Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) was a Spanish aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1923 and began manufacturing aircraft the following year. In 1999 it became a subsidiary of the

EADS 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: '' ...

(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 D ...

. CASA is noted for designing and producing military transport aircraft such as the

CASA C-212 Aviocar 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 w ...

, 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 , colours = , colours_label = , march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December , equipment ...

, 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 and Bahia (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 and Joaquín Collar Serra to Havana in Cuba in 1933. In 1932 CASA obtained a license from the UK aircraft company, Vickers, 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 th ...

, another opened in

Sabadell Sabadell () is a city in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental and its joint capital (co-capital), on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona. Sabadell is located above sea level. Sabadell pioneered the Ind ...

. 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 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...

twin engine bombers with imported Rolls-Royce Merlins, as the

CASA 2.111 The CASA 2.111 was a medium bomber derived from the Heinkel He 111 and produced in Spain under licence by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). The 2.111 models differed significantly in details from Heinkel's wartime He 111H design while using ...

. (These are the aircraft that were used as World War Two German Luftwaffe He 111s in various movies such as '' Battle of Britain'' and '' Patton''.) 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 for the maintenance of the

F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...

s 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-5A 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 faction, "Nationalist" forces in 1939, during the Spanish Civil War. ...

. CASA was one of the original members of the Airbus 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 The China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation Limited (CASIC) is a Chinese state-owned enterprise ...

, a trainer and attack aircraft for the

Spanish Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December , equipment ...

. 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 corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...

of France, Dornier GmbH and DASA 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 The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of EADS-CASA is

Domingo Ureña-Raso Domingo may refer to: People *Domingo (name), a Spanish name and list of people with that name *Domingo (producer) (born 1970), American hip-hop producer *Saint Dominic (1170–1221), Castilian Catholic priest, founder of the Friars popularly cal ...

. EADS-CASA currently employs around 7,500 workers.

was formed in July, 2000 following the merger of Aerospatiale Matra of France, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace of Germany and Construcciones Aeronáuticas S.A. from Spain. 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 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. 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 ...

. 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 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 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 *

license-built version of the Heinkel 111 *

CASA 352 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 aeron ...

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 Aeronáu ...

CASA C-202 Halcón __NOTOC__ The CASA C-202 ''Halcón'' was a twin-engine transport aircraft, constructed by CASA. The ''Halcón'' was designed for use on Spain's international air routes. It had tricycle landing gear and a heated/air-conditioned cabin which coul ...

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 Span ...

* 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 Rang ...

* 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 (UAV)

Others

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

; Subcontractor for Airbus A400M Atlas * Boeing; as subcontractor supplying parts for Boeing series of civilian passenger aircraft * Eurofighter GmbH; 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