The bay of Arrecife was the scene of one of those episodes that allow us to reconstruct Lanzarote's first contacts with aviation. A Dornier Wal seaplane, piloted by the then captain Ramón Franco Bahamonde, arrived in the waters of the island's capital as part of a military mission that aimed to demonstrate the possibilities of establishing an air connection between the Spanish territories of North Africa and the Canary Islands. The presence of that aircraft and its crew must have aroused considerable excitement among the locals, for whom aviation was still an extraordinary and unusual activity.
The arrival of the aircraft, dated November 7, 1924, by historians Antonio J. Montelongo Fránquiz and Marcial A. Falero Lemes, is recorded in their work El Puerto del Arrecife. The authors document the presence of the seaplane and mention among the mission members Ramón Franco, Leopoldo Alonso, Alejandro Más de Gaminde, Guillermo Delgado Brackembury, and Colonel Bens. The stopover in Lanzarote was part of an adventure that tested the capacity of the Spanish military aviation to cover long distances and link territories separated by the ocean.
An expedition to connect Africa and the Canary Islands
The operation had a significance that went far beyond an aerial visit. In those years, the main aeronautical powers competed to extend flight distances, improve the range of their aircraft, and demonstrate that the airplane could become an effective means of communication for territories separated by large expanses of sea and desert.
Spain also wanted to join that stage of exploration and development. In the context of the military campaign in Morocco, the Military Aviation organized a mission from the Spanish territories of North Africa to the Canary Islands. The project included the participation of three Breguet XIV aircraft, intended to cover the land route, accompanied by a Dornier Wal seaplane, capable of operating over the sea and providing support to the patrol.
The preparation for the journey required studying possible landing sites and shelter points for the seaplane along the African coast. The choice of stopovers was crucial, as ground conditions, fuel availability, sea state, and weather could determine the success or failure of each stage.
The support aircraft was a Dornier Wal W-3, identified in aeronautical documentation as M-MWAC and christened María Antonieta. Its crew was headed by Commander Guillermo Delgado Brackembury, head of the mission; Captain Ramón Franco, pilot; and Captain Alejandro Más de Gaminde, radio operator observer. Mechanics Mateo and Penizo, and photographer Leopoldo Alonso also traveled.
The land-based aircraft patrol consisted of three Breguet XIVs, christened Tenerife, Archipiélago Canario, and Gran Canaria. Their pilots were Rafael Martínez Estévez, Joaquín Pardo García, and Joaquín Martínez de Pisón, accompanied by their respective observers and mechanics.
Meteorology, a Challenge for the Aviators
The expedition was conditioned by meteorological and technical difficulties. Fog, low clouds, swell, and sandstorms forced modifications to the planned routes, delays in some stages, and the search for alternative locations for safe landing or alighting.
The difficulties highlighted the extent to which these flights depended on the crews' adaptability. Air navigation over African territories and maritime spaces required meticulous planning, meteorological knowledge, and technical preparation that was still under development.
During the journey, the aviators made several stops in North Africa and maintained contact with Spanish authorities stationed in those territories. In Cabo Juby, Colonel Bens received the expedition members. The mission also had an institutional and representative dimension: it aimed to showcase the operational capability of Spanish military aviation in territories far from the Peninsula and demonstrate the possibility of maintaining air communications between the various Spanish possessions.
The crossing continued towards the Canary Islands. The three Breguets arrived in Gran Canaria, and the seaplane refueled in the Port of La Luz. The expedition then proceeded to Tenerife, where the Dornier landed again in the port, while the land-based aircraft faced various problems during their operations. One of them suffered an accident upon landing in a muddy field, and another had been damaged previously.
Technical problems conditioned the return of the Breguets, which had to be loaded onto a ship to return to the Peninsula. The Dornier, on the other hand, retained its flight capability and was able to continue the journey under its own power.
Arrecife, a stopover on the first flights over the Atlantic
The presence of the seaplane in Lanzarote constitutes one of the most unique episodes of that adventure. The bay of Arrecife offered a natural space for landing and represented a point of reference in maritime communications of the time. The arrival of an aircraft of those dimensions must have aroused the curiosity of the neighbors who approached the coast to contemplate it.
The stopover in Lanzarote also helps to understand the possibilities that seaplanes offered for connecting island and continental territories without the need for landing strips. The sea became an operational surface, and protected bays acquired strategic importance for the development of the first air routes.
The route between the Canary Islands and the African coast demonstrated the capabilities of those aircraft to cover long distances over the ocean. Navigation required specific preparation, adequate coordination between crews, and a great capacity to deal with incidents that could arise during the journey.
The Dornier Wal, an airplane designed to conquer the sea
The technical protagonist of that adventure belonged to a family of seaplanes that played an important role in the development of aviation during the interwar period. The Dornier Wal, designed by the German company Dornier, stood out for its metal construction and its ability to operate from water. Its twin-engine configuration and central hull allowed it to make sea crossings and land in places where there were no landing strips.
The Spanish Military Aviation had incorporated several units of this model. Some aircraft arrived equipped with Hispano-Suiza engines, while others later received Rolls-Royce Eagle engines. Its range, payload capacity, and maritime operational capabilities made it a suitable instrument for reconnaissance, transport, and long-distance travel support missions.
The experience gained during that operation would prove especially valuable for Ramón Franco, who would later lead the Plus Ultra expedition, the seaplane that starred in the famous flight between Palos de la Frontera and Buenos Aires, considered one of the great achievements of Spanish aviation. The previous crossing had made it possible to test the possibilities of long-distance travel over the sea and the aviators' ability to cope with long distances.
The mission demonstrated that the air link between North Africa and the Canary Islands was technically possible, although it still depended on complex planning and favorable weather conditions. The Dornier was the only aircraft that could complete the return flight, while the Breguets had to return by sea after the incidents they suffered.
For Lanzarote, that episode is part of an aeronautical history prior to the construction of the Guacimeta aerodrome. The island had already received other seaplanes, including the one that arrived in 1920 and the Fairey Lusitania, piloted by Portuguese aviators Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral. Those visits show that the bay of Arrecife was used as a stopover point long before there was any land-based airport infrastructure.
The subsequent evolution of aviation in Lanzarote would lead to the creation of the Guacimeta airfield and the development of the current airport. But before the runways, terminals, and commercial flights, it was the waters of the bay that welcomed some of the first protagonists of modern aviation.
The landing of the Dornier Wal on water remains a notable episode of that pioneering era, when the sea was still a runway and each arrival of an airplane turned the Lanzarote coastline into a scene of anticipation.
DOCUMENTARY SOURCES
• Montelongo Fránquiz, Antonio J. and Falero Lemes, Marcial A. El Puerto del Arrecife. Cabildo de Lanzarote and Ayuntamiento de Arrecife.
• ABC. Chronicle of the air raid and the route between Arrecife and Casablanca.
• Revista de Aeronáutica y Astronáutica. Study on the great flights preserved in the Air Museum. • Revista Aeroplano. Study on the historical flights of the Dornier Wal in Spain.
• Ejército del Aire y del Espacio. Historical review of the Lanzarote Air Base.
• Memoria de Lanzarote. Historical chronology of island aeronautics.
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