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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aviation |
| Founded | 1923 |
| Founder | José Ortiz-Echagüe |
| Defunct | 2009 |
| Fate | Merged intoAirbus Military |
| Successor | Airbus Military |
| Headquarters | |
| Products | various types of aircraft and aerospace components |
| Revenue | 15,740,000,000 United States dollar (2013)  |
| Parent | EADS |
Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA[1] (CASA) was a Spanishaircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1923 and began manufacturing aircraft the following year. In 1999 it became a subsidiary of theEADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) under the nameEADS CASA and in 2009 was absorbed intoAirbus Military. CASA designed and produced military transport aircraft such as theCASA C-212 Aviocar, theCASA CN-235, theCASA C-295 and theCASA C-101 trainer/ground attack aircraft.
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Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) was founded byJosé Ortiz-Echagüe in 1923 and began work on a factory inGetafe in May 1924, buildingBreguet aircraft under license. The first order covered 26 19 A.2s; total production of this type eventually reached 400 units.
CASA built a second factory inCádiz in 1926 to construct a licensed copy of the GermanDornier Do J Wal seaplane. They built 17 aircraft for theSpanish Air Force, 12 for the Naval Aviation branch of the Spanish Navy and two for commercial use. CASA also operated several branch facilities in Spain for the repair and overhaul of aircraft. In 1929 theCASA-1 flew - the first CASA designed aircraft. KingAlfonso XIII visited the main factory in 1930. CASA also built the FrenchBreguet 19, two of which would be made especially famous. One, was the Breguet XIX GR (Grand Raid) named theJesus del Gran Poder, currently preserved in theMuseo del Aire de Cuatro Vientos (Madrid), which flew betweenSeville andBahia (in Brazil), in 1929. This aircraft was piloted by Captains Ignacio Jiménez and Francisco Iglesias and covered 6746 km in 43 hours 50 minutes. The other was the Breguet XIX Super Bidon, namedCuatro Vientos (Four Winds); it was flown byMariano Barberán andJoaquín Collar Serra to Havana in Cuba in 1933. In 1932 CASA obtained a license from the UK aircraft company,Vickers, to build 25Vickers Vildebeest land-based torpedo bombers, which were powered by French Hispano 600 hp engines.
During the Spanish Civil War, the CASA Getafe factory was located in the Republican zone. It was moved toAlicante, and another opened inSabadell. At the end of the war, production returned to Getafe. CASA manufactured the RussianPolikarpov I-15 biplane fighter, producing 287 aircraft before the end of the civil war.
After the Spanish Civil War, CASA opened a new plant inTablada in Seville, after obtaining various aircraft licenses from Germany and built 25Gotha Go 145A as the CASA 1145, 25Bücker Bü 133 as the CASA 1133 and 555Bücker Bü 131 as the CASA 1131. Production of these aircraft continued until the late 1950s. The CASA 201, is a twin-engine transport, (its engines were the Spanish-made ENMASA VAT Tigre G-125). In 1940 CASA began the licensed manufacture of 200Heinkel He 111 twin-engine bombers with importedRolls-Royce Merlins, as theCASA 2.111. (These are the aircraft that were used as World War Two German Luftwaffe He 111s in various movies such asBattle of Britain andPatton.)
Starting in 1943, the Spanish government began investing in CASA, first obtaining a 33 per cent share of the company, by 1992 this had increased to a controlling 99.2 per cent. In 1945 CASA opened a factory in Madrid dedicated to manufacturing the parts and sub-assemblies of their various aircraft and those that they had contracts to repair and overhaul. In 1946 CASA re-established the Projects Office and resumed the design of aircraft based on the firm's proprietary technology. In 1957 CASA won a contract from theUnited States Air Force for the maintenance of theF-100 Super Sabres based in Europe and Turkey and a contract from the Spanish Air Force to overhaulT-33s in the Spanish Air Force. They began the manufacture of theNorthrop F-5A fighter-bomber under license in 1962. In 1971, CASA merged withHispano Aviación.
CASA was one of the original members of theAirbus Consortium with France, Germany and the United Kingdom in 1972. In 1977, CASA was awarded the contract to design and build theC-101, a trainer and attack aircraft for theSpanish Air Force. CASA joined theEurofighter 2000 project in 1996.
CASA has been a part of EADS, the European aerospace corporation, withAérospatiale-Matra of France,Dornier GmbH andDASA of Germany since 1999. From then, the Spanish branch of EADS is calledEADS-CASA. The currentCEO andChairman of EADS-CASA isDomingo Ureña-Raso.[2] EADS-CASA currently employs around 7,500 workers.
EADS was formed in July, 2000 following the merger of AerospatialeMatra of France,DaimlerChrysler Aerospace of Germany and Construcciones Aeronáuticas S.A. fromSpain. It is the third largest aerospace company in the world with approximately 100,000 employees.
In July 2001 EADS-CASA Military Aircraft marked the beginning of theEurofighter Typhoon Final Assembly Phase at Getafe.[3] It is one of four assembly lines for the Eurofighter (the other three are atWarton in the United Kingdom,Manching in Germany andTurin in Italy). Production was expected to be up to seven Typhoon wings per month and 12 aircraft per year. EADS CASA is producing the right wing for the Eurofighter and assembling 87 aircraft for the Spanish Air Force. First delivery was realized together with the other partner air forces in the second half of 2002.
EADS CASA's Military Transport Aircraft Division (MTAD) was based inMadrid. One of the aircraft it produces is the Airbus A330-200, which has been modified to provideair-to-air refuelling. It has provided one variant to theRoyal Australian Air Force and another to the UK'sRoyal Air Force via theAirTanker company. MTAD's main focus is in the light to medium end of the military transport market covering three to nine tonnes.
The MTAD managed the industrial and technical activities of participating companies for theA400M project. This responsibility is now managed by Airbus Military.[4]
