, native_name_a = , native_name_r = , type = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , logo = , logo_width = , logo_caption = , image = Cuartel General del Ejército del Aire de España - 02.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = The

General Headquarters of the Air and Space Force The General Headquarters of the Air and Space Force ( es, Cuartel General del Ejército del Aire y del Espacio, links=no), also known in Spanish as the ''Ministerio del Aire'' (after the institution it formerly hosted), is a building in Madrid, Sp ...

building, formerly the site of the air ministry , formed = , preceding1 = Ministry of National Defense , preceding2 = , dissolved = , superseding1 = Ministry of Defence , superseding2 = , jurisdiction =

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

and

civil aviation Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work ...

, headquarters = The Ministry of the Air building , coordinates = , motto = , employees = , budget = , minister1_name = LTG

Juan Yagüe Juan Yagüe y Blanco, 1st Marquis of San Leonardo de Yagüe (19 November 1891 – 21 October 1952) was a Spanish military officer during the Spanish Civil War, one of the most important in the Nationalist side. He became known as the "Butcher of ...

, minister1_pfo = first Minister , minister2_name = LTG Carlos Franco Iribarnegaray , minister2_pfo = last Minister , deputyminister1_name = , deputyminister1_pfo = , deputyminister2_name = , deputyminister2_pfo = , chief1_name = Fernando Barron , chief1_position = first Undersecretary , chief2_name = , chief2_position = , public_protector = , deputy = , parent_department = , parent_agency = , parent_agency_type = , child1_agency = , child2_agency = , keydocument1 = , website = , agency_id = , map = , map_size = , map_caption = , footnotes = , embed = The Ministry of the Air ( es, Ministerio del Aire) was a

government department Ministry or department (also less commonly used secretariat, office, or directorate) are designations used by first-level executive bodies in the machinery of governments that manage a specific sector of public administration." Энцикло� ...

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 ...

that was tasked with oversight of both the

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

(''Ejército del Aire'') and

during the

Francoist regime Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

. The ministry was created on 8 August 1939, after the end 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 ...

. It was dissolved on 4 July 1977 by the Royal Decree 1558/77, being merged with the Ministry of Defence as part of the

transition to democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...

History

During the

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

there had been the , an agency that had both military and civil aviation under its jurisdiction, but it disappeared after the start of the

. The direct predecessor of the Ministry of the Air was the ''Ministry of National Defense'', created in 1938 during the first government of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

, under the then commander of the ,

Fidel Dávila Arrondo Fidel Dávila Arrondo (24 April 1878 – 22 March 1962) was a Spanish Army officer during the Spanish Civil War. Born in Barcelona, as an infantry officer, he fought in Cuba during the Spanish–American War and received the Cruz del Mérito Mi ...

. The three branches of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

(

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

and

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

) were grouped under its control.Mariano Aguilar Olivencia (1999); pág. 38 The Ministry of the Air was created in the second government of Francisco Franco; it was defined and regulated by Law of 8 August 1939, whose organization and functions were delimited by Decree of 1 September 1939. General

was appointed Minister, with Fernando Barron as Undersecretary. After the end of the Civil War, Yagüe intended to build a new

out of the ''

Aviación Nacional A Caudron C.286 of the Nationalist Spanish Air Force The terms "Aviación Nacional" ("Nationalist Aviation"), "Fuerza Aérea Nacional" ("Nationalist Air Force") and "Ejército Nacional del Aire" ("Nationalist Army of the Air") refer to military a ...

'' with the help of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and Fascist Italy, and with the clear intention of participating in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

on the side of the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

.Paul Preston (2008); pág. 129 At the beginning of World War II the new Air Force had 14

regiments A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

and 3

groups A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

, composed in turn by 172

fighters Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to: Combat and warfare * Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict * Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...

and 164

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

s of different types, along with 82 assisting planes and 75 other devices of different types captured from the Spanish Republican Air Force. The reports issued by the General Staff, however, left in evidence the bad state in which the airplanes were, the lack of spare parts and fuel.Paul Preston (2008); pág. 132 In the end, the project to expand the Air Force was a failure given the situation in the country, and Yagüe was dismissed and replaced by General Juan Vigón. Since 1940, different locations 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 ...

were searched for the future headquarters of the Ministry, and after several options a site in the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Moncloa-Aravaca Moncloa-Aravaca is a district of the municipality of Madrid, Spain. It is located to the northwest of the city centre, spanning across both banks of the Manzanares. It is made up of the neighborhoods of Aravaca, Argüelles, Casa de Campo, Ciud ...

was chosen. The lots are acquired by the

City Council of Madrid The City Council of Madrid ( es, Ayuntamiento de Madrid) is the top-tier administrative and governing body of the Madrid, the capital and biggest city of Spain. The City Council is composed by three bodies; the Mayor who leads the City Council ...

, under then

Mayor of Madrid The Mayor of Madrid presides over the Madrid City Council, the government body of the capital city of Spain. The mayor has the duty of boosting the local policies, it directs the action of the other executive bodies, leads the Local Executive Admi ...

Alberto Alcocer y Ribacoba; General Vigón instructed architect

Luis Gutiérrez Soto Luis Gutiérrez Soto (1900–1977) was a Spanish architect. He worked primarily in Madrid. Biography Born on 6 June 1900 in the , Madrid, Spain. After earning a degree in 1923, he became Chief Architect of the Ministry of Public Instruction, del ...

on the renovation of the area and the design of the new building. Although the Ministry of the Air building was not completed until 1958, it was already fulfilling its mission in 1954. The Ministry was abolished by the Royal Decree 1558/77 of 4 July 1977, when

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Adolfo Suárez Adolfo Suárez González, 1st Duke of Suárez (; 25 September 1932 – 23 March 2014) was a Spanish lawyer and politician. Suárez was Spain's first democratically elected prime minister since the Second Spanish Republic and a key figure in th ...

created the Ministry of Defence as part of his second government (formed following the 1977 general election), which integrated the ministries of the Army, Navy and Air Force during the

Organic structure

On 5 September 1939 the structure of the Ministry was organized, being composed of the following departments:BOE núm. 248, pp. 4938-4941 (5 de septiembre de 1939)
/ref> * . * Undersecretary, overseeing general directorates of: ''

Civil Aviation Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work ...

'', ''Personnel'', ''Infrastructure'', ''Material'' and ''Antiaeronautics'' ( anti-aircraft). * Senior Advisory Council. * Private Secretary of the Minister. * General and Technical Secretariat. * Political Secretariat. * Administrative Technical Board. * Legal advice.

List of ministers

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Authority control Defunct departments of the Spanish Government Ministries established in 1939 Ministries disestablished in 1977 1939 establishments in Spain 1977 disestablishments in Spain Aviation organisations based in Spain

History

Organic structure

List of ministers

See also

References

Bibliography