By virtue of the provisions of Decree 2396/1972, of August 18, the General and Historical Air Archive is created, establishing in its first article that "all files and documents with more than thirty years of age that, due to their historical value, deserve to be preserved".
This seniority would then be reduced to twenty years, adapting it to the then current regulations on military archives.
With the publication of Royal Decree 2598/1998, of December 4, of the new regulation of military archives, the Historical Archive of the Air and Space Army, is located at the head of the Archival Subsystem of the Air and Space Army, this being configured by General Instruction 10-22 that was sanctioned by the Chief of Staff of the Air on September 15, 2004 (3rd amendment of June 18, 2015).
Since its inception, the Historical Archive of the Air and Space Army has received funds from the General Archive of the Ministry of Air (and the Air Headquarters afterwards), from the archives of the air bases, of the headquarters, of the regions and air zones, and in some cases, directly from the units of the Headquarters itself or of the Regions.
Its funds are increased thanks to the transfer of documentation and extraordinary income (due to the closure of units, donations, collections, etc. ).
Its more than 7,000 linear meters of documentation constitute a first order source for the study of Spanish aviation, the Civil War, the military aeronautical industry, international relations, national defense policy, and ultimately, military history.
