Joaquín García-Morato y Castaño, 1st Count of Jarama (4 May 1904 – 4 April 1939) was the leading Nationalist fighter ace 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 Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. He is credited with 40 air victories, four gained while flying

Heinkel He 51 The Heinkel He 51 was a Nazi Germany, German single-seat biplane which was produced in a number of different versions. It was initially developed as a Fighter aircraft, fighter; a seaplane variant and a Ground-attack aircraft, ground-attack ...

s and 36 with the Italian Fiat CR.32.Shores 1983, p. 49. An accomplished prewar pilot, Joaquín García-Morato served 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 ...

(fighting

Abd el-Krim Muhammad ibn Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi (; Tarifit: Muḥend n Ɛabd Krim Lxeṭṭabi, ⵎⵓⵃⵏⴷ ⵏ ⵄⴰⴱⴷⵍⴽⵔⵉⵎ ⴰⵅⵟⵟⴰⴱ), better known as Abd el-Krim (1882/1883, Ajdir, Morocco – 6 February 1963, Cairo, Egypt) ...

insurgents during the

Rif War The Rif War () was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by History of France, France in 1924) and the Berbers, Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at ...

), excelled in

aerobatics Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aerial" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and glid ...

, and instructed instrument flying.

Spanish Civil War

He was on holiday in England when the Civil War broke out. Hastening home to join the Nationalist cause, he gained his first victory on 12 August 1936 in a Nieuport-Delage 52, shooting down one of three

Vickers Vildebeest The Vickers Vildebeest and the similar Vickers Vincent were two very large two- to three-seat single-engined British biplanes designed and built by Vickers and used as light bombers, torpedo bombers and in army cooperation roles. First flown ...

over Antequera. He then flew one of the first

s received from Germany. Flying this aircraft, on 18 August, he shot down a Republican NiD 52 and a

Potez 540 The Potez 540 was a French multi-role aircraft of the 1930s. Designed and built by Potez, it served with the French Air Force as a reconnaissance bomber, also serving with the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War. Although ob ...

. He downed another NiD 52 on 2 September. He then began flying an Italian Fiat CR.32, shooting down another NiD 52 on 11 September: it was his fifth victory.Shores 1983, p. 49. Then he formed the ''Patrulla Azul'' ("Blue Patrol") of three CR.32 and during the early autumn 1936 he added six more aircraft of French manufacture, plus a British built

Hawker Fury The Hawker Fury is a British biplane fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force in the 1930s. It was a fast, agile aircraft, and the first interceptor in RAF service capable of speed higher than 200 mph (321 kmh). It was the fighter co ...

, to his score. He gained his 12th victory on 5 November (a

), followed by his first kill of a Soviet-built

Polikarpov I-15 The Polikarpov I-15 (russian: И-15) was a Soviet biplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s. Nicknamed ''Chaika'' (''russian: Чайка'', "Seagull") because of its gulled upper wings,Gunston 1995, p. 299.Green and Swanborough 1979, p. 10. it was o ...

fighter.Shores 1983, p. 49. On 13 January 1937, he managed to shoot down two

Tupolev SB-2 The Tupolev ANT-40, also known by its service name Tupolev SB (russian: Скоростной бомбардировщик – ''Skorostnoi Bombardirovschik'' – high speed bomber) and development co-name TsAGI-40, was a high speed twin-engined ...

bombers - that outperformed the Fiat in terms of speed - attacking them from a superior height: they were his victories number 16 and 17.Shores 1983, p. 49. On 18 February, during the battle for

Jarama Jarama () is a river in central Spain. It flows north to south, and passes east of Madrid where the El Atazar Dam is built on a tributary, the Lozoya River. It flows into the river Tagus in Aranjuez. The Manzanares is a tributary of the Jaram ...

, he was escorting three Junkers Ju 52 bombers, with his two fellow pilots of the "Blue Patrol",Jackson 1979, p.7. when 36 I-15 biplanes intercepted them. The ''Patrulla Azul'' attacked the Republican fighters in a climbing turn, breaking the enemy's assault. Morato hit a first I-15 that dropped away, in a tight spiral, trailing smoke. Immediately afterwards he avoided being hit by another enemy fighter that was chasing him and he hit another I-15: the pilot threw up his arms and collapsed in the cockpit. Then suddenly the Republican fighters dived away, while 21 Italian CR.32s were rushing to Morato aid. For his part in this battle, Morato was awarded the highest Spanish military decoration - the

Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand The Royal and Military Order of Saint Ferdinand ( es, Real y Militar Orden de San Fernando), is a Spanish military order whose decoration, known as Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand ( es, Cruz Laureada de San Fernando), is Spain's highest mili ...

. Jackson 1979, p. 9. In July 1937, following a massive attack by Republican forces, in the

Brunete Brunete () is a town located on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain with a population of 10,730 people. History There was no military garrison in Brunete and there was no rebel attempt to seize the city during the coup of July 1936. Brunete remain ...

sector, on the extreme left of the Nationalist Madrid Army Corps, some of the biggest air battles of the war raged. Jackson 1979, p. 17. On the 14th, Morato squadron had a field day. Accompanied by Salvador, Aristides and Guerrero, he intercepted a squadron of

Polikarpov R-Z The Polikarpov R-Z was a Soviet reconnaissance bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was a revised version of the Polikarpov R-5 which was built in large numbers between 1935 and 1937. It was used in combat during the Spanish Civil War as well as the ...

''Natasha'' biplanes escorted by a number of

Polikarpov I-16 The Polikarpov I-16 (russian: Поликарпов И-16) is a Soviet single-engine single-seat fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first low-wing cantilever monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear to attain ...

s ''Rata''. The Nationalist pilots dived through the fighter escort, that scattered in all directions, and attacked the R-Zs, shooting down five. Two of them were credited to Morato. Jackson 1979, p. 18. On 24 December 1938, Morato had one of his more successful days: he was escorting, with his group, a number of Ju 52 and SM.79 bombers, when they spotted a formation of eleven R-Z "Natashas", escorted by ''Ratas'', over Cap de la Serra. The Nationalist pilots dived to attack, and in few minutes they destroyed nine of the R-Zs. Three of the kills were credited to Morato.Jackson 1979, p. 24. Morato achieved 40 credited victories over

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

aircraft,Beevor 1983, p. 244. gained in 1,012 hours of operational flying.Shores 1983, p. 49. The only time he was shot down was on 3 October 1937, by a novice pilot he was training.

Death

Shortly after the war, on 4 April 1939, he was performing low aerobatics for newsreel cameras, when his Fiat CR.32 crashed, killing him.Shores 1983, p. 49.

References

Bibliography

*Beevor, Antony. ''The Spanish Civil War''. New York, Peter Bedrick Books, 1983. . * Jackson, Robert. ''Fighter! The Story of Air Combat 1936-1945''. London, Artur Barker Limited. 1979. . *Logoluso, Alfredo. ''Fiat CR.32 Aces of the Spanish Civil War''. Oxford, Osprey Publishing, 2010. . *Shores, Christopher, ''Air Aces'', Greenwich, CT, Bison Books, 1983. .

External links

Joaquin García Morato
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia Morato, Joaquin 1904 births 1939 deaths People from Melilla Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) Spanish Civil War flying aces Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Spain Spanish flying aces Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1939