Andres Garcia La Calle
Encyclopedia
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
and later Commander of all the fighter units of the Spanish Republican Air Force
Spanish Republican Air Force
The Spanish Republican Air Force, , was the air arm of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939...
during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
.
Born in Sestao
Sestao
Sestao is a town and municipality of 30,000 inhabitants located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain...
(Biscay
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
), in Spain, he started his career in 1929 as an NCO after having got his license in a private aero club. He saw action immediately on the break of the civil war flying with all outdated planes for the time, like the Nieuport Ni-52
Nieuport Ni-52
-Bibliography:* Donald, David . The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Aerospace Publishing. 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.*Flores Jr, Jackson. "The Brazilian Air War". Air Enthusiast, Thirty-five, January–April 1988. Bromley, UK: FineScroll. pp. 64–73. ISSN 0143-5450.*Green, William and Gordon...
Delage, the Hawker Fury
Hawker Fury
The Hawker Fury was a British biplane fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force in the 1930s. It was originally named the Hornet and was the counterpart to the Hawker Hart light bomber.-Design and development:...
, the Loire 46
Loire 46
-References:*Donald, David The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Leicester, UK:Blitz Editions, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.*Green, Willam and Swanborough, Gordon. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York:Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8....
and the Dewoitine 371
Dewoitine 371
-External links:* **...
where, nevertheless, he scored his first 3 victories. He was so promoted to Lieutenant.
Near September 1936 upon the arrival of the more modern soviet fighters Polikarpov I-15
Polikarpov I-15
The Polikarpov I-15 was a Soviet biplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s. Nicknamed Chaika because of its gulled upper wings, it was operated in large numbers by the Soviet Air Force, and together with the Polikarpov I-16 monoplane, was one of the standard fighters of the Spanish Republicans during...
(Chato) and Polikarpov I-16
Polikarpov I-16
The Polikarpov I-16 was a Soviet fighter aircraft of revolutionary design; it was the world's first cantilever-winged monoplane fighter with retractable landing gear. The I-16 was introduced in the mid-1930s and formed the backbone of the Soviet Air Force at the beginning of World War II...
(Mosca) he participated in the first squadrons organized by the Russians, defending Madrid and contributing to the endurance of the city despite the terrorist air bombing attacks against civilians by German and Italian units. In November of the same year he took command as Captain of the 1st Fighter Squadron, organized now under Spanish control. It became known as the ‘Lacalle Squadron’, composed of 25 planes, the leader and another 6 groups of 4. One of these groups included only American pilots, and was named the ‘American Patrol’. The most prominent of them Frank Glasgow Tinker
Frank Glasgow Tinker
Frank Glasgow Tinker was an American mercenary fighter pilot for the Spanish Republican Air Force, during the Spanish Civil War. He was the top American ace during the Spanish Civil War.-Early years:...
has left a detailed description on the character of Lacalle, in his book Some Still Live
Some Still Live
The book Some Still Live by Frank Glasgow Tinker Jr, was edited by Funk & Wagnalls Co in New York, 1938. Some rare copies of this book may still be found around...
. The other 3 were Albert Baumler
Albert Baumler
Albert John "Ajax" Baumler was an American fighter ace during the Spanish Civil War and World War II.-Biography:...
, Harold Evans Dahl
Harold Evans Dahl
Harold Edward Dahl was a mercenary American pilot who fought in the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War. He was a member of the "American Patrol" of the Andres Garcia La Calle group...
and Benjamin Leider, who was killed early in the squadron's career. (Note : Leider was a true volunteer that refused extra payment for his services). Lacalle was very young for his duties (Tinker called him ‘The Kid’), almost careless as a child when driving a car but extremely skilled while flying a plane. Tinker was amazed that Lacalle scored victories flying the very difficult Ni-52. As a leader, Lacalle was careful not to expose his fighters to unnecessary risks - as he knew how difficult was to replace them - but when the duty called he was ready to fight under any conditions.
During the Battle of Jarama
Battle of Jarama
The Battle of Jarama was an attempt by General Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War...
Lacalle demonstrated the effectiveness of his squadron by making multiple ground attacks to support closely the republican troops, and was thus nicknamed ‘The hero of Jarama’. During the Battle of Guadalajara
Battle of Guadalajara
The Battle of Guadalajara saw the Republican People's Army defeat Italian and Nationalist forces attempting to encircle Madrid during the Spanish Civil War...
he ordered his planes to fly under very poor visibility conditions that surprised the Italian attackers; their columns stuck on the roads to Madrid were decimated. End of 1937 he was promoted to Major, and was sent to Russia for advanced training. On his return he was promoted to Lt. Colonel, and given the task of reorganizing all the fighter units. Most of his pilots in the ‘Lacalle Squadron’ lead these new fighter groups. Lacalle himself was officially credited with 11 confirmed victories at that time, but this number might have been as high as 21. The possible reason for the discrepancy was that the mercenary American pilots in his unit were highly paid for their salaries and extra for their kills (US$ 1,000 at 1936), while the Spanish pilots were receiving some 10 times less salary and no money for any kill. Lacalle was intentionally not keen in confirming any claims except the very obvious ones and so it went for his own kills.
By the end of 1938 Lacalle found himself in an extremely hard position, desperately running out of equipment, material, planes, and mainly experienced pilots. He led the very last fighter operations after the Battle of the Ebro
Battle of the Ebro
The Battle of the Ebro was the longest and bloodiest battle of the Spanish Civil War...
with only 30 fighters against some 550 of the combined German and Italian planes under Franco. On February the 6th, 1939, Lacalle left from the Vilajuiga
Vilajuïga
Vilajuïga is a municipality in the comarca of Alt Empordà, Girona, Catalonia, Spain.Vilajuïga's area is home to a group of Megalithic dolmens. Starting from the 10th century AD it was a possession of the monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes. In the nearby is also the Quermançó Castle, documented from...
airfield for France (Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
-Francazal
Francazal
Francazal is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.-References:*...
) in his last I-16 fighter. Lacalle stayed in a refugee camp in the area of Argeles-sur-mer in Perpignan, France, until escaping to Mexico. He died in Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, in 1980. Lacalle was awarded three medals for his service, and wrote a book on the civil war, titled : ‘The myths and the truth’, Mitos y Verdades.
His son is the Dominican
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
-Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
actor Andrés García
Andrés García
Andrés García is a Dominican-born Mexican actor. He is known throughout Latin America and among Hispanics in the United States....
.