A documented history of the military air base in Los Alcázares

Not every municipality in Spain has its own Aeronautics Museum, of course, but Los Alcázares is rather unique in that it was home to Spain’s first ever military seaplane base, which opened in 1915/16.

The following 25 years or so saw the base achieve great prestige and strategic military importance during the Civil War of 1936-39, and some of the most glamorous Spanish aviators of the early 20^th century were frequent flyers here. These included Ramón Franco, who took part in a failed attempt to reach New York from Los Alcázares in 1929 and whose brother Francisco later achieved worldwide fame (or notoriety) as the victor in the Civil War and the leader of the dictatorship which lasted in Spain until his death in 1975. Click here for a brief history of Los Alcázares.

This museum opposite the main entrance of the air base, which is now used mainly as an accommodation overflow for the Air Force Officers School in San Javier, contains models of the planes flown here 100 years ago and an extensive collection of photographs illustrating the history of Los Alcázares and its role in the pioneering days of aviation, reaching up to the present day.

The building in which the museum is now housed was first built in the 1930s as a temporary shelter for the poor and for people who were passing through the area and was taken on after the Civil War by an officer who converted it into a chalet. It was used as such for a decade or so until one of the army’s Ecclesiastical Corps managed to acquire it as a parish property.

In the 1990s the Town Hall took it over and re-equipped it as the museum it is today: opened in 1999, it contains photographs, documents, plans, uniforms, models, propellers, weapons and numerous other items.

Address: Avenida de la Libertad 37, Los Alcázares

Telephone: 968 582107

Opening hours: Weekdays 9.00 to 14.00 (in summer 10.00 to 13.00). Group visits should be organized in collaboration with the tourism authorities beforehand.

 

For more local information contact the tourist offices in Los Alcázares or go to the home page of Los Alcázares Today.

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