Historic aircraft of the Spanish Air Force

The Ejército del Aire was founded on April 2, 1910 by government decree and is one of the three branches of arms ( armas ) of the Spanish armed forces ( Fuerzas armadas de España ).
The following historical aircraft were in use by the Spanish Air Force (list according to annual groups, within the annual groups alphabetically without claim to completeness):

1910-1919

Avro 504

Biplane, trainer, fighter, night fighter Designer: Alliott Verdon Roe, England

AVRO 504 1919
AVRO 504 in the museum

The designer Alliott Verdon Roe gave a type 504 machine to the Spanish King Alfonso XIII in early 1918 . 50 copies were then ordered. The commissioning was in 1919. The machines were primarily used for pilot training at the Getafe , Cuatro Vientos , Alcalá and Albacete locations . Numerous later famous Spanish military pilots such as González Gallarza, Estévez, Lóriga, Llorente, Gómez Spencer, Hidalgo de Cisneros and Lacalle gained their first flight experience on this model. The later dictator Francisco Franco also obtained his license to fly on this type.

The Spanish inventor Juan de la Cierva used the fuselage of the AVRO 504 K for his Cierva C.6 series gyroplane . The AVRO 504 became famous for its use in World War I : on August 22, 1914, three AVRO 540s in Germany destroyed the Zeppelin factory in Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance. A total of 9,500 machines of this type were in use worldwide. In Spain, the decommissioning took place at the end of 1939.

Parameter	Data
Technical data Avron 504 K
design type	double decker
drive	Le Rhône rotary engine , 110 hp
length	8.97 m
span	10.97 m
height	3.18 m
Top speed	160 km / h
Range	390 km
crew	2
commitment	1919-1938

Barron -W-

Biplane, designer: Barrón, Spain. Capitan Barrón developed this machine based on his experience in military flight operations.

Barron W 1915

Use: observation aircraft; In service from 1915 to the end of 1917. Engine: Hispano-Suiza series 8AB. Capitán Fanjul with photographer Alonso flew the Spanish record in 1918 and for the first time in aviation history reached an altitude of 4,750 meters above sea level.

Parameter	Data
Technical data Barrón W
design type	double decker
drive	Hispano-Suiza 8AB, 180 hp
length	8 m
span	14 m
height	3.5 m
Top speed	130 km / h
Empty mass	650 kg
Takeoff mass	1150 kg
Summit height	4800 m
Range	390 km
crew	2
commitment	bomber

Breguet XIV

Double-decker, manufactured by Breguet , France

Breguet XIV 1917

Different engines: Renault 12 F, Fiat A-12 to y Hispano-Suiza 8F (all approx. 300 HP) and Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII with 360 HP. Use: surveillance flights. Operating time 1917 to the end of 1919. Max. Altitude 6000 meters, range 800 kilometers.

Parameter	Data
Technical data Breguet XIV
design type	double decker
drive	Hispano-Suiza 8F, 300 hp
length	9 m
span	14.6 m
height	3.3 m
Top speed	192 km / h
Cruising speed	175 km / h
Empty mass	1070 kg
Takeoff mass	1600 kg
Summit height	4800 m
Range	800 km
crew	2
Armament	2 machine guns HS
commitment	observer

Caudron G-III

Double-decker, designer: René and Gaston Caudron , France

CAUDRON G3 1914
G3 REBLICA 2001

Engine: Le Rhône 9c 80 HP, use: training flights. The French Madame de la Roche was the first woman in the world to fly this type of vehicle at 3,900 meters. In 1921 the pilot Adrienne Bolland crossed the Andes. La Aeronáutica Militar Española had these machines in service in the military flight school in Getafe and Seville from 1914 to the end of 1919. The type was replaced by the AVRO 504 in early 1920 and sold to North America.

Parameter	Data
Technical data Caudron G-3
design type	double decker
drive	Rotary motor Le Rhône 9c, 80 HP
length	6.68 m
span	13.40 m
height	2.5 m
Top speed	160 km / h
Empty mass	445 kg
Takeoff mass	734 kg
Summit height	3000 m
Range	4 h
crew	2
commitment	1914-1920

De Havilland DH.4

Double-decker, manufactured by De Havilland Co. England

DH.4 De Havilland 1916

Engine: Rolls-Royce Eagle 12 cylinders in V-arrangement, water-cooled, 360 hp. Use: bomber and fighter, could take 12 bombs between 10 and 12 kilograms. The payload was 710 kilograms. The machine achieved flight times of 3:45 hours. La aviación española had 45 machines in service between 1916 and 1919; however, a record loss of 35 machines was recorded in the operations. The last deployment of a DH-4 squadron was under Franco at la pacificación de Marruecos over Morocco. The machine type was then completely replaced by the DH-9 series.

Parameter	Data
Technical data DH4
design type	double decker
drive	Rolls-Royce Eagle, 12-cylinder V-engine, water-cooled, 360 hp
length	9.35 m
span	12.93 m
height	3.09 m
Top speed	220 km / h
Cruising speed	165 km / h
Empty mass	1070 kg
Takeoff mass	1780 kg
Summit height	4800 m
Range	3.45 h
crew	2
Armament	2 MG Lewis , max. 12 bombs between 10 and 12 kg
commitment	Fighter bomber

De Havilland DH.9

Double-decker, manufactured by De Havilland Co. England

DH-9 Hispano Suiza 1922

The DH-9 was delivered from 1917 with the original English Rolls-Royce engines with 230 hp. In Spain, the Hispano Suiza de Guadalajara shipyard was converted to Hispano-Suiza 8Fb engines with 300 hp. Use: reconnaissance aircraft, bomber and bomber training machine.

With a payload of 800 kg, this type was equipped with a release device for 200 kg bombs. Hispano Suiza 20 mm automatic cannons fired synchronously through the rotating propeller. The DH-9 entered service in 1917, and the DH-9A version was added in 1922, which had more payload due to a modified airframe and a more powerful Napier Lion engine with 450 hp. This variant was in use until the end of 1931.

Lohner arrow fliers

Biplane, construction and production: Motor und Luftfahrzeug GmbH (Jacob Lohner Werke) Austria

Lohner "Pfeilflieger" 1912

Entered service as a light bomber in 1912. The bombs were dropped by hand. Lohner built a maintenance hangar for his machines on the Cuatro Vientos military airfield. The hall was later used by Flecha for the Barron -W- machines.

A squadron of four Lohner arrow pilots under the leadership of Capitán Kindelán carried out one of the world's first bombing of a squadron over Tetuán Morocco. One of the pilots was the Infante (son of the King of Spain) Don Alfonso de Orleáns. Other members of the squadron were Capitan Barrón, who constructed a machine himself (see: Barrón -W-), and Capitan Cifuentes. On December 17, 1913, they manually dropped the bombs from their machines.

Parameter	Data
Lohner "arrow flyer"
design type	double decker
drive	Austro Daimler, 90 hp
length	10.50 m
span	13 m / 8.40 m
height	3.10 m
Top speed	110 km / h
Dimensions	580 kg
Range	500 km
crew	2
commitment	1912-1917

Use: entered service in 1912 as a light bomber. The bombs were dropped by hand. Lohner built a maintenance hangar for his machines on the Cuatro Vientos military airfield. The hall was later used by Flecha for the Barron -W- machines.

A squadron of four Lohner arrow pilots under the leadership of Capitán Kindelán carried out one of the world's first bombing of a squadron over Tetuán Morocco. One of the pilots was the Infante (son of the King of Spain) Don Alfonso de Orleáns. Other members of the squadron were Capitan Barrón and Capitan Cifuentes. On December 17, 1913, they manually dropped the bombs from their machines.

Farman MF11

Biplane, designer: Maurice Farman, France

FARM MF-11
Farman MF 11 Shorthorn

Engine: De Dion Bouton eight-cylinder V-shape, output: 80 hp. Use: from 1914 as a trainer, observer and bomb dropper (by hand). Armament: 18 pieces 7.5 kg bombs and one machine gun. Was used as a night observer between 1914 and 1918. Last recorded flight in December 1929, then retired.

Farman MF7

Double-decker, construction: Hennry Farman , France, as well as the Spaniards Carde and Escoriaza.

FARMAN MF-7

Engine: Renault, power 50 HP. Use: In 1912, due to its large span of 16.5 meters and the weak engine output of 50 hp, only six units were in school operation. These were converted in the factory of the Spanish aircraft manufacturers Carde and Escoriaza in Zaragoza and equipped with more powerful engines of 70 hp. The wings and ailerons were also changed to a wingspan of 15.54 meters. Apart from school operations, no special operations are known. From 1916 these types were replaced by AVRO and CAUDRON models.

Morane-Saulnier G.

Monoplane, training, observer. Designer: Raymond Saulnier, Manufacturer: Morane-Saulnier, France

Spanish Morane-Saulnier G
Morane-Saulnier G 1915

Engines: from Gnôme and Le Rhône rotary engine, power: 80 hp.

The Conde de Artal, member of the colonia española Buenos Aires, Argentina, handed over two machines for pilot training at the end of 1912. Missions: observation aircraft in Morocco, Aeródromo de Sania Ramel airfield . It was quickly recognized that this type was not suitable for military use. They were only used for training. A total of three machines of the same type were in training operation. Location: Cuatro Vientos military airfield, Madrid. In France, 94 type G machines were in use at the same time.

Nieuport IV -G

Two-seater, biplane, training Manufacturer: Etablissements Nieuport, France Missions: Aeronáutica Militar Española flight school, later also stationed in Morocco, Sania-Ramel airfield, near Tetuan . Engine: Gnôme 80 HP

NIEUPORT IV

Vilanova Acedo

Monoplane, single-seater, manufacturer: Juan Vilanova, Luis Acedo Spain
Engine: Azani 3 cylinder in-line engine 25 HP, air-cooled

Vilanova Acedo Españia 1909
Vilanova Acedo (1910)

Juan Vilanova reconstructed the aircraft according to plans by Bleriot together with the industrial engineer Luis Acedo. 1910 First flight over Playa la Malvarrosa beach , Valencia. Vilanova and his brother intended to mass-produce the machine. But it stayed with the prototype that has been shown in the Museo del Aire, Madrid since 1968.

Parameter	Data
Technical data: Vilanova Acedo
design type	monoplane
drive	Anzani 3-cyl., 25 hp
length	7.85 m
span	9.90 m
height	2.6 m
Top speed	65 km / h
Range	2.5 h
crew	1
commitment	1909-1911

1920-1929

AME VI

Autogiro - La Cierva C-6

C.6

Autogiro C-12

Avia 51

Avia 51

Blériot-SPAD page 51

Blériot-SPAD page 51

Blériot-SPAD page 91

Blériot-SPAD page 91

Breguet XIX - CASA-Breguet

Casa Breguet XIX

Breguet XIX Super TR -Superbidone-

Modifications CASA

Casa Superbidon XIX

Breguet 460

Breguet 460 Vultur

Bristol F.2B -Fighter-

Bristol F2B

Caudron C. 286

Caudron C. 286

De Havilland DH.60 Moth -Moth Major-

DH60 Moth Major

Dewoitine D.510

Dewoitine D.510

Dornier whale

The Spanish armed forces acquired a Dornier military whale in 1925 for a planned record flight. This machine was built in Italy by Costruzioni Meccaniche Aeronautiche SA Spain had already procured a further six Dornier Wal that were built there. In January 1926 the long-haul machine baptized Plus Ultra crossed the South Atlantic with a distance of 10,270 km. After 59 hours, the pilots landed in Buenos Aires. It was the first historic flight by a Spanish crew led by Ramón Franco and Julio Ruiz de Alda. The pilot was: Juan Manuel Durán. Navigator and Mechanic: Pablo Rada. There were stopovers in Las Palmas, Porto Praia (Cabo Verde), Isla Fernando Noroña, Pernambuco (Recife), Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo and Buenos Aires. The machine remained in Argentina, was preserved and is still in the Museo de Luján today.

Dornier whale

Farman F.430

Farman F.430

Focke-Wulf Fw 56

Focke-Wulf Fw 56

González Gil-Pazó GP-1

González Gil-Pazó GP-1

Gourdou reading urre GL.32

Gourdou reading urre GL.32

Hispano Suiza E-30

Hispano Suiza E-30

Hispano Suiza E-34

Hispano Suiza E-34

Clamp L 25

Klemm 25 (Spanish version)

Loring RI

Loring I

Loring R-III

Loring III

Morane-Saulnier MS.180

MS 181

Morane-Saulnier MS.230

MS 230

Morane-Saulnier MS.341

MS 341

Nieuport 52

Nieuport 52

The Nieuport 52 was built under license by Hispano-Suiza. The first Hispano-Nieuport 52 CN flew in 1930. An all-metal aircraft made of aluminum with a twelve-cylinder V-engine Hispano-Suiza 12Hb and an output of 500 hp. The designation CN stood for Caza Nieuport dtsch: Jäger Nieuport.

In 1936 35 machines were delivered to the Spanish military equipped with two machine guns caliber 7.7 mm from Vickers, each with a 1,000 round magazine. 28 machines were stationed in Madrid and Barcelona and the remaining seven scattered across the country.