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Under-funded and wracked by the hostility between political factions within its ranks, Spain’s military aviation was in a dire state in the period immediately before the Spanish Civil War. At this time, the air force was equipped with 60 Bréguet XIX reconnaissance bombers, 20 Vickers Vildebeest torpedo bombers, and 56 Nieuport-Delage NiD 52 fighters. Most of these obsolescent aircraft were seized by Republican forces at the outbreak of the war.
In the aftermath of the Nationalist coup of July 1936, both sides made frantic efforts to secure weapons and equipment. Franco’s elite Army of Africa gave the Nationalists a distinct advantage, but initially it was unable to intervene in the key actions in mainland Spain as the predominantly Republican navy blockaded the coast of Spanish Morocco. Although a few Nationalist transport aircraft flew small numbers of troops across the Straits of Gibraltar, it was foreign support that proved decisive. Hitler authorised the use of 20 Ju 52 bomber-transport aircraft to fly Franco’s men to southern Spain. They landed at Tetuan, where each was crammed with up to 40 troops at a time – far in excess of their designed load of 17 passengers – before making the hazardous flight to Seville. By flying up to five round trips a day, the Ju 52s were able to carry 8,500 men and 100,000kg of supplies to reinforce the hard-pressed Nationalist forces in what was arguably the first strategic airlift. The German aircraft were quickly reinforced by Italian warplanes and these provided essential air cover for the ‘Convoy de la Victoria’ (Victory Convoy), which carried a further 3,000 troops of the Army of Africa, together with artillery and heavy equipment, from Ceuta to Algeciras.
The authors explore the frantic efforts of both sides to buy aircraft – the French sold the Republicans 14 Dewoitine D371 and 10 Dewoitine D373 fighters, plus 49 Potez 540 bombers, for a total of 12 million francs. However, all these were obsolescent, and it was only Stalin’s agreement to supply almost 800 modern Soviet aircraft (in exchange for Spain’s gold reserves) that gave the Republicans any chance of countering the German and Italian warplanes supplied to the Nationalists. The Russian Polikarpov I-16 fighters and Tupolev SB2 bombers dramatically altered the balance of power, proving superior to the older German and Italian aircraft supporting the Nationalists, such as the Heinkel 51 and Fiat CR 32. The tide only began to turn when the German Condor Legion was re-equipped with the Luftwaffe’s newest combat aircraft, including Bf 109 fighters, He 111 bombers, and Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers, for what amounted to extended combat trials.
Particularly well-described is the impact that even small numbers of aircraft could have on the course of the war. Nine Nationalist machines (three Fiat CR 32s, three Macchi M 41 flying boats, and three Savoia SM 81 bombers) gained local air superiority and were instrumental in defeating an 8,000-strong Republican force that had invaded Mallorca. Coverage of operations, from major to minor, is notably thorough. There are fascinating glimpses of tactical experiments that would be followed up in 1939-1945: a prototype Heinkel He 112, armed with a 20mm cannon as a ‘tank buster’, destroyed three Republican AFVs in the 1937 Battle of Brunete.
This volume is a valuable addition to the very few English-language studies of the Spanish Civil War in the air. The book’s only real drawback is a lack of technical specifications of the various aircraft, which leaves the reviewer with a nagging feeling that the authors have missed a trick, but does not seriously detract from its very real worth. (This omission may be corrected in the forthcoming second volume in the series.) Finally, a mention must also be made of the truly outstanding eight-page section with numerous colour illustrations of the aircraft and unit insignia of both sides’.
REVIEW BY DAVID PORTER
The Spanish Civil War in the Air Volume 1: 1936-37
Eduardo Manuel Gil Martínez and Juan Arráez Cerdá
Helion & Company, pbk, 86pp, £19.95
ISBN 978-1804517192
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