Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) was a Spanish

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology ind ...

that was founded in 1923 and began manufacturing aircraft the following year. In 1999 it became a subsidiary of the EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) under the name ''EADS CASA'' and in 2009 was absorbed into

Airbus Military Airbus Military was a business unit of Airbus, which was part of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) from 2009 to 2013. The company was formally created in April 2009 by the integration of the former Military Transport Aircraft Di ...

. CASA is noted for designing and producing military transport aircraft such as the CASA C-212 Aviocar, the CASA CN-235, the CASA C-295 and the CASA C-101 trainer/ground attack aircraft.

History

Spanish Eurofigther RIAT 2007 - 2 (cropped)

Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) was founded by José Ortiz-Echagüe in 1923 and began work on a factory in Getafe in May 1924, building Breguet aircraft under license. The first order covered 26 19 A.2s; total production of this type eventually reached 400 units. CASA built a second factory in Cadiz in 1926 to construct a licensed copy of the German Dornier Do. J Wal seaplane. They built 17 aircraft for the Spanish Air Force, 12 for the Naval Aviation branch of the Spanish Navy and two for commercial use. CASA also operated several branch facilities in Spain for the repair and overhaul of aircraft. In 1929 the CASA-1 flew - the first CASA designed aircraft. King Alfonso XIII visited the main factory in 1930. CASA also built the French Breguet 19, two of which would be made especially famous. One, was the Breguet XIX GR (Grand Raid) named the ''Jesus del Gran Poder'', currently preserved in the Museo del Aire de Cuatro Vientos (Madrid), which flew between

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...

and

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-larges ...

(in Brazil), in 1929. This aircraft was piloted by Captains Ignacio Jiménez and Francisco Iglesias and covered 6746 km in 43 hours 50 minutes. The other was the Breguet XIX Super Bidon, named ''Cuatro Vientos'' (''Four Winds''); it was flown by

Mariano Barberán Mariano Barberán y Tros de Ilarduya (14 October 1895, in Guadalajara, Spain – 20 June 1933, in Vicinity of Villahermosa, Mexico) was a Spanish military aviator. Flight In 1933, together with Lieutenant Joaquín Collar Serra and Sergeant Mode ...

and

Joaquín Collar Serra Joaquín Collar Serra (25 November 1906 - 20 June 1933) was a Spanish military aviator. He was born in Figueras, Spain. Flight In 1933, together with Mariano Barberán y Tros de Ilarduya and Sergeant Modesto Madariaga, he flew the ''Cuatro Vi ...

to Havana in Cuba in 1933. In 1932 CASA obtained a license from the UK aircraft company,

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public i ...

, to build 25 Vickers Vildebeest land-based torpedo bombers, which were powered by French Hispano 600 hp engines. CASA- Heinkel He111

During the Spanish Civil War the CASA Getafe factory was located in the Republican zone. It was moved to

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in ...

, another opened in Sabadell. At the end of the war production returned to Getafe. CASA manufactured the Russian Polikarpov I-15 biplane fighter, producing 287 aircraft before the end of the civil war. After the Spanish Civil War, CASA opened a new plant in Tablada in Seville, after obtaining various aircraft licenses from Germany and built 25 Gotha Go 145A as the CASA 1145, 25 Bücker Bü 133 as the CASA 1133 and 555 Bücker Bü 131 as the CASA 1131. Production of these aircraft continued until the late 1950s. The CASA 201, a twin engine transport, (its engines were the Spanish-made ENMASA VAT Tigre G-125). In 1940 CASA began the licensed manufacture of 200 Heinkel He 111 twin engine bombers with imported Rolls-Royce Merlins, as the CASA 2.111. (These are the aircraft that were used as World War Two German Luftwaffe He 111s in various movies such as ''

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

'' and ''

Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

''.) Starting in 1943, the Spanish government began investing in CASA, first obtaining a 33 per cent share of the company, by 1992 this had increased to a controlling 99.2 per cent. In 1945 CASA opened a factory in Madrid dedicated to manufacturing the parts and sub-assemblies of their various aircraft and those that they had contracts to repair and overhaul. In 1946 CASA re-established the Projects Office and resumed the design of aircraft based on the firm's proprietary technology. In 1957 CASA won a contract from the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

for the maintenance of the F-100 Super Sabres based in Europe and Turkey and a contract from the Spanish Air Force to overhaul T-33s in the Spanish Air Force. They began the manufacture of the

Northrop F-5 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 ...

A fighter-bomber under license in 1962. In 1971, CASA merged with

Hispano Aviación Hispano Aviación was a Hispano-Suiza aircraft factory in Andalusia, southern Spain which became a separate enterprise when taken over by the Francisco Franco led "Nationalist" forces in 1939, during the Spanish Civil War. Located in Tablada ...

. CASA was one of the original members of the

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

Consortium with France, Germany and the United Kingdom in 1972. In 1977, CASA was awarded the contract to design and build the

C-101 The C-101 is a Chinese supersonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy. The C-101 was an early Chinese supersonic cruise missile. It has been described as unsuccessf ...

, a trainer and attack aircraft for the Spanish Air Force. CASA joined the Eurofighter 2000 project in 1996. CASA has been a part of EADS, the European aerospace corporation, with

Aérospatiale-Matra Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

of France, Dornier GmbH and

DASA ''Dasa'' ( sa, दास, Dāsa) is a Sanskrit word found in ancient Indian texts such as the ''Rigveda'' and '' Arthasastra''. It usually means "enemy" or "servant" but ''dasa'', or ''das'', also means a " servant of God", "devotee," " votary" or ...

of Germany since 1999. From then, the Spanish branch of EADS is called EADS-CASA. The current

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

and Chairman of EADS-CASA is Domingo Ureña-Raso. EADS-CASA currently employs around 7,500 workers. EADS was formed in July, 2000 following the merger of Aerospatiale

Matra Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a French industrial conglomerate. During its years of operation, it was engaged in a wide range of business activities, primarily focused around automobiles, bicycles, aeronautics and wea ...

of France,

DaimlerChrysler Aerospace ''Dasa'' ( sa, दास, Dāsa) is a Sanskrit word found in ancient Indian texts such as the '' Rigveda'' and '' Arthasastra''. It usually means "enemy" or "servant" but ''dasa'', or ''das'', also means a "servant of God", "devotee," "votary" or ...

of Germany and Construcciones Aeronáuticas S.A. from

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") , ...

. It is the third largest aerospace company in the world with approximately 100,000 employees. In July 2001 EADS-CASA Military Aircraft marked the beginning of the Eurofighter Typhoon Final Assembly Phase at Getafe. It is one of four assembly lines for the Eurofighter (the other three are at Warton in the United Kingdom, Manching in Germany and

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

in Italy). Production was expected to be up to seven Typhoon wings per month and 12 aircraft per year. EADS CASA is producing the right wing for the Eurofighter and assembling 87 aircraft for the Spanish Air Force. First delivery was realized together with the other partner air forces in the second half of 2002.

Military Transport Aircraft Division

EADS CASA's Military Transport Aircraft Division (MTAD) was based in

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 ...

. One of the aircraft it produces is the Airbus A330-200, which has been modified to provide

air-to-air refuelling Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...

. It has provided one variant to the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

and another to the UK's

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

via the ''AirTanker'' company. MTAD's main focus is in the light to medium end of the military transport market covering three to nine tonnes. The MTAD managed the industrial and technical activities of participating companies for the A400M project. This responsibility is now managed by Airbus Military.

Products

CASA C-295 of Polish Air Force, Radom AirShow 2005, Poland

* CASA I prototype of the CASA III *

CASA III The CASA III was a 1920s Spanish two-seat monoplane, designed by Luis Sousa Peco and built by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) at Getafe near Madrid. Design and development In 1929 using experience from the production of licence-built a ...

1929 two-seat sporting monoplane * CASA 1.131 Jungmann license-built version of the Bücker Bü 131 * CASA 1.133 Jungmeister license-built version of the Bücker Bü 133 * CASA 2.111 license-built version of the Heinkel 111 * CASA 352 license-built version of the Junkers Ju 52 * CASA C-101 Aviojet *

CASA C-102 __NOTOC__ The CASA C-102 was a military trainer aircraft designed in Spain in the late 1970s but never actually built. The project was initiated by a 1977 request to CASA by the Ejército del Aire for such an aircraft. The company's response was ...

* CASA C-112 two-seat trainer * CASA C.127 license-built version of the Dornier Do 27 *

CASA C-201 Alcotán The CASA C-201 Alcotán ("Kestrel") was a 1950s transport aircraft, built by CASA for the Spanish Air Force. Design and development The C-201 was the result of an agreement between the Spanish government and manufacturer Construcciones Aeroná ...

* CASA C-202 Halcón *

CASA C-207 Azor The CASA C-207 Azor was a transport aircraft produced by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). It was a scaled-up version of the CASA C-202 Halcón and was designed for the domestic civil market. The C-207 received no civil orders, but the Sp ...

* CASA C-212 Aviocar * CASA C-223 Flamingo license-built version of the MBB 223 Flamingo * CASA CN-235 regional airliner and military transport. **

EADS CASA HC-144 Ocean Sentry The EADS HC-144 Ocean Sentry is a medium-range, twin-engined turboprop aircraft used by the United States Coast Guard in the search-and-rescue and maritime patrol missions. Based on the Airbus Military CN-235, it was procured as a "Medium Range ...

* CASA C-295 regional airliner and military transport. * Eurofighter Typhoon * CASA SF-5A; license-built version of the Northrop F-5A * CASA SF-5B; license-built version of the Northrop F-5B * CASA SRF-5A; license-built version of the Northrop RF-5A *

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controll ...

(UAV)

Others

; as subcontractor supplying parts for Airbus series of civilian passenger aircraft *

; Subcontractor for Airbus A400M Atlas *

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and ...

; as subcontractor supplying parts for Boeing series of civilian passenger aircraft *

Eurofighter GmbH Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH (''English: Eurofighter fighter aircraft GmbH'') is a multinational company that coordinates the design, production and upgrade of the Eurofighter Typhoon, this includes incorporating the jet engines designed an ...

; as subcontractor for the right wing of all production Eurofighter Typhoon

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation {{DEFAULTSORT:CASA Airbus Defence and Space Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Spain Defence companies of Spain Companies based in the Community of Madrid Former Airbus subsidiaries and divisions Aerospace companies of Spain