Andrés García La Calle

Who was Andrés García La Calle?

Andrés García La 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.

Born in Sestao, in Spain, he started his career in 1929 as an NCO after having got his license in a private aero club. He saw action immediately on the break of the civil war flying with all outdated planes for the time, like the Nieuport Ni-52 Delage, the Hawker Fury, the Loire 46 and the Dewoitine 371 where, nevertheless, he scored his first 3 victories. He was so promoted to Lieutenant.

Near September 1936 upon the arrival of the more modern soviet fighters Polikarpov I-15 and Polikarpov I-16 he participated in the first squadrons organized by the Russians, defending Madrid and contributing to the endurance of the city despite the terrorist air bombing attacks against civilians by German and Italian units. In November of the same year he took command as Captain of the 1st Fighter Squadron, organized now under Spanish control. It became known as the ‘Lacalle Squadron’, composed of 25 planes, the leader and another 6 groups of 4.