Andrés García La Calle
Andrés García Calle | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 4, 1909 Sestao, Spain |
| Died | April 8, 1975 (aged 66) Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| Allegiance |  Spanish Republic |
| Service/ |  Spanish Republican Air Force |
| Years of service | 1929 - 1939 |
| Rank | Commander |
| Unit | 1ª Escuadrilla de Chatos |
| Commands held | 1ª Escuadrilla de Moscas Grupo de asalto 28 |
| Battles/wars | Spanish Civil War |
Andrés García La Calle (February 4, 1909 – April 8, 1975) (sometimes Lacalle, but his real name was Andrés García Calle) was the squadron leader of the 1st Fighter Squadron of the Spanish Republic and later commander of all the fighter units of the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War.[1]
Biography
Born in
Near September 1936, upon the arrival of the more modern Soviet fighters
In the Battle of Jarama, Lacalle demonstrated the effectiveness of his squadron by making multiple ground attacks to closely support the Republican troops, and was nicknamed 'The hero of Jarama'. In the Battle of Guadalajara, 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. At the end of 1937, he was promoted to major, and was sent to the Soviet Union for advanced training. On his return, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and given the task of reorganizing all the fighter units. Most of his pilots in the 'Lacalle Squadron' led 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 in 1936), while the Spanish pilots received some ten 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.[2]
By the end of 1938, Lacalle found himself in an extremely difficult 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, with only 30 fighters against some 550 of the combined German and Italian planes under Franco.
Exile
On February 6, 1939, Lacalle left from the
Lacalle was awarded three medals for his service, and wrote a book on the civil war, The Myths and the Truth (Mitos y Verdades).[3]
His son is the Dominican-Mexican actor Andrés García.
See also
- Spanish Republican Air Force
- Spanish Air Force
References
- ^ a b Notable personalities of the Spanish republic - SBHAC
- ^ a b Frank Glasgow Tinker, Some still live. Funk & Wagnalls company, 1938.
- ^ Andrés García La Calle, Mitos y verdades: La aviación de caza en la guerra civil española.; México: Lito Offset fersa, 1973.