Larache-Canaries Raid

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Memory · Subcategory: Sites of memory · Year: 1924

This name refers to the first air expedition carried out by a military patrol in the Canaries, with the aim of connecting the Spanish mainland territory with the Archipelago through stopovers in the then Spanish North African possessions. 

The expedition consisted of three Breguet XIV aircraft (named Archipiélago Canario , Tenerife , and Gran Canaria ) and a Dornier J. Wal seaplane. The itinerary, of 1,500 kilometres, included stops in Casablanca, Agadir, Cabo Juby, Las Palmas, and the final destination in Tenerife.

On 6 January 1924, the three aircraft took off from the Larache aerodrome; the seaplane, from Cádiz via Melilla, joined them in Casablanca. On 18 January, after days of bad weather and repairs to some aircraft, the entire air fleet departed from Cabo Juby heading to Gran Canaria, where they arrived without incident.

On 31 January 1924, at twelve thirteen, the expedition flew over the port of Santa Cruz, where a crowd gathered to see them pass. The ships docked there were decorated with their ensembles of flags and pennants and sounded their sirens. The aircraft made large circles and saluted the crowd before heading to Arico, where they landed on the improvised runway of El Bailadero. There, representatives of the Cabildo and the Town Hall were waiting to receive the aviators with a toast.

Meanwhile, the seaplane headed to the entrance of the Santa Cruz port, where it made a perfect water landing. The crew disembarked via the canopy and were received by the Captain General, civil governor, and the city mayor, Santiago García Sanabria.

On 2 February, the seaplane piloted by Ramón Franco took off from the waters of the port for a flight over Mount Teide. The expedition's photographer, Leopoldo Alonso, captured images with a hand-cranked cine camera installed at the front of the aircraft. 

The objective of the raid , to fly to the Canaries from the Peninsula after several stopovers, had been successfully achieved.

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