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, colours = , colours_label = , march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = * Rif War *
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...
*
Ifni War The Ifni War, sometimes called the Forgotten War in Spain (''la Guerra Olvidada''), was a series of armed incursions into Spanish West Africa by Moroccan insurgents that began in October 1957 and culminated with the abortive siege of Sidi I ...
*
Yugoslav wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...
*
Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
*
Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...
, decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , flying_hours = , website = , commander1 =
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
Felipe VI Felipe VI (;, * eu, Felipe VI.a, * ca, Felip VI, * gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, an ...
, commander1_label = Commander-in-Chief
( Captain General) , commander2 = Air General Javier Salto , commander2_label =
Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...
, commander3 = , commander3_label = , commander4 = , commander4_label = , commander5 = , commander5_label = , notable_commanders = , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label =
Roundel A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of dif ...
, identification_symbol_2 = , identification_symbol_2_label = Fin flash , aircraft_attack =
MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the Un ...
, aircraft_bomber = , aircraft_electronic =
Falcon 20 The Dassault Falcon 20 is a French business jet developed and manufactured by Dassault Aviation. The first business jet developed by the firm, it became the first of a family of business jets to be produced under the same name; of these, both ...
, aircraft_fighter =
F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twin-engine, supersonic, carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas (now pa ...
, Eurofighter Typhoon , aircraft_helicopter = AS532 Cougar, AS332 Super Puma, NH90 , aircraft_helicopter_attack = , aircraft_helicopter_cargo = , aircraft_helicopter_multirole = , aircraft_helicopter_observation = , aircraft_helicopter_trainer = Colibrí, Sikorsky S-76 , aircraft_helicopter_utility = , aircraft_interceptor = , aircraft_patrol = P-3 Orion, CASA CN-235,
CASA C-212 The CASA C-212 Aviocar is a turboprop-powered STOL medium cargo aircraft designed and built by the Spanish aircraft manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). It is designed for use by both civil and military operators. The C-212 ...
, aircraft_recon = Cessna Citation V,
MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the Un ...
, aircraft_trainer =
F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twin-engine, supersonic, carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas (now pa ...
, F-5, CASA C-101, T-35 Pillán , aircraft_transport = CASA C-295, CASA CN-235,
CASA C-212 The CASA C-212 Aviocar is a turboprop-powered STOL medium cargo aircraft designed and built by the Spanish aircraft manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). It is designed for use by both civil and military operators. The C-212 ...
, King Air, A400M, Airbus A310,
Falcon 900 The Dassault Falcon 900, commonly abbreviated as the F900, is a French-built corporate trijet aircraft made by Dassault Aviation. Development The Falcon 900 is a development of the Falcon 50, itself a development of the earlier Falcon 20. Th ...
, aircraft_tanker = A400M , aircraft_general = The Spanish Air and Space Force (SASF) ( es, Ejército del Aire y del Espacio, , Army of the Air and Space) is the aerial and space warfare branch of the
Spanish Armed Forces The Spanish Armed Forces are in charge of guaranteeing the sovereignty and independence of the Kingdom of Spain, defending its territorial integrity and the constitutional order, according to the functions entrusted to them by the Constitution o ...
.


History


Early stages

Hot air balloons have been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of
Alfredo Kindelán Alfredo Kindelán y Duany, 1st Marquess of Kindelán (13 March 1879, in Santiago de Cuba – 14 December 1962, in Madrid) was a Spanish general and politician. A close ally of Francisco Franco before and during the Spanish Civil War, the ...
, Leonardo Torres y Quevedo directed the construction of the first Spanish
dirigible An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...
in the Army Military Aerostatics Service, created in 1896 and located in
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...
. The new airship was completed successfully and, named 'España', made numerous test and exhibition flights. The Spanish Army's air arm, however, took off formally in 1909 when Colonel Pedro Vives Vich and Captain Alfredo Kindelán made an official trip to different European cities to check the potential of introducing airships and
airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad ...
s in the Spanish Armed Forces. One year later a Royal decree established the National Aviation School () in Getafe, near
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, under the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (). The established institution became militarized under the name when Colonel Pedro Vives was chosen to lead it as director of the , Military Aeronautics, the name of the air arm of the Spanish Army. Captain Alfredo Kindelán was named Chief of Aviation, .Ejército del Aire – 1913
On 17 December 1913, during the war with
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
, a Spanish expeditionary squadron of the became the first organized military air unit to see combat during the first systematic bombing in history by dropping
aerial bomb An aerial bomb is a type of explosive or incendiary weapon intended to travel through the air on a predictable trajectory. Engineers usually develop such bombs to be dropped from an aircraft. The use of aerial bombs is termed aerial bombing. ...
s from a Lohner ''Flecha'' (Arrow) airplane on the plain of Ben Karrix in
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
. During the years that followed, most of the military activity of the Spanish Air Force would take place in Northern Morocco. In 1915 Spain's first seaplane base was opened at Los Alcazares on the Mar Menor in the Murcia region and Alfredo Kindelán was named Military Aeronautics Director, displacing Pedro Vives. The Catalan Flying School was established in Can Tunis,
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
the following year and Getafe Aerodrome became a full-fledged military air base. In 1919 General Francisco Echagüe replaced Kindelán as leader of the . In 1920 two Nieuport 80 and one Caudron G.3 were first painted with squadron identification numbers and the Spanish Air Force
roundel A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of dif ...
. Shortly thereafter the , the air branch of the Spanish Navy, already established through a Royal decree four years earlier, became functional in El Prat, in the same location as present-day Barcelona Airport. In 1921, following the Spanish defeat at Annual, known as in Spain, the Zeluán Aerodrome was taken over by the Rif army and another aerodrome was built at Nador. Lieutenant Colonel Kindelán was named , becoming chief-commander of the air force in 1926, at the time when Spanish Morocco was retaken and the Rif War ended. In 1926 a crew of Spanish aviators, that included Ramón Franco, Julio Ruiz de Alda, Juan Manuel Duran and Pablo Rada, completed the first Trans-Atlantic flight between Spain and South America in January 1926 on the ''Plus Ultra''. That same year, pilots González Gallarza, Joaquín Loriga Taboada and Rafael Martínez Esteve completed the first flight between Spain and the Philippines, in just one month. The expedition was flown with two Breguet 19 and known as the or "Elcano Squadron". In 1930 the Aeronaval Base in San Javier was established and in the same year a pro-Republican revolt in the Cuatro Vientos military aerodrome near Madrid was quashed. After the proclamation of the
Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...
in 1931, General Luis Lombarte Serrano replaced Kindelán as chief-commander of the air force, but he would be quickly succeeded by Commander Ramón Franco, younger brother of later dictator
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...
. Captain Cipriano Rodríguez Díaz and Lieutenant Carlos de Haya González flew non-stop to
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...
, then a Spanish colonial outpost. Under Capitan Warlela cadastral surveys of Spain were carried out using modern methods of aerial photography in 1933. The following year Spanish engineer Juan de la Cierva took off and landed on seaplane carrier Dédalo with his autogyro C-30P. In 1934 Commander Eduardo Sáenz de Buruaga became new chief-commander of the air force. Following a Government decree dated 2d October 1935, the Dirección General de Aeronáutica was placed under the authority of the War Ministry, , instead of under the , following which in 1936 the Air Force regional units became restructured. Accordingly, the Spanish Navy-based model was replaced by divisions which are still operative today.


Air warfare in the Spanish Civil War

After the military rebellion that triggered the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...
, Spanish military aviation was divided into the Air Force of the Spanish republican government and the National Aviation (), established by the army in revolt. In July 1936, right after the coup, the first German
Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German aero ...
and Italian
Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 The Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 ''Pipistrello'' ( Italian: bat) was the first three-engine bomber/transport aircraft serving in the Italian ''Regia Aeronautica''.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 188. When it appeared in 1935, it represented a real ...
arrived to help the rebels and the
Fiat CR.32 The Fiat CR.32 was an Italian biplane fighter used in the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. Designed by the aeronautical engineer Celestino Rosatelli, it was a compact, robust and highly manoeuvrable aircraft for its era, leading to ...
fighters began operating in the Córdoba front. In August Heinkel He 51 fighters were also deployed. These planes helped the army in revolt to gain full control of the air, as did the German and Italian expeditionary forces, the Condor Legion and the
Aviazione Legionaria The Legionary Air Force ( it, Aviazione Legionaria, es, Aviación Legionaria) was an expeditionary corps from the Italian Royal Air Force that was set up in 1936. It was sent to provide logistical and tactical support to the Nationalist facti ...
. At first, the Spanish Republican Air Force had the control of great swathes of Spanish territory using a motley selection of planes, but the unwavering help received by
Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...
from
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and Fascist Italy reversed the situation. In September 1936 the Navy and Air Ministry, , and the Air Undersecretariat, were established under the command of Indalecio Prieto as minister. The first serious air combat took place over Madrid when Italian bombers attacked the city in a massive bombing operation. In the reorganization of the military in the areas of Spain that had remained loyal to the government, the new military structure of the republic merged the and the , the former being the air arm of the
Spanish Republican Army The Spanish Republican Army ( es, Ejército de la República Española) was the main branch of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939. It became known as People's Army of the Republic (''Ejército Popular de la Rep� ...
and the latter the naval aviation of the
Spanish Republican Navy The Spanish Republican Navy was the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. History In the same manner as the other two branches of the Spanish Republ ...
, and formed the
Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica ...
. The Republican tricolor roundel was replaced by red bands for identification purposes, an insignia that had previously been used on ''Aeronáutica Naval'' aircraft during the monarchy in the 1920s, before the time of the Republic. Many innovative, and often lethal, aeronautical bombing techniques were tested by Germany's Condor Legion forces on Spanish soil against the areas that remained loyal to the Republican Government with the permission of Generalísimo Franco. Nazi help to the Nationalist Air Force was part of Hitler's
German re-armament German rearmament (''Aufrüstung'', ) was a policy and practice of rearmament carried out in Germany during the interwar period (1918–1939), in violation of the Treaty of Versailles which required German disarmament after WWI to prevent Ger ...
strategy and the techniques that German Nazi pilots learned in Spain would later be used in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Despite the devastation and the human casualties caused by the
bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...
of the Basque city of
Guernica Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the m ...
in 1937, known by the
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...
as Operation Rügen, Hitler insisted that his longterm designs in Spain were peaceful. He called his strategy "Blumenkrieg" (Flower War), as evidenced in a January 1937 speech. The international outcry over Guernica, however, would not bring about any increase in the military help provided to the beleaguered Spanish Republic.The pilots of the Spanish Republican Air Force, often young and poorly trained were unable to check the Nazi German and Fascist Italian modern-warfare attacks. Despite Franco's claim that both air forces were equal, and despite the help of foreign pilots, Spanish Republican planes were mostly obsolete and often in a bad state of disrepair. Even after acquiring more planes from the Soviet Union in the mid-stages of the war, the Spanish Republican Air Force was no longer able to control the Spanish skies nor match the power of the German and Italian expeditionary forces in specific combat situations. The Spanish Republican Air Force became practically irrelevant since the Battle of the Ebro in 1938 when the root of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces was broken. Finally it was completely disbanded after the victory on April 1, 1939.


Post-Civil War era

The present Spanish Air Force (, or EdA) was officially established on 7 October 1939, after the end of the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...
. The EdA was a successor to the Nationalist and Republican Air Forces. Spanish Republican colors disappeared and the black roundel of the planes was replaced by a yellow and red roundel. However, the black and white Saint Andrew's Cross ( es, Aspa de San Andrés) fin flash, the tail insignia of Franco's air force, as well as of the Aviazione Legionaria of Fascist Italy and the Condor Legion of Nazi Germany, is still in use in the present-day Spanish Air Force. After the changes introduced at the beginning of Franco's regime the Air Regions and their Command centres were the following: * 1st Air Region. Central. *2nd Air Region. Straits. * 3rd Air Region. East. * 4th Air Region. Pyrenees. *5th Air Region. Atlantic. * Balearic Islands Air Zone * Morocco Air Zone * Canary Islands and East Africa Air Zone The Blue Squadron () was an air unit that fought alongside the
Axis Powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
at the time of the Blue Division, ''
Division Azul The Blue Division ( es, División Azul, german: Blaue Division) was a unit of volunteers from Francoist Spain within the German Army (''Wehrmacht'') on the Eastern Front during World War II. It was officially designated the Spanish Volunteer ...
'' Spanish volunteer
formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. The operated with the Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front and took part in the
battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history ...
. This squadron was the ""/ JG 27 ''Afrika'' of the VIII Fliegerkorps, Luftflotte 2. During the first years after World War II the Spanish Air Force consisted largely of German and Italian planes and copies of them. An interesting example was the HA-1112-M1L ''Buchón'' (
Pouter The Pouter pigeons are domesticated varieties of the rock dove, ''Columba livia'', characterized by a very large, inflatable crop. They are kept as ornamental or fancy breeds, valued for their unusual appearance. There are many varieties of pout ...
), this was essentially a licensed production of the
Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...
re-engined with a
Rolls-Royce Merlin The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled V-12 piston aero engine of 27-litres (1,650  cu in) capacity. Rolls-Royce designed the engine and first ran it in 1933 as a private venture. Initially known as the PV-12, it was late ...
500-45 for use in Spain. In March 1946 the first Spanish military paratroop unit, the , was established in Alcalá de Henares. It first saw action in the
Ifni War The Ifni War, sometimes called the Forgotten War in Spain (''la Guerra Olvidada''), was a series of armed incursions into Spanish West Africa by Moroccan insurgents that began in October 1957 and culminated with the abortive siege of Sidi I ...
during 1957 and 1958. Because of US Government objection to use airplanes manufactured in the US in her colonial struggles after World War II, Spain used at first old German aircraft, such as the T-2 (Junkers 52, nicknamed "Pava"), the B-2I (Heinkel 111, nicknamed "Pedro"), the C-4K (Spanish version of the Bf 109, nicknamed "Buchón"), and some others. Still, Grumman Albatross seaplanes and Sikorsky H-19B helicopters were used in rescue operations. This is why still now in present times, EdA maintains a policy of having jet fighters from two different origins, one first line fighter of North American origin, and one from French-European origin (
F-4C Phantom The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twinjet, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic aircraft, supersonic jet interceptor aircraft, interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed ...
/ Mirage F1, Mirage III; EF-18A / Eurofighter Typhoon). Although in sheer numbers the EdA was impressive, at the end of World War II technically it had become more or less obsolete due to the progress in aviation technology during the war. For budget reasons Spain actually kept many of the old German aircraft operative well into the 1950s and 1960s. As an example the last
Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German aero ...
used to operate in Escuadrón 721 training
parachutist Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...
s from Alcantarilla Air Base near Murcia, until well into the 1970s. The CASA 352 and the CASA 352L were developments built by CASA in the 1950s. Links were established in the 1950s with the United States. Spain received its first jets, like the F-86 Sabre and Lockheed T-33 together with training and transport planes like the T-6 Texan,
C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...
and
C-54 The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian ...
, and the Beechcraft T-34 Mentor. The first series of American jets was replaced in the 1960s by newer fighters like the
F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the " Century Series" of ...
,
F-4C Phantom The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twinjet, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic aircraft, supersonic jet interceptor aircraft, interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed ...
and
F-5 Freedom Fighter The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models, the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants and t ...


Present times

After the death of dictator Franco in 1975 and the ensuing
Spanish transition to democracy Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries ** Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...
years, the organization and equipment of the Spanish Air Force was again modernised to prepare for
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
's membership of
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
in 1982. Planes like the Mirage III and Mirage F1 were bought from
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and became the backbone of the Air Force during the 1970s and part of the 1980s. French fighters formed the air force's mainstay until the arrival of the American F/A-18. Spanish F/A-18s participated in the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
and the
Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
under
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
command, based in
Aviano Aviano ( fur, Davian; cim, Pleif) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pordenone at the foot of the Dolomites mountain range in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, northern Italy. Aviano is home to the C.R.O. (Oncological Referral Center), a cancer rese ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. Assisted by USAF
F-16s The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...
, Spanish Air Force EF-18As dropped
laser-guided bomb A laser-guided bomb (LGB) is a guided bomb that uses semi-active laser guidance to strike a designated target with greater accuracy than an unguided bomb. First developed by the United States during the Vietnam War, laser-guided bombs quickly pr ...
s on Bosnian Serb ammunition depots at Pale, on 25 and 26 May 1994. The Spanish Air and Space Force is replacing older aircraft in the inventory with newer ones including Eurofighter Typhoon and the recently introduced Airbus A400M Atlas airlifter. Both are manufactured with Spanish participation; EADS CASA makes the Eurofighter's right wing and leading edge slats, and participates in the testing and assembly of the airlifter. Unlike the air forces of most major
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
member states, the Spanish Air and Space Force currently do not operate any AEW&C aircraft. Its aerobatic display team is the Patrulla Aguila, which flies the CASA C-101 Aviojet. Its helicopter display team, Patrulla Aspa, flies the Eurocopter EC-120 Colibrí. In July 2014 the Spanish Air Force joined the European Air Transport Command, headquartered at Eindhoven Airbase in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. The
Spanish Government gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua , image = , caption = Logo of the Government of Spain , headerstyle = background-color: #efefef , label1 = Role , data1 = Executive power , label2 = Established , d ...
announced in June 2022 that the Spanish Air Force would be renamed as the Spanish Air and Space Force.


Order of battle

The basic organization of the Air and Space Force is the following: * Chief of Staff of the Air and Space Force (JEMAE) ** Air and Space Force Headquarters (CGEAE) in Madrid ** Combat Air Command (MACOM) at
Torrejón Air Base Torrejón Air Base (Base Aérea de Torrejón de Ardoz) is both a major Spanish Air and Space Force base and the co-located Madrid–Torrejón Airport, a secondary civilian airport for the city and metropolitan area of Madrid, east-northeast of t ...
** General Air Command (MAGEN) in Madrid ** Canary Islands Air Command (MACAN) in Las Palmas ** Logistic Support command (MALOG) in Madrid ** Personnel Command (MAPER) in Madrid ** Economic Affairs Directorate (DAE) in Madrid


Force structure

The main operational formation of the SAF is the (
wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...
), roughly equivalent to an army brigade. An is normally composed of three (groups, army regiment equivalents) - an operations group called (Air Force Group, shortened to and followed by a numerical) including the aviation squadrons and a flight operations support squadron. An operations group is normally composed of two or three ( squadrons), each one normally consisting of 18 to 24 aircraft. Thus, Ala 15, with its base in Zaragoza Air Base, is formed by two squadrons with 18 F/A-18s each. Another group within the wing is the , providing maintenance and repairs to the aircraft, their weapons and systems. The completes the typical wing structure and it is the air base group, providing the functioning of the air base as a military installation. A variation of the wing structure is the in Morón de la Frontera air base, which has not one, but two operational groups. The operates Eurofighter aircraft in the multi-mission fighter role, while the operates P-3 Orion aircraft in the maritime patrol and ASW role and correspondingly there are two separate maintenance squadrons for the two aircraft types. Smaller operational units are the separate groups. They are also army regiment equivalents, but unlike the wings they are composite units, in which the operational aircraft, the maintenance and the air base squadrons report directly to the group. Such example is the (47th Air Force Composite Group) a mixed intelligence, electronic warfare and aerial navigation systems calibration unit at Torrejón de Ardoz air base. When an air base houses more than one or multiple separate , the function of a lodger unit is provided by an air force installation unit (an army regiment equivalent) called Groupment of the ... Air Force Base (). Three such examples are the , the and the . An could be responsible for the support of air force operations at more than one airfield (military or civilian). As an example the Groupment of the Zaragoza Air Force Base is responsible for the mixed use military / civilian airfields of Zaragoza, Logroño-Agoncillo and Huesca-Pirineos. An air force base, which does not house flying units is classified as an Acuartelamiento Aéreo (roughly translated as Air Force Installation in English, one such example is the , supporting the Bardenas Reales training range) and an airfield, which does not house permanently flying units is classified as an (military airfield), such as the .


Air bases

* Alcantarilla Air Base * Armilla Air Base * Cuatro Vientos Air Base * Gando Air Base * Getafe Air Base * Los Llanos Air Base * Matacán Air Base * Morón Air Base * San Javier Air Base * Santiago Air Base * Son San Joan Air Base * Talavera Air Base *
Torrejón Air Base Torrejón Air Base (Base Aérea de Torrejón de Ardoz) is both a major Spanish Air and Space Force base and the co-located Madrid–Torrejón Airport, a secondary civilian airport for the city and metropolitan area of Madrid, east-northeast of t ...
* Villanubla Air Base * Zaragoza Air Base


Defunct air bases

* Agoncillo Air Base *
Manises Air Base Manises Air Base ( es, Base Aérea de Manises) is a defunct Spanish Air Force base. It was located in Manises by Valencia Airport, the civilian airport for the city and metropolitan area of Valencia, Spain. Units The air base housed the followin ...
* Reus Air Base * Villafría Air Base


Aircraft


Current inventory


Aircraft identification

The Spanish Air and Space Force has its own alphanumeric system for identifying aircraft. This forms a prefix to the airframe serial number, usually marked on the tail. The letter or letters, correspond to the use given. Thus, C means (fighter bomber); A, (attack); P, (patrol); T, (transport); E, (training); D, search and rescue; H, helicopter; K, tanker; V, Vertical Take Off and Landing (
VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-wi ...
); and U, utility. An example would be that the F/A-18 with "C.15-08" on the tail is the fifteenth type of fighter that arrived in the Spanish Air and Space Force (the Eurofighter is the C.16) and is the eighth example of this type to enter the SAF. On the nose or fuselage the aircraft has a numeral specific to the unit in which it is based. Variants of planes in service, for example two-seater versions or tanker versions of transports planes, add another letter to differentiate their function, and have their own sequence of serial numbers separate from the primary versions. Example: "CE.15-02" will be the second F/A-18 two-seater (Fighter Trainer) delivered to the SAF. In addition, the aircraft used by the Spanish Air and Space Force usually carry a code consisting of one or two digits followed by a dash and two numbers, painted on the nose or fuselage. The first number corresponds to the unit to which they belong, and the second the order in which they entered service. Example: the fourth F/A-18 arriving at Ala 12 will have on the nose the code "12-04". Those codes do change when the aircraft is re-allocated to a different unit.


Ranks


Officers


Non-commissioned officers and enlisted rank insignia


Spanish air aces


Spanish Civil War

* Joaquín García-Morato y Castaño * Julio Salvador Díaz-Benjumea * Manuel Vázquez Sagastizábal * Arístides García-López Rengel * Miguel Zambudio Martínez * Ángel Salas Larrazábal * Miguel García Pardo *
Andrés García Calle Andres or Andrés may refer to: *Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US *Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) *Hurricane Andres * "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7 See also ...
* Manuel Aguirre López * Joaquín Velasco Fernández Nespral * Carlos Bayo Alessandri *
Manuel Zarauza Clavero Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * Ma ...
* Juan Lario * Javier Allende Isasi * Esteban Ibarreche Arriaga * Felipe del Rio Crespo * Emilio O'Connor Valdivielso * José Larios Fernández * José María Bravo Fernández-Hermosa * Leopoldo Morquillas Rubio


World War II

* Vicente Aldecoa Lecanda * Dámaso Arango López * Luis Azqueta Brunet * Vicente Beltrán * Fernando Bengoa Cremades * Mariano Cuadra Medina * Lorenzo Lucas Fernández Peña * José Ramón Gavilán Ponce de León * Antonio García Cano * Juan Lario Sánchez * José Luis Larrañaga * Ángel Salas Larrazábal * José Mateos Recio * Bernardo Meneses Orozco * Francisco Meroño Pellicer * José Pascual Santamaría * Fernando Sánchez Arjona Courtoy * Manuel Sánchez-Tabernero de Prada * Francisco Valiente Zárraga * Manuel Zarauza Claver


See also

*
Aviazione Legionaria The Legionary Air Force ( it, Aviazione Legionaria, es, Aviación Legionaria) was an expeditionary corps from the Italian Royal Air Force that was set up in 1936. It was sent to provide logistical and tactical support to the Nationalist facti ...
*
Bombing of Guernica On 26 April 1937, the Basque town of Guernica (''Gernika'' in Basque) was aerial bombed during the Spanish Civil War. It was carried out at the behest of Francisco Franco's rebel Nationalist faction by its allies, the Nazi German Luftwaffe ...
* Condor Legion *
German re-armament German rearmament (''Aufrüstung'', ) was a policy and practice of rearmament carried out in Germany during the interwar period (1918–1939), in violation of the Treaty of Versailles which required German disarmament after WWI to prevent Ger ...
* Patrulla Águila *
List of F-104 Starfighter operators The List of Lockheed F-104 Starfighter operators lists the countries and their air force units that operated the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. Military operators Belgium Belgium operated F-104G and TF-104Gs. They served with four squadrons: 2 ...
* Museo del Aire * Emblems of the Spanish Air and Space Force * Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem * Spanish Air Force Order of Battle *
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...
*
Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

* *


External links


Home page of the Spanish Air and Space Force

Foro Militar General (Spanish military forum)
{{Authority control Military units and formations established in 1939 1939 establishments in Spain