The Military Museum of the Canary Islands (Santa Cruz de Tenerife)

I decided to do something a bit different with this post.  I’ve been to many, many museums over the years and have walked many battlefields.  I even used to run battlefield tours to Normandy for cadets and regular military personnel.  However, I’ve never posted any of them on this blog.  A recent conversation with Willz of this parish, regarding his wonderful model forts for his forthcoming 1762 Siege of Havana game, led me to think of the very similar forts and batteries utilised by the defending Spanish forces during Admiral Nelson’s attack on Tenerife in 1797.

I expect that many of you reading this (especially the Brits) will have been to Tenerife or one of the other Canary Islands.  However, most tourists to Tenerife rarely venture outside of the resorts such as Los Cristianos, Playa de Las Americas, Costa Adeje and Puerto de la Cruz, but it is an amazing island to explore, particularly the high-altitude volcanic moonscape of the El Teide National Park (just as long as it doesn’t go boom while I’m visiting).  It is rather good fun to make a small snowman up on the volcano and then stick him in a cold-bag and drive downhill to put him on the beach among the sunbathers…

Even those brave souls who venture away from the beaches might still be completely unaware of the fascinating military history of the island and the truly excellent little Military Museum of the Canary Islands.  The museum is situated in the modern-day capital city of Santa Cruz, which is situated on the east coast, near the northern tip of the island, roughly one hour’s drive along the TF-1 motorway from the main resort areas around Los Cristianos.

This little gem of a museum is housed within the 19th Century Almeyda Fort and is completely free to visit.  The museum is normally open from 0900hrs to 1500hrs, except on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, when the hours are shortened to 1000hrs to 1400hrs.  It’s closed on Mondays.  There’s free parking and an excellent restaurant on site and it’s only a relatively short walk from the centre of Santa Cruz.  We always tend to park in the underground car park at the Plaza de España and walk to the museum while the girls go and do something ‘more interesting’.

The Plaza de España has added bonuses, as in 1797 it was the epicentre of the battle, being the site of the main fortification, the Castillo San Cristóbal.  It’s easy to miss, but next to the entrance to the underground car-park is another entrance to the underworld; this one takes you down to the exposed (now subterranean) bastions of Castillo San Cristóbal and a nice little exhibition on the battle, which includes the actual gun (named El Tigre) that took off Nelson’s arm.

From Plaza de España, walk north along the harbour-front (where all the cruise ships park up) and you’ll eventually see the steep outer bank of the fort on your left (now with the museum restaurant terrace along the top).  The main entrance is round the back, in Calle de San Isidro and the fort sits within a triangular piece of land in the fork between two main roads.  If you find yourself at a large 1940s fascist statue of General Franco being carried on angel’s wings (which is at the apex of the fork in the roads), you’ve gone too far.

Anyway, here are some photos from two of my visits in 2013 and 2016.  Since then they’ve restored a lot of the vehicles stored outdoors, including beautiful restorations of some horse-drawn wagons dating from the Spanish Civil War.  They’ve also built canopies to protect the vehicles and helicopters from sun and rain.  Apologies for the strange angles of many photos; this is due to the fact that most exhibits are behind glass, so I needed to find angles that would eliminate or at least reduce reflection and glare.

Above:  The harbour of Santa Cruz (aka Santa Cruz de Tenerife, to avoid confusion with many other cities and towns of the same name), photographed in 1890, shortly after construction of the Almeyda Fort was completed in 1884 (and which can be seen just to the right of the bay).  Tenerife was always a major hub of Spanish transatlantic trade and a major sugar-producer in its own right, having been attacked numerous times by the English/British Royal Navy, starting with Sir Francis Drake (El Draco) in 1586, who notably attacked the fortified sugar-plantation manor at Adeje, near the southern tip of the island.  El Draco‘s landing site is still called the Baranco del Inglés (Ravine of the English) and is reasonably well known to tourists as the spot where paragliders land their terrified passengers on the beach.

Consequently, a major programme of fortification was instigated during the 17th Century and at Santa Cruz, the still-magnificent Castillo de San Juan Bautista (aka Castillo Negro) near the modern-day opera house was built at this time, along with the original Castillo de San Cristóbal and other defences that have long-since vanished.

These fortifications had a major test in 1657, when Santa Cruz was attacked by the English fleet of Admiral Robert Blake.  The Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of 1657 (the first of three battles to bear that name) was a total success for the English fleet; the formidable coastal defences (consisting of multiple forts, batteries and three lines of infantry breastworks) proved to be no match for English naval gunnery and a complete Spanish silver fleet of 16 ships was sunk at anchor, for the loss of only one English ship.  However, the silver plate had already been offloaded and it was (mostly) eventually delivered safely to Spain.

A second major attack came in 1706 during the War of Spanish Succession, when Admiral John Jennings attempted an amphibious assault on Santa Cruz, intending to seize control of the town as a precursor to seizing Tenerife as a whole.  This time the fortifications proved too much of an obstacle to overcome, with the guns of Castillo San Cristóbal and several previously-unidentified shore batteries causing considerable casualties among the landing force.  The Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of 1706 was therefore a Spanish victory.  With the scoreboard at one-all, there would therefore have to be a decider…

Santa Cruz remained largely undisturbed through all the Anglo-Spanish wars of the middle part of the 18th Century, but the establishment in 1796 of a new alliance between Spain and Revolutionary France resulted in the British Royal Navy returning for a re-match in 1797.  The intervening 91 years had seen yet more improvement to the fortifications, with yet more forts and batteries being built and the main Castillo San Cristóbal being upgraded to a more modern, four-bastioned design.  A fortified harbour breakwater-wall had also been built and this structure had yet another fortified battery at the tip.

Clearly undeterred by Jenkins’ abject failure 91 years earlier, on 22nd July 1797 Admiral Horatio Nelson launched another frontal assault.  

The Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of 1797 was another disaster for the British.  With the first two attempts at landing on 22nd & 23rd July having failed, Admiral Nelson took personal control of the third attempt on the 24th.  However, the defending General Gutiérrez had used the time to bring more militia in from as far away as Guía de Isora, Garachico and Güímar, as well as the regular garrison of the fortress at Puerto de la Cruz on the other side of the island, so the defenders were stronger than ever.  They were also joined by untold numbers of armed civilians.  The third wave therefore ran into a hail of fire and Nelson’s own landing party took severe losses.  Among the losses was Nelson’s arm, which legend states was destroyed by grapeshot from El Tigre.

Nelson was immediately taken back to his flagship HMS Theseus for surgery.  In the meantime, some 350 men under Captains Troubridge and Hood had fought their way into the town, but following a failed assault on the gate of Castillo San Cristobál, soon found themselves trapped within the walls of the convent of La Consolación, whose tall black & white tower is very obvious on the horizon of the 1890 photo above (it’s now known as the church of La Concepción).  An attempt to relieve the trapped force failed miserably, with the loss of the cutter HMS Fox, several small boats and many men.  However, Gutiérrez was magnanimous in victory and offered the besieged force the right to march back to their ships with full military honours.

This generous act of chivalry on was gratefully received by the British and resulted in an exchange of gifts (cheese and booze) between Nelson and Gutiérrez, followed by a warm correspondence between the two men until Gutiérrez’s death from ill-health in 1799.  Nelson, Troubridge and Hood vowed never to attack Tenerife again and remained true to their word.

However, the British, French and other growing world powers remained a threat to Spanish possession of the Canary Islands, so the programme of fortification continued, with the Almeyda Fort being built during the 19th Century, as well as numerous modern coastal batteries and beach-defences until well into the 20th Century.  Those fears were not entirely unfounded, as in late 1941/early 1942 Britain and Canada came remarkably close to executing a plan to take the Canary Islands by force (Operation PILGRIM), due to the perceived threat of a German-Spanish alliance attempting to seize control of Gibraltar, the Azores and Cape Verde Islands.

Above:  Anyway, back to the museum…  Here’s a close-up of the previous photograph, showing the freshly-completed Almeyda Fort in more detail.  The fort consisted of a main half-moon (‘D’-shaped) casemated battery, surrounded by half-octagonal outer works, surrounded in turn by a ditch and earthen glacis (on the near slope of the glacis can be seen the zig-zag remains of 18th Century infantry breastworks and the Santa Isabel Battery).  These outer works mostly consisted as infantry positions, though included another casemated battery facing the sea.  However, artillery technology had progressed rapidly during the thirty years it took to build the fort and when completed in 1884, Almeyda Fort was already obsolete!

Above:  This photo from 1908 shows that Fort Almeyda had been heavily modified in the intervening 18 years to make it more useful in the modern era.  As can be seen, the earth glacis had been removed from the northern side of the fort (i.e. the side facing the camera), with the spoil then then used to fill the ditch on the seaward side, thereby making a far thicker glacis that would hopefully capable of stopping modern naval artillery shells.  This new glacis therefore buried the embrasures of the seaward battery and a new battery, consisting of modern breech-loading guns in open positions, was therefore established on top of the former casemated battery.

Above:  My Beautiful Assistant Ian here for scale, in front of the original half-moon inner works of the Almeyda Fort, which now forms the core of the museum.

Above:  This photo is taken from much the same angle as the old photos, showing the former casemated battery on the left.  The open-topped gun-positions on top of the casemates were at some point enclosed within four concrete casemates, as can be seen here and in the aerial view at the top of the article.

Above:  The old, curving casemates of the main fort hold a magnificent collection of artefacts and models, arrayed on two floors, as well as numerous other side-rooms, the central ‘cloister’, the outer courtyards and the old outer-works and outbuildings.  It’s a lot to pack in to just four hours!

Above:  The museum houses a magnificent model of Nelson’s attack, showing Santa Cruz exactly as it was in 1797, complete with all the fortifications.  Here, Nelson’s fleet bombards the shoreline, but things have clearly already gone horribly wrong ashore!

Above:  The centre of Santa Cruz, as viewed from the south.

Above:  The southern suburb of Santa Cruz.  The dark-coloured line marks the position of infantry breastworks.  The small redoubt at the point of the breastworks on the left is the San Telmo Battery.  Further to the left and out of shot, is the the small rectangular San Francisco Battery (part of which can still be seen in a ruined state today, next to the modern opera house) and the magnificent 17th Century Castillo de San Juan Bautista (aka Castillo Negro or ‘The Black Castle’).  The large building with the tall black and white tower is the convent of La Consolación (now known as the church of La Concepción), where 350 British troops and sailors managed to hold out until the surrender.

Above:  Moving further along the coast, we see the large, rectangular La Concepción Battery, which is attached to the front of the massive, fortified Customs House (Casa de la Aduana).  The yellow-painted building to the left is the Artillery Headquarters, which was also fortified and defended by Spanish troops.  Near the top of the picture, to the left of the ravine, is the black tower of the convent of Santo Domingo, which represented the high-water mark of British penetration into the town.

Above:  Right in the centre of the waterfront is the principle fortification defending Santa Cruz, the Castillo San Cristobál and the new dock, tipped with a half-moon battery.  The wall projecting at 45 degrees from the right-hand bastion of the fort is where El Tigre was positioned, being sited to enfilade the beach.  The fort was demolished at the start of the 20th Century and most of it is now an underground car-park, topped with a large public square called the Plaza de España.  However, the two seaward bastions were excavated and revealed about 20 years ago; as mentioned above, you can go underground to see them, along with the gun El Tigre and a very nice exhibition about the Battle of 1797.

The square behind the fort is the Plaza de la Candelaria, where the surrendered British forces paraded and presented honours to the Spanish defenders before marching back to the boats.

Above:  North of the Castillo San Cristobál is a beautiful ornamental gateway (which is still in situ), which leads on to an avenue of trees and the rectangular Rosario Battery.  A little way inland, with the large square in front and botanic gardens behind, is the convent of San Francisco, which also acted as a defensive strongpoint.

Above:  Further still along the beach is the half-moon San Pedro Battery, which was a far more considerable fortification than most of the batteries.

Above:  Defending the northern exit from the beach are two more batteries; the Santa Isabel Battery on the left and the San Antonio Battery on the right.  The Almeyda Fort was built immediately behind the Santa Isabel Battery.  There’s another very small battery, the El Pilar Battery at the apex of the upper breastwork, just in front of the small, isolated house.  At the extreme right of the photo is a complex of infantry positions covering the flank, which extend inland, along a ravine from the round tower of Castillo de San Andrés, which guards the mouth of the ravine (and which still exists in a ruined state).

Parked in front of the fortifications are a French frigate and a Spanish frigate, as well as a number of smaller Spanish naval vessels, whose guns provided valuable extra firepower to the defence, while many of their crews fought ashore as infantry and additional gun-crew.

Out of shot to the right are three more batteries named La Candelaria, Santa Barbara and San Miguel, and the formidable Castillo de Paso Alto.

Above:  The southern portion of an 18th Century map of the defences.

Above:  The central portion of the map; note that the dock had not yet been built and there are a few batteries missing, so this probably dates back to the early 18th Century (possibly the time of Jenkins’ attack of 1706).

Above:  The northern position of the map, showing the Castillo de Paso Alto, defending the northern end of the line.

Above:  A model of the Castillo San Cristobál and the new dock.

Above:  An architect’s plan of the Castillo San Cristobál before the dock was built.

Above:  An architect’s drawing of the Castillo San Cristobál, including the new dock.

Above:  A model of the San Pedro Battery.

Above:  An architect’s drawing of the San Pedro Battery.

Above:  A model of the Castillo de Paso Alto.

Above:  A model of the La Concepción Battery.  This was typical of most of the battery positions; a simple, rectangular structure with a few administrative and accommodation buildings and low defensive walls facing the sea and flanks, but lacking defences on the landward side.

Above:  An architect’s drawing of the San Miguel Battery – another rather formidable structure.

Above:  A model of the convent of Santo Domingo.  This was the high-water mark of the British assault in 1797.  The dark brown pinewood balconies, doors and window-frames, with whitewashed walls and dark volcanic masonry are absolutely typical of old Tenerifean architecture.

Above:  Another painting of the Battle of 1797, showing the British assaulting the dock and Castillo San Cristobál.

Above:  Spanish gunners fire from one of the northern forts, with the Castillo San Cristobál in the distance.  San Pedro?  Unfortunately, I didn’t take a close-up photo of the information plate.

Above:  The Sencilla (‘Regimental Colour’ in British terms) of the Garachico Militia Regiment.

Above:  The Ordenanza (‘King’s Colour’ equivalent) of the Guía de Isora Militia Regiment.  The arms are from the first half of the 18th Century and the reigns of Phillip V (1700 to 1746) or Ferdinand VI (1746 to 1759).

(There was also Louis I who reigned very briefly in 1724, following the abdication of Phillip V.  However, Louis only survived a few months and the crown reverted to Phillip V later that same year.)

Above:  A portrait of Lieutenant General Antonio Gutiérrez de Otero y Santayana, defender of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.  He’s wearing the uniform of the ‘Africa’ Infantry Regiment (6th in order of seniority among Spanish line infantry regiments), indicated by the black lapels and cuffs, while collar with black piping and yellow metal.  This portrait dates from the 1790s and was probably painted from life.

Gutiérrez was born on 8th May 1729 and had a long military career, fighting in Italy during the War of Austrian Succession, in North Africa and even deploying to the Falkland Islands during a confrontation with Britain in 1770.  Appointed as Governor of the Canary Islands in 1791, he was aged 68 when Nelson attacked and was suffering badly from asthma.  Nevertheless, he demonstrated inspirational and tireless leadership during the defence of Santa Cruz and won considerable honours for his efforts.  However, his illnesses soon got the better of him and he died at Santa Cruz on 15th May 1799.  He is buried at the scene of his greatest triumph, in the church of La Concepción (the former convent of La Consolación).

Above:  There is also this modern portrait of Gutiérrez, though I’ve no idea whose uniform he is wearing.  Perhaps one of the local militia regiments, or merely an artistic fancy?  Gutiérrez is also listed as being commissioned into the ‘Del Rey’ (1st) Infantry Regiment, but they had purple facings, not light blue.  The red waistcoat also seems unlikely.  However, he is shown wearing the Order of Alcántara, which was awarded for his bravery at Santa Cruz.  There are sadly some other fanciful modern paintings showing fantasy uniforms for both Spanish and British, which aren’t worth showing here.

Above:  A captured jack from HMS Emerald, which had been used by one of the landing-parties as a colour.  HMS Emerald was a 36-gun frigate of the Amazon Class and 90 of her Marines and crew, including Captain Thomas Troubridge fought ashore, with 17 being killed.  Note the rather rough, non-standard design of this jack.  Perhaps knocked up at last minute, specifically to act as a rallying-point for troops ashore?

Above:  Another jack, similarly captured from one of the landing parties, or possibly recovered from the sunken HMS Fox.  This jack is of far better quality and of the standard pattern.

Above:  A modern reconstruction of the uniform of the Santa Cruz Militia Regiment.

Above:  An 18th Century Sencilla, attributed to the regular ‘Canarias’ Infantry Battalion.  However, as there are none of the usual corner-medallions showing the regimental crest, it could honestly belong to any regiment.

Above:  An 18th Century Ordenanza of the La Laguna Militia Regiment.  Note the corner-medallions showing the regimental crest of the El Teide volcano.  This style, incorporating the  Ragged Cross of Burgundy normally seen on the Sencilla, was carried in the mid-18th Century, being typical for Spanish regiments of the Seven Years War and the early part of King Carlos III’s reign.  However, it’s not inconceivable that this type was still being carried by militia units in 1797.

Above:  An 18th Century Ordenanza of an unknown regiment.  The arms are from the first half of the 18th Century; from the reigns of Phillip V or Ferdinand VI.

Above:  Another unidentified Ordenanza.  I think these are probably from the reign of Carlos IV (1788 to 1808) or Ferdinand VII (1808 to 1833).

Above:  And yet another unidentified Ordenanza from the first half of the 18th Century and the reigns of Phillip V or Ferdinand VI.

Above:  The sinking of the cutter, HMS Fox.

Above:  A reproduction Sencilla of the ‘Fixed Regiment of Spanish Luisiana‘ from the late 18th Century.

Above:  The surrendered British forces parade on the Plaza de la Candelaria and march past Castillo San Cristobál, back to their boats.  

Above:  A model of the same scene.  The memorial at the bottom of the square is still there, though the cross was removed during the early 20th Century.

Above:  The muzzle of a Spanish gun with a very distinct direct hit from a Royal Navy roundshot.

Above:  My Beautiful Assistant Ian, with a Spanish Royal Artillery NCO in one of the casemates.

Above:  These are the casemates that were already obsolete when Fort Almeyda was finished in 1884.  They were then buried between 1890 and 1908, in order to provide a thick earthen glacis to protect the modern breech-loading battery on the roof.  These casemates have apparently been massively upgraded since our last visit and are now filled with artefacts and exhibitions.

Anyway, that’s enough of the Battle of Tenerife.  The museum has plenty to more to look at and is unusual from a British perspective, in that all our military museums (and those I visit in continental Europe) largely revolve around WW1 and WW2, with perhaps a nod to the Cold War Central Front and the artefacts tend to be a bit ‘samey’.  Spain of course, didn’t directly participate in either of the World Wars, so this place is packed with artillery and smallarms that I’d never even heard of.

Above:  A cuirass which once belonged to the French 3rd Provisional Heavy Cavalry Regiment (formed from elements of the 5th, 9th, 10th, 11th & 12th Regiments of Cuirassiers).  However, the regiment was destroyed on 21st January 1810 at the Battle of Mollet with around 250 men and sets of Cuirassier equipment falling into Spanish hands.  The remnants of the regiment were absorbed into the 13th Cuirassiers. 

The Spanish meanwhile, formed a new regiment, the Coraceros Españoles (Spanish Cuirassiers), who wore the captured armour over red coats, with green facings and horse-furniture.

Above:  Part of the museum’s magnificent smallarms collection.

Above:  It was somewhat refreshing to be positively encouraged by the supervising staff to pick the weapons up and play with them!

Above:  The uniform of the Colonel of the ‘Princesa’ Hussar Regiment, circa 1833.

Above:  The museum houses an amazing collection of model artillery and artillery-vehicles that was donated from a private collection sometime around 2010.

Above:  Who doesn’t love a collection of models…?

Above:  As well as the collection of artillery models, the museum also acquired a massive collection of incredible naval models and other artefacts from a former maritime museum in Puerto de la Cruz.

Above:  Another ship.  This one’s got a red hull… That’s the limit of my naval knowledge…

Above:  More ships… This one has a hell of a lot of guns.  Santissima Trinidad, perhaps?  The collection also includes smaller models of all the British ships engaged in the battle of 1797.

Above:  There’s also a very nice gallery devoted to the Spanish Army’s engagements in North Africa, about which I know even less than I do about naval warfare…

Above:  A Spanish Civil War flag from 1936, belonging to the Battalion of Patriot Volunteers of Las Palmas.

Above:  Another Spanish Civil War flag, this one being from 1937 and belonging to the ‘Death Battalion’.  Contrary to first impressions, this was actually an anti-fascist unit of Italian anarchist volunteers fighting for the Republic.

Above:  Mortars, various.

Above:  The very attractive cloistered inner courtyard of the main fort.

Above:  My Beautiful Assistant Ian models this massive 16th Century gun; one of the museum’s oldest artillery pieces.  This gun, named Hercules, saw action in all three assaults on Santa Cruz.  Note the mirror above, to enable the inscriptions on the top of the barrel to be easily seen by visitors.  The cloister has many other guns, including on my last visit, a German 7.5cm PaK 40, which isn’t in these photos.

Above:  The oldest piece in the museum is this mediaeval breech-loader.

Above:  A Skoda M1914 100mm Field Howitzer. 

Above:  A Deport 75mm Field Gun.

Above:  A Maxim-Nordenfelt 57mm Quick-Firing Gun.

Above: A Vickers 75mm Anti-Aircraft Gun.

Above:  The legendary 8.8cm FlaK 18 anti-aircraft gun.

Above:  A Vickers 5.5-inch Coastal Gun.  

Above:  The Vickers 5.5-inch Coastal Gun viewed from the rear.

Above:  The Cañón de Montaña de 75/22 M1941 75mm Mountain Gun.

Above:  The Cañón Contracarro de 60/50 M1954 60mm anti-tank gun.  For a post-WW2 anti-tank gun designed in the era of the British Centurion, US M26 Pershing and Soviet IS-3, this was a very anaemic design.  It was apparently capable of penetrating 129mm of armour at 1,000yds, which (assuming that’s at an angle of 0 degrees) is actually inferior to the British 6pdr of WW2.

Above:  Naval Reinosa Obús de Campaña de 105/26 M1950 105mm field howitzer.

Above:  Vickers Obús de Campaña de 105 105mm field howitzer.  This interesting weapon was built under licence by Naval Reinosa and in the original M1922 105/22 version, was widely used by both sides during the Spanish Civil War.  However, this is the 1950s upgraded version with a longer barrel and the original wooden wheels replaced by pneumatic wheels for motorised transport.  All versions used carriages originally designed for the British 18pdr and 25pdr.  I’m not sure what the designation was for this version.

Above: An Oerlikon 20/70 20mm anti-aircraft gun.

Above:  An Oerlikon 20/120 Twin-Mount 20mm Anti-Aircraft Gun.

Above:  An Oerlikon 20/120 20mm Anti-Aircraft Gun.

Above:  An M55 Quadruple Browning .50-Calibre Anti-Aircraft Gun.  This is the US M45, but the Spanish had a slightly different mount and called it the M55.

Above:  A Spanish Army wagon from the Spanish Civil War.  This has since been beautifully restored and along with the helicopters and other vehicles outside, is under a canopy to protect it from the elements.

Above:  A two-wheeled wagon from the Spanish Civil War, seen here in mid-restoration.

Above:  A 1970s-vintage US M813 truck, again modelled by my Beautiful Assistant.

Above:  More Cold War US kit; an M110 203mm Self-Propelled Howitzer.  

Above:  Here’s a lovely example of a home-grown Spanish AFV of the Cold War, the VEC (Vehiculo de Exploracion de Caballeria).  This vehicle first appeared in the mid-1980s and became the cutting edge of the Spanish Army’s Light Armoured Cavalry Squadrons, replacing the venerable M41 Walker Bulldog light tank and Panhard AML-90 armoured car.  While not based on the same chassis, it shares many mechanical components with the Spanish Army’s BMR series of wheeled AFVs.  The first 30 of 340 vehicles were armed with Rheinmetall 20mm cannon and the remainder were meant to be fitted with an Oerlikon 25mm chain-gun, though this was changed at last-minute to the US M242 25mm Bushmaster.  The last 100 vehicles were fitted with the turrets and 90mm guns from retired AML-90s, being known as the VEC-H90.  In addition to the vehicle crew, the VEC also carries two dismountable scouts.  This example was lacking its main armament when I took these photos, but has since been fully restored.

Above:  Another uniquely Spanish piece of Cold War kit; the Teruel is a multiple-launch rocket artillery system based on a Pegaso truck chassis and carrying 40x 140mm rockets.  The Spanish Army only operated a single battalion of these.

Above:  The ubiquitous Bell H-13 Sioux.

Above:  The Bell UH-1H Iroquis or ‘Huey’.  The H model was a stretched version of the classic UH-1B and 60 of them served with the Spanish Army for 52 years from 1971 to 2019.

Above:  The M41 Walker Bulldog light tank.  These were delivered to Spain from the USA during the 1950s & 60s and equipped the Spanish Army’s armoured cavalry regiments, before finally being replaced in the late 1980s, as mentioned above, by the VEC.

That’s enough for now!  I’m off to Tenerife again in March 2025, so I think the museum is due a return-visit to see what’s new.  I thoroughly recommend a visit if you happen to find yourself in Tenerife and sober enough to drive up the TF-1…

Then again…