The Bf 109B first entered combat
with German Condor Legion units during the Spanish Civil War.
Spanish Civil War had its beginnings in Spain’s elections of February
1936. The Republicans, consisting of the Communists, Socialists, and
Basque and Catalonian separatists, won by a narrow margin. Under the
leadership of Jose Calvo Sotelo, the right wing (monarchists, the
military, and the Fascist Party) continued to oppose the elected
government. In July, the Republicans arrested, then assassinated Sotelo,
ostensibly in retaliation for the killing of a policeman by the
Fascists. The right wing, now united as Nationalists, used this as their
justification for launching a revolution. On July 17, 1936, General
Francisco Franco and soldiers loyal to him seized a Spanish Army outpost
in Morocco. In Spain, other Nationalist troops quickly seized other
garrisons. A junta of generals, led by Franco, declared themselves the
legal government, and the war officially began.
world was forced to take sides. Many countries, including the United
States and Great Britain, chose to stay neutral, believing that
involvement would lead to war. However, individuals from neutral
countries did volunteer with the Republican’s International Brigade,
feeling the cause was worth fighting for. A group of three Americans
pilots formed the Patrolla Americana, which eventually grew into a unit
of 20 pilots. The Soviet Union, recognizing a potential Communist nation
threatened by fascism, was quick to offer aid, including equipment,
soldiers, and senior advisors. Many of their planes, including the
Polikarpov I-15 and I-16, formed the backbone of the Republican Air
Force. And as a gesture to protect itself from being surrounded on three
sides by Fascist nations, France provided some aircraft and artillery.
The Heinkel He 111 was an
important twin-engine bomber used in the Spanish Civil War.
Because a non-intervention agreement in 1936 forbade sympathetic nations
to provide airplanes to the competing sides, it was difficult for the
Republican government to develop a solid aviation program. It bought
small amounts of aircraft where it could, which meant that its air force
was composed of small numbers of a lot of different airplanes, from
different companies and countries. The Republican government also
accepted civilian aircraft, such as the Lockheed Orion, which it could
then adapt to military use. There was also a Boeing P-26 that had been
brought over as a demonstration model for the Spanish Air Force before
the war and was "inherited" by the Republicans.
Fascist nations found ways to avoid the rules of the non-intervention
agreement. Benito Mussolini in Italy was quick to support Franco and
sent Spain more than 700 airplanes and troops during the conflict. But
it was Germany that was most instrumental in the war. Only days after
the war erupted, Franco had sent a request for help to Adolph Hitler.
Map showing changing boundaries
during the Spanish Civil War.
Germany, the Spanish Civil War came at an opportune time. The nation was
initiating a rearmament program, in violation of the World War I peace
treaty. A war in Spain would distract the world’s governments from this
transgression. Plus, Spain had raw materials that Germany could use.
Hitler also liked the idea of threatening France with a Fascist
government to its south. But most importantly, Spain would provide an
opportunity to test equipment and train troops. Although Hitler was
careful not to send enough troops to make the world perceive them as a
combatant nation, 19,000 German "volunteers" gained valuable combat
experience in Spain. Because the Nationalists already had strong army
support, Germany sent over mostly aviators from the Luftwaffe.
Germans were organized into the Condor Legion that was equipped with the
most modern airplanes and a specially trained staff. Many of the newest
airplanes were tested in real combat situations, among them the Heinkel
He.111, and the Messerschmitt Bf.109. The Legion was divided into
bomber, fighter, reconnaissance, seaplane, communication, medical, and
anti-aircraft battalions, and also included an experimental flight
group. The chief of staff was Colonel Wolfram von Richthofen, a cousin
of "The Red Baron."
first challenge the German Condor Legion faced was the 20,000
Nationalist troops stranded at the outpost in Morocco, prevented by a
Spanish Navy blockade that was loyal to the Republicans from joining the
remainder of the Nationalist Army in Seville. The Condor Legion
succeeded in evacuating the troops by air—something that had never been
done before. On August 6, twenty Junkers Ju-52 transports arrived in
Morocco. Over the next two months, the Condor Legion transported all the
Nationalist troops to Seville, with the loss of only one airplane. U.S.
General Hap Arnold later described the airlift as the most important air
power development of the interwar period.
Nationalist Planes of the Spanish Civil War
the evacuation, the Condor Legion settled into other jobs. It flew
harassment raids against Republican forces and supported ground forces.
And it initiated both strategic and tactical bombings. While military
thinkers of the time were debating the validity of aerial bombing, the
German troops in Spain were obtaining practical experience.
Condor Legion used tactical bombing after Soviet airplanes began
arriving in October 1936 to strengthen the Republican side. Bombings
would weaken the troops for the ground attack. In Bilbao, in the north
of Spain, saturation bombing was used to shatter the Republican "Iron
Belt"—a 35-kilometer (22-mile)-long line, leaving holes open for
advancements; it also prevented Republican reinforcements from reaching
was the strategic bombing attacks that attracted the most attention. In
the beginning, methods were crude; Republican bombers were given tourist
maps to help find their targets. But soon, the attacks became routine.
Yet there were no riots or uprisings as theorists had anticipated.
Instead, civilian resistance and resolve on both sides were
strengthened. One British observer noted that the Spanish would "blacken
every balcony so as to get a good view of bursting shrapnel."
after the bombing
the bombing raids, it was the attack on , a city in the north of
Spain, which came to symbolize the horrors of aerial bombing. Guernica
was the centre of Basque identity and culture, boasting the parliament
building and an oak tree under which Basque leaders annually swore to
uphold the liberties of the people. For three hours on the afternoon of
April 26, 1937, planes from the Condor Legion dropped 100,000 pounds
(almost 91 million kilograms) of bombs on the city and strafed citizens
in the street by machine guns. Republican sources reported 1,500 dead.
The only military target in town, a bridge, remained untouched. Instead,
it appeared to many, including a London Times correspondent, that "the
object of the bombardment was seemingly the demoralization of the
civilian population and the destruction of the cradle of the Basque
Everyone was shocked by the attack, which raised ethical questions all
over the world. For many years, the Nationalists denied involvement and
claimed that the Basques had bombed themselves for propaganda. They did
not admit their involvement until they released reports in the 1970s,
after Franco’s death. The Republicans used the tragedy to gain support,
displaying Pablo Picasso’s painting Guernicain the Spanish Pavilion at
the 1938 Paris World’s Fair. But in the end, the greatest effect of the
bombing was to make some European nations fear they might be the next
Guernica and thus, they capitulated to Hitler’s demands at Munich in
Nuremberg trials following World War II, Luftwaffe commandant Hermann
Goering said, "Spain gave me an opportunity to try out my young air
force." The experience gained in Spain helped Germany in the early
months of the war far more than the desktop theories and controlled
tests of other nations. Having noted poor results from strategic
bombing, Germany focused its funds elsewhere. Many planes were tested in
real combat situations. And Germany also learned that even with air
superiority, a bomber force still required a fighter escort.
most instrumental were the 19,000 Luftwaffe personnel who rotated
through the Condor Legion until the Republicans surrendered in January
1939, leaving the Fascists and Franco in power. Several months later,
these veterans of the Spanish Civil War would be flying over Poland,
Czechoslovakia, France, and the rest of Europe--an experienced,
well-trained air force fighting for Hitler.