Spanish seaplane carrier Dédalo - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Dédalo (Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

for Daedalus
Daedalus
In Greek mythology, Daedalus was a skillful craftsman and artisan.-Family:...

) was a Spanish seaplane and balloon carrier

Seaplane tender

A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...

, the first of two ships of the Spanish Navy

Spanish Navy

The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...

to carry this name. She entered in service in 1922 and was written off in 1936, after taking part in the Second Moroccan War

Rif War (1920)

The Rif War, also called the Second Moroccan War, was fought between Spain and the Moroccan Rif Berbers.-Rifian forces:...

, where her aircraft were instrumental to the successful landing of Franco-Spanish forces at Al Hoceima

Al Hoceima

Al Hoceima is a city and port in the north of Morocco and in the center of the Rif Mountains. The Al Hoceima city region has a population of 395.644 and is the capital of the Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate region...

History

Dédalo was originally the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

merchant vessel Neuenfels, built in Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

in 1901. In October 1918, towards the end of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, she was seized along with five other German ships in Spanish ports at the time, as reparations for Spanish ship losses to Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare

Unrestricted submarine warfare

Unrestricted submarine warfare is a type of naval warfare in which submarines sink merchantmen without warning, as opposed to attacks per prize rules...

during the War. Neuenfels was given the temporary name "España No.6", until she was transferred to the Spanish Navy in the autumn of 1921. The Spanish Naval Aeronautics had been interested in acquiring a seaplane carrier for some time, and "España No.6" was accordingly renamed Dédalo, then spent five months in Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

from December 1921 to be converted into a seaplane tender at a cost of 8 million pesetas

Spanish peseta

The peseta was the currency of Spain between 1869 and 2002. Along with the French franc, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra .- Etymology :...

.

Based in Cartagena

Cartagena, Spain

Cartagena is a Spanish city and a major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2011, it has a population of 218,210 inhabitants being the Region’s second largest municipality and the country’s 6th non-Province capital...

, Dédalo participated in the Rif War

Rif War (1920)

The Rif War, also called the Second Moroccan War, was fought between Spain and the Moroccan Rif Berbers.-Rifian forces:...

until 1925, with her seaplanes carrying out bombing raids in support of the amphibious landing at Al Hoceima.

In April 1934 aviation history was made when Juan de la Cierva

Juan de la Cierva

Juan de la Cierva y Codorníu, 1st Count of De La Cierva was a Spanish civil engineer, pilot and aeronuatical engineer. His most famous accomplishment was the invention in 1920 of the Autogiro, a single-rotor type of aircraft that came to be called autogyro in the English language...

, the inventor of the autogyro

Autogyro

An autogyro , also known as gyroplane, gyrocopter, or rotaplane, is a type of rotorcraft which uses an unpowered rotor in autorotation to develop lift, and an engine-powered propeller, similar to that of a fixed-wing aircraft, to provide thrust...

, performed a perfect landing onto Dédalo with a model C. 30 autogyro registered G-ACIO, near the port of Valencia; half an hour later it took off from her deck, after a short run of just 24 metres. This was the first rotorcraft

Rotorcraft

A rotorcraft or rotary wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine that uses lift generated by wings, called rotor blades, that revolve around a mast. Several rotor blades mounted to a single mast are referred to as a rotor. The International Civil Aviation Organization defines a rotorcraft...

to take off and land on the deck of a ship.

Dédalo was decommissioned in 1934, and was struck in April 1936, but 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...

prevented her from leaving its homeport of Cartagena until 1 March 1940, when she was towed to Valencia for scrapping.

Aircraft Facilities

Dédalo could carry 2 captive observation balloons of 1,200 m³ volume, 2 Italian-built dirigible of 1,500 m³ volume, and up to 20 seaplanes of various types over the years, including Felixstowe F.3

Felixstowe F.3

-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bruce, J.M. "". Flight, 2 December 1955, pp.842—846.* Bruce, J.M. "". Flight, 16 December 1955, pp.895—898.* Bruce, J.M. "". Flight, 23 December 1955, pp. 929—932....

, Savoia S.16 and S.16 bis, Macchi M.18

Macchi M.18

|-See also:-References:* Sapienza Fracchia, Antonio Luis: "La Contribución Italiana en la Aviación Paraguaya". Author's edition. Asunción, 2007. 300 pp....

and Supermarine Scarab.

Dédalo was equipped with two hangars. The one in front of the superstructure

Superstructure

A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...

was reserved for the dirigible, with a mooring mast

Mooring mast

A mooring mast, or mooring tower, is a structure designed to allow for the docking of an airship outside of an airship hangar or similar structure...

at the bow. The other, behind the superstructure, was fitted with an elevator to service the seaplanes. Having neither a flush deck nor a catapult

Aircraft catapult

An aircraft catapult is a device used to launch aircraft from ships—in particular aircraft carriers—as a form of assisted take off. It consists of a track built into the flight deck, below which is a large piston or shuttle that is attached through the track to the nose gear of the aircraft, or in...

, her seaplanes had to be launched and retrieved by cranes

Crane (machine)

A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...