GUSTAVO ADOLFO

SALINAS CAMIA
AKA GUSTAVO SALINAS CAMIA

1893-1964

Gustavo Salinas Camia

Collection of Pablo Arumbe, 8-7-09

Mexico City, July, 1912. A photo for history: From left to

right, Alberto Salinas Carranza, Gustavo Salinas
Camia, Juan Pablo Aldasoro Surez, Horacio Ruiz
Gavio and Eduardo Aldasoro Surez. In those days, they
left for Long Island, New York, where the famous Moissant
International Aviators School was established.
Ciudad de Mxico, julio de 1912. Una foto para la historia: De
izquierda a derecha, Alberto Salinas Carranza, Gustavo Salinas
Camia, Juan Pablo Aldasoro Surez, Horacio Ruiz Gavio y Eduardo
Aldasoro Surez. En esos dias partirian rumbo a Long Island, N. Y. ,
donde estaba establecida la famosa Moissant International Aviators
School.
Extract from Revolucin Mexicana / Contrarrevolucin en Yucatan"
Vol 61, Oct. 1967
Courtesy of Gerardo Garcia de Len

GUSTAVO ADOLFO
SALINAS CAMIA
Head of the Department
of Aeronautics, he urged
and guided the
manufacture of airplanes
and their repair at the
National Factory of
Aeronautical
Construction, having
made a distinguished
record in the 1924
campaign
Fue Jefe del Departamento de
Aeronutica, impuls la
fabricacin de aviones y su
reparacin en los Talleres
Nacionales de Construcciones
Aeronuticas, teniendo una
destacada actuacin en la
campaa de 1924.

Mexican Air
Force
1910

Five Pioneers
1912

Biplane Sonora
1914

Obregon
1914

GUSTAVO SALINAS CAMIA

Gral. Roberto Fierro V.
Extract from Revolucin Mexicana / Gran Ofensiva en Occidente"
Vol 45, June 1967
Courtesy of Gerardo Garcia de Len

It fell to the honor of Mexican Captain Gustavo Salinas

Camia to be the first man in America to use the airplane
as a bomber. It occurred in 1914 in the vicinity of
Topolobampo (Sinaloa).
The inspiration for this event was the following: The
Mexican Revolutionary Army had puts its hopes in the use
of the airplane. The First Head of the Constitutionalist
Army ordered Captain Camia to buy an airplane in the

United States of America.

Don Venustiano Carranza assigned the plane to the
column which was commanded by General Alvaro
Obregn in the Northwest. The airplane was turned into a
weapon of war and was ordered to carry out several
bombings in the previously mentioned port on the coast of
the Pacific.
On several occasions, he bombed the Caonero Guerero,
forcing this Naval vessel of the Huertista regime to put out
to sea each time.
Toc el honor al capitn piloto aviador mexicano, Gustavo Salinas
Camia, de ser el primer hombre que utiliz en America un avin como
arma para bombardear. Fue en el curso de las acciones que tuvieron
lugar en Topolobampo (Sinaloa), en el ao de 1914.
El antecedente de esta hech es el siguiente:
Exista el anhelo de que el Ejrcito de la Revolucin contara con
aeroplanos. Ese afn se hizo realidad cuando el Primer Jefe del Ejrcito
Constitucionalista orden al mencionado piloto, que comprara en los
Estados Unidos de Norteamrica un avin.
Don Venustiano Carranza entreg el aparato a la columna que el
general Alvaro Obregn mandava en el Noroeste, y a ese avin le toc
en suerte convertir a la aviacin en arma de guerra, al efectuar varios
bombardeos areos en el antedicho puerto de la costa del Pacfico.
Dej caer en varias ocasiones su carga de bombas sobre el
caonero. Guerero, de la marina de guerra adicta el

rgimen huertista, obligndolo a retirarse en cada ocasion

mar afuera.
Extract from Revolucin Mexicana / Gran Ofensiva en Occidente" Vol
45, June 1967
Courtesy of Gerardo Garcia de Len

MEXICAN AIR CHIEF AT MAXWELL --Making a

nation-wide tour of Army Air Forces stations, Maj. Gen.
Gustavo Salinas (left), head of the Mexican Air Forces,
visits Maxwell Field and is honored by a parade of aviation

cadets. With him are Col. Elmer J. Bowling, Maxwell Field

commanding officer (center), and Col. D. D. Fitz Gerald,
chief of staff, AAFSETC

Gen. Salinas Puts Faith

In Allied Air Power
NEWS
Montgomery Alabama, Saturday, August 14, 1943

Inspects Maxwell Training Facilities

Fought With Villa In Revolution, Using Home-Made
Bombs
MAXWELL FIELD, Ala -- "Airpower will break the Axis'
back!"
That is the opinion of Mar. Gen. Gustavo Salinas, chief
of the Mexican Army Air Forces, who arrived this week at
Maxwell, for an inspection of training facilities on this post
and elsewhere in this Southeast Training Center.
General Salinas should know of what he speaks, for he is
one of the pioneers in the field of military aviation.
During his visit the general reminisced concerning his
first bombing exploits, back in 1913-144, when he was
participating with Villa in the Mexican Revolution.
"The bombs I used were home-made," he declared,
"with a charge of 52 sticks of dynamite. Primitive as they
were, they worked like a charm. At the time I was flying an
old Wright pusher type. It occurred to me that the day
would come when we would have planes of weight-carrying
efficiency beyond one's fondest hopes, and that then the
plane would come into its own as a military assault weapon
of fabulous power. That day has come."
Speaking faultless English, black-haired, but graying at
the temples, the chief of the Mexican Army Air Forces went
on to speak of his trip of inspection. He pointed out that the
primary, basic and advanced training system utilized by
the A.A.F. Training Command in training its pilots, is being
reproduced in Mexico. He said that the center of his
country's training program was being shifted to
Guadalajara, because of the more desirable altitude and
climate.
Accompanied by his aide, Capt. Radames Gaxiola,
General Salinas came to the Training Center on the
invitation of Marj. Gen Thomas J. Hanley, Jr.,
commanding the AAAFSETC, whom he met in a
conference at Fr. Worth with Maj. Gen. Barton K. Yount,
the commanding general of the AAF Training Command.
General Salinas inspected Maxwell Field's Liberator

bomber pilot school and the preflight school. He also

inspected training facilities at Gunter Field.
He will return to Mexico upon completion of his tour.
Escorting him on the inspection tour are Col Arthur W.
Brock, Jr., deputy chief of Air Staff, Intelligence,
Washington, D. C.; Maj. David M. Warner, of the Materials
Laboratory, Engineering Division, Wright Field, Dayton,
Ohio; and Maj. G. T. McHugh, of Headquarters, AAF,
Plans Air Staff, and the Joint Mexico-U. S. Commission of
the War Department, in Washington, D. C.
Speaking of the training program of the AAF, General
Salinas declared:
"We are following it fairly closely, since the United
States has had a good deal of experience in developing the
program over a period of years, there is no reason why we
should attempt to do something different."
General Salinas received his first commercial license -the coveted early number 172 -- from the Aero Club of
America at Flushing Meadows, N. Y., not far from the
present Mitchell Field, back in 1912.
Educated in San Antonio, Texas, and at Manilus, N. Y.,
he received his degree in Engineering from Renssalaer
Polytechnic Institute, N. Y........

ONLINE RESOURCES
If you search on "Gustavo Salinas Camia" using
Google, you will find about 229 links. (9-27-07) You will be
rewarded by visiting each of them, especially if you read
Spanish. If prefer them in English, many may be translated
directly from the Google entry. Among the more important
ones are these:

First Aerial Bombing of a Warship

Tony Burton introduces his article with the following
paragraph:
"In the early years of the twentieth century, the nature of
warfare changed dramatically. The deployment of aircraft
unleashed a powerful new weapon for warring factions,
previously forced to rely only on their land and sea forces."
After recounting the events which preceeded this crucial
development in Naval warfare, Tony describes in great
detail the role which Gustavo Salinas played as follows:
"In April 1914, one of Obregn's gunships, the Tampico, was

sailing off the coast of Sinaloa, close to the port of

Topolobampo (near Los Mochis), when it came under attack
from two Huertista warships: the Morelos and the Guerrero.
Obregn ordered Gustavo Salinas Camia to do something
about it. On April 14, accompanied by his mechanic Teodoro
Madariaga, Salinas flew Sonora, his Glenn Martin pusher
biplane, overhead and began bombing the Guerrero. The
Huertista warships put out to sea, and the Tampico survived
to fight another day. Two months later, however, when the
Tampico met up with the Guerrero again, it was less lucky.
On that occasion, it caught fire and sank."
You can enjoy the entire exciting story by clicking on the
title above.

THE MEXICAN AIR FORCE

A good place to start is on the homepage of The Mexican
Air Force. From this point, especially if you read Spanish,
you can enjoy sections on Introduccin, Historia, Hechos
Destacados de la Aviacin Militar, etc. To visit those entries
which tell of Camia, you may want to go directly to:

LOS ORIGENES
If you need an English translation, you can use the
extract which follows:
The early development of aviation
awakened the interest of individuals
and of the Government of the Mexican
Republic. On November 30, 1911,
President Francisco I. Madero flew in a
" Deperdussin " airplane, thus
becoming the first Chief of State in the
World to fly.
President Madero was convinced of the important role
which airplanes could play in war when serving as the "
eyes of the Army ", He bought several and established
scholarships which enabled five Mexicans to receive flight
training abroad. Those pioneers of military aviation in
Mexico were: Alberto Salinas Carranza, Gustavo
Salinas Camia, Horacio Ruiz Gabio and the
brothers, Juan Pablo Aldasoro Surezand Eduardo
Aldasoro Surez.

Galera de la Fuerza Area Mexicana.

On this site, you will brief biographies of 16 of the
heroes of Mexican Aviation, including one for Gustavo
Salinas Camia. Each one has a small picture, the text is all
in Spanish, but you can use the AltaVista "Translate"
machine if you want to transtate the bios. To visit the site,
just click on the title above.

23 OF OCTOBER
NATIONAL AVIATION DAY
(DIA NACIONAL DE LA AVIACION)
There is no doubt that one of the great yearnings of the
man has always been the ability to fly. After a long series of
technological developments, it resulted in the types of
aircraft that we know today.
It was in the nineteenth century that the design of
vehicles "to establish records of altitude, speed, et cetera"
began, although not exclusively with airplanes. In 1908,
Alfredo Robles Domnguez published the book Tratado de
locomocin area. (Treatise of Aerial Locomotion).

Balbuena Airport
In 1909, the la Sociedad Impulsora de la Aviacin,
(Impelling Society of Aviation), was established and on
January 8, 1910, on the plains of Balbuena, Alberto
Braniff successfully made the first flight in a Voisin biplane
powered by a 60 horsepower engine. With the ability to
control the direction of flight, he flew a distance of500
meters at a height of 25 meters. Just a short time later,
Braniff and some of his friends founded the Club Areo de
la Ciudad de Mxico.(Aerial Club of the City of Mexico).
During the Maderista government, the acrobatic group
of the Moissant International Aviators arrived at Mexico,
to give an aerial exhibition. Upon seeing this, Francisco I.
Madero decided to buy five airplanes and to grant
scholarships in Long Island, New York to the first Mexican
pilots: Alberto Salinas Carranza, Gustavo Salinas
Camia, Horacio Ruiz Gavio and the Juan Pablo and
Eduardo Aldasoro Surez brothers.
August 3, 1912, Miguel Lebrija flew to an altitude of 300
meters over the Valley of Mexico, being the first Mexican to
fly on the metropolitan cathedral. After " the tragic ten ",
in February of 1913, General Alvaro Obregn ordered the

purchase of two airplanes, to use as bombers in Guaymas,

Sonana. In 1914, Gustavo Salinas Camia, bombed to
the Guerrero cannoneer , thus establishing a new use to the
airship.
Editors Note: A more proper translation will follow, as time
permits.

FORMATION OF THE 1ST ESCADRILLE

fragment from
Revolucin Mexicana / Contrarrevolucin en Yucatan"
Vol 61, October 1967
Courtesy of Gerardo Garcia de Len

Meanwhile, Alberto Salinas with a degree of lieutenant ,

was commisioned by the First Headquarters of the
Constitutionalist Government, to go to Chihuahua under
the orders of general Francisco Villa. Previously and upon
the initiative of the aforementioned official, Gustavo
Salinas, they had been assigmed to the Moissant
International School, three airplanes of the last MoraineSaulnier model, that were to be delivered to the border
town of Jurez City. Also the services of Mr. Francisco
Santarini were contracted, to be in charge of the
maintenance of the machines. The purpose that perseguia
with the use of these airplanes, was the one to gain a fast
victory in marks to Tower by the forces to the orders of
general Villa: having itself taken nevertheless his
construction, more time of the anticipated one, it was
necessary to do without them during that memorable feat
of arms
Mientras tanto, Alberto Salinas, con el grado de teniente, fue
comisonado por la Primera Jefatura del Gobierno Constitucionalista,
para pasar a Chihuahua a las rdenes del general Francisco Villa.
Con anteroridad y por iniciativa del citado oficial Gustavo

Salinas, se haban pedido a la Moissant International School, tres

aviones del ltimo modelo Moraine-Saulnier, que deberia ser
entregados en la poblacin fronteriza de Ciudad Jurez. Asimismo se
contrataron los servicios del seor Francisco Santarini, para que se
hiciera cargo del mantenimiento de dichas mquinas. La finalidad que
se perseguia con el empleo de estos aviones, era la de obtener una
rpida victoria en el taque a Torren por las fuerzas a las rdenes del
general Villa: habindose tardado sin embargo su construccin, ms
tiempo del previsto, hubo que prescindir de ellos durante ese
memorable hecho de armas.

Formation of the 1 * Escadrille

En February of 1914, Santarini arrived at Jurez City

with first of the requested airplanes, the others arrived
later by way of Tampico, forming the three, which was
called the First Constitutionalist Aerial Flotilla, at the
command of then captain Alberto Salinas.
The flotilla did not arrive to engage in battle, that is not
in an armed effort against the forces of the usurper
Victoriano Huerta. Because of the insubordination of
General Villa to the Constitutionalist Government, the
flotilla did not follow his orders, being rather under the
direct control of the First Headquarters of the
Constitutionalist Government, responsible to the Secretary
of the Army and Navy. The flotilla performed
magnificently in the Yucatan Peninsula and the action of
Ebano, Tamaulipas, the year of 1915.

Formacin de la 1* Escuadrilla
En febrero de 1914, Santarini lleg a Ciudad Jurez con el primero
de los aviones pedidos, los otros se incorporaron ms tarde por la via de
Tampico, formando los tres, lo que se llam la Primera Flotilla Area
Constitucionalista, al mando del entonces capitn Alberto Salinas.
Esta flotilla no lleg s entrar en accin, en ningn hecho de armas,
contra las fuerzas del usurpador Victoriano Huerta. Por la
insubordinacin del general Villa al Gobierno Constitucionalista, esta
flotilla no pas a depender de dicho jefe, quedando a las rdenes
directas de la Primera Jefatura del Gobierno Constitucionalista,
dependiente de la Secretaria de Guerra y Marina. Esta flotilla tuvo una
magnifica actuacin en la peninsula de Yucatn y en los combates de el
Ebano, en Tamaulipas, en el ao de 1915.

MARCH 5, 1964.
HE WAS CALLED BEFORE
GOD'S TRIBUNAL
DIVISION GENERAL
GUSTAVO A. SALINAS CAMIA
REST IN PEACE
As you might notice there's inconsistency (1 day) in the date of his death.
Photo courtesy of Luis Garca de Len, 7-12-04

Gustavo Adolfo Salinas Camia died in 1964.

"Luis Garca de Len, nos enva la siguiente
informacin: Buscando informacin para mi rbol
genealgico me encontr con tu pgina. Pens que te sera de
utilidad informacin sobre la muerte de Gustavo Adolfo
Salinas Camia - bisabuelo QEPD. Muri el 5 de Marzo de
1964, a la edad de 70 aos. Fue enterrado en el Panten
Municipal San Jos ubicado en Villa de Cuatro Cinegas de
Carranza, Coahuila, Mxico."
"Luis Garca de Len, sends the following information to
us: Looking for information for my genealogical tree I found
your page. I thought that great-grandfather QEPD would be
to you of utility information on the death of Gustavo Adolpho
Salinas Camia -. He died the 5th of March of 1964, at the
age of 70 years. He was buried in the Municipal Pantheon

San Jos located in Villa de Cuatro Cinegas de Carranza,

Coahuila, Mxico."
Editor's Note: This information came from Cosme Alvarez Cabaes'
website, La Web del Factor Humano en la Aviacin. The website was
recommended to me by Angel Martini of Buenos Aires and proves to be
a really remarkable resource. It is written entirely in Spanish, which
limits it usefullness to those of us who can only read English, but does
suggest the wealth of material which is available on the internet in
other languages. If time permits, I recommend that you take advantage
of one of the machine-translation programs, Babel Fish or Systran, to
translate it into English.

CAMIA'S BURIAL SITE

In July of 2004, Luis Garca de Len took advantage of
the opportunity to visit the burial site of his greatgrandfather, Gustavo Adolpho Salinas Camia. He is
buried in the " Panten Municipal San Jos " located in the
"Villa de Cuatro Cinegas de Carranza, Coahuila, Mxico.
Luis was kind enough to share some of the beautiful
pictures he took during his visit, along with some
interesting explantory notes. To join him on his trip, click
on:
Page 1

LA FUERZA AEREA
MEXICANA

Mexico City, January 8, 1910. The aviator Alberto Braniff,

on board a Voisin aeroplane, is about to takeoff. It is the
first time that such a flight has been made in the Mexican
Republic.
Ciudad de Mxico, 8 de Enero de 1910. El avidor Alberto Braniff, a
bordo de un aereoplano Voisin, se dispone a alavarse. Es la primera vez
que se consume semejante hazaa en la Republica Mexicana.
Extract from Revolucin Mexicana / Contrarrevolucin en Yucatan"
Vol 61, October 1967
Courtesy of Gerardo Garcia de Len

THE ORIGENS
Extract from Revolucin Mexicana / Contrarrevolucin en Yucatan"
Vol 61, October 1967
Courtesy of Gerardo Garcia de Len

In March of 1911, there arrived a group of aviators

organized by Alfred B. Moissant who were presented to the
President of the Republic, General Porfirio Diaz. They
demonstrated to him and to members of the War
Department, the effectiveness of the aeroplane as a means
of military observation. In a test, troops who had hidden
themselves near the Hill of the Stars, in the Valley of
Mexico, were easily discovered by the avitor, Roland
Garros.
***
In December of 1911, the Captain of Engineers, Federico

Cervantes, suggested to the government that the aeroplane

offered substantial advantages with respect to military
observation. Captain Cervantes had been trained as a
balloon pilot in France. Later, he returned to France to
continue his studies of "aerostation", earning the title of
Correspondent from the Aeronautical Federation.

Mexico City, November 30, 1911. In the photo above is seen

Don Francisco I. Madero, then president of the Republic,
after having made a flight over the federal capital in a
plane piloted by the French pilot Dyot. President Madero
was the first chief executive, in the world to fly as a
passenger in an airplane.
Ciudad de Mxico, 30 de noviembre de 1911. En la grfica aparece don
Francisco I. Madero, en ese entonces presidente de la Repblica, tras
haver efectuado un vuelo sobre la capital federal, en unin del piloto
francs Dyot. El Seor Madero fue el pimer mandatario, en el mundo,
que abord un aeroplano..
Extract from Revolucin Mexicana / Contrarrevolucin en Yucatan"
Vol 61, October 1967
Courtesy of Gerardo Garcia de Len

The government of President Francisco I Madero made

arrangements with the Moissant International School, long
established in the United States of America, for the
acquisition of an aeroplane and the training of pilots. In the
month of September of 1912, Francisco Alvarez and Hector
Worden arrived in the city of Torreon, with two MoissantBlriot aeroplanes, being at the disposal of General

Victoriano Huerta of the Northern Division. However, their

skills as pilots were not utilized, not being considered to be
worthwhile.
In that same year of 1912, the govenment of President
Francisco I. Madero sent the Gustavoand Alberto Salinas
Carranza brothers to the Moissant International School of
Long Island, N.Y., where they both graduated the same
year. Shortly thereafter, they sent Horacio Ruiz and
the Juan Pablo and Eduardo Aldasoro brothers to the
school.
Upon their return from New York, the Carranza
brothers settled in the State of Coahuila and on February
24, 1913, when Don Venustiano Carranza ceeded the
government to Victoriano Huerta, the brothers were
enlisted in the Revolutionary Movement. Upon arriving in
Sonora, Gustavo Salinas Carranza was put in charge of the
Curtiss aeroplane which had been acquired by the interim
governor of the state, Don Ignacio Pesqueira. Later, this
same aeroplane was used by Gustavo to bomb the Naval
vessels, Morelos and Guerrero in the port of Topolobampo,
Sonora. Thus he became the first aircraft commander in
America and the second in the world to use the aeroplane
as a bomber against Naval vessels.
En el mes de marzo de 1911, arrib procedente de Francia una
compaia de aviacin, organizada por el seor Alfredo B. Moissant, la
que en presencia del Gral. Porfirio Diaz, presidente de la Repblica, y a
instancias del ministro de Guerra, puso a prueba la utilidad del
aeroplano para fines militars de observacin. Para tal efecto se
ocultaron tropas en las proximidades del cerro de la Estrella, que se
encuentra en al Valle de Mxico. siendo descubiertas fcilmente por el
aviador Roland Garros.
***
En diciembre de 1911, el capitn de ings Federico Cervantes sugir
al gobierno que ofrecia mayores ventaja el empleo de globos que el de
aeroplanos para fines de observacin militar. El capitn Cervantes se
titul en Francia como piloto de aerostatos. Posteriormente volvi a ese
pais a continuar sus estudios de aerostacin, obteniendo de la
Federacin Aereonutica los titulos correspondientes.
***
El gobierno del presidente Fancisco I. Madero hizo arreglos con la
casa Moissant, establecida en los Estado Unidos de Norteamrica, para
la adquisicin de aeroplanos y el adiestramiento de pilotos. En el mes
de septiembre de 1912 arribaron a la ciudad de Torren los pilotos
Francisco Alvarez y Hctor Worden, con dos aeroplanos MoissantBlriot, quedando a disposicin del jefe de la Divisin del Norte,
general Victoriano Huerta. No llegaron a ser utilizados, por no
considerar de inters la superioridad su empleo.
Ese mismo ao de 1912 el govierno del presidente Francisco I
Madero, envi tambin a estudiar a la Moissant International School,
de Long Island, N.Y., a los hermanos Gustavo y Alberto Salinas

Carranza, que se graduaron ese mismo ao, y poco despus a Horacio

Ruiz y a los hermanos Juan Pablo y Eduardo Aldasoro.
A su retorno de N.Y., los hermanos Salinas Carranza, se retiraron al
Estado de Coahuila y el 24 de febrero de 1913, al desconocer el
gobernador de dicho Estado, don Venustiano Carranza, al gobierno de
Victoriano Huerta, los jovenes Salinas se incorporaron al movimiento
revolucionari. Al arribar a Sonora el seor Carranza, Gustavo Salinas
se hizo cargo del avion Curtiss que habia sido adquirido por el
gobernador interino del Estado de Sonora, don Ignacio Pesqueira. Ms
tarde dicho avin seria empleado por Gustavo Salinas para
bombardear, en el puerto de Topolobampo, Sonora, los barcos Morelos
y Guerrero, surtos por lo tanto el primer piloto en Amrica y el
segundo en el mundo que empleaba.......