In the summer of 1925 the Spanish Military Aviation Service made its first long distance flight. Under the command of Major Rafael Llorente the Wals W1 “Valencia”, W 5 “Cataluna” and W 7 “Andalucia” made a “raid” from Melilla to Santa Isabel on the island of Fernando Poo - Spanish Guinea and back.
For those days a pioneer performance and an impressive distance of 14700 km. Before the raids the weak original Hispano Suiza 42 engines of 300 HP were exchanged for Rolls Royce Eagle IX of 360 HP.
The Dornier Wal Documentation Center thanks Mr Jim Trent from the US for the beautiful postcard, which shows the colonial authorities going on board of the “Andalucia”. |
