275–393 civilians dead
1,000 civilians injured None | Date 25 May 1938 | |
Anti-aircraft artillery 7–9 Italian Sa-79 and Sa-81 bombers Result Alicante severely damaged. Similar Spanish Civil War, Bombing of Granollers, Campaign of Gipuzkoa, Siege of Gijón, Battle of Santander | ||
The bombing of Alicante was an aerial attack against the Spanish city of Alicante on 25 May 1938. It was one of the deadliest aerial bombings of the Spanish Civil War.
Contents
Background.
After the Aragon Offensive, Franco wanted to eliminate the Republican maritime commerce and destroy the Republican morale and he authorized the Aviazione Legionaria and the Legion Condor to undertake indiscriminate bombings of the Republican cities. Valencia, Barcelona, Alicante, Granollers and other Spanish town and cities were bombed.
The bombing.
On 25 May 1938, between seven and nine Italian SM.79 and SM.81 bombers of the Aviazione Legionaria bombed Alicante. The anti-aircraft artillery of the city was obsolete and the air-alarm system of the city didn’t work. The bombers dropped ninety bombs and many of them fell in the central market of the city. There were between 275 and 393 civilian deaths (100 men, 56 women, 10 children and more than 100 unidentified bodies), and 1000 wounded. Preston said that there were several hundreds of civilians killed.
Aftermath
The bombings of Alicante and Granollers, and the attacks against British shipping provoked protests in London.