Anybody who has come into Motril from the top, down past the hospital, will have seen the HA200 jet aircraft that stands just across from the gasoline station.

The HA200, which looks similar to the F84 Thunderjet but is really the child of “Willy” Messerschmitt, was Spain’s first jet aircraft, entering service in 1955. Spain even exported a later version to Egypt.

So, you ask, what is a bleeding jet fighter doing parked in front of a Motril gasoline station? The answer is that Motril is the home to EVA-9 airbase, (although a non-flying one) whose prime reason for existence was the manning of the radar installations on the old road to Gualchos from Puntalón. The married quarters are behind the gasoline station and the airbase itself over Mercadona.

Anyway, the jet is getting a face lift and the Mayor, Luisa García Chamorro – never one to miss an opportunity to appear in a press photo – went to visit the Commanding Officer, Comandante Luis Martínez Diego.

The Mayor said that the sprucing up of the grounded jet is part of the drive to make the town more attractive. The airbase provided the paint and the Town Hall the labour.

Commander Martínez says that the said aircraft was flying up until 1995 from a base in Sevilla and was then decommissioned and mounted at its present location.

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(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)