El Carmolí is an area in Los Urrutias, Cartagena municipality, in the

Campo de Cartagena Campo de Cartagena, is a natural region (comarca) located in the Region of Murcia, in Spain. For administrative purposes, it is also known, as Comarca del Campo de Cartagena or Comarca de Cartagena. It is located in the southeast of the Iberian ...

comarca,

Region of Murcia The Region of Murcia (, ; es, Región de Murcia ), is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in ...

, southeastern

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") , i ...

. It used to be the site of a military

air base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

, located near a homonymous hill in the flat

Mar Menor Mar Menor (, "minor/smaller sea") is a coastal saltwater lagoon in the Iberian Peninsula located south-east of the Autonomous Community of Murcia, Spain, near Cartagena. Its name is the opposite of the Mediterranean, which is the (greater/larg ...

area. One noteworthy spot in the territory is a hill which name is also El Carmolí and is an ancient volcano that started erupting seven million years ago. The El Carmolí zone is part of a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

called ''Parque Natural de Espacios Abiertos e Islas del Mar Menor''.

Aerodrome

military aerodrome An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

was built in El Carmolí before 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 Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. It was used by 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 M ...

for its High-speed Flying School (''Escuela de Vuelo de Alta Velocidad''), a training facility for

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

.Memoria republicana — SBHAC. Estructura orgánica de las FARE
/ref> Some of the flying instructors based at El Carmolí were from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. After the Civil War the airfield was used by the

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

as an emergency landing facility.

References

External links

*
Listado de aeródromos de la GCE y regiones aéreas
Defunct airports in Spain Geography of the Region of Murcia Cartagena, Spain {{Murcia-geo-stub