine nacelles. Armament comprised single 7.5mm MAC machine-guns in a nose turret and semi-retractable dorsal and ventral positions. Maximum bomb load was 1,730kg.

The first production machine flew on 10 December 1935. A total of 283 were eventually built for the Armee de l'Air, with which they served in the BN5 (five-crew night bomber) category. Final deliveries to the air force were made in February 1939, by which time the aircraft was obsolete. By September 1939 238 Bloch 210s served with French bomber Groupes, employed on limited night operations including leaflet raids. However all were withdrawn from first-line service by June 1940. Twenty-four Bloch 210s had also been exported to Romania in 1938 and the Spanish Republicans had received several. Ex-Vichy aircraft were supplied by the Germans to Bulgaria in 1942.

The first combat of the Potez 540 was in the Spanish Civil War, where they were employed by the Spanish Republicans. Six Potez 540's were sold officially to the Spanish Republican Government; they were followed by six ex-Armee de l'Air Potez 542's, delivered clandestinely, seven Potez 540's ostensibly bought by the Hedjaz government, and a single VIP version. The bombers all fought to the last and a number were shot down. The Spaniards found them robust, though already outmoded, and perhaps the nickname "Widow Maker" bestowed on them after several crews had been lost was a little unfair.

In the late 1930s, these aircraft were becoming obsolete so they were withdrawn from reconnaissance and bombing duties and were relegated to French transport units. They were also employed as paratrooper training and transport aircraft. By September 1939 and the beginning of World War II, they had been largely transferred to the French colonies in North Africa, where they continued to function in transport and paratrooper service. Their role in even these secondary assignments was problematic given their poor defensive armament and vulnerability to modern enemy fighters. Following the French capitulation to Germany in June 1940, those Potez 540s still flying served the Vichy French Air Force mainly in the French overseas colonies. Most of these machines were retired or destroyed by late 1943.

Fantasdtic presentation The interwar period is an era of aviation often overlooked, and a truly amazing array of these aircraft were used in the Civil war

Well done and keep it up

Developed by Marcel Riffard to meet the need for a fast, economical and comfortable transport to carry a limited number of passengers, the Caudron C.440 Goeland (Seagull) twin-engined low-wing cantilever monoplane made its appearance during 1934. Test flown by Raymond Delmotte, it proved its pedigree by combining economy with aerodynamic excellence. One of the most successful aircraft of its time, it was produced in greater numbers than any other transport in its category. The two-spar wing was of spruce and plywood with a plywood skin, and inboard of the inset ailerons the whole trailing edge of the wing was occupied by flaps which also extended beneath the fuselage. The fuselage was largely of wood and had plywood skinning except for the nose section and upper decking which had stressed sheet metal covering. The cantilever tail unit was also a wooden structure, its fixed surfaces plywood-covered and control surfaces fabric-covered. Streamlined nacelles for the 164kW Bengali 6 engines extended below and to the rear of the wings; and the main landing gear units, each incorporating an oleo-sprung fork, retracted rearwards to lie wholly enclosed within the engine nacelles. The prototype had fairings attached to the front of each main leg to cover the wheel wells when the landing gear was retracted, but the next two C.440s had two wheel well doors attached to the underside of each nacelle, a feature of all future Goelands. A non-retracting steerable tailwheel was fitted.

Some C-445 (improved version) were sent to the Republic, being three of them destinated to the military postal airline (Lineas Aereas Postales Españolas: L.A.P.E.) and the rest of them used as military transports. A single C-448 was acquired to the Air Pyrenees airline: flying this aircraft the Captain Yanguas deserted to the nationalist side on june 1937, receiving the military code 31-2, and serving as a liaison aircraft for the Garcia Morato squadron. It was shot down over the Ebro in 1939. Another Goeland was captured after the war, when it came back from Oran, where the republican pilots had run away when the Republic surrendered. It was withdrawn from service in the middle fortys.

The Bleriot-SPAD S.51 was a French fighter aircraft developed in 1924 in response to a French Air Force requirement for an aircraft to replace their obsolete Nieuport-Delage ND29 Designed by Andre Herbemont, the S.51 shared its basic configuration with his other aircraft of the period, being a biplane with a swept upper wing and unswept lower wing, joined by I-shaped interplane struts. The S.51, however, marked Herbémont's transition from a covered framework fuselage design to a monocoque fuselage.

The prototype S.51 was rejected by the French authorities, but revised versions found export customers in the Polish Air Force, which bought 50 of them in 1926, and the Turkish and Soviet air forces which each bought a single example. Another development, the S.51/3 was experimentally fitted with the first controllable pitch propeller developed in France, also designed by Herbémont. Around 64 aircraft were built and the primary users remain the Air Forces of Poland , Turkey and Soviet Union. Some were also sold to the private sector. One having registration EC-BCC belonged to the Aeroclub de Aragon for use as a civil sports plane and flew during 1935 at Sanjurjo airfield, Spain. It was probably used as a trainer. On july 1938 the italians occupied the airfield and captured the Spad, using it for propaganda purpouses. It is believed that there was another unit flying for the republicans, which was shot down by the italians and could carry the french code F-AIVS.

The Dewoitine D.500 was an all-metal, open cockpit, fixed –undercarriage monoplane fighter aircraft, used by the French Air Force in the 1930's. Introduced in 1936, the design was soon replaced by a new generation of fighter aircraft with enclosed cockpits and retractable undercarriage, including the 510's successor, the Dewoitine D.520. The Dewoitine D.500, designed by Emile Dewoitine, was based on C1 specifications issued in 1930 by the French Air Ministry. It was to be a replacement for the Nieuport 62. The prototype first flew on 18 June, 1932. In November 1933, sixty aircraft were ordered, with the first production D.500 flying on 29 September 1934. Aircraft were armed with a 20 mm cannon firing through the propeller hub instead of two nose-mounted machine-guns received the designation D.501. A total of 381 D.500 and it's derivatives were built.

The D.500 and D.501 entered service in July 1935, with the more powerful D.510 joining them in October 1936. They were the primary fighters employed by the Armee de l'Air until replacement by the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 in 1939. As of September 1939, the D.500/501's had been relegated to regional defense and training squadrons. At the start of WWII, D.510's were still in operation with three Groupes de Chasse (Fighter Groups), two Escadrilles Regionale de Chasse (Regional Fighter Squadrons) in North Africa and two Escadrilles de Aeronautique Navale (Naval Aviation Squadrons).

The Spanish Republican Air Force received 7 D.500 and 2 D.510 in the Escuadrilla Internacional. The two D.510's ostensibly intended of the Emirate of Hedjaz, arrived to Spain in mid-1936. When the French government found out about the delivery of the D.510's, they demanded return of the 12Y engines and the weapons (it seems their cannon was a extremely secret and powerful weapon, considered basic for the defense of France). The aircraft were then refitted with Klimov M-100's (a Soviet –built copy of the 12Y) from a Tupolev SB bomber. The two 510's were posted to the 71st Coastal Defense Group. Neither engaged enemy fighters. In 1938, one was irreparably damaged while landing and the other was destroyed on a runway during a bombing attack.

The Farman F.430 was a 1930s French light transport designed and built by the Farman Aviation Works. Two variants with different engines were known as the F.431 and F.432. The F.430 was a low-wing cantilver monoplane with a tail-wheel landing gear. It was powered by two wing-mounted de Havilland Gipsy Major piston engines. The enclosed cockpit and cabin had room for a pilot and five passengers. The prototype F-ANBY appeared in 1934 and the F.431 variant with 185hp (138kW) Renault Bengali-Six inverted piston engines was exhibited at the 1934 Paris Salon de l'Aeronautique. A further variant with 180hp (134kW) Farman radial engines was designated the F.432. After the company had been nationalised and became part of SNCAC a variant with a retractable landing gear (designated the Centre 433) was completed. The F.430 and two F.431s were used by Air Service between Paris and Biarritz.

The Republic acquired the prototype (F-AMBY) and later the 431 and 432 versions, that fitted a Renault engine instead of the De Havilland Gipsy Queen. They were used for auxiliar tasks, due to its limited capacity. At the end of the war, they flew to Oran, where they remained until a commission of spanish pilots took them to Taouima along with the others republican aircrafts (like the V-1 you can see in the picture) that run away to Argelia.

Very cool! Thanks for posting.

he design that took Emile Dewoitine's parasol fighter formula to the apex of its development was the D 27, which was evolved to meet the requirements of the STAe 1926 C1 leger programme for lightweight fighters. Adhering closely to the structural concept of preceding fighters, but embodying much aerodynamic refinement and a split-axle (with independently articulated wheels) rather than cross-axle undercarriage, the D 27 was powered by the 500hp Hispano-Suiza 12Mb (HS 57) 12-cylinder Vee engine and had an armament of two synchronised 7.7mm guns. The liquidation of the Construction Aeronautique E Dewoitine in January 1927 resulted in the transfer of development of the D 27 to the EKW in Switzerland, where a prototype flew on 3 June 1928. By the end of the year, three had been ordered by Romania, one by Argentina and three by Yugoslavia (of which two were to be delivered as assemblies for completion by Zmaj at Zemun), and the prototype was undergoing evaluation by the Swiss Fliegertruppe in competition with Alfred Comte's AC-1. In the autumn of 1928, the EKW initiated a pre-series of 12 D 27 fighters, these adopting a redesigned tail and a revised wing of 0.45m2 less area, modifications first tested in the Laboratoire Eiffel wind tunnel. Meanwhile, in March 1928, Emile Dewoitine had reestablished himself in France, forming the Societe Aeronautique Francaise-Avions Dewoitine. The second and third pre-series D 27s were delivered to France in April 1929, the former being re-engined with the 400hp HS 12Jb as the D 272 for aerobatic demonstrations, and the latter undergoing STAe evaluation at Villacoublay from 28 May equipped with two 7.7mm Darne guns. On 29 November 1929, a contract was issued by France's DGT (Direction Generale Technique) of the Ministere de l'Air for the second and third pre-series aircraft plus three (later increased to four) additional fighters to be assembled by Liore-et-Olivier. The D 27 was offered to the Forces Aeriennes Terrestres as the D 271 with the 500hp HS 12Hb engine and as the D 273 with a Gnome-Rhone Jupiter VII with a compressor enabling 425hp to be delivered at 4000m, but neither model was adopted. At the end of 1929, however, the decision was taken in principle to re-equip the fighter element of the Swiss Fliegertruppe with the D 27, a pre-series of five being ordered from the EKW as D 27 Ills, with deliveries commencing in 1931. A pre-production batch of 15 followed, additional contracts being placed for 45 D 27 Ills to bring deliveries to the Fliegertruppe to 66 (including the prototype). These remained first-line fighter equipment until 1940, when they were relegated to tuitional tasks, being finally scrapped in 1944.

Concerning the D-27 that flew in Spain, there is no reliable data; it is believed that at least three units arrived to Spain of the 15 that by that time were still flying at France, wearing the military codes F-AMQX, F-AJTE and F-ANAX. Other version says that these D-27 were evaluated by the French Air Force and later improved to the D-53 version at the Villacoublay airfield, where they were later sent to Spain in the first months of the war. In any case they were used as advanced acrobatic trainers, being nicknamed "Dewoitinillos". Neither of them survived to the war.

The Latécoère 28 was a successful French long-haul mail plane and passenger airliner of the 1930s. It was the main symbol of Air France's predecessor, Aéropostale in its efforts to establish intercontinental air mail services and support French colonialism and French cultural influence between the wars. Its pilots included famous poets and French men of letters such as Antoine de Saint Exupéry and Jean Mermoz as well as the usual veterans from World War I.

The Latécoère 28 was a development of the Latécoère 26. It was braced high-wing single-engined monoplane initially powered by Renault 12Jbr engine. The Latécoère 28 had a fixed tailwheel undercarriage and enclosed cockpit for two crew. The cabin was fitted for eight-passengers. A total of about fifty planes of several versions were built between 1927 and 1932. The seaplane version, the Latécoère 28-3, was the first to make a postal delivery crossing of the South Atlantic when Mermoz flew from Dakar to Natal in 21 hours and a half aboard the Comte-de-La Vaulx (prototype n° 919) on 12 May 1930. Unfortunately the plane was lost at sea during the return flight (with no loss of life, nor of mail).

This high-wing single engine plane was first built with Renault engines which were soon replaced by Hispano Suiza 12Lbr giving 500 hp (370 kW). The floatplane version had the Hispano Suiza 12Lbr giving 650 hp (480 kW). Technically, it was a refinement of the Latécoère 26 fuselage. The passengers had access to a washroom.

The government of France gave several to the republican side in the Spanish Civil War, that used them as military transport and modified bombers. These aircrafts arrived with the french codes F-AJPG (nicknamed Tornado), F-AJPC (Sirocco) and F-AJVB (Alize). Two more units would be acquired later (F-AJVI, Cierzo and F-AJHS, Tramontana) to the French Federation of Air Sports. The aircrafts acquired by the anarchists were converted to bombers, being used against the Granada airfield. However their life as bombers had a short career, because as soon as the Katiuska arrived to the peninsula, they were transfered to military transport duties. Only one example could survived to the war, flying to Oran, along with many other republican aircrafts.

Good stuff!

The Loire 46 was a French single-seater fighter aircraft of the 1930s. A high winged monoplane, it was purchased by the French Air Force and was also supplied to the Spanish Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War, but was almost out of service by the outbreak of World War II. The Loire 46 was an improved modification of two previous Loire fighters—the Loire 43 and 45. Although improved, it resembled the earlier machines retaining their gull mono-wing configuration, open cockpit, and fixed landing gear. The first of five prototype Loire 46s flew in September 1934. It demonstrated excellent handling characteristics and 60 production aircraft were ordered by the Armée de l'Air.

The first production Loire 46 C1 was flown in february 1936, deliveries commencing in the following August to the 6e Escadre of the Armee de l'Air. The five pre-production examples were relinquished by the French Service and supplied to the Spanish Republican government between 5 and 7 September 1936. However neither of these fighters could operate until the end of the month because of the lack of weapons and spare parts. These fighters were sent to Madrid to defend the capital from the attack of the nationalist forces; they were shared among the "Spain squadron", 2º Lafayette squadron and 11 group. The first combat took place over Toledo, with no losses. During the first days of october the Loires attack the nationalist forces that were going to occupy the village of Morejon, close to Madrid. When they were shooting the troops, some Cr.32 appeared and Garcia Morato shot down one of them. The surviving Loires were sent to the south, to reinforce the Nieuport 52s and Dewoitine D-371/D-372 that were operating in that area. Their lifes operating in Andalucia were short, since one of them was shot down during its first combat,another one was destroyed during a landing and the rest of them were destroyed during a nationalist raid over their airfield.

From 1927 to 1932 only 9 prototypes were built of this fighter. Only one of them, the SL S-91/6 with french code F-ALXC, was purchased by the workers of Bleriot and donated to the Spanish Republic, arriving to Madrid on september 1936, where it received a new military code (EC-12-E) and sent to the "Spain squadron". It was armed with two vikers machine guns, being fitted in its wings.

At the end of october Madrid was under attack and the republican goverment decided to use its last units to combat the nationalist forces that every day were bombing the town. By that time the only fighters available were the P-26, a Hawker Spanish Fury, a Loire 46 and the S-91/6; these fighters had to scort a group of Breguet XIX and Potez 54 bombers that were going to attack the troops at the University city, where the worst of the combats were taking place. However this formation was intercepted by some Cr.32, that shot down the P-26, the Loire 46 and the S-91/6, altough this one managed itself to land. The republican fighters were able to protect the bombers and only the Hawker, that was piloted by Garcia La Calle, could survive. The Bleriot S-91 wasnt able to fly anymore and was scrapped.

The Morane-Saulnier MS.230 aircraft was the main elementary trainer for the French Armée de l'Air throughout the 1930s. In fact, almost all French pilots flying for the Armée de l'Air at the outbreak of World War II had had their earliest flight training in this machine. It was the equivalent of the Stearman trainer in the United States air services and the de Havilland Tiger Moth in the British Royal Air Force.The MS.230 was designed to meet French Air Ministry requirements. It first flew in February 1929 and proved to be an excellent and stable machine which was very easy to fly. It was placed into service in military flight schools throughout France and was exported abroad to the air forces of numerous other countries. It also became a popular aircraft for sport aviation. The MS.230 was of metal tubular framing with fabric covering throughout, except the forward area of the fuselage, which was metal covered. It had a wide fixed landing gear that made it very stable in takeoff and landing. Unlike other trainers of the time (which were mostly biplanes), the MS.230 was a high parasol wing monoplane. It did have the usual tandem cockpit arrangement in the fuselage for the instructor and pupil. Numbers of MS.230s survived for many years after the war and became civilian trainers and civilian flying club aircraft. The F.A.R.E. acquired six units for La Ribera Trainning School, where they were used as advanced trainers. At the present the Cuatro Vientos Air Museum has a replica of this beautiful trainer.

The Dewoitine 371 was a 1930s French-built monoplane fighter aircraft. It was one of the first attempts at a faster pursuit aircraft using the monoplane configuration.T he D.371 was a single-seat aircraft of conventional configuration. Its fixed landing gear used a tailskid. The open cockpit was located slightly aft of the parasol wing. The radial engine allowed for a comparatively wide fuselage and cockpit.

In spite of its superior speed, this design failed to impress and was even refused when exported to Lithuania in 1935. An important competitor of the Dewoitine 371 was the Polish PZL P.24, a similar type but with better speed and armament. In 1936, at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, 12 or 14 of them were sold, unofficially, to the Spanish Republic as part of a squadron of volunteers organized secretly by André Malraux, named España. They were, however, unarmed due to the political stance of the French government that declared very early its neutrality. In August of the same year, after some negotiations with the French government, three fully-armed D.371s arrived to Barcelona, piloted by the mercenary pilots M. Poulain, René Halotier and Henri Rozés. They saw action as escorts of a bombing raid against the Rena de Talaveira that destroyed the headquarters of General Juan Yagüé. These three D.371s had successfully defended their bombers against the attacks of six German Heinkel He 51 biplane fighters - an older-design aircraft with inferior performance.

The Squadron España operated with these planes until the arrival of the modern Polikarpov I-15 and I-16, at which time the 3 Dewoitine 371s were withdrawn from the front and continued as training planes. However, they reappeared later in some squadrons and one is known to have flown with the 71 Fighter Group by the Yugoslav (Slovenian) volunteer pilot Josip Križaj. All Dewoitines left were practically destroyed after having been bombed by the Legion Condor planes in the airfield of Bañolas. This type was not used by the French in World War II.

The Farman series "400" was a revolution for its builder because it had a thin, cantilever-constructed, high wing, With round edges, which could be dismounted for better storage and transportation. The Farman F 402, had a Lorraine 5 Pb engine of 110 Hp, but the plane in the picture had it changed for a Salmson of 120 Hp. Both were 9-cylinder radial engines.This plane has an unusual peculiarity, which is that the control stick hangs from the ceiling of the cockpit,and the rudder control is a vertical steering wheel.

The fuel deposits, which are placed inside the wings, have a capacity of 200 liters . The landing gear structure is constructed in iron bars. This allows this plane to land "hardly" in short space. The fuselage and the wings are made of wood and covered with plywood.This aircraft served, among other countries, in Spain, during the 1936-1939 civil war, in both sides.

The plane in the picture is painted like the republican one which was used in Zaragoza during the civil waras a transport, linking and ambulance aircraft. Actually, the plane in display was donated by "J. B. Salis" aeronautic association and, after restoration, joined the Spanish "Museo del Aire" in the year 2000. It is the only surviving Farman F 402 in the world.

Spanish Air Force 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 135 in service. They were actively used as bombers during the war, especially on the government (Republican) 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.

The Avia 51 was a 1930s Czechoslovakian 6-passenger commercial transport designed by Robert Nebasář and built by Avia. The type was uneconomical in use and only three were built. The Avia 51 was a three-engined high-wing cantilever monoplane designed for the Czech national airlines CLS. It was built with a duraluminium monocoque fuselage and a fixed tailwheel landing gear. Powered by three Avia R-12 radial engine, two fitted into the leading edges of the wing and one nose-mounted. It had a two-man flightdeck and an enclosed luxury cabin for five or six passengers, it was not large enough to stand up (5ft 1in) but did have a separate lavatory compartment, it also had three luggage and mail compartments.

The Avia 51 entered service on the Berlin-Prague-Vienna route but with only a small passenger capacity it proved uneconomical to operate. In 1937 the aircraft were sold to the Estonian government, one appeared operating for the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War and it was reported the other two were lost at sea when the freighter carrying them to Bilbao was sunk.

The Avia BH-33 was a biplane fighter aircraft built in Czechoslovakia in 1927. It was based on the BH-21J that demonstrated promising results by marrying the original BH-21 airframe with a licence-built Bristol Jupiter radial engine. Other than the peculiar Avia hallmark of having an upper wing with a shorter span than the lower, it was utterly conventional; even featuring a tail fin for the first time in a Pavel Beneš and Miroslav Hajn design (previous aircraft had a rudder but no fin). A single example was sent to Spain, but due to its poors characteristics and performances, it was used in trainning duties, being destroyed in a nationalist raid.