__NOTOC__ The Loring R-III or R-3 was a 1920s Spanish two-seat sesquiplane

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

and light

attack aircraft An attack aircraft, strike aircraft, or attack bomber is a tactical military aircraft that has a primary role of carrying out airstrikes with greater precision than bombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-level air defenses while pr ...

Eduardo Barrón Eduardo Barrón (full name Eduardo Barrón y Ramos de Sotomayor; 7 September 1888 – 13 January 1949) was a Spanish Aerospace engineering, aeronautical engineer and military pilot who led the design department at ''Talleres Loring'' from 1923 ...

and built by Dr. Jorge Loring's company — ''

Talleres Loring Talleres Loring (Loring Workshops) was a Spanish aeronautical company founded by engineer and entrepreneur Jorge Loring after moving to Madrid. History A predecessor company, Loring Pujol y Cia, had been founded in Barcelona by Jorge Loring ...

''.

Operational history

In the mid 1920s, during

General Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, Grandee, GE (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a Spanish dictator and military officer who ruled as prime minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during the last years of the Resto ...

's dictatorship the R-III entered a contest along with the

Potez 25 Potez 25 (also written as Potez XXV) was a French twin-seat, single-engine sesquiplane designed during the 1920s. A light multi-purpose Strike fighter, fighter-bomber, it was designed as a line aircraft and used in a variety of roles, including F ...

for the modernization of the Spanish Military Air Arm. Both planes had similar characteristics, but the Military Directory favoured the Loring R-III in order to promote local industries. The ''Aeronáutica Militar'' placed an order of 110 units, which put the Loring company at the head of the Spanish aeronautical industry of the time. In October and November 1926 three variants of the R-3 were exhibited at the Loring section of the National Aeronautics Exhibition held in Madrid's ''Palacio de Cristal'': The R-3, the C-1 fighter and the T-1 light trainer. Neither the fighter nor the trainer variants, however, went into production. Some R-3s remained in service well after the proclamation of the

Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII. It was dissol ...

until the outbreak of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. It is not clear, however, whether they saw active service in the civil war.Aircraft that may have participated in the Spanish Civil War
/ref>

Variants

;R-3:The main version with two tandem open cockpits; powered by a

Hispano-Suiza 12H Hispano-Suiza () is a Spanish automotive company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft engines, trucks and weapons ...

b engine. ;C-1: Fighter prototype based on the R-3; one built and exhibited at the ''Palacio de Cristal'' Aeronautical exhibition in 1926. ;T-1:Light trainer based on the R-3; one prototype built in 1926.

Operators

; (Kingdom) *'' Aeronáutica Militar'' ; (Republic) *'' Aeronáutica Militar''

Operational history

Variants

Operators

Specifications

See also

References

Further reading