Ramón Franco
Encyclopedia
Ramón Franco y Bahamonde Salgado Pardo de Andrade (born 2 February 1896 in the naval station of Ferrol in North-western Spain
– October 1938), was a Galician
pioneer of aviation
, a political figure and brother of later dictator Francisco Franco
. Well before the Spanish Civil War
, during the reign of Alfonso XIII
, both brothers were acclaimed as national heroes in Spain
; however, the two had strongly differing political views. They had a less known brother Nicolás.
Ramón started his career as an ordinary successful military officer in the infantry, assigned to Morocco
in 1914. In 1920 he joined the Spanish Air Force
, participating in activities that earned him international attention. In 1926
he became a national hero when he piloted the Plus Ultra
hydroplane on a Trans-Atlantic flight. His co-pilot was Julio Ruiz de Alda Miqueleiz
; the other crew members were Teniente de Navio (Navy Lieutenant) Juan Manuel Duran and the mechanic Pablo Rada. The Plus Ultra departed from Palos de la Frontera
, in Huelva
, Spain
on January 22 and arrived in Buenos Aires
, Argentina
on January 26. It stopped over at Gran Canaria
, Cape Verde
, Pernambuco
, Rio de Janeiro
and Montevideo
. The 10,270 km journey was completed in 59 hours and 39 minutes.
The event appeared in most of the major newspapers world wide, though some of them underlining the fact that the airplane itself plus the technical expertise were foreign. Throughout the Spanish-speaking world the Spanish aviators were glamorously acclaimed, particularly in Argentina and Spain where thousands gathered at Christopher Columbus
square in Madrid
.
In 1929 he attempted another trans-Atlantic flight, this time crashing the airplane to the sea. The crew was rescued days later by an aircraft carrier
of the British Royal Navy
.
he declared himself on several occasions against the regime. He conspired against the Monarchy, inflicted losses on the army and was sent to prison, from which he was able to escape. In October 1930, along with other Republican
aviators, he seized some aircraft in the aerodrome of Cuatro Vientos
and flew over Madrid
with the intention to bomb the Palacio Real, an action that he could not achieve. He fled
to Portugal
and returned to Spain when the Second Spanish Republic
was proclaimed.
Reentering the Army, he was named chief of a main directorate of Aeronautics, a position from which he was dismissed shortly afterwards for his participation in an anarchist revolt in Andalusia
.
He was elected as a deputy in the Cortes
for Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya
in Barcelona
, retiring from the army and focused on politics.
exploded in July 1936, he was in the United States
as an air attaché
of the Spanish Embassy.
Upon his return to Spain
, in spite of his leftist
political past, he joined the Nationalist side, of which his brother Francisco was a main leader. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and was named head of the airbase at Majorca. His receipt of the command in Majorca was "received very badly" by his fellow aviators, who resented that Ramón, a Freemason who had been dismissed, had been promoted over officers with war merits.
crashed off Pollença
, near the coast of Majorca, while attempting to bomb Republican-controlled Valencia
. His body was found floating in the water and his death lead to rumors of conspiracies and sabotage. Following the crash his brother Francisco, who would rule Spain for the next three decades, severed most relations with his brother's widow and daughter.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
– October 1938), was a Galician
Galician people
The Galicians are an ethnic group, a nationality whose historical homeland is Galicia in north-western Spain. Most Galicians are bilingual, speaking both their historic language, Galician, and Castilian Spanish.-Political and administrative divisions:...
pioneer of aviation
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
, a political figure and brother of later dictator Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
. Well before 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...
, during the reign of Alfonso XIII
Alfonso XIII of Spain
Alfonso XIII was King of Spain from 1886 until 1931. His mother, Maria Christina of Austria, was appointed regent during his minority...
, both brothers were acclaimed as national heroes in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
; however, the two had strongly differing political views. They had a less known brother Nicolás.
The Aviator
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
in 1914. In 1920 he joined the Spanish Air Force
Spanish Air Force
-The early stages:Hot air balloons had been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of Alfredo Kindelán, Leonardo Torres y Quevedo directed the construction of the first Spanish dirigible in the Army Military Aerostatics Service, created in 1896 and located...
, participating in activities that earned him international attention. In 1926
1926 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1926:- Events :* United Airlines established.* Award of the Harmon Trophy begins. A set of three trophies is awarded annually to the worlds outstanding aviator, aviatrix , and aeronaut for the year, and a fourth trophy is awarded to the outstanding...
he became a national hero when he piloted the Plus Ultra
Plus Ultra (hydroplane)
Plus Ultra was a Dornier Do J flying boat which completed the first Trans-Atlantic flight between Spain and South America in January 1926 with a crew of Spanish aviators, that included Ramón Franco and Julio Ruiz de Alda Miqueleiz, Juan Manuel Duran and Pablo Rada.The Plus Ultra departed from...
hydroplane on a Trans-Atlantic flight. His co-pilot was Julio Ruiz de Alda Miqueleiz
Julio Ruiz de Alda Miqueleiz
Julio Ruiz de Alda Miqueleiz was a Spanish aviator and politician. He joined the Army at the age of 15 and developed an interest in planes. He was the co-pilot of the Plus Ultra as it completed a Trans-Atlantic flight in 1926...
; the other crew members were Teniente de Navio (Navy Lieutenant) Juan Manuel Duran and the mechanic Pablo Rada. The Plus Ultra departed from Palos de la Frontera
Palos de la Frontera
Palos de la Frontera is a town and municipality located in the southwestern Spanish province of Huelva, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is situated some from the provincial capital, Huelva...
, in Huelva
Huelva (province)
Huelva is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by Portugal, the provinces of Badajoz, Seville, and Cádiz, and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is Huelva....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
on January 22 and arrived in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
on January 26. It stopped over at Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is the second most populous island of the Canary Islands, with a population of 838,397 which constitutes approximately 40% of the population of the archipelago...
, Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
, Pernambuco
Pernambuco
Pernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...
, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
. The 10,270 km journey was completed in 59 hours and 39 minutes.
The event appeared in most of the major newspapers world wide, though some of them underlining the fact that the airplane itself plus the technical expertise were foreign. Throughout the Spanish-speaking world the Spanish aviators were glamorously acclaimed, particularly in Argentina and Spain where thousands gathered at Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
square in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
.
In 1929 he attempted another trans-Atlantic flight, this time crashing the airplane to the sea. The crew was rescued days later by an aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
of the British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
.
Political Activism
During the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de RiveraMiguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, 22nd Count of Sobremonte, Knight of Calatrava was a Spanish dictator, aristocrat, and a military official who was appointed Prime Minister by the King and who for seven years was a dictator, ending the turno system of alternating...
he declared himself on several occasions against the regime. He conspired against the Monarchy, inflicted losses on the army and was sent to prison, from which he was able to escape. In October 1930, along with other Republican
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....
aviators, he seized some aircraft in the aerodrome of Cuatro Vientos
Spanish Air Force
-The early stages:Hot air balloons had been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of Alfredo Kindelán, Leonardo Torres y Quevedo directed the construction of the first Spanish dirigible in the Army Military Aerostatics Service, created in 1896 and located...
and flew over Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
with the intention to bomb the Palacio Real, an action that he could not achieve. He fled
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
and returned to Spain when the Second Spanish Republic
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....
was proclaimed.
Reentering the Army, he was named chief of a main directorate of Aeronautics, a position from which he was dismissed shortly afterwards for his participation in an anarchist revolt in Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
.
He was elected as a deputy in the Cortes
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
for Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya
Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya
The Republican Left of Catalonia is a left wing Catalan independentist political party in Spain. It is also the main sponsor of the independence movement from France and Spain in the territories known among Catalan nationalists as Països Catalans...
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...
, retiring from the army and focused on politics.
Civil War
When the Spanish Civil WarSpanish 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...
exploded in July 1936, he was in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as an air attaché
Air attaché
An air attaché is an Air Force officer who is part of a diplomatic mission; this post is normally filled by a high-ranking officer.An air attaché typically represents the chief of his home air force in the foreign country where he serves. The day-to-day responsibilities include maintaining contacts...
of the Spanish Embassy.
Upon his return to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, in spite of his leftist
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
political past, he joined the Nationalist side, of which his brother Francisco was a main leader. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and was named head of the airbase at Majorca. His receipt of the command in Majorca was "received very badly" by his fellow aviators, who resented that Ramón, a Freemason who had been dismissed, had been promoted over officers with war merits.
Death
Ramón Franco was killed in an air accident on October 28, 1938 when his hydroplaneSeaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
crashed off Pollença
Pollença
Pollença is a town and municipality situated in the far north corner of the island of Majorca, near Cap de Formentor and Alcúdia. It lies about 6 km west of its port, Port de Pollença.-History:...
, near the coast of Majorca, while attempting to bomb Republican-controlled Valencia
Valencia (city in Spain)
Valencia or València is the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain, with a population of 809,267 in 2010. It is the 15th-most populous municipality in the European Union...
. His body was found floating in the water and his death lead to rumors of conspiracies and sabotage. Following the crash his brother Francisco, who would rule Spain for the next three decades, severed most relations with his brother's widow and daughter.