Spanish Republican Armed Forces

The Spanish Republican Armed Forces (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas de la República Española) were initially formed by the following two branches of the military of the Second Spanish Republic:

Spanish Republican Armed Forces
Fuerzas Armadas de la República Española
Founded1931
Disbanded1939
Service branches Army
 Navy
 Air force
Leadership
Commander-in-chiefManuel Azaña (last)
Prime ministerJosé Miaja (last)
Minister of DefenceSegismundo Casado (last)
Personnel
Active personnel225.000 (1936)
Industry
Domestic suppliersCASA
Hispano-Suiza
Spanish Society for Naval Construction
Related articles
HistorySanjurjada
Revolution of 1934
Spanish Civil War
RanksMilitary ranks of the Second Spanish Republic

History

The Spanish Republican Armed Forces went through two clear phases during their existence:

  • The pre-Spanish Civil War phase, before the coup of July 1936 that would fracture the Spanish military institution.
  • The Civil War reorganization of the forces that remained loyal to the established republican government dictated by the pressing needs of the moment.

The Air Force

At the time of the democratic municipal elections that led to the proclamation of the Spanish Republic, the Air Force was divided in two branches, the Aeronáutica Militar and Aeronáutica Naval, the former being the air arm of the Spanish Republican Army and the latter the naval aviation of the Spanish Republican Navy.[1]

In September 1936 the Navy and Air Ministry (Ministerio de Marina y Aire) and the Air Undersecretariat, (Subsecretaria del Aire), both part of the National Defence Ministry (Ministerio de la Defensa Nacional) of the Republic, were established under the command of Indalecio Prieto as minister.

The Republican air arm was restructured again in May 1937, well into the Civil War. The new structure unified the Aeronáutica Militar and Aeronáutica Naval. Some sources give this date as the date of the creation of the Spanish Republican Air Force, although it had been previously operative already under its two branches. The Republican Air Force would keep this structure until this disbandment two years later.[2]

See also

References

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