The bombing of Cabra (7 November, 1938) was a aerial bombing raid on the town of
Cabra,
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...
during 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, link ...
. The air raid carried out by the
Republican faction killed 109 civilians and wounded more than 200.
Background
Throughout 1938, the
Spanish Republican Air Force ''(Fuerza Aerea de la República Española, FARE)'' carried out air bombings against Nationalist-held cities (among them
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 Peninsula ...
and
Valladolid
Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...
) in retaliation for the bombing of Republican held cities such as
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
,
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 t ...
and
Granollers
Granollers () is a city in central Catalonia, about 30 kilometres north-east of Barcelona. It is the capital and most densely populated city in the comarca of Vallès Oriental.
Granollers is now a bustling business centre, having grown from a t ...
.
The attacks
On 7 November 1938, three
Tupolev SB
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 of the ''FARE'', bombed the town of
Cabra, in the province of
Córdoba. One of the bombs fell on the town's market, killing dozens of civilians.
The aircraft dropped six tons of bombs. Most of the bombs exploded in the market and in the working class districts. There were between 101
and 109 civilians dead and 200 wounded. The Nationalist anti-aircraft artillery was taken by surprise and reacted too late. The airstrike was carried out in the mistaken belief that Italian
mechanized troops were stationed in the village. Once over the target, the pilots mistook the market's awnings for military tents.
Aftermath
The bombing of Cabra was the deadliest bombing carried out by the Republican air force during the war.
See also
*
Bombing of Guernica
*
List of aircraft of the Spanish Republican Air Force
This is a list of aircraft used by the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War.
Introduction
The Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed in 1931 and very soon the republican authorities set up to reform an antiquated military st ...
References
Explosions in 1938
Mass murder in 1938
1938 in Spain
Conflicts in 1938
Strategic bombing operations and battles
Spanish Civil War massacres
Airstrikes during the Spanish Civil War
November 1938 events
Airstrikes conducted by Spain
{{SpanishCivilWar-stub