# Spanish Civil War: Republican Air Force (FARE)



## gekho (Aug 1, 2010)

In the years between the world wars, governments and military leaders theorized about the future of aerial warfare. But during this almost two-decade period, there was only one major military conflict--the Spanish Civil War. Although only a few countries officially participated, they found it invaluable preparation for World War II. The 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.

The 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.

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.

The 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. For 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. The 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."

The 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. After 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.

The 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 the gaps. But it 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."

Of all the bombing raids, it was the attack on Guernica, a city in the north of Spain, which came to symbolize the horrors of aerial bombing. Guernica was the center 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 race." 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 September 1938.

At the 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. But 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.
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Note: This thread is a remake. I am going to add more information and new pictures, but it will basicly contain all the data provided before.*


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## gekho (Aug 1, 2010)

On July 17th 1936, a radio station in Morocco started broadcasting: "Above all Spain the cloudless sky". This phrase was a signal for the beginning of the fascist mutiny directed against the Spanish government. At the head of the revolt was general Francisco Franco, who had been a threat to the Spanish Republic. In the first few days it became possible to win the nationalists in larger part of the country as most of the population remained true to the government. However the fascist states, Italy and Germany, did not remain aside. They had started delivering Franco the newest arms: instruments, rifles, machine guns, fighters and bombers. Besides regular Italian infantry and aviation divisions participated in fights on the side of the rebels, the newly created "Condor Legion", a German air unit, started fighting as well. All this allowed the fascists to gain a number of victories over the army of the republicans that suffered from a shortage of arms and qualified officers. By November 1936, the nationalists were close to Madrid. Government aircraft were almost helpless against faster and more modern Heinkels, Fiats, Junkers and Savoias. Madrid was left open to a barbarous bombardment. The situation was desperate.

England, France and the USA, being afraid that a victory by the republicans could induce Spain into becoming communist, conducted a policy of non-interference: they did not help the lawful government and influenced other states to do the same. Indignant of this connivance to the rebels, volunteers of many countries (the USA, France, England, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Germany and others) made their way to Spain to help in the fight. However, without modern weapons, their struggle against counterrevolution could not hope to stop the rebels.

The Soviet Union decided to support the Spanish government in its struggle against fascism. To Spain there had gone the Soviet volunteers: pilots, tankmen, cavalrymen. From the end of October, 1936 the Soviet arms began to arrive. On November 4th, I-15 biplane fighters appeared. However because of the quantitative superiority of their opponents, they could not achieve any form of parity. The Soviet government then decided to send their newest fighters, the I-16, to Spain. Among the cargo on the ship, "Kursk", which has arrived on October, 25, there were 16 I-16 type 5 fighters, with another 15 arriving the next day on the "Blagoev" ship. Together with the planes there were pilots from the 1st (Bryansk) air brigade, aviation gasoline, oil, ammunition, as well as some refuelers and autostarters. The pilots assembled in 3 squadrons under Captain Tarhov. In just 4 days after arriving the planes were assembled, tested and prepared for battle.


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## gekho (Aug 1, 2010)

On November 9th 1936 the Soviet fighters intercepted 27 Junkers Ju52 bombers on their way to Madrid. The I-16s, wearing republican insignia, dived out of the sun and managed to shoot down 9 Ju52's, the rest dropping their bombs and scattering. The original design concept of the I-16 was showing through in Spain. Polikarpov's little fighter surpassed the enemy machines in speed, by 60 to 80kph (40 to 50mph), in rate of climb by about 200 meters per minute (600fpm) and had a comparable ceiling. Besides, the I-16 was the first fighter capable of fighting in the vertical plane, something Franko's biplanes couldn't equal. Fascist pilots were recommended not to enter combat with the I-16s, unless with a numerical advantage. But even in the latter case, victory was not always for the rebels.

New tactics were later developed by the I-16 pilots. "Falcon Impact" was initiated by one of the pilots, S.I. Gritsevets (later twice decorated as Hero of Soviet Union). It was simple enough, diving on the foe, shooting, then climbing again to retain the advantage (sometimes called 'boom and zoom' in western sources). Gritsevets new tactic was put to the test on August 14th 1938. A group of I-16s, under Gritsevets command, executed "falcon impact" in an attack so unexpected for the enemy, that the enemy group lost management and lost a number of machines. There were no I-16s lost. One more tactical method used by I-16s’ pilots was of sneaking up to the enemy from below and using the "Ishachoks" (I-16) climbing ability to attack from below, ussually with complete surprise! At about this time the I-16 received the enemy nickname, "Rata" (from Spanish "Rat") as it seemed Soviet fighters were jumping out from the ground.

The I-16 was good but there was a growing list of 'defects' in its design. First was the armament. The first I-16 type 5's to arrive in Spain were armed with 2 x ShKAS machineguns of rifle caliber. So too did the Heinkel He 51. Although the Soviet guns had a higher rate of fire, "Ishachok" lagged behind from one of it's main opponents, the Fiat CR.32, equipped with two large-caliber (half inch) machine guns. The old theories based on the Great War's aircraft armament were quickly being laid to rest in this new fast paced air war. There were other problems. The self sealing fuel tank wasn't effective enough, the pilot armour couldn't withstand the heavy machine gun bullets, the visor was often smeared with oil and it's hood flopped around so it was often left open and the M-25 radial engine quickly failed due to heat, dust and intensive operations.

On May 7th 1937, 31 more I-16 type 5's arrived in Spain and a further 17 on May 21st, including 4 tandem seat UTI-4 trainers. By this time new Soviet and Spanish fighter pilots came to Republican forces (the Spaniards had passed retraining on the I-16 at a flight school in Kirovobad earlier). Early I-16s had structural problems with the wings, which caused a few pilot deaths. Aileron flutter being the most probable cause. On August, 10th 1937 there arrived a consignment of 62 I-16 type 5 fighters, in which this problem was cured, and during the same year, 30 I-16 type 6 with the supercharged M-25A engine and an open cockpit. 

Since the winter of 1936/37 the situation in the air slightly changed. The fascist units had received the newest German fighter, the Messershmitt Bf.109. This plane had been sent to Spain almost at once after initial Luftwaffe acceptance, replacing the biplane Heinkel He.51. The first to arrive had been ex-prototypes, Bf.109V and the first serial aircraft, the Bf.109B. Surpassing the I-16 in speed (10-20 km/h, depending on height) and having equally effective armament as on I-16 type 5, the Messershmitt essentially conceded to the Soviet monoplane in rate of climb and maneuverability. Nevertheless, it was a strong enemy (due to the quantitative superiority of the enemy and skill of German pilots piloting the Bf.109). Answering the Messershmitt threat, the USSR started delivery of the new type 10 in March 1938. The I-16 type 10 had 4 x ShKAS machine guns and the up-rated M-25V engine, earning itself the new nickname, 'Super Mosca'. This was a much better fighter but faster improvements and development of the Messershmitt negated the Polikarpov's pride. There were 4 x Bf 109v's, 39 x Bf 109B's, 5 x Bf 109C's, 36 x Bf 109D's and 44 x Bf 109E's sent to Spain. It was this last variant, the 'E', which appeared with the Frankists in the spring of 1939, that essentially surpassed the Polikarpov's fighter. Combat with the Bf 109 became possible only with very competent use of the I-16 advantages.


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## gekho (Aug 1, 2010)

One important advantage of "Ishachok" which helped in the struggle with the Messershmitts, was its radial engine. If a Bf 109 engine was hit, for example, in the cooling system then it would soon seize if the pilot couldn't land in time. The radial M-25 would keep running even with two or three cylinders out of action. It's wide area also provided protection during a frontal attack. The commander of the fourth I-16 squadron, Antonio Arias, wrote in his memoirs:

_The Teruel front had large numbers of enemy aircraft. Armadas of Ju 52 bombers with heavy Italian and German fighter escort were hitting the seaports often....Before the start of our next sortie, I had requested from Sarausa, the use of two flights from the 1st squadron. He agreed without hesitation. Our 4th squadron and the six aircraft under Armando Velilla and Pedro Reuda, have risen into the sky in our "mosca's. Enemy fighters had appeared on course, earlier than we expected them. This time they made a frontal attack, something they didn't do often, we believe, because of their exposed engines and cooling systems. The 109's started turning to make deflection shots at us, exposing themselves in the process and allowing some of our pilots easy targets. The two formations broke into little 'dogfights', myself getting onto the tail of two 109's, after they had turned to the right in the initial attack, by using full left rudder, I lined up on the leader and hit him, causing a brief tail wagging before it dived out of control and crashed near Cubla".
_​
The biggest problem with the I-16 in comparison with the Bf 109 was not so much the lower top speed but the slower rate of climb and lower ceiling. Because of this, German fighters at the higher altitudes have been practically inaccessible. To increase the altitude performance of the I-16, the Spaniards made a few modifications to the type 10. The Spanish government had received 24 "illicit" engines, "Wright - Cyclone" SGR 1820 F-54, equipped with superchargers, more powerful at altitude than the M-25 (the M-25 is a license copy of Wright's SGR 1820 F-3). In August of 1938, twelve engines have been fitted on "donkeys" of the 4th squadron, with a noticeable increase in rate of climb and ceiling. On these machines, oxygen devices were fitted, the mouth piece being a simple rubber tube (since then, 4th squadron were known as "a squadron of suckers", as they sucked the rubber tubes). After carrying out flight tests at heights of up to 8000 meters, it was discovered that the guns wouldn't work, caused by the gun grease freezing. Ground crew (engineer Lopez Smith) solved the problem by ducting hot air from the supercharger to the guns.

On September 18th, 1938, the 4th squadron, with twelve modified planes, attacked sixteen Bf 109's from altitude, shooting down four of them. The encounter included I-15s and other I-16s and the Germans lost eleven Bf 109's of the original sixteen in that dogfight. This caused a bit of a shock amongst the Germans, their height advantage now was lost. The modified I-16s were few in number but the Bf 109 pilots weren't to know this and 'Condor Legion' morale suffered as a result.

Besides the Bf 109's, the 'frankists' had recieved other modern monoplanes, the Heinkel He 112, the plane that lost in the Luftwaffe fighter contest but were now being sent to Spain. In November 1936, the pre-production aircraft, He 112 V-6 was sent and started flying operationally during ground attack sorties up until July 19th 1937 when it was written-off during a landing accident. It had been seen on the Northern and Central fronts and was good at its appointed task, with it's heavier armament, although wasn't involved in aerial combat. Another prototype had been used as well, He 112 V-9, between April and August of 1937 and again, only on ground attack.

Between November 1938 and January 1939, the nationalists had been assembling a new fighter group, 5-G-5, receiving 19 Heinkel He 112 B-1's and B-2's. Pilot training was complete by January 17th 1939. As the Republican airforce was by now only a shadow of it's former self, the He 112's were engaged in ground attack although at least one He 112 was brought down by I-16's during January 1939 with Luciano Tabernero Jerrero. One I-16 was shot by He.112 (the winner was Garcia Pardo). The Franco fighter that must be also noticed in the article is Fiat G 50. This was a little bit late and a "novelty" plane that appeared in Spain in the beginning of 1939 with an Italian experimental group. Created actually as an opponent to the I-16, "Fiat" didn't have time to meet it in the Spanish sky as the Air Forces of the Spanish republic had lived their last days.


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## gekho (Aug 1, 2010)

Efficiency of the I-16 against bombers was at first rather high. The slow Ju.52, initially designed as transport, were an easy target for the Soviet monoplanes. I-16s, patroling at low-level would easily see the "Junkers" on a background of the sky, attacking them from below and behind from the dead zone, not leaving the frankist any chances. Therefore the "Junkers" had gradually been transferred to night bombing. A more worthy opponent, the Dornier Do.17, appeared in the spring of 1937 (20 x Do.17E-1 and 15 x Do.17F-1 were received). The Dorniers could fly at 350 kph meaning only the I-16 could counter this threat, attacks ussually from the rear as the Dornier was poorly defended in this area.

In 1937 the Condor Legion started using the Heinkel He111 (intially 30 B1's, increasing with 95 B2's and 35 other marks) The Heinkels had good speed, an effective defensive arc with their guns and better protection for the fuel tanks and engines. Besides, while the He 111's were flying, the Spanish republic air force was beginning to loose air superiority so attacking the Heinkels on the level plane was abandoned. One method that had some success was an attack, "in the forehead" after a dive from height. With only one forward gun, this was the weakest point in the He 111's armour and a good chance to hit the crew in the nose. However, it did require a good eye and nerves of steel as the high approach speed only allowed for about 3 seconds of fire from the I-16 type 10's 4 machine guns. In that 3 seconds, those 4 ShKAS guns could only fire about 140 shots so the aim had to be spot on. The exit after attack was also hazardous as the rear gunners would often have a clear shot, even if for just a second and with a lot of deflection. On August 13th 1938, a He 111 was forced to land with the help of a few 'Ishaks', was captured and subsequently delivered to the USSR and thoroughly studied. 

There were 422 I-16 aircrafts sent from USSR (129 x type 5, 157 x type 6, 136 x type 10 and 4 x UTI-4 trainers). These aircraft were shipped out but in 1938, frankist warships made this hazardous so French ports were accepting the Soviet cargos which then went via road or rail to the Spanish border. The French government periodically closed its borders to arms shipments and planes were lost in transit. Spanish ports received 276 I-16s, more coming through France but many stayed in that country, caught up on border issues. One estimation of the numbers of I-16's that actually arrived in Spain is at about 350 but it's broadly accepted that only about 293 made it. (I-16s in Spain were serialled randomly). The Spanish government tried to organize the manufacture of I-16s, at a factory, SAF-15, in Alicante. Up to the end of 1938, only 4 planes had been made. These were type 10 copies but with only 2 machine guns. 10 more were made up until the end of the war but none of these machines saw combat.


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## vikingBerserker (Aug 1, 2010)

Very cool!


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## Gnomey (Aug 1, 2010)

Good stuff!


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## gekho (Aug 2, 2010)

Survivors and Replicas:

In the early 1990s, New Zealand pilot and entrepreneur Tim (later Sir Tim) Wallis' Alpine Fighter Collection organised the restoration of six I-16s and three I-153s to an airworthy condition, this project being completed in 1999 as the third and final I-153 arrived in New Zealand. After a spectacular international debut at the Warbirds Over Wanaka airshow in 1998 (for the I-16s) and 2000 (for the I-153s), some of the aircraft were sold off around the world, to the Commemorative Air Force in the U.S. (as pictured above), to Jerry Yagen of Virginia, and an I-16 to Spain, where it is held in the collection of the Fundación Infante de Orleans at Cuatro Vientos airport, Madrid, and is occasionally flown for the public. The Cuatro Vientos museum has a replica painted with the colours of both sides.


_View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ztDH5iF58s_

The simulator "Il2 forgotten battles" offers a spectacular short video with the spanish civil war as background. However it has serious mistakes since you can see a I-153 and a Tupolev TB-3 in republican markings, and neither of these planes took part in the SCW.


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## gekho (Aug 2, 2010)

The Polikarpov I-15 was a biplane fighter aircraft designed and produced by the Soviet Union during the inter-war years. She saw extensive combat experience during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and partook in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) between China and Japan. The I-15 was still featured by the Soviet Air Force in the early 1940s and spent some time on the offensive as a ground attack aircraft during the Russo-Finnish Winter War. By the middle of World War 2, the I-15 had officially met her match against the modern monoplanes of the world and was on her way out. The I-15 series took on the nickname of "Chaika" which, when translated, became "Lapwing" or "Gull" in reference to her "gulled" upper wing assemblies.

Nikolai N. Polikarpov designed and produced a single-seat biplane fighter in 1927 known under the designation of "I-3". Its success was such that Polikarpov continued his design efforts in the field of aviation to ultimately deliver the similar, yet highly-improved, "DI-2" two-seat fighter of 1929. The DI-2 sported machine guns for an offensive and defensive sting - one mounted as a fixed, forward-firing emplacement for the pilot and a pair fitted to a flexible mounting for the rear gunner - very reminiscent of World War 1 scout aircraft design. Polikarpov was then assigned with other engineers to the "I-6" fighter project, an ambitious program to deliver a modern - mostly wooden - fighter platform by the middle of 1930. In true Soviet fashion, when the group failed to deliver on the project's goals, some 450 engineers were arrested - among them Polikarpov. Polikarpov received a death sentence and languished in Soviet prisons for a duration. Two months before this scheduled execution, he was relocated and had his sentence "lightened" to ten years of hard labor. He was assigned to develop the I-5 fighter with "Design Bureau 39".

What followed next was the melding of two design minds. Polikarpov joined forces with Dmitri Grigorovitch and ultimately devised the I-5 single-seat biplane fighter. The new aircraft exhibited excellent handling and flight characteristics, giving her naturally excellent maneuverability. Four PV-1 series 7.7mm machine guns were affixed to the design for maximum potency (two in the upper fuselage and two in the lower fuselage sides). The prototype was made airborne in April of 1930 and some 800 examples were ultimately produced. Such was the success of the I-5 that Polikarpov's sentence was further lightened to be conditional in nature. Subsequently, he was granted complete amnesty from his previous sentences and, more-or-less, became a "free" man in August of 1932.

Soviet engineer Andrei Tupolev began developing a modern monoplane fighter - the I-14 - all his own to fulfill a direct Soviet Air Force need. Requiring insurance against his design (fearing it could be delayed), he contracted for the development and construction of two biplanes - the "I-14A" and the "I-14B" - as stopgap safety measures. As fate would have it, Polikarpov himself received the task to work on the I-14A, relying primarily on his experiences with the successful I-5 airframe as his guide. The resulting I-14A design was an excellent, speedy fighter with great handling characteristics just as the I-5 before it. The I-14A prototype (also known as the TsKB-3bis) achieved first flight in October of 1933 was quickly one of the better fighter platforms around. Power was supplied from a Wright R-1820 Cyclone radial engine imported from America. In the end, both the I-14 and the I-14A were approved for quantitative production and Polikarpov's future in Soviet aviation lore was sealed.


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## gekho (Aug 2, 2010)

Polikarpov's aircraft was designated as the "I-15" and full-scale production ramped up in 1934. The powerplant of choice for production models became the Shvetsov M-22, a license-produced version of the British Bristol Jupiter radial piston engine - an engine not as powerful as the imported Wright radial but suitable for the little fighter airframe nonetheless. Production, however, spanned just a short four years.

Polikarpov's firm was eventually dismantled and closed in 1940, this said to be the work of Soviet politics. Polikarpov himself went on to become a professor at the Moscow Aviation Institute in 1943 before succumbing to cancer on July 30th, 1944. To his name, he would leave behind the I-15 and I-16 fighter designs - both playing crucial roles in the survivability of several nations. The I-15 prototypes became the TsKB-3bis and the TsKB-3ter. The former utilized an imported Wright engine while the latter was fitted with a more powerful Shvetsov M-25V radial piston engine. Initial production examples were noted by the basic designation of I-15.

The improved I-15bis followed the base I-15 with testing in 1934. The type was delivered in production form in 1937 with a new more powerful Shvetsov M-25V engine that boosted the airframe's maximum speed. I-15bis was noted for her longer engine cowling and contoured spats on the main landing gear legs as well as a straight upper wing assembly (as opposed to the "gulled" appearance of the former production model). Armament was centered around 4 x 7.62mm PV-1 or ShKAS series machine guns and there was provision for up to 330lbs of external underwing ordnance when in the fighter-bomber role. Some 2,408 examples of this refined machine were produced in all.

The I-15 was modernized to an extent in the 1938 proposed "I-152". However, this model was not selected for quantitative production and existed in a single prototype form. The I-152GK was similar though fitted with an enclosed pressurized cabin for improved higher altitude sorties. Once again, only a single example was ever produced. Another "one-off" system became the I-152TK, this fitting two turbochargers for improved engine output. The I-15ter (also I-153) was a developmental model of the I-15 featuring a retractable undercarriage. The UTI-1 was a limit-quantity, two-seat trainer conversion model of which twenty aircraft were produced - each with redundant student/teacher controls in separate tandem cockpits. None of these were used by the Soviet Air Force. Production of all I-15s ended in early 1939 to which some 3,313 examples were reportedly delivered, most made up of the I-15bis production models.


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## gekho (Aug 2, 2010)

The I-15 saw operation combat in the Spanish Civil War - to which the Soviet Union soon became involved in - and took on the nickname of "Chato" ("snub-nose"). The I-15 was fielded by the Republicans throughout the 1936-1939 conflict that also featured several key Nazi Germany war machines including the excellent Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter. Inexperienced pilots could learn to fly the Polikarpov I-15 very quickly and it was easy to take off and land. This new found excitement for the plane forced the Soviet Air Force to renew their manufacturing contract for more Polikarpov I-15's with a few modifications from Nicolay. The top wing was no longer gull-shaped, the M-25 750-hp engine was installed, and a new exhaust system added, to make up this new I-15bis

Initial I-15s deliveries began in October of 1936 and the type quickly established itself as a stout, reliable and heady performer. Combat garnered her a respectable reputation to the point that production facilities were set up on Spanish soil for license production of the nimble Soviet fighter - yielding a further 287 examples; the CASA Getafe factory was relocated to Alicante and then opened another in Sabadell (at the end of the war CASA production returned to Getafe). Even after the Nationalist victory in March of 1939, I-15s were still kept in service, utilized primarily as trainer. The improved I-15bis eventually made it to Spanish inventories and were nicknamed "Super Chatos" by their recipients.


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## gekho (Aug 2, 2010)

More pics


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## vikingBerserker (Aug 2, 2010)

They both really look like they would be fun to fly.


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## gekho (Aug 3, 2010)

The Polikarpov R-Z was a Soviet reconnaissance bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was a revised version of the Polikarpov R-5 which was built in large numbers between 1935 and 1937. It was used in combat during the Spanish Civil War as well as the Winter War and Battle of Khalkhin Gol. The R-Z or R-Zet was developed at the aircraft factory GAZ No 1 (State Aircraft Factory No 1) at Moscow as a development of, and a replacement for the Polikarpov R-5, the standard light reconnaissance bomber of the Soviet Air Force. Based on the R-5SSS, the most advanced variant of the R-5, the R-Z had a new, deeper, monocoque fuselage, with a sliding canopy for the pilot and fixed glazed fairing for the observer. The 544 kW (730 hp) M-17F engine (a licenced built copy of the BMW VI was replaced with the 611 kW (820 hp) M-34 engine. The R-Z first flew in January 1935 and was accepted for the Soviet Air Force in preference to the competing Kochyerigin LR, also an R-5 derivative. By the time production finished in spring 1937, 1,031 R-Zs had been built.

Like its predecessor the R-5, the R-Z was used in large numbers by both the Soviet Air Force and Aeroflot. Its first use in combat was during the Spanish Civil War, where 61 R-Zs were delivered to the Spanish Republicans from 1937, where they were nicknamed Rasante. These were heavily used, flying in tight formations and using co-ordinated defensive fire to defend against fighter attack, while returning individually at low levels. Although many R-Zs were damaged by ground fire, complete losses were relatively low with 36 surviving to be captured by the Nationalists at the end of the war in April 1939.


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## gekho (Aug 3, 2010)

The Tupolev ANT-40, also known by its service name Tupolev SB (Russian: Скоростной бомбардировщик - Skorostnoi Bombardirovschik - "high speed bomber"), and development co-name TsAGI-40, was a high speed twin-engined three-seat monoplane bomber, first flown in 1934. The design was very advanced, but lacked refinement, much to the dismay of crews and maintenance personnel - and of Stalin, who pointed out that "there are no trivialities in aviation".

Numerically the most important bomber in the world in the late 1930s, the SB was the first modern stressed-skin aircraft produced in quantity in the Soviet Union and probably the most formidable bomber of the mid-1930s. Many versions saw extensive action in Spain, the Republic of China, Mongolia, Finland and at the beginning of the War against Germany in 1941. It was also used in various duties in civil variants, as trainers and in many secondary roles. Successful in the Spanish Civil War because it outpaced most fighters, the aircraft was obsolete by 1941. By June 1941, 94% of bombers in the Red Army air force (VVS RKKA) were SBs.

The SB was an all-metal monoplane powered by two Klimov M-100 12-cylinder water-cooled engines (license production version of Hispano-Suiza 12-Yrds engine) which drove fixed-pitch two-bladed metal propellers. The engines were provided with honeycomb-type frontal radiators enclosed by vertical thermostat-controlled cooling shutters. At an early production stage, the M-100 engine gave place to an improved M-100A engine, driving ground-adjustable three-pitch propellers, with speed being boosted to 423 km/h (263 mph) at 4,000 m (13,000 ft).


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## gekho (Aug 3, 2010)

While only 54 SBs had been delivered to the Soviet Air Forces by 1 July 1936, this did not stop the new Tupolev bomber being amongst the first shipments of military equipment sent by the Soviet Union to support the Spanish Republicans when the Spanish Civil War broke out on 17 July 1936. An initial batch of 31 SBs arrived in Cartagena aboard the Soviet Freighter Komsomol in October 1936, flying their first mission, a bombing raid by four SBs against Tablada airfield, Seville on 28 October. The SBs were used to equip Groupo 12 of the Spanish Republican air force, which at first was mainly manned by Soviet volunteers and under Soviet control.

The SB could outpace the Fiat CR.32 and Heinkel He 51 biplane fighters of the nationalist forces, and was therefore difficult to intercept, with dives from high altitude being the only way to intercept the SB. On 29 May 1937 two SBs attacked the German pocket battleship Deutschland, mistaking it for the Nationalist cruiser Canarias, killing 31 and injuring a further 83 German sailors. In June–July, a second consignment of 31 SBs were received, allowing Groupo 12 to return to full strength, and a new unit, Groupo 24, to be established. The delivery of Messerschmitt Bf 109s to re-equip the German Condor Legion meant that the SB could no longer evade Nationalist fighters by sheer speed, and losses rose.

A third and final batch of 31 SBs arrived in June 1938, allowing operations to continue, although losses continued to be high. By the time the Civil War ended in March 1939, 73 SBs had been lost, 40 of them to enemy action. Nineteen SBs were taken over by the Nationalists, and used to form a bomber squadron. Although some were re-engined with French Hispano-Suiza 12Ybrs engines to aid maintenance, they were still subject to spares shortages, and in April 1943 only three were airworthy. When Junkers Ju 88s were received in December 1943, the remaining SBs were used for occasional training flights until withdrawn and scrapped in 1948.


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## gekho (Aug 3, 2010)

The Bréguet XIX was two-seater light bomber and as a reconnaissance aircraft, first rolled out in 1923. A very successful metal biplane, it stayed in operational service for fifteeen years. More than 2,000 Breguet 19's were manufactured in France, and about 700 license-built in Spain, Belgium, and Yugoslavia. In addition to those countries, it served in the air forces of Poland, Romania, Greece and China (seventy by a Manchurian warlord). In the Spanish civil war the Bréguet XIX was employed on both sides. In other foreign air forces it was still employed until the forties. 

The design of the Breguet 19 followed on the successful Breguet 14, a World War One bomber. M. Vuillerme led the design team, working in Velizy-Villacoublay. The prototype appeared in the 7th Salon d'Aeronautique in November 1921, impressing all with it duralumin structure. It was a bit of hybrid aircraft: metal frame and spars, which likewise covered the front half of the fuselage, while the large upper wing and rear section the fuselage were covered with fabric. With a huge upper wing and smaller lower, the Breguert 19 was of a style sesquiplane, i.e. a plane with "one-and-a-half" wings. In prototype, a single Breguet-Bugatti 450 HP, 16-cylinder, V-engine powered a four-bladed propeller. When that engine vibrated excessively in test flight, the designers replaced it with a Renault 12-cylinder.

Duraluminum fuselage frame and wing spars made the two-seater Bréguet XIX lightweight and very fast, faster than most contemporary fighters. The open cockpit had with two seats, one behind the other and was located immediately under a cutaway in the trailing edge of the upper wing. These first two variants (Br. 19 A2 reconnaissance plane and Br. 19 B2 bomber) were the most numerous, and were practically identical. They used a variety of engines, the most popular being the 400 hp Lorraine-Dietrich 12Db inline V12. It attained top speeds of 133 MPH and an operational range of 500 miles. It could take up to 900 kg of bombs; and the machine guns served for attack as well as for defence purposes.

When the French introduced the Breguet 19, they knew that a large market for military aircraft was opening up. A Yugoslav general looked them over even while in pre-production. Spain quickly negotiated a license to build their own models. When production started, demand was so great that Breguet sub-contracted out production with another French firm. Deliveries to the French Aviation Militaire started in mid 1924; within three years equipping 46 squadrons of light bombers and reconnaissance planes. Foreign orders poured in: Yugoslavia wanted 100, Romania 50, the central Chinese government 4, but in Manchuria, Marshal Chang Tso-lin took 70. Poland's airforce in the mid Twenties, consisted primarily of 250 Bre. 19s; these also set a number of long-distance records.


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## gekho (Aug 3, 2010)

Spain bought a prototype and a license already in 1923, and started production in CASA works, in A2 and B2 variants. First 19 aircraft were imported, then 26 completed from French parts, then 177 manufactured (50 of them had Hispano-Suiza engine, the rest 127 - license-built Elizalde - Lorraine-Dietrich 12Eb engine). Breguet 19s were basic equipment of Spanish bomber and reconnaissance units until the initial period of the Spanish Civil War. In July 1936 there were 135 in service. They were actively used as bombers during the war, especially on the government (Republican) side. In 1936, the Nationalists bought additional 20 Br.19 from Poland. With an advent of more modern fighters, Br.19 suffered big losses, and around 1937 were withdrawn from frontline service. Republican side lost 28 aircraft, and Nationalists lost 10 (including 2 Republican and 1 Nationalist aircraft, that deserted). Remaining aircraft were used for training until 1940.


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## gekho (Aug 3, 2010)

In 1924 Nieuport produced a design for a single seat sesquiplane fighter, the Nieuport-Delage N-42, which was ordered in small numbers for the French air force, entering service in 1927. Nieuport produced two refined versions in 1927, the mixed construction (wood and steel tube) N-52 and the Nieuport-Delage N-62, which had a similar all-wooden structure to the NiD 42. While France preferred the N-62, and purchased it in large numbers, the N-52 won a competition for a new fighter for Spain in 1928.

In the 30s Nieuport tried to keep pace with the evolution of the same biplane design but faced a number of financial setbacks. After having tried some unsuccessful versions, around 1931, introduced the N-52 as the fastest fighter of these days. Actually the only revolutionary element was the significant reduction of the lower wing surface and the change from the rotary engines (cylinders placed around the shaft) to the line engines (cylinders placed parallel to the shaft). This later feature could reduce the frontal air resistance and allow engines with more cylinders. However, it was doing only some 150 kn which although considered satisfactory before 1930 were largely exceeded by the both biplane and monoplane fighters in 1935. Besides, pilots who flew with it in combat were not happy with its maneuvering abilities

France did equip some of its air fighter units with the N-52 in the beginning of the 1931 but moved to other types after 1935. The only important export success for the N-52 were 125 planes sold to the Spanish government just before the Spanish Civil War. These planes took part in the first air fighting in the summer of 1936 in Spain and stayed active with the colors of both sides practically until the end of 1937. In Barcelona one squadron of N-52 was active until 1938, defending the city from Italian raids from their bases on the Baleares. The N-52 developed to the N-62 version to correct some maneuvering characteristics of the previous version and the company tried even some other ones but none has flown during WWII as biplanes were considered outdated. Then the factory was merged and the Nieuport fighter versions production was terminated


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## gekho (Aug 3, 2010)

One of the most famous military aircraft of the inter-war period, the Potez 25 was developed from the Potez 24 A.2-category prototype, which had been designed by Louis Coroller and flown in 1924. The refined Potez 25 prototype was built at the new Potez factory at Meaulte and flew for the first time in early 1925. An unequal-span biplane, the Potez 25 had an engine mounting capable of taking a wide variety of powerplants in the 298kW to 447kW range. The carefully contoured fuselage accommodated pilot and observer/gunner close together in tandem cockpits beneath a cut-out in the trailing edge of the upper wing centre section. The new cross-axle landing gear had specially designed Potez shock absorbers.

In all, 87 variants of the type were developed for military and civil use, and over 3,500 examples were built in France, most at the Potez factory, but others under licence by A.N.F. Les Mureaux and Hanriot. Abroad, 300 Potez 25s were licence-built in Poland, 200 in Yugoslavia, 70 in Romania and 27 in Portugal. Other countries which used French-built aircraft included China, where the type was used against the Japanese; Paraguay, where it operated against the Bolivian air arm; Uruguay; Greece; Ethiopia, which flew a small number against the invading Italian troops in 1935; Switzerland, which retained the type in service until 1940; and Estonia. In addition test examples were sold to the Soviet Union and some dozen other countries. Many of the exported and licence-built Potez 25s were of the B.2 two-seat light bomber version.

About 20 Potez 25 Salmson, and maybe some Lorraine engined Potez 25 were directly delivered from French stocks to the Spanish, serving mainly in Northern Spain, and some Potez 25 Jupiter were acquired from Estonia. All were already badly worn out. At least one Potez25TOE was brought by a French defector to the Nationalist rebels inTetuan and sported thereafter the Nationalist crosses and black disks.


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## gekho (Aug 4, 2010)

The Br.460 prototype flew for the first time in 1935; it was a modern two-engine light bomber with a maximun speed of 402 km/h, a range of 900 Km with maximun payload, a crew of four men and an armament of three 23mm machine-guns and 1500 kg of bombs.However the performances of this aircraft were not considered good enough for the standars of that time and the project was cancelled in favour of Br.462, which first flown in october 1936. This prototype arrived to Spain in november 1936 and was destinated to the 11 Group, with base in Cataluña. It was shot down in march 1937 by the AA of the nationalist cruiser "Canarias", in front of the coast of Gerona. Concerning the Br.462, only three of these bombers were built and all of them were sent to Spain.


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## gekho (Aug 4, 2010)

The Bloch 210.01 prototype flew for the first time in June 1934. It was intended as a twin-float seaplane bomber for the French Navy. A second prototype was designated Bloch 211 N°1 Verdun. Following tests, the production version was ordered as the Bloch 210. A cantilever low-wing monoplane which retained the angular lines of the high-wing Bloch 200, the Bloch 210 was powered by two 678kW Gnome-Rhone 14N engines and had a retractable landing gear, the main units of which retracted into the engine nacelles. Armament comprised single 7.5mm MAC machine-guns in a nose turret and semi-retractable dorsal and ventral positions. Maximum bomb load was 1,730kg.

The first production machine flew on 10 December 1935. A total of 283 were eventually built for the Armee de l'Air, with which they served in the BN5 (five-crew night bomber) category. Final deliveries to the air force were made in February 1939, by which time the aircraft was obsolete. By September 1939 238 Bloch 210s served with French bomber Groupes, employed on limited night operations including leaflet raids. However all were withdrawn from first-line service by June 1940. Twenty-four Bloch 210s had also been exported to Romania in 1938 and the Spanish Republicans had received several. Ex-Vichy aircraft were supplied by the Germans to Bulgaria in 1942.


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## gekho (Aug 4, 2010)

The first combat of the Potez 540 was in the Spanish Civil War, where they were employed by the Spanish Republicans. Six Potez 540’s were sold officially to the Spanish Republican Government; they were followed by six ex-Armee de l’Air Potez 542’s, delivered clandestinely, seven Potez 540’s ostensibly bought by the Hedjaz government, and a single VIP version. The bombers all fought to the last and a number were shot down. The Spaniards found them robust, though already outmoded, and perhaps the nickname “Widow Maker” bestowed on them after several crews had been lost was a little unfair.

In the late 1930s, these aircraft were becoming obsolete so they were withdrawn from reconnaissance and bombing duties and were relegated to French transport units. They were also employed as paratrooper training and transport aircraft. By September 1939 and the beginning of World War II, they had been largely transferred to the French colonies in North Africa, where they continued to function in transport and paratrooper service. Their role in even these secondary assignments was problematic given their poor defensive armament and vulnerability to modern enemy fighters. Following the French capitulation to Germany in June 1940, those Potez 540s still flying served the Vichy French Air Force mainly in the French overseas colonies. Most of these machines were retired or destroyed by late 1943.


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## parsifal (Aug 4, 2010)

Fantasdtic presentation The interwar period is an era of aviation often overlooked, and a truly amazing array of these aircraft were used in the Civil war

Well done and keep it up


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## gekho (Aug 6, 2010)

Developed by Marcel Riffard to meet the need for a fast, economical and comfortable transport to carry a limited number of passengers, the Caudron C.440 Goeland (Seagull) twin-engined low-wing cantilever monoplane made its appearance during 1934. Test flown by Raymond Delmotte, it proved its pedigree by combining economy with aerodynamic excellence. One of the most successful aircraft of its time, it was produced in greater numbers than any other transport in its category. The two-spar wing was of spruce and plywood with a plywood skin, and inboard of the inset ailerons the whole trailing edge of the wing was occupied by flaps which also extended beneath the fuselage. The fuselage was largely of wood and had plywood skinning except for the nose section and upper decking which had stressed sheet metal covering. The cantilever tail unit was also a wooden structure, its fixed surfaces plywood-covered and control surfaces fabric-covered. Streamlined nacelles for the 164kW Bengali 6 engines extended below and to the rear of the wings; and the main landing gear units, each incorporating an oleo-sprung fork, retracted rearwards to lie wholly enclosed within the engine nacelles. The prototype had fairings attached to the front of each main leg to cover the wheel wells when the landing gear was retracted, but the next two C.440s had two wheel well doors attached to the underside of each nacelle, a feature of all future Goelands. A non-retracting steerable tailwheel was fitted. 

Some C-445 (improved version) were sent to the Republic, being three of them destinated to the military postal airline (Lineas Aereas Postales Españolas: L.A.P.E.) and the rest of them used as military transports. A single C-448 was acquired to the Air Pyrenees airline: flying this aircraft the Captain Yanguas deserted to the nationalist side on june 1937, receiving the military code 31-2, and serving as a liaison aircraft for the Garcia Morato squadron. It was shot down over the Ebro in 1939. Another Goeland was captured after the war, when it came back from Oran, where the republican pilots had run away when the Republic surrendered. It was withdrawn from service in the middle fortys.


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## gekho (Aug 6, 2010)

The Bleriot-SPAD S.51 was a French fighter aircraft developed in 1924 in response to a French Air Force requirement for an aircraft to replace their obsolete Nieuport-Delage ND29 Designed by Andre Herbemont, the S.51 shared its basic configuration with his other aircraft of the period, being a biplane with a swept upper wing and unswept lower wing, joined by I-shaped interplane struts. The S.51, however, marked Herbémont's transition from a covered framework fuselage design to a monocoque fuselage. 

The prototype S.51 was rejected by the French authorities, but revised versions found export customers in the Polish Air Force, which bought 50 of them in 1926, and the Turkish and Soviet air forces which each bought a single example. Another development, the S.51/3 was experimentally fitted with the first controllable pitch propeller developed in France, also designed by Herbémont. Around 64 aircraft were built and the primary users remain the Air Forces of Poland , Turkey and Soviet Union. Some were also sold to the private sector. One having registration EC-BCC belonged to the Aeroclub de Aragon for use as a civil sports plane and flew during 1935 at Sanjurjo airfield, Spain. It was probably used as a trainer. On july 1938 the italians occupied the airfield and captured the Spad, using it for propaganda purpouses. It is believed that there was another unit flying for the republicans, which was shot down by the italians and could carry the french code F-AIVS.


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## gekho (Aug 6, 2010)

The Dewoitine D.500 was an all-metal, open cockpit, fixed –undercarriage monoplane fighter aircraft, used by the French Air Force in the 1930’s. Introduced in 1936, the design was soon replaced by a new generation of fighter aircraft with enclosed cockpits and retractable undercarriage, including the 510’s successor, the Dewoitine D.520. The Dewoitine D.500, designed by Emile Dewoitine, was based on C1 specifications issued in 1930 by the French Air Ministry. It was to be a replacement for the Nieuport 62. The prototype first flew on 18 June, 1932. In November 1933, sixty aircraft were ordered, with the first production D.500 flying on 29 September 1934. Aircraft were armed with a 20 mm cannon firing through the propeller hub instead of two nose-mounted machine-guns received the designation D.501. A total of 381 D.500 and it’s derivatives were built.

The D.500 and D.501 entered service in July 1935, with the more powerful D.510 joining them in October 1936. They were the primary fighters employed by the Armee de l’Air until replacement by the Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 in 1939. As of September 1939, the D.500/501’s had been relegated to regional defense and training squadrons. At the start of WWII, D.510’s were still in operation with three Groupes de Chasse (Fighter Groups), two Escadrilles Regionale de Chasse (Regional Fighter Squadrons) in North Africa and two Escadrilles de Aeronautique Navale (Naval Aviation Squadrons).

The Spanish Republican Air Force received 7 D.500 and 2 D.510 in the Escuadrilla Internacional. The two D.510’s ostensibly intended of the Emirate of Hedjaz, arrived to Spain in mid-1936. When the French government found out about the delivery of the D.510’s, they demanded return of the 12Y engines and the weapons (it seems their cannon was a extremely secret and powerful weapon, considered basic for the defense of France). The aircraft were then refitted with Klimov M-100’s (a Soviet –built copy of the 12Y) from a Tupolev SB bomber. The two 510’s were posted to the 71st Coastal Defense Group. Neither engaged enemy fighters. In 1938, one was irreparably damaged while landing and the other was destroyed on a runway during a bombing attack.


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## gekho (Aug 6, 2010)

The Farman F.430 was a 1930s French light transport designed and built by the Farman Aviation Works. Two variants with different engines were known as the F.431 and F.432. The F.430 was a low-wing cantilver monoplane with a tail-wheel landing gear. It was powered by two wing-mounted de Havilland Gipsy Major piston engines. The enclosed cockpit and cabin had room for a pilot and five passengers. The prototype F-ANBY appeared in 1934 and the F.431 variant with 185hp (138kW) Renault Bengali-Six inverted piston engines was exhibited at the 1934 Paris Salon de l'Aeronautique. A further variant with 180hp (134kW) Farman radial engines was designated the F.432. After the company had been nationalised and became part of SNCAC a variant with a retractable landing gear (designated the Centre 433) was completed. The F.430 and two F.431s were used by Air Service between Paris and Biarritz.

The Republic acquired the prototype (F-AMBY) and later the 431 and 432 versions, that fitted a Renault engine instead of the De Havilland Gipsy Queen. They were used for auxiliar tasks, due to its limited capacity. At the end of the war, they flew to Oran, where they remained until a commission of spanish pilots took them to Taouima along with the others republican aircrafts (like the V-1 you can see in the picture) that run away to Argelia.


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## vikingBerserker (Aug 6, 2010)

Very cool! Thanks for posting.


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## gekho (Aug 7, 2010)

he design that took Emile Dewoitine's parasol fighter formula to the apex of its development was the D 27, which was evolved to meet the requirements of the STAe 1926 C1 leger programme for lightweight fighters. Adhering closely to the structural concept of preceding fighters, but embodying much aerodynamic refinement and a split-axle (with independently articulated wheels) rather than cross-axle undercarriage, the D 27 was powered by the 500hp Hispano-Suiza 12Mb (HS 57) 12-cylinder Vee engine and had an armament of two synchronised 7.7mm guns. The liquidation of the Construction Aeronautique E Dewoitine in January 1927 resulted in the transfer of development of the D 27 to the EKW in Switzerland, where a prototype flew on 3 June 1928. By the end of the year, three had been ordered by Romania, one by Argentina and three by Yugoslavia (of which two were to be delivered as assemblies for completion by Zmaj at Zemun), and the prototype was undergoing evaluation by the Swiss Fliegertruppe in competition with Alfred Comte's AC-1. In the autumn of 1928, the EKW initiated a pre-series of 12 D 27 fighters, these adopting a redesigned tail and a revised wing of 0.45m2 less area, modifications first tested in the Laboratoire Eiffel wind tunnel. Meanwhile, in March 1928, Emile Dewoitine had reestablished himself in France, forming the Societe Aeronautique Francaise-Avions Dewoitine. The second and third pre-series D 27s were delivered to France in April 1929, the former being re-engined with the 400hp HS 12Jb as the D 272 for aerobatic demonstrations, and the latter undergoing STAe evaluation at Villacoublay from 28 May equipped with two 7.7mm Darne guns. On 29 November 1929, a contract was issued by France's DGT (Direction Generale Technique) of the Ministere de l'Air for the second and third pre-series aircraft plus three (later increased to four) additional fighters to be assembled by Liore-et-Olivier. The D 27 was offered to the Forces Aeriennes Terrestres as the D 271 with the 500hp HS 12Hb engine and as the D 273 with a Gnome-Rhone Jupiter VII with a compressor enabling 425hp to be delivered at 4000m, but neither model was adopted. At the end of 1929, however, the decision was taken in principle to re-equip the fighter element of the Swiss Fliegertruppe with the D 27, a pre-series of five being ordered from the EKW as D 27 Ills, with deliveries commencing in 1931. A pre-production batch of 15 followed, additional contracts being placed for 45 D 27 Ills to bring deliveries to the Fliegertruppe to 66 (including the prototype). These remained first-line fighter equipment until 1940, when they were relegated to tuitional tasks, being finally scrapped in 1944. 

Concerning the D-27 that flew in Spain, there is no reliable data; it is believed that at least three units arrived to Spain of the 15 that by that time were still flying at France, wearing the military codes F-AMQX, F-AJTE and F-ANAX. Other version says that these D-27 were evaluated by the French Air Force and later improved to the D-53 version at the Villacoublay airfield, where they were later sent to Spain in the first months of the war. In any case they were used as advanced acrobatic trainers, being nicknamed "Dewoitinillos". Neither of them survived to the war.


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## gekho (Aug 7, 2010)

The Latécoère 28 was a successful French long-haul mail plane and passenger airliner of the 1930s. It was the main symbol of Air France's predecessor, Aéropostale in its efforts to establish intercontinental air mail services and support French colonialism and French cultural influence between the wars. Its pilots included famous poets and French men of letters such as Antoine de Saint Exupéry and Jean Mermoz as well as the usual veterans from World War I.

The Latécoère 28 was a development of the Latécoère 26. It was braced high-wing single-engined monoplane initially powered by Renault 12Jbr engine. The Latécoère 28 had a fixed tailwheel undercarriage and enclosed cockpit for two crew. The cabin was fitted for eight-passengers. A total of about fifty planes of several versions were built between 1927 and 1932. The seaplane version, the Latécoère 28-3, was the first to make a postal delivery crossing of the South Atlantic when Mermoz flew from Dakar to Natal in 21 hours and a half aboard the Comte-de-La Vaulx (prototype n° 919) on 12 May 1930. Unfortunately the plane was lost at sea during the return flight (with no loss of life, nor of mail).

This high-wing single engine plane was first built with Renault engines which were soon replaced by Hispano Suiza 12Lbr giving 500 hp (370 kW). The floatplane version had the Hispano Suiza 12Lbr giving 650 hp (480 kW). Technically, it was a refinement of the Latécoère 26 fuselage. The passengers had access to a washroom.

The government of France gave several to the republican side in the Spanish Civil War, that used them as military transport and modified bombers. These aircrafts arrived with the french codes F-AJPG (nicknamed Tornado), F-AJPC (Sirocco) and F-AJVB (Alize). Two more units would be acquired later (F-AJVI, Cierzo and F-AJHS, Tramontana) to the French Federation of Air Sports. The aircrafts acquired by the anarchists were converted to bombers, being used against the Granada airfield. However their life as bombers had a short career, because as soon as the Katiuska arrived to the peninsula, they were transfered to military transport duties. Only one example could survived to the war, flying to Oran, along with many other republican aircrafts.


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## Gnomey (Aug 7, 2010)

Good stuff!


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## gekho (Aug 8, 2010)

The Loire 46 was a French single-seater fighter aircraft of the 1930s. A high winged monoplane, it was purchased by the French Air Force and was also supplied to the Spanish Republican forces during the Spanish Civil War, but was almost out of service by the outbreak of World War II. The Loire 46 was an improved modification of two previous Loire fighters—the Loire 43 and 45. Although improved, it resembled the earlier machines retaining their gull mono-wing configuration, open cockpit, and fixed landing gear. The first of five prototype Loire 46s flew in September 1934. It demonstrated excellent handling characteristics and 60 production aircraft were ordered by the Armée de l'Air.

The first production Loire 46 C1 was flown in february 1936, deliveries commencing in the following August to the 6e Escadre of the Armee de l'Air. The five pre-production examples were relinquished by the French Service and supplied to the Spanish Republican government between 5 and 7 September 1936. However neither of these fighters could operate until the end of the month because of the lack of weapons and spare parts. These fighters were sent to Madrid to defend the capital from the attack of the nationalist forces; they were shared among the "Spain squadron", 2º Lafayette squadron and 11 group. The first combat took place over Toledo, with no losses. During the first days of october the Loires attack the nationalist forces that were going to occupy the village of Morejon, close to Madrid. When they were shooting the troops, some Cr.32 appeared and Garcia Morato shot down one of them. The surviving Loires were sent to the south, to reinforce the Nieuport 52s and Dewoitine D-371/D-372 that were operating in that area. Their lifes operating in Andalucia were short, since one of them was shot down during its first combat,another one was destroyed during a landing and the rest of them were destroyed during a nationalist raid over their airfield.


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## gekho (Aug 8, 2010)

From 1927 to 1932 only 9 prototypes were built of this fighter. Only one of them, the SL S-91/6 with french code F-ALXC, was purchased by the workers of Bleriot and donated to the Spanish Republic, arriving to Madrid on september 1936, where it received a new military code (EC-12-E) and sent to the "Spain squadron". It was armed with two vikers machine guns, being fitted in its wings.

At the end of october Madrid was under attack and the republican goverment decided to use its last units to combat the nationalist forces that every day were bombing the town. By that time the only fighters available were the P-26, a Hawker Spanish Fury, a Loire 46 and the S-91/6; these fighters had to scort a group of Breguet XIX and Potez 54 bombers that were going to attack the troops at the University city, where the worst of the combats were taking place. However this formation was intercepted by some Cr.32, that shot down the P-26, the Loire 46 and the S-91/6, altough this one managed itself to land. The republican fighters were able to protect the bombers and only the Hawker, that was piloted by Garcia La Calle, could survive. The Bleriot S-91 wasnt able to fly anymore and was scrapped.


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## gekho (Aug 9, 2010)

The Morane-Saulnier MS.230 aircraft was the main elementary trainer for the French Armée de l'Air throughout the 1930s. In fact, almost all French pilots flying for the Armée de l'Air at the outbreak of World War II had had their earliest flight training in this machine. It was the equivalent of the Stearman trainer in the United States air services and the de Havilland Tiger Moth in the British Royal Air Force.The MS.230 was designed to meet French Air Ministry requirements. It first flew in February 1929 and proved to be an excellent and stable machine which was very easy to fly. It was placed into service in military flight schools throughout France and was exported abroad to the air forces of numerous other countries. It also became a popular aircraft for sport aviation. The MS.230 was of metal tubular framing with fabric covering throughout, except the forward area of the fuselage, which was metal covered. It had a wide fixed landing gear that made it very stable in takeoff and landing. Unlike other trainers of the time (which were mostly biplanes), the MS.230 was a high parasol wing monoplane. It did have the usual tandem cockpit arrangement in the fuselage for the instructor and pupil. Numbers of MS.230s survived for many years after the war and became civilian trainers and civilian flying club aircraft. The F.A.R.E. acquired six units for La Ribera Trainning School, where they were used as advanced trainers. At the present the Cuatro Vientos Air Museum has a replica of this beautiful trainer.


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## gekho (Aug 9, 2010)

The Dewoitine 371 was a 1930s French-built monoplane fighter aircraft. It was one of the first attempts at a faster pursuit aircraft using the monoplane configuration.T he D.371 was a single-seat aircraft of conventional configuration. Its fixed landing gear used a tailskid. The open cockpit was located slightly aft of the parasol wing. The radial engine allowed for a comparatively wide fuselage and cockpit.

In spite of its superior speed, this design failed to impress and was even refused when exported to Lithuania in 1935. An important competitor of the Dewoitine 371 was the Polish PZL P.24, a similar type but with better speed and armament. In 1936, at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, 12 or 14 of them were sold, unofficially, to the Spanish Republic as part of a squadron of volunteers organized secretly by André Malraux, named España. They were, however, unarmed due to the political stance of the French government that declared very early its neutrality. In August of the same year, after some negotiations with the French government, three fully-armed D.371s arrived to Barcelona, piloted by the mercenary pilots M. Poulain, René Halotier and Henri Rozés. They saw action as escorts of a bombing raid against the Rena de Talaveira that destroyed the headquarters of General Juan Yagüé. These three D.371s had successfully defended their bombers against the attacks of six German Heinkel He 51 biplane fighters - an older-design aircraft with inferior performance.

The Squadron España operated with these planes until the arrival of the modern Polikarpov I-15 and I-16, at which time the 3 Dewoitine 371s were withdrawn from the front and continued as training planes. However, they reappeared later in some squadrons and one is known to have flown with the 71 Fighter Group by the Yugoslav (Slovenian) volunteer pilot Josip Križaj. All Dewoitines left were practically destroyed after having been bombed by the Legion Condor planes in the airfield of Bañolas. This type was not used by the French in World War II.


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## gekho (Aug 9, 2010)

The Farman series "400" was a revolution for its builder because it had a thin, cantilever-constructed, high wing, With round edges, which could be dismounted for better storage and transportation. The Farman F 402, had a Lorraine 5 Pb engine of 110 Hp, but the plane in the picture had it changed for a Salmson of 120 Hp. Both were 9-cylinder radial engines.This plane has an unusual peculiarity, which is that the control stick hangs from the ceiling of the cockpit,and the rudder control is a vertical steering wheel.

The fuel deposits, which are placed inside the wings, have a capacity of 200 liters . The landing gear structure is constructed in iron bars. This allows this plane to land "hardly" in short space. The fuselage and the wings are made of wood and covered with plywood.This aircraft served, among other countries, in Spain, during the 1936-1939 civil war, in both sides.

The plane in the picture is painted like the republican one which was used in Zaragoza during the civil waras a transport, linking and ambulance aircraft. Actually, the plane in display was donated by "J. B. Salis" aeronautic association and, after restoration, joined the Spanish "Museo del Aire" in the year 2000. It is the only surviving Farman F 402 in the world.


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## gekho (Aug 10, 2010)

Spanish Air Force bought a prototype and a license in 1923, and started production in the CASA works, in A2 and B2 variants. The first 19 aircraft were imported, the next 26 completed from French parts, then 177 were manufactured (50 of them had Hispano-Suiza engine, the rest the Lorraine-Dietrich 12Eb engine). The Breguet 19 was the basic equipment of Spanish bomber and reconnaissance units until the initial period of the Spanish Civil War. In July 1936, there were 135 in service. They were actively used as bombers during the war, especially on the government (Republican) side. In 1936, the Nationalists bought an additional twenty from Poland. With an advent of more modern fighters, the Br.19 suffered many losses, and after 1937 were withdrawn from frontline service. The Republican side lost 28 aircraft, and Nationalists lost 10 (including 2 Republican and 1 Nationalist aircraft, that deserted). The remaining aircraft were used for training until 1940.


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## gekho (Aug 10, 2010)

The Avia 51 was a 1930s Czechoslovakian 6-passenger commercial transport designed by Robert Nebasář and built by Avia. The type was uneconomical in use and only three were built. The Avia 51 was a three-engined high-wing cantilever monoplane designed for the Czech national airlines CLS. It was built with a duraluminium monocoque fuselage and a fixed tailwheel landing gear. Powered by three Avia R-12 radial engine, two fitted into the leading edges of the wing and one nose-mounted. It had a two-man flightdeck and an enclosed luxury cabin for five or six passengers, it was not large enough to stand up (5ft 1in) but did have a separate lavatory compartment, it also had three luggage and mail compartments.

The Avia 51 entered service on the Berlin-Prague-Vienna route but with only a small passenger capacity it proved uneconomical to operate. In 1937 the aircraft were sold to the Estonian government, one appeared operating for the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War and it was reported the other two were lost at sea when the freighter carrying them to Bilbao was sunk.


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## gekho (Aug 10, 2010)

The Avia BH-33 was a biplane fighter aircraft built in Czechoslovakia in 1927. It was based on the BH-21J that demonstrated promising results by marrying the original BH-21 airframe with a licence-built Bristol Jupiter radial engine. Other than the peculiar Avia hallmark of having an upper wing with a shorter span than the lower, it was utterly conventional; even featuring a tail fin for the first time in a Pavel Beneš and Miroslav Hajn design (previous aircraft had a rudder but no fin). A single example was sent to Spain, but due to its poors characteristics and performances, it was used in trainning duties, being destroyed in a nationalist raid.


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## gekho (Aug 10, 2010)

The Letov S-31 was a fighter aircraft produced in Czechoslovakia in the early 1930s in a number of variants. All of the aircraft had metal tubular framing and fabric covering with a metal engine cowling. The first flight of the definitive S-231 version was on March 17, 1933. After testing at the Czech flight facility at Prague-Lethany, modifications were undertaken to improve the machine’s performance. It entered production the following year and began equipping Czech fighter units in June 1936. The machines remained in front line fighter status with the Czechoslovak Air Force until the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939. 

The only recorded combat seen by any Letov S-231 fighter was in the service of the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War. The sole S-331 and almost all of the S-231s were sold to representatives of the Spanish Republican government. During the winter of 1936/1937 the contract was signed to deliver 24 Letov S.231s to the Spanish Republicans via Lithuania. The first drawback was that before delivery 2 S-231s were lost due to accidents in Czechoslovakia, but agreement was made to replace these aircraft by the second of the three built S-131s and by the sole prototype of the S-331.The first batch of eight Letov S-231s left the port of Gdynia aboard the Dutch vessel SS Sarkani on the 9th of march 1937. This vessel reached the harbor of Santander on the 28th of March, unloading the S-231s together with 24 cannons, 15.000 guns and a lot of ammunition. After assembly, the S.231s were transferred to the Bilbao sector.

Two of these aircraft were almost immediately damaged during test flights. But this had nothing to do with lacking of the right blue prints or incorrect assembling of these aircraft, a myth that still can be found in a lot of publications. The aircraft were flown by Miguel Zambudio, Barbero and Juan Olmos among others and were involved mainly in some fighter, but mostly reconnaissance, coastal support and ground attack missions. The only recorded loss of a S-231 in aerial combat happened on the 6th of April when Juan Olmos was shot down by Gunther Lutzow of 2.J88.

The aircraft operated from the bases La Albericia, Pontejos and later from airport El Carreńo near Gijón but were step by step demolished by enemy air raids, combat damage, accidents and crashes until the last one was captured by the Nationalists on Carreño Aerodrome in October 1937. According to Spanish sources, the next batch of 9 S.231s arrived at Barcelona in May and June 1938. They were assembled at the airport of Celrá, coded CL-001 – CL-009 and formed into the 2a Escuadrilla of Grupo 71, led by Capitán José Bastida Porrán and assigned to coastal patrol and city defense duties. They operated mainly from the airfield of Bañolas. Little is known of their military operations. One was lost over sea near Valencia and CL-004 crashed near Perpignan (France) on the 10th of September 1938 during a mysterious mission. Five were destroyed on the ground by the Condor Legion during the Catalonian campaign at the aerodrome of Vilajuiga – Bañolas (Girona) during air raids and the surviving two aircraft were captured at that same airfield in February 1939. These two aircraft survived the Civil War and were pressed into service with the Ejercito del Aire with Grupo 3W, together with the S.321 that was captured at Carreño. One of them was still flying on the 1st of March 1940.

Concerning the S-331, it had to be repair before it could travel to Spain; during a demonstration in Turkey, the fuselage had suffered some damage after a full power dive in which the aircraft reached 670 km per hour. After repairs OK-VOD was shipped from Istanbul directly to Barcelona. In Spain it became the personal mount of the commander of 2a Escuadrilla of Grupo 71, Capitán José Bastida Porrán. The S.331 was a nice flying machine like the S.231-but was far more capable thanks to its powerful engine which gave it more speed, agility and nervousness. The plane was not only flown by Bastida but also by Vela Diaz who crashed this aircraft at the end of July because he ran out of fuel.


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## vikingBerserker (Aug 10, 2010)

I had no idea so many different types of planes were used there, very cool!


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## VG-33 (Aug 11, 2010)

Good job gekho.

But it's not because our readers pay nuts, thet they should have monkeys...

No disrespect to them, and no disrespect to you, of course but, first and foremost *F.A.R.E* or _Fuerzas Aeras de la Republica Española_, had *never existed* in fact.

Really, when the war occurs, _Arma de Aviation _remains _Arma de Aviation_ for both sides, keeping in strange way their pre-war organisations and structure. It's why in press and news on that period if we could read sometimes _la Gloriosa_, for Republican side, everyone new that it was for _Arma de Aviation de la Republica Espagnola_. 

Wiki is cool, but have its limits....

But once a first idiot used/inventend that word (FARE), a full explosure of authors and publications copied and pasted it without a single trace of verifications through the planet.

A lot of myths and legends were invented for recieved planes such a way. If numerous contacts were maid between spanish representatives and french govermement for the Blériot-Spad 510 sails, not a single plane was delivered. But you can find that planes in numerous (rotten) publications in service for Spanish Republic.

Speeking about Spads, the 51 model really was on spanish ground at the war outbreak, but was forbidden to fly since a long time. For precision, it was baught by the Real Aero-Club of Aragon for aerobatics, mainly for Ramirez Pascual, recieving even civil EC-BCC number. He went from France with a considerable amount of hours and at unsatisfactory general condition. So it's flight licence was retired since 1935, and it was just stocked in a RAC hangar. The poor plane was not able to play any rule for Republican Aviation, even if it had wanted so.

But probably finished it's carrier as a cinema actor, for propaganda films painted with republican colors supposingly shooted down by italian aces...

Actually, it's not very usefull to quote it in your posts. Even San Javier based 1922 year Martinsyde "Buzzards" did "much" more job.

And so on for the Fairey Phantome, baught by USSR in august 1936 for trials, that William Green see immadiatly in Spain, despite the fact that it was still flying in NII-VVS center in 1939....

And so on, and so on...

All from Juan Arraez Cerda and José Fernandez researches...

Regards


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## gekho (Aug 11, 2010)

Many different planes took part in the spanish civil war and even today this matter is extremly polemic because experts are not able to reach an agreement about the participation or not of certain fighters and bombers in this war. For example, the site Spanish Civil War aircraft - Home Page has a section that reflects these doubts; the section´s name is "Aircraft that may have participated in the Spanish Civil War".

In this section you can see planes like the Farman F.430, a plane that nobody was sure about its participation in the SCW. However a couple of days ago the site AviationCorner.net - Fotografía aeronáutica - Punto de encuentro para spotters en español provided a picture of this plane next to a republican V-1 (a picture that you can see in this thread). Or for example the Adaro I.E.7 Chirta, taht can be seen at the "Spanish Military Enciclopedia" (Quiñon Ediciones). We can say the same of the Fokker D-XXI or the C.X; there are no pictures of the first one and a single photograph of the second was discovered two years ago. And what can we say of the Marcel Bloch MB-200? Experts were sure of its participation but today it seems they were wrong and it never came to Spain.

I have even heard rumors about the republican goverment were negotiating the purchase of Martin B-10 and B-17 bombers. Who knows? Perhaps in a future new pictures will confirm or deny the particiaption or this or that plane. With this, my dear friend Vg-33, I just want to say that nothing is certain when we are talking about this matter, and there are many sources, theorys, versions and opinions, and even Juan Arraez Cerda and José Fernandez are wrong sometimes.....

Anyway, your opinions are always welcome...


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## gekho (Aug 11, 2010)

Airspeed AS.6 Envoy was a British light, twin-engined transport aircraft designed and built by Airspeed Ltd. at Portsmouth Aerodrome, Hampshire. The Envoy was designed by N.S. Norway and A. H. Tiltman as a twin-engined development of the Courier. Co-designer Norway also wrote novels under the pen name Nevil Shute. It used the same wooden construction, outer wing panels and aft-retracting main undercarriage legs. The prototype G-ACMT first flew on June 26, 1934 and in July 1934, the aircraft was presented to the public for the first time at an exhibition by the Society of British Aircraft Constructors (SBAC) at Hendon.

The first production Envoy I G-ACVH was used as a demonstrator, the second was delivered to Lord Nuffield. Lord Nuffield's aircraft was due to fly in the MacRobertson Air Race from England to Australia in 1934, but the aircraft was damaged and withdrawn from the race. Another aircraft, a specially modified version with long-range tanks (the AS 8 Viceroy) got as far as Athens before leaving the race due to damage. One Envoy took part in the Schlesinger Race to Johannesburg, but crashed, killing two of a crew. Orders soon came from the whole Commonwealth. Two aircraft went to the Ansett Airlines in Australia. North Eastern Airways and Olley Air Service in the UK also used the AS.6. In Czechoslovakia, the CSA ordered four AS.6 Envoy JC in 1937.

During the Spanish Civil War, ten AS.6 Envoys were obtained by the Spanish Republicans, with the Nationalist side using two, including one that defected from the Republicans, as transport, reconnaissance aircraft or light bombers. The Airspeed AS.8 Viceroy, that was a British racing version of the Airspeed AS.6 Envoy to compete in the England-Australia MacRobertson Air Race, was also sold to the Spanish Republic. The Airspeed Viceroy started the race from RAF Mildenhall, England, but after several reliability problems including with the mainwheel brakes, it was withdrawn from the race at Athens. The pilots concluded that it would be unsafe to proceed and they would probably be unable to finish the race. The aircraft returned to Portsmouth and was then stored until July 1936 when it was sold the following month by the French concern, SFTA and departed to France en route to the Spanish Civil War.


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## gekho (Aug 11, 2010)

The Vickers Vildebeest was a land based biplane torpedo bomber, designed in the late 1920s to defend the British coast. At the outbreak of the Second World War it was the only torpedo bomber in use with RAF Coastal Command. Although it was soon phased out in Britain, the Vildebeest still equipped two squadrons at Singapore at the end of 1941, and was thus one of many types of Allied aircraft to be swept away in the initial Japanese assault. 

The Vildebeest was designed to satisfy Air Ministry specification 24/25, for a defensive torpedo bomber to replace the Hawker Horsley. Vickers designed a large single-engine biplane, with un-staggered rectangular wings of equal size, and which resembled a larger version of the Vickers Vixen or Vendace. The Vickers design was submitted in June 1926, and the Air Ministry placed an order for a single experimental airframe. This prototype was completed at Weybridge in the spring of 1928, and made its first flight in April 1928 at Brooklands. On 14 Septembr 1928 the prototype went to Martlesham, for trials against the Blackburn Beagle.

The name Vildebeest was adopted by September 1926. Vickers had to find the name of a land mammal beginning with V for their new aircraft. Vicuna, Vulpes and Vildebeest were all suggested, the last by Sir Pierre Van Ryneveld, Vicker’s South African consultant. An Afrikaans word, it was often misspelt – as Vildebeeste in some early official paperwork, and more often as Vildebeast. The development of the Vildebeest was hindered by engine problems. The original specification had been written around the Bristol Orion, a supercharged engine that never materialised. While the Orion was under development, the Bristol Jupiter VI was to be used. On 17 November 1927, with the Orion in trouble, Vickers were given permission to use a 460hp geared Jupiter VIII engine that they had on loan from the Air Ministry. This engine constantly overheated, as did the Jupiter XF that replaced it.

Vickers built a second prototype of the Vildebeest during 1930 as a private venture. This aircraft was powered by a geared Armstrong Siddeley Panther IIA air-cooled engine, but this too tended to over-heat, and also reduced the performance of the aircraft. The engine problem was finally solved in January 1931, when the first Vildebeest was equipped with a 600hp Jupiter XFBM engine and a mineral-based engine lubricant. The XFBM was soon renamed the Pegasus IM3,

Further engine changes followed. In 1931 the second Vildebeest was given a XFBM engine, and went to Donibristle for service tests, while the original prototype was given a French-built 600hp Hispano Suiza 12Lbr engine and Supermarine floats. In this format it impressed the Spanish government enough for them to negotiate for a licence to built 25 Vildebeests. In October 1931, with the engine problems solved, the Air Ministry placed an order for nine development machines (to specification 22/31). These aircraft would become the first nine Vildebeest Mk Is. 

The Vildebeest was adopted by the Spanish Ministry of Marine as a standard torpedo-carrying seaplane and a batch of about 27 were ordered from the Spanish CASA firm, which had acquired a manufacturing licence. These were powered by 443kW Hispano-Suiza 12Nbr engines. Around 20 survived to fight on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War, some equipped with floats. A Vildebeest was the first victim of Francoist ace Joaquin Garcia-Morato.


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## gekho (Aug 11, 2010)

In 1926, the British Air Ministry put forth a specification for a radial-piston engine fighter design that could operate in daytime and nighttime with armed with twin Vickers-type machine guns and capable of engaging the top enemy bombers of the day. Bristol responded with the Bulldog I (Mk.I or Mark I) which was used as a developmental model to ultimately become the Bulldog II. The type would become one of Britain's most recognized aircraft creations in the years between both world wars serving with the host nation for some seven years as a frontline fighter. Some 443 examples were produced. The aircraft would serve in the Royal Air Force, Spanish Air Force, Finnish Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force among others.

In configuration, the Bulldog II sported an all-metal fuselage with a fabric skin covering. The wings were arranged in a typical biplane fashion, equal spanning units with single bays and a single pair of parallel support struts. Power was supplied through the Bristol Jupiter VII series radial piston engine of 440 horsepower. Armament consisted of 2 x 7.7mm Vickers machine guns synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller via an interrupter gear. The undercarriage was fixed with a tail skid and both were designed with grass strip runways in mind. The pilot sat behind and underneath the upper wing assembly in an open air cockpit. The pilot was provided an oxygen supply for operations in high altitudes and even a short-wave two-way radio for communications. In many ways, these two additions were a glimpse into the future of military aviation and were noted collectively as quite the innovation. Optional armament included were 4 x 20lb bombs held under the wings. The Bulldog II entered service in June of 1929 and effectively replaced the aging Gloster Gamecock and Armstrong Whitworth Siskin fighters then in frontline use. 

In 1936, Latvia (other sources say they came from Estonia) keen to replace its elderly Bulldogs with more modern aircraft, sold eleven (the number is different depending the sources) Bulldogs to Basque nationalist forces fighting with the Spanish Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, remaining in use until the Battle of Santander.These fighters were acquired with the help of Czechoslovakia acting as the “official” purchaser (a practice still common in matters of international arms trading). However, the Bristols being already obsolete in 1936/37, they were relegated to strafing duties along with other second-hand old planes, this ragtag assembly of vintage machines forming a unit nicknamed the “Krone Circus” (after a then-famous european Circus, which says a lot about their pilots’ feelings !). Flown by foreign volunteers of the International Brigades, the Bulldogs fought the furious battles on the north-western front with no memorable success, however. Their eventual fate is unknown, except for one that was captured intact by Nationalist troops on Santander airfield.


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## vikingBerserker (Aug 11, 2010)

Excellent!


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## gekho (Aug 11, 2010)

The Hawker Fury was a British biplane fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force in the 1930s. It was originally named the Hornet and was the counterpart to the Hawker Hart light bomber. As RAF Fury squadroms wowed the crowds at the Hendon air displays of the early 1930s, foreign customers queued up to buy this aircraft, albeit in small numbers because of the relatively high unit cost and slow production of the Rolls Royce Kestrell engine. Spain received three aircrafts as Hawker Spanish Furies in 1935 wit a single-leg cantilever landing gear and a 700 hp Hispano Suiza 12Xbrs engines. It was planed to build 50 more units under licence, but the nationalist uprising frustrated their construction. At the begining of the war, all the Furies fell in the hands of the republican, receiving the military codes 4-1, 4-2 and 4-3. Garcia La Calle, the spanish republican ace, was the usual pilot of these fighters; during an emergency landing, the fighter suffered many damages and as a result of this accident, it was dismantled and its pieces, along with another wrecked Fury, used to built a new aircraft, the 4-4. The third Fury shot down itself when the synchronization mechanism of its machine-guns failed and destroyed its own propeller blades.


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## VG-33 (Aug 11, 2010)

Hello




> Many different planes took part in the spanish civil war and even today this matter is extremly polemic because experts are not able to reach an agreement about the participation or not of certain fighters and bombers in this war.


Decently, i can’t let you write that, only a small part is submitted to some uncertainlies, at least for the republican side.




> We can say the same of the Fokker D-XXI or the C.X; there are no pictures of the first one and a single photograph of the second was discovered two years ago. And what can we say of the Marcel Bloch MB-200? Experts were sure of its participation but today it seems they were wrong and it never came to Spain.


We’v got no pictures for D-XXI, but we have a lot of better other proofs as archive documents, custom accounts,contracts, reports, letters, memors, crew-members, ground personnel testimonies*...
From J Arraez C, first DXXI assemble by the SAF-15 factory made trials in August 1938, with Mariano Palacio Menendez on commands. A second plane was later tested. All recieved black CF-001 and CF-002 numbers and a Shvetsov M-25 engine. 
From russian archive sources (RGAFD) a manufacturing licence was baught trough USSR in Holland to produce 60 of this planes, with help from soviet engeeners and consultants to establish the assembly line. (CF: Bergolts + Stolitsky + Sveshnikov respective reports maid on different periods). When nationalists occupied Alicante region, an assembly line was at full work at la Rabasa, with a lot of complete airframe just awainting for engines and some other details. All these elements were later used for the HS-42 design and construction. As you see, no secret and doubt about this plane, but a lot of detailed information.

About MB-200, not a single trace to establish if he was in Spain , except some “experts” rich imagination...
* All of that exist for other French planes fullfilled all that points from 60 to 100%, why isn’t so for the MB-200 (0% proof)?



> With this, my dear friend Vg-33, I just want to say that nothing is certain when we are talking about this matter, and there are many sources, theorys, versions and opinions, and even Juan Arraez Cerda and José Fernandez are wrong sometimes.....



Nobody’s perfect. At least José Fernandez never invented any Fairey Phantome delivery stories, from USSR to Spain as the Very honourable William Green did. 



> Anyway, your opinions are always welcome...


Thank you. But, as i previously did, i still prefer to keep my opinions for me, just providing some facts.

Regards


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## gekho (Aug 12, 2010)

The external similarity between the de Havilland D.H.90 Dragonfly and the D.H.89 Dragon Rapide belied its very different internal structure, the earlier design's spruce and plywood box fuselage being replaced by a pre-formed plywood monocoque shell strengthened with spruce stringers. The lower wing centresection was strengthened, making possible deletion of the nacelle/wing root bracing struts and inner bay rigging wires, and so providing easy access to the cabin, with its accommodation for a pilot and four passengers. Powered by two de Havilland Gipsy Major engines, the prototype made its first flight at Hatfield on 12 August 1935 and the first D.H.90A production aircraft, with Gipsy Major II engines, flew in February 1936. Production totalled 66 Dragonfiies, the type being popular initially with the prominent private owners of the time, both in the UK and abroad, but most were used eventually for commercial purposes. Military purchasers included Canada, Denmark and Sweden. 

Another civilian type bought in France through SFTA (Societe Francaise des Transports Aeriens) was the DH.90 Dragonfly. Built as a lighter, faster version of the Dragon Rapide, these machines arrived to Spain in march of 1938. These aircrafts could have carried LY-001 to LY-003 codes. Three Dragonflys were used by the republicans as liaison aircrafts, being later transfered to the Multiengine School of Totana (Murcia) in december 1938. With the end of the conflict, two dragonflies are captured, joinning the new Spanish Air Force.


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## gekho (Aug 12, 2010)

Widely considered to have been one of the best single-seat fighters to emerge during World War I, the Buzzard began life as a private venture design by G H Handasyde designated F.3. A single-bay staggered biplane of conventional wooden construction with fabric skinning and powered by a Rolls-Royce Falcon engine of 285hp, the F.3 appeared in the autumn of 1917. It underwent its first official trials on 3 October, six further prototypes being ordered and a decision to manufacture the F.3 in quantity being taken before the end of 1917. The, F.3 was powered by the 275hp Falcon III engine, but priorities in Falcon engine supplies enjoyed by the Bristol Fighter led to the reworking of the F.3 for the 300hp Hispano-Suiza 8Fb. With this it was redesignated F.4 and (from September 1918) officially named Buzzard.

It is uncertain just how many of the original batch of 150 aircraft were completed as Falcon-engined F.3s, but most were certainly finished as HS 8Fb-engined F.4s, the first of the latter being tested at Martlesham Heath in June 1918. Additional contracts for the F.4 were placed with the parent company (300), Boulton Paul (500), Hooper (200) and Standard Motor (300). Armed with two synchronised 7.7mm Vickers guns, the F.4 differed from the F.3, apart from power plant, in having revised fuselage decking contours and more extensive plywood skinning. Belated engine deliveries and other factors delayed production, only seven having been handed over by November 1918, and, in the event, no RAF squadron was to be equipped with the type. Production of the F.4 by the parent company continued for a time after the Armistice (no other contractor apparently producing any complete Buzzards) and more than 370 airframes were built, some being fitted with Falcon engines. 

A two-seat variant, the F.4A, was produced in 1920, a much-modified derivative with two-bay wings of increased span appearing in the following year. This had a Lewis gun in the rear cockpit and several (around 20) were supplied to Spain in June 1921, both single- and two-seat Buzzards being referred to as F.4As in Spanish service. Seven of the Spanish Buzzards were still in service at the start of the Spanish Civil War. However these fighters were only used for a few months and for 1937 they had been all withdrawn from service.


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## gekho (Aug 12, 2010)

The de Havilland DH 60 Moth was a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Although the DH 60T was aggressively marketed as a military trainer, response was rather lukewarm. In particular the RAF only purchased a handful of aircraft for testing and found that many aspects of the Moth did not suit their method of military flight training. Moth trainers were however ordered by a number of foreign air forces including those of Argentina, Australia (as noted above), Austria, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and the flying arm of the Danish Navy. Finland licence-built 22 Moth trainers, but equipped them with the old Cirrus engine. Two Gipsy Moths were purchased by the Paraguayan government during the Chaco War. They were used as liaison aircraft. One was lost in a fatal accident at Ñu-Guazú Air Force Base and the other survived the war. It was transferred to the Paraguayan Aeroclub in 1936. The bulk of military Moths however were civilian sportplanes impressed by their countries air forces and used as trainers and liaison aircraft. Like this, civilian Moths ended up flying for both the Nationalist and Republican air forces during the Spanish Civil War.


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## gekho (Aug 12, 2010)

The Koolhoven FK.51 was the winning design in a 1935 Dutch government contest for a new trainer. Designed by Frederick Koolhoven the prototype biplane trainer first flew on 25 May 1935. The aircraft was an equal-span biplane designed to use a variety of engines between 250hp (186kW) and 500hp (373kW). It was a two-seater and had a tailwheel undercarriage. The Royal Dutch air force (LVA) ordered 25 aircraft in 1936 and 1937, powered by a 270hp (201kW) Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah V radial engine. A further 29 aircraft were later bought with 350hp (261kW) Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX engine. The Dutch Naval Aviation Service ordered 29 aircraft each powered by a 450hp (335kW) Pratt Whitney radials. The Royal Dutch East Indies Army bought 38 aircraft between 1936 and 1938 each powered by a 420hp (313kW) Wright Whirlwind.

The Spanish Republican government ordered 22 FK.51s, 11 with 400hp (298kW) Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IVa radials and 17 aircraft (designated F.K.51bis) each powered by a 450hp (335kW) Wright Whirlwind R-975E radials. On the 29th of October 1936 the PH-AJV was sold to mister H.J. van der Velden (director of an Autogiro firm in the Netherlands with close connections with La Cierva) and the registration was changed into PH-XYZ. As soon as in November 1936 this aircraft left the Netherlands, flew to Toulouse with as its final destination Geneva. Due to a faulty compass needle this aircraft made a emergency landing in Spain and was confiscated by the Spanish government, according to Mr. van der Velden.

The demonstration of the FK.51 at Quatro Vientos, Madrid was more succesfull. The Spanish government placed an order for some forty aircraft. At the time Koolhoven was ready to deliver these aircraft, the Spanish Civil War was started. As in many other countries, the Dutch Government had signed a non-intervention act, so Koolhoven had to find some sneaky ways to get sufficient engines and to deliver his planes to the Spanish authorities without getting trouble. 22 planes got civil registrations, one of the cockpits were covered with metal panels, “Post” or “Mail” was painted on these aircraft and they were flown to Paris and delivered to the French firm Société Anonyme des Transport Aériens. Here a Spanish crew stood stand-by to fly these aircraft along various routes to their homeland. Getting sufficient engines was one of the other problems, but Frits Koolhoven succeeded in buying the engines of outdated Argosy’s of Imperial Airways. These Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IVA engines of some 400 hp needed bigger propellers, so the undercarriage of these aircraft were lengthened with 30 cm and were called FK.51bis in Spain. Still most of the Spanish Koolhovens were delivered with the Wright Whirlwind 975E3, the same engine as fitted in the F.K.51s for the M.L.D. They were used as night fighters, trying to shoot down the bombers that every night attacked Barcelona and Valencia.


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## gekho (Aug 12, 2010)

As you probably know a Republican delegation had signed a secret agreement for building 25 airframes and 50 wings under licence in Spain. Anyway, when the Nationalists overran the factory in El Carmoli, San Vicente del Raspeig (Ribasa, Alicante), they found 50 sets of wings, 25 airframes and 25 landing gears according to Gerald Howson. Dutch sources claim that the prototype was flown by a pilot named Palacios under supervision of general Herrera. Some sources mention that the Dutch prototype of the D.XXI (FD-322), originally built for the Dutch East Indies and test-flown over there, was shipped to Spain as a pattern aircraft for the 25 aircraft to be built in Spain. In fact this aircraft was never shipped to Spain and was destroyed in February 1942 during a Japanese bombing raid on Kalidjati airfield.


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## gekho (Aug 12, 2010)

The Fokker C.X was a biplane scout and light bomber designed in 1933. It had a crew of two (a pilot and an observer). It was originally designed for the Royal Dutch East Indies Army, in order to replace the Fokker C.V. Like all Fokker aircraft in that period, it was of mixed construction, with wooden wings and a welded frame covered with aluminium plates at the front of the aircraft and with linen at the back. The prototype was built in 1934 with a Rolls-Royce Kestrel V engine. The East Indies Army ordered 13 C.Xs, but they were soon replaced in the scout/light bomber role by the American Martin B-10s. Until the Japanese attack on the Dutch East Indies in 1941, the C.X remained in use as a trainer and target tug. The Dutch Air Force ordered 16 C.Xs, and four more C.Xs with Kestrel IIS engines. These four were later re-equipped with Kestrel V engines, because the Kestrel IIS was not very reliable.

Like the D.XXI, the C.X was set to be produced under license by the Republicans. A pattern example was flown in Spain, and a second was flown with a Soviet M-100 engine. This is the only picture that is known to exist of a Fokker C.X in Spain. You wont find any other.


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## vikingBerserker (Aug 13, 2010)

Very interesting.


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## VG-33 (Aug 13, 2010)

Just my five pence



> Spanish Civil War: Republican Air Force (FARE)



Not FARE, but Arma de Aviacion



> In the years between the world wars, governments and military leaders theorized about the future of aerial warfare. But during this almost two-decade period, there was only one major military conflict--the Spanish Civil War. Although only a few countries officially participated, they found it invaluable preparation for World War II. The 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.




First you present *the Republicans *as a government, but those you called *the Republicans* again , that arrested Calvo Sotelo had stricly nothing to do with this institution. In fact, he was arrested by l-nt Castillo friends, that promissed to revenge him on his tomb, peviously killed by Falange Espanola (Facist) members only because he refused to open fire on workers on strike.

Now,* the Republicans *(government) were against such a method, opened an enquest for Sotelo’s murder, but it was considered too smooth by opponents.

Just to avoid confusions...




> 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.
> 
> The 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.


Unfortunatly for Spanish Republic, not so quick. First attemps led by José Giral spanish prime-minister were maid sice july 1936, the 25 to buy soviet weapons, were brutally rejected. It’s not before september the 29th after several diplomatic actions, then several ultimatums asking Italy and Germany to stop weapons deliveries to Franco, that Stalin finaly ordened the “X –( X for russian “Kh” letter)” operation ( militar deliveries to Spain). Moreover, Stalin’s help was not free and had to be paid in gold. 

Regards


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## gekho (Aug 13, 2010)

1.- F-VIIb-3m c/n 5263: F.VII PH-AFS “Specht” was operated by KLM for some 5 ½ years until it was officially sold to Crilly Airways in August 1936 together with c/n 5187 PH-AGR “Reiger”. After delivery at Burgos it was coded 20-1 because the original 20-1 as operated by the Aviacion Militar was fallen into Republican hands. This aircraft was incorporated into the Grupo Mixto Fokker / Dragon and already lost before the 7th of October but its final fate is unrecorded.

2.- F-VIIb-3m c/n 5350: By coincidence the last four Fokker F.VII-3ms built by the parent company in Amsterdam were all delivered to Spain (3 were destined for LAPE and the last one for the Aviación Militar: Of this quarter EC-AAU was the first in line of the LAPE aircraft which were delivered in November 1933. After the 19th of June 1937 all Republican Fokker trimotors appear to have been relegated to transport training tasks, fulfilling the latter at the Escuela de Polimotores at Totana, Murcia. No single Republican F.VII survived the war.

3.- F-VIIb-3m c/n 5351:This one was delivered to LAPE at the end of November 1933 and was just like the other two F.VIIs more modern equipped than the F.VIIs already in the inventory of LAPE. For instance Lynx engines of 340 hp were fitted. And just like most of the other LAPE F.VIIs it is hard to determine in what actions this particular aircraft was involved (and if it was one of the F.VIIs that ended its days at the Escuela de Polimotores).

4.- F-VIIb-3m c/n 5352:EC-UAA was the last built Fokker F.VIIb-3m built for a commercial airliner (after this one the parent company built only one more (militarized) F.VII which also found its way to Spain, c/n 5353 alias the 20-1 for the Aviacion Militar). For this aircraft too it is very difficult to trace down its service record with the Republicans during the GCE. According to Gerald Howson it was still flying in LAPE colours on the 16th of May 1937carrying gold bullion from Valencia to Paris to pay for arm purchases. On the 22nd of December 1937 EC-UAA suffered a undercarriage collapse in the south of France transporting gold and was written off.

5.- F-VIIb-3m c/n 5353: This aircraft was soon delivered to Carabanchel Alto to serve as a pattern aircraft for the three additional F.VIIs built by the Loring company. By mid-1935 these aircraft were completed and all four were placed in colonial service and based at Cabo Juby and Villa Cisneros in Spanish West Africa. Early in July 1936 however, 20-1 was flown to Madrid by Capt Félix Sampil, carrying Capt Angel Salas and several other officers of the African escuadrilla on leave. This aircraft was directed to Getafe and joined the Republican side and was soon engaged in bombing missions. Early in September 20-1 was employed in the brief Republican attack on Huesca and was later ferried to Bilbao to reinforce the tiny Basque air arm.

6.- Fokker F.VIIb-3m OO-AIK, OO-AIR and OK_AIS, operated by Sabena, Belgium: Quoting Gerald Howson again: In July 1936 Antonio Bolanos, an agent for the Republicans was told by two Belgian Cabinet ministers that Sabena wished to sell three F.VIIb-3m’s which were “declassés et complètement amortis”. Bolanos duly purchased the aircraft, via a Dutch agent, fot Belgian Fr 600.000 on 13 August, only to be told that he could not remove the F.VII-3ms from their hangar at Haren airport until export licences had been granted. Six days later, King Leopold issued a proclamation announcing an embargo on the export of warlike material, including all aircraft, to Spain. Thus, the Fokker trimotors remained at Haren. When Bolanos tried to reclaim his money, Sabena informed him that they would only deal tgrough his agent, and when his agent asked to be recompensed, Sabena claimed that they were under no obligation since the contract stated that that responsibility for removing the aircraft was his! The Spanish Republicans had no recourse but to write off the purchase price, along with many millions of pesetas lost through similar attempts to get around obstacles imposed by “Non-Intervention”.


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## gekho (Aug 13, 2010)

7.- F-VIIb-3m c/n 5127: This aircraft was newly bought by the Swiss airliner Balair (Basler Luftverkehr AG) and delivered by Fokker as CH-160 in the very beginning of 1929. As soon as in August of the same year this aircraft was bought by C.L.A.S.S.A. (Concesionaria Lineas Aereas Subvencionadas S.A.) and registered as M-CAHH (f/n/ 5) on the 16th of that very same month. In 1932 CLASSA was incorporated into L.A.P.E. (Lineas Aereas Postales Españolas) and registration changed into EC-AHH. According to Gerald Howson the two civilian LAPE aircraft (EC-AHH and EC-AKK) were renumbered 20-5 and 20-6 in Madrid. Initially disarmed installation of bomb-racks was initiated by Commander Jordana in March 1936. If Howsons statements are true it must has been lost somewhere between March and August 1936, because the F-XII G-ADZH arrived at Burgos at the 16th of August and became the matriculation 20-5 as well.

8.- F-VIIb-3m c/n 5136: This particular F.VII was registered by Fokker as PH-GJ on the 31st of July 1929 and although the registration CH-193 can be found in the Swiss civil aircraft registry mentioning Ad Astra Aero AG as the owner, this aircraft was sold within 2 months to the French airliner CIDNA (Compagnie Internationale de Navigation Aérienne) and registered in France on the 24th of September 1929. After CIDNA was merged into Air France on the 30th of August 1933 it was baptised “La Radieuse” still wearing the same registration. This aircraft is said to be sold to S.F.T.A. Spain on the 25th of October 1937. Howson states however that the Republicans bought this F.VII (Air France - F-AJCH) in the spring of 1937.

9.- F-VIIb-3m c/n 5211: M-CAKK was another one of the four F.VIIs originally operated by CLASSA and was bought from Fokker in March 1930. After CLASSA was dissolved in LAPE registration changed into EC-AKK but it retained its fleet number 6. According to Gerald Howson, at the moment the DC-2 was taken over the role as the mainstay of the LAPE fleet, this particular F.VII was relinquished in favour of the Aviación Militar for use as a multi-engine trainer by the Escuela de Vuelo at Alcalá de Henares, coded 20-6.

10.- F-VIIb-3m c/n 5243: M-CAMA was another of the by CLASSA operated F.VIIs and owned fleet number 10. At the outbreak of hostilities it was still operated by LAPA as EC-AMA. No direct traceable records found of its service with the Republicans.

11.- F-VIIb-3m c/n 5244: The last one of the original CLASSA owned F.VIIs (and the best documented one) was M-CPPA fleet number 11, the later Republican “Abuelo” (Grandfather). At the beginning of hostilities it escaped from Mallorca and reached Los Alcazares, near Cartagena, instead of Barcelona, where street fighting had erupted and it was feared that the airfield might fall into the hands of the Nationalists. EC-PPA, was quickly adapted for offensive missions under the supervision of Guillermo Xucia, a gun position being improvised on top of the fuselage, two Vickers K. guns being mounted to fire from the windows of the passenger salon, a bomb rack capable of carrying a 220-lb (100-kg) bomb being suspended on each side of the fuselage from steel tubes traversing the salon and protruding from the windows, and a Warleta bomb sight being mounted above a hole cut in the floor. In addition, flame-damping tubes were fitted to the engine exhausts for night flying. Before the end of July, EC-PPA — which, like the Nationalist F VIIb-3m 20-3, was to be nicknamed Abuelo (Grandad) — was flying bombing missions from Prat de Llobregat airfield, Barcelona, its first really noteworthy nocturnal attack taking place during the night of 2-3 August against Saragossa. Piloted by Manuel Gayoso and, on this occasion, carrying six 110-lb (50-kg) bombs, the F VIIb-3m caused comparatively little material damage, but the attack achieved some notoriety owing to the fact that three of the bombs struck the cathedral of La Virgen del Pilar, a venerated shrine, and failed to explode. This was proclaimed a miracle by the devout citizens of Saragossa; the pilot, Gayoso, subsequently remarking caustically that, since the bombs came from a stock of surplus World War I material, the miracle was that any at all had exploded!

Early in September, EC-PPA Abuelo, together with another (but unidentified) ex-LAPE FVIIb-3m and the only one of the quartet of F VIIb-3ms of the Aviacion Militar that had remained in government hands, the original 20-1, were employed in the brief Republican attack on Huesca, during which, on occasions, they came face to face with the similar aircraft of the Nationalist Escuadrilla Fokker which had been temporarily transferred from Olmedo to Saragossa. EC-PPA narrowly escaped destruction on 19 October when La Balumba was attacked by a number of He 51s over Almudevar, Aragon. The F VIIb-3m, which the unit regarded as its most valuable aircraft owing to the weight of bombs that it could carry, was saved by Luis Aguilera, who, flying the black-painted D.H.89M escort aircraft — popularly known as El Avion Negus — bravely interposed his cumbersome Dragon Rapide between the Fokker and two He 51s, which, in the melee, had turned to attack the lead aircraft. After a short combat, the D.H.89M was shot down and all but one of its crew killed, but, by this time, the F VIIb-3m had made good its escape.


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## gekho (Aug 13, 2010)

One Model 281 was sold to Spain in 1935 for evaluation as a possible successor to the Nieuport-Delage NiD-52 fighter that was then the backbone of the Spanish air service. Delivered to Barajas, in Madrid, without armament on March 10, 1935, the Boeing fighter was test-flown by Boeing and Spanish military pilots. Boeing's asking price of 500,000 pesetas per plane ultimately resulted in the Spanish government's decision to reject the 281 and instead obtain a license from the British Hawker Aircraft Company for Hispano Suiza to produce 50 Hawker Spanish Fury biplane fighters.

The Boeing 281 was still at Barajas when the Spanish Civil War broke out on July 18, 1936, and was hastily armed with two .303 Vickers machine guns under the wings for front-line service with the Republican forces. Operating from Getafe airfield, it saw considerable action against the fascist rebels, on one occasion flying in formation with a Spanish Fury, four Dewoitine D.372s, two Loire 46s and two Nieuport-Delage NiD-52s. Republican air strength at Getafe was down to one Fury, one Dewoitine and the Boeing 281 by mid-October 1936. Then, on October 21, Ramón Puparelli, one of the Boeing fighter's original test pilots, took it up to defend the airfield against three enemy Fiat CR.32s, only to be shot down. Puparelli managed to bail out. Some time later, the Spanish Republican government, which had never actually bought the prototype, finally paid $20,000 to Boeing representative Wilbur Johnson, through its embassy in Paris, for the 281's use in combat.


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## gekho (Aug 14, 2010)

Many Vultees found their way to the Spanish Civil War. At least 16 V1-As and V1-ADs were shipped to Spain and used by both sides. The republicans made conversions in five of these aircrafts, with dorsal gun positions and internal racks for eight 75kg bombs. Lady Peace was captured by the rebel Nationalists (as well as 3 more V-1) and rechristened the Capitan Haya in memory of a famous Nationalist pilot. Despite the nationalist tought to use the V-1 as bombers, this concept was finally rulled out, being used only as transports. Several Vultees survived the war, including Capitan Haya, which served in the Spanish Air Force until 1953, when the record-breaking plane was unceremoniously sold for scrap.


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## gekho (Aug 14, 2010)

The first design was manufactured under contract by Edo Aircraft Corporation of College Point, Long Island, NY. Designed as a low wing monoplane design, this first aircraft, designated the SEV-3, was a floatplane. Edo, being the leading manufacturer of aircraft floats, was an ideal choice when one considers that Seversky had no manufacturing facilities. Even with Edo’s expertise, construction still took two years, largely due to the lack of capital funds.

Finally, in June of 1933, the SEV-3 took off from Long Island waters with Seversky at its controls. Painted in a stunning bronze, the SEV-3 was one of the more advanced aircraft in the world. Several months later and fitted with a more powerful engine, the SEV-3 set a new world speed record for amphibians. One major contributor to the plane’s excellent speed was its distinctive thin, but broad semi-elliptical wing. This basic wing design would still be seen on the P-47 a decade later.

Originally designed as an amphibian, it was sent to republican Spain, but its floats apparently never arrived. There is not much information about this plane and its life in Spain; acording to my sources, it came from Mexico, like many others american planes, wearing the civil mexican code XB-ABG. It is believed that it was evaluated as a reconnaissance aircraft. Further information will be welcome.


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## gekho (Aug 14, 2010)

The FF-1 was Grumman’s first aircraft design for the US Navy. The prototype XFF-1 (serial number A8878) was built to a contract placed on 22 April 1931, first flying on 29 December of that year. A two-seat design, with an enclosed cockpit, fuselage of all-metal construction, and wings covered largely with fabric. The XFF-1 was powered initially by a 616 hp (459 kW) Wright R-1820-E Cyclone radial engine, it achieved 195 mph (314 km/h) during service trials, and when the original engine was exchanged for a 750 hp (560 kW) Wright R-1820-F Cyclone the XFF-1 reached a top speed of 201 mph (323 km/h), faster than any US Navy fighter in service at the time.

A production order was placed for 27 two-seat FF-1 (G-5) on 19 December 1932. Meanwhile Grumman had completed a second prototype (serial number A8940) to a two-seat scout configuration as the XSF-1 (G-6). Subsequently 33 production SF-1s were ordered based on the two-seat configuration. They differed from the FF-1 principally in having revised internal equipment and in being powered by R-1820-84 Cyclones instead of the R-1820-78 model installed in the fighter version. One XSF-2 was also completed, this having a Pratt Whitney R-1830 Wasp engine in place of the Cyclone.

The Canadian Car Foundry Co acquired a manufacturing licence for the FF-1, of which it completed a total of 57, some of them assembled from US-built components. A total of 40 aircraft were acquired by the Spanish Republican Government in 1937 via intermediaries from Turkey. This batch was built primarily to bypass the US embargo placed on belligerents during the Spanish Civil War. Referred to as the GE-23 Pedro Rico by the Spanish Republican Air Force, the aircraft were used in the conflict, but were not well matched against their chief opponent, the Fiat CR.32, although one victory against a Heinkel was the only recorded "kill" by a Grumman biplane fighter. Eight survived to serve in the Ejercito del Aire Espanol as the Delfin (Dolphin).


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## gekho (Aug 14, 2010)

The Northrop Delta was an American single engined passenger transport aircraft of the 1930s. Closely related to Northrop's Gamma mail plane, 13 were produced by the Northrop Corporation, followed by 19 aircraft built under license by Canadian Vickers Limited. When Jack Northrop set up the Northrop Corporation as a joint venture with the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1932, he set out to design two closely related single engined aircraft as the new company's first products, a mailplane/record breaking aircraft, which was designated the Gamma and a passenger transport, the Delta. The Delta was a low winged monoplane, with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. It was of all-metal stressed skin construction, with streamlining spats covering the main landing gear. While the Delta's wings were common with those of the Gamma, it had a new, wider fuselage, which seated the pilot in an enclosed cockpit immediately behind the engine, and had accommodation for eight passengers in a cabin behind the pilot. The first Delta was flown in May 1933, and received an airworthiness certificate in August that year.

Seven aircrafts were built as executive transports for private owners. Of these, three were purchased by the Spanish Republicans for use in the Spanish Civil War. Two of these aircraft were captured by the Nationalists when the ship carrying them (along with four Vultee V-1s, a Fairchild 91 and a Lockheed Electra) was captured at sea. These two Deltas were used as Transports by Franco's forces, while the third Delta was used by the Republican airline Lineas Aéreas Postales Españolas (LAPE) until the end of the civil war when it was handed over to Franco's air force.


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## gekho (Aug 14, 2010)

The Douglas DC-1 was the first model of the famous United States DC (Douglas Commercial) commercial transport aircraft series. Although only one example of the DC-1 was produced, the design was the basis for the DC-2 and DC-3. Development of the DC-1 can be traced back to the 1931 crash of TWA Flight 599, due to the failure of a wooden strut, which in turn was caused by water which had over time seeped between the layers of the wood laminate and dissolved the glue holding the layers together.

Following the accident, the Civil Aeronautics Board ruled passenger aircraft could no longer contain wings or structural members (such as struts and spars) made of wood. Boeing developed an answer, the 247, but their production capacity was limited and they could only supply their primary contract, United Airlines. TWA wanted a similar aircraft, and asked four manufacturers to bid for construction of a three-engine, 12-seat aircraft to meet the specifications stipulated by the CAB. Donald Douglas was initially reluctant to participate in the invitation from TWA. He doubted there would be a market for 100 aircraft, the number of sales necessary to cover development costs. Nevertheless, he submitted a design consisting of an all-metal, low-wing, twin-engine aircraft seating 12 passengers, a crew of two and a flight attendant. The aircraft exceeded the specifications of TWA even with two engines. It was insulated against noise, heated, and fully capable of both flying and performing a controlled takeoff or landing on one engine.

Only one aircraft was produced, the prototype.The DC-1 was sold to Lord Forbes in the United Kingdom in May 1938, who operated it for a few months before selling it in France in October 1938. It was then sold to Líneas Aéreas Postales Españolas (L.A.P.E.) in Spain in November 1938. Later operated by Iberia Airlines from July 1939 with the name Negron it force-landed at Malaga, Spain in December 1940 and was damaged beyond repair.

Concerning the DC-2, four of these modern aircrats were serving in Spain as mail planes when the Civil War broke out; three of them fell in hands of the republicans and the other one was captured by the nationalist, that was used to supply the soldiers that were under siege at Santa Maria de la Cabeza Monastery. This aircraft was nicknamed "Vara del Rey" in honor of the man who captured the plane; this DC-2 was at Sevilla at the moment of the uprising, preparing to take off and bombing the nationalist ships that were trying to cross the Strait of Gibraltar. Captain Vara del Rey managed himself to shot the plane and prevent the attack. The republicans used their DC-2s as bombers and VIP Transport. Two of them were lost during the war; one was destroyed on the ground and the other one was lost due to an accident. The remaining DC-2 was used by the menbers of the goverment to scape to France when the war ended.


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## Gnomey (Aug 14, 2010)

Good stuff!


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## gekho (Aug 15, 2010)

The Northrop Gamma was a single-engine all-metal monoplane cargo aircraft used in the 1930s. Towards the end of its service life, it was developed into a light bomber. The Gamma was a further development of the successful Northrop Alpha and shared its predecessor's aerodynamic innovations with wing fillets and multicellular stressed-skin wing construction. Like late Alphas, the fixed landing gear was covered in distinctive aerodynamic spats, and the aircraft introduced a fully enclosed cockpit. The Gamma saw fairly limited civilian service as mail planes with Trans World Airlines but had an illustrious career as flying laboratory and record-breaking aircraft. The US military found the design sufficiently interesting to encourage Northrop to develop it into what eventually became the Northrop A-17 light attack aircraft. Military versions of the Gamma saw combat with Chinese and Spanish Republican air forces. At least three Gammas (other sources say two) found their way to Spain, being used by republicans as trainers. The aircraft of the picture is a Gamma 2E, a light bomber version; this aircraft survived to the war and flew until the 1950s.


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## gekho (Aug 15, 2010)

The Macchi M.18 was a flying boat produced in Italy in the early 1920s. Originally planned as a passenger aircraft, it entered production as a bomber before eventually being offered on the civil market that it was originally intended for. A conventional design for World War I, it was a biplane flying boat with unstaggered wings of unequal span braced by Warren truss-style struts. The engine was mounted pusher-fashion in the interplane gap, and the pilot and observer sat in side-by-side open cockpits. An open position was provided in the bow for a gunner. In addition to the standard military version, a version with folding wings was produced for shipboard use as the M.18AR. This equipped the Italian Navy's seaplane tender Giuseppe Miraglia and the Spanish Navy's Dédalo. The latter service used the type in action against Moroccan rebels. Six of the 20 machines purchased by Spain remained in service at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War and were used to attack Nationalist forces on Mallorca as well as flying reconnaissance patrols. Like the SM-62, many M-18 were captured or lost during the failed invasion of Mallorca.

The Savoia-Marchetti SM.62 was an Italian single-engined maritime reconnaissance flying boat produced from 1926. It served with the "Regia Aeronautica" and with a number of foreign users, and was licence-produced in Spain and the Soviet Union. Some of the Spanish aircraft were still in service during the Spanish Civil War. The SM.62 flying boat was one of the main successes of Savoia-Marchetti, evolved from the SM.59 which first flew in 1925. The single-engined, single-spar wing, wooden biplane aircraft was powered by a single Isotta-Fraschini Asso 500RI, 500 hp engine mounted between the upper and the lower wings, and drove a thruster-propeller. It had a wingspan of 15.5 m, a maximum takeoff weight of 3,000 kg including fuel, bombs and four crew, and entered production in 1926. Apart from the two machine guns in the aft and forward fuselage, both mounted in uncovered positions, the possibility of fitting an Oerlikon 20 mm cannon was explored, but never put into service. The progress of the project was almost continuous, and the following year saw the SM.62bis development that had a more powerful engine. This aircraft, with a 16 m wingspan, formed the basis of the future SM.78. The new 750 hp Isotta Fraschini Asso engine produced 50% more power, which allowed a maximum take-off weight of 4,000 kg with a maximum speed of 220 km/h, while the range was 1,200 km. For those times, these were respectable performance figures for a single-engine aircraft. The SM.62 was one of the first Italian racing- and world-record attempting aircraft, competing in the 1926 New-York to Buenos Aires air-race and the 10,000 km air-race in northern Europe, in addition to setting the speed records of 190.537 km/h averaged over 500 km in 1926 – later augmented to 194.237 km/h – and the world records flying 500 km while carrying 500 kg, and finally 100 and 500 km with 1,000 kg.

Spain acquired 40 units, some of which were license-built. Despite their obsolescence, several Spanish examples fought in the Spanish Civil War. Most of them fell in the goverment hands, with approximately 30 for the republicans and six for the nationalist. In august 1936 the Republic prepared the invasion of Mallorca, using 6 of these seaplanes during the operations. However, the invasion failed and all the SM-62 were abandoned by their pilots or shot down by the italian Cr.32 that had been sent to reinforce the island´s defenses. All the republican SM-62 captured in Mallorca remained at the island, operating now for the nationalist as liaison aircrafts. Their operational life in the island was, in any case, very short, since many of them were destroyed during a republican raid on may 1937.


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## gekho (Aug 15, 2010)

The increased German air traffic in the 1920s led to a requirement for a larger passenger transport aircraft. The G 23 was an enlarged further development of the F 13. It was originally designed by Ernst Zindel as a single-engine aircraft, but due to the requirement for more power, two more engines were added to provide the needed power for the aircraft. The aircraft was manufactured in three main batches, with different engine alternatives. Between 1925 and 1929, at least 72 aircraft were manufactured, with 26 for Lufthansa This aircraft managed to set a number of aviation records involving pay loads. Fritz Horn flew 2,020 km (1,560 mi) with a payload of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) on 14 h 23 min, having an average speed of 140 km/h (90 mph), setting a new world record.

On 24 July 1926, two G 24s became famous after having flown the 20,000 km (12,400 mi) route between Berlin and Peking in just 10 stops. This flight ended on 8 September. It was initially meant that they would fly all the way to Shanghai, but they were prevented by military conflicts. On 26 September 1926, the two aircraft landed again in Berlin. Later during the year, a trans-Euro-Asiatic line is created. Junkers followed up this design with several reconnaissance designs e.g. the G1Sa 24 which was a modified G 24 with only a single engine. The next design, the G2sB 24 was also a bomber, directly derivated from the G 24he. This aircraft had a new center wing section and a new nose section, to allow an open shooting area to the forward areas. Junkers decided to produce this design as the general military version of the G 24 and gave it the designation K.30 in 1926.

In 1928 Spain decided to modernize its fleet of bombers and opened a competition to acquire new aircrafts. The winner of the competition was the Junkers K.30, that was evaluated for more than one year. For many different reasons, only this unit served in Spain and no more bombers were purchased. The K.30 received the military code 49-1 and was sent to the Instruction Squadron where it was usually piloted by the captain Gallego. In 1936 this bomber was still in flying conditions, having its base at Getafe. It fell in republican hands, being used in some raids over nationalist troops until it was destroyed on the ground in october 1936.


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## gekho (Aug 15, 2010)

The Focke Wulf Fw 56 Stösser (German : Goshawk) was a single-engine, high-wing monoplane advanced trainer, built in the 1930s in Germany. It was developed, in accordance with a request by the Reich Air Ministry for an advanced fighter trainer, by Kurt Tank, chief engineer with Focke-Wulf. It was also considered for possible use as a home defence fighter. The first prototype flew for the first time in November 1933. A second prototype had some modifications made to the fuselage, and metal rather than wooden wings for flight testing. The third prototype, which flew in February 1934, reverted to the wooden wing and satisfied the technical designers. After comparison flights in 1935 against its two competitors - the Arado Ar 76 and the Heinkel He 74 - the Air Ministry ordered production to begin. About 1,000 aircraft where built, mostly used by Germany, though numbers were used by Austria and Hungary. A few were sold for private use, for instance to Gerd Achgelis, who later founded the helicopter company Focke-Achgelis with Henrich Focke.

The Fw 56 was a high-wing aircraft with a fuselage of steel tubes, clad in metal at the front, and canvas elsewhere. The wing was of wood, clad mostly in plywood, while the trailing edge was covered with material. The three-point undercarriage was fixed and possessed a tail skid. Six Fw-56 destinated to Ethiopia to fight the italian colonial troops in that country were finally sold to the Republic. The six trainers were transfer to the trainning school of El Carmoli at the end of 1937. Neither of them survived to the war.


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## gekho (Aug 16, 2010)

During the war, the Republic captured at least 11 Fiat Cr.32; some of them were captured when the troops occupied anbandoned airfields, one more when its pilot deserted, three when italians pilots landed in enemy airfields and another one rebuilt at La Rabasa using wrecks. Two of these captured Fiat were sent to URSS to be evaluated, being later recovered by germans at the Kharkov university. The Cr.32 that stood in Spain were transfered to 71 Group, used to defend Alicante. One of these Fiats were later sent to El Carmoli Fighter School. The first two pictures show one of the captured Cr.32 at the URSS, and the third picture shows the republican ace Manuel Aguirre Lopez posing with the Fiat CX-001


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## gekho (Aug 16, 2010)

Three Junkers were captured during the war in flying conditions; the Ju-52 coded EL D-ANIM, the Ju-52 piloted by Ananjas Sanjuan, who served with the nationalist 1a Escuadrilla and defected, landing at Alcala airfield, and another one captured at Guadalajara on 17-12-36. Two of these bombers were used as transports in the north of the republican territory to avoid confusions.


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## gekho (Aug 16, 2010)

On 4 December 1937 a Bf.109B made an emergency landing on a road behind Republican lines (pilot Otto Polenz). The aircraft was recovered by the Republicans and test flown. In January 1938 the aircraft was also evaluated by a French delegation. This aircraft was later sent to the Soviet Union and also tested there. During the Great Patriotic War this aircraft aircraft served with special Soviet reconnaissance unit equipped with captured German aircraft, it was captured back by German JG27. Finally fate of this plane unknown.


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## VG-33 (Aug 16, 2010)

gekho said:


> On 4 December 1937 a Bf.109B made an emergency landing on a road behind Republican lines (pilot Otto Polenz). The aircraft was recovered by the Republicans and test flown. In January 1938 the aircraft was also evaluated by a French delegation. This aircraft was later sent to the Soviet Union and also tested there. During the Great Patriotic War this aircraft aircraft served with special Soviet reconnaissance unit equipped with captured German aircraft, it was captured back by German JG27. Finally fate of this plane unknown.



Nice pics! 
Good quality...

If older sources quoting that Otto Polenz made an emergency landing due to a run out of petrol, soviet sources are quite different. On 4th december morning, 5 I-16 leaded by Alaxandr Goosiov faught over Bujalaros airfield against 30 bombers and 11 messers from I.J/88. Considering the unbalance of forces and weakness of I-16's fire against bombers, he -usnusualy for soviet/republican doctrine - engaged the fighters. From combat results two 109 were shooted down. One was damaged and failed on his own side. The secund one (probably with damaged engine feed) was catched in pliers made by Goosiov itself and his wingman. He was leaded inside republican territory where soviet pilots turning around the landed plane ( and certainly firing about 200 m from it) draw attention of republican soldiers on it. 

From western sources, the plane was soon hidden and camouflaged by groud troops before and unknown soviet pilot braught it away to Sabadell the next day, where a soviet and anspanish technical commissions were awaiting for that.

Considering that was a soviet capture, soviets made reclamation on it. So did France, the plane having high interest and value. A solution was found then, frenchmen were allowed to test the plane in Spain, on the exchange of openning boarders for soviet weapons deliveries. 

In 1938 the plane was send to USSR where it was tested by NII-VVS institute. The plane reached 380 km/h at SL and 422 km/h at 3 000m. Although the NII-VVS report was disparaging some aspects of the BF-109 B handling caracteristics and manoeuvrability, the team had obviously been impressed by what could be considered the more audacious aspects of the fighter desigh, such as automatic leading edge slats.

By general consnsus, the newly delivered and markedly more potent Type 10 version was prononced superior to the Bf 109 B on virtually every count and it was concluded that little urgency need to be attached to the provision of a successor.

Unfortunatly for the V-VS, the (technical) success enjoyed by the I-16 had not a salutary effect on Soviet fighter design effort and the apex of the development of Polikarpov's fighter monoplane had been reached (1939) long before it was to be called upon to oppose _the Luftwaffe_*

* W Green and G Swanborough "Soviet air force fighters".

I never heard about any special soviet reconnaissance unit from russian archives (probably an urban legend). The faith of the 109 B is unknown, but when first 109 E-3 reached the center, this plane lost any interest and was probably wrecked during evacuation, late 1941. It was not airwothy since a long time, then. Anyway, no mention about-it in soviet documents from late 1939, AFAIK.

Regards

You can browse some 109B/C photos here

http://avia-museum.narod.ru/germany/me-109b_add.html


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## VG-33 (Aug 16, 2010)

Here's a picture of the captured Polenz's 6-15 aircraft.






With "Kostya Rozanoff" on commands, painted with republican colors. A russian, naturalised french but not soviet test-pilot. Went in spain early 1938 with Guy de Merle's mission.






Regards


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## Gnomey (Aug 16, 2010)

Interesting shots!


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## VG-33 (Aug 17, 2010)

gekho said:


> During the war, the Republic captured at least 11 Fiat Cr.32; *some of them were captured when the troops occupied anbandoned airfields*, one more when its pilot deserted, three when italians pilots landed in enemy airfields and another one rebuilt at La Rabasa using wrecks. Two of these captured Fiat were sent to URSS to be evaluated, being later recovered by germans at the Kharkov university. The Cr.32 that stood in Spain were transfered to 71 Group, used to defend Alicante. One of these Fiats were later sent to El Carmoli Fighter School. The picture shows the republican ace Manuel Aguirre Lopez posing with the Fiat CX-001



Frankly i don't know where and when republican troops *advanced* (that was pretty rare) and moreover occupied airfields with aircrafts on it. At least 10 airworthy Fiat CR-32 failed in republican hands: 8 by accidents, combat damages or mistakes, and 2 by desertors.

Two were soon destroyed in accidents, 1 went to USSR, the others served within Grupo 71 de defensa de Costas. The CX-001 served for training of the 1st Mosca, in simulating dogfights.

The first soviet captured Fiat was so damaged after a forced landing, that no attemps were maid for it's restoration in april, 1937.. The secund one was captured on Alcala de Henares airfield on june the 6th and supposingly offered by republicans to soviet union, from Arraez Cerda.
This one was submitted to intensive trials from the 23th june to the end of august. It reached 329 km/h at SL and 341 at 2000 m only. Some 7-8% inferior to official italians specs, but it has some wear and was tested without wheel fairings. Normal loaded, it had a 1 984 kg weight. It was rather much compared to the I-15 (1370 - 1390) and the I-16 ( 1508 -1590) of its time. The power to weight ratio was also inferior. So the full turning circle was maid in 13.5 -15.5 s. A rather mediocre result. It took only 8-9s to the I-15, that could outmanoeuvre and outfight the italian plane with ease. And, only marginally better than last heavier I-16 with self sealing tanks and back armor, a device that CR-32 did not have.

In vertical plan, it was even worse for the CR-32, except on step dives...

In other hand, Fiat structure was considered as very rugged, the heavy 12.7 machine guns were allowing to open efficient fire from 300/400 m thus it was only 100 for ShKAS, the range was virtually twice longer than in soviet planes. Even if mainly considered as obsolete, there were founda lot of advanced technical solutions and other details that were later copied by soviet engeneers.

Regards


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## VG-33 (Aug 18, 2010)

> gekho said:
> 
> 
> > On July 17th 1936, a radio station in Morocco started broadcasting: "Above all Spain the cloudless sky". This phrase was a signal for the beginning of the fascist mutiny directed against the Spanish government. At the head of the revolt was general Francisco Franco, who had been a threat to the Spanish Republic. In the first few days it became possible to win the nationalists in larger part of the country as most of the population remained true to the government. However the fascist states, Italy and Germany, did not remain aside. They had started delivering Franco the newest arms: instruments, rifles, machine guns, fighters and bombers. Besides regular Italian infantry and aviation divisions participated in fights on the side of the rebels, the newly created "Condor Legion", a German air unit, started fighting as well. All this allowed the fascists to gain a number of victories over the army of the republicans that suffered from a shortage of arms and qualified officers. By November 1936, the nationalists were close to Madrid.
> ...


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## gekho (Aug 28, 2010)

In 1929, Spain signed the Warsaw Convention, ratified four months later, on January 31, 1930. However, the consequences of the economic depression of 1929 made necessary that the state intervene to order the chaotic development of the first air links and prevent the failure of existing small companies. Thus, in 1929, Union Spanish Air, Iberia LAE, CETA and dirigibles Columbus Transaérea formed CLASSA (Concesionaria de Lineas Aereas Subsidiarias SA), whose name clearly shows his nature. However, the inadequate capitalization provided by partners CLASSA made necessary a contribution from the State, being CLASSA expropriated and their properties are transferred to a newly created corporation called LAPE (Spanish Airlines Postcards) at times of the Second Republic, with 55% of state capital. LAPE, which operated until the end of the civil war, held three different networks:

- Peninsula, linking Seville, Valencia, Barcelona and Mallorca (through Barcerlona) in Madrid.

- North African and Canary Islands, with the route-Madrid-Cape Juby Larache-Las Palmas.

- European with links to Paris, Lisbon and Berlin.

Shortly before the Spanish Civil War had a fleet of 18 aircraft. The basis of this fleet were the devices De Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide (8 seats) and Fokker F. VIIA / 3m tri-motor (15 seats). In addition, CASA cosntrucción contracted with two Dornier Do J Wal seaplanes similar to those used by the Spanish Military and Naval Aviation, a german tri-motor Junkers G-24. Later, when the war started, LAPE began to use all kind of airplenes, like some Douglas DC-1 and DC-2, four Spartan 7-W Executive, Northrop Delta, Airspeed Envoy, De Havilland Puss Moth, Ford 4-AT and many others.


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## gekho (Oct 19, 2010)

The Fokker F.XX was a 1930s Dutch three-engined airliner designed and built by Fokker. It was the first Fokker design to use an elliptical-section fuselage instead of the traditional square fuselage and the first Fokker aircraft with retractable landing gear. The F.XX was a high-wing thick-section cantilever monoplane with a retractable tailwheel landing gear. It was powered by three Wright Cyclone radial engines, one in the nose and one under each wing on struts. The main landing gear retracted into the engine nacelles. The F.XX registered PH-AIZ and named Zilvermeeuw (en: Silver Gull) first flew in 1933. It was delivered to KLM for services from Amsterdam to London and Berlin. Although the F.XX was a more advanced design both in aerodynamics and looks than earlier Fokkers, the arrival of the twin-engined low-wing Douglas DC-2 and DC-3 soon rendered it obsolete. Only one aircraft was built, and after service with KLM was sold to the Spanish Republican government to operate a liaison service between Madrid and Paris. The fate of the aircraft is not known.


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## gekho (Oct 19, 2010)

De Havilland designer A. E. Hagg evolved the de Havilland D.H.83 Fox Moth in 1932 to meet a perceived need for a light transport aircraft with good performance, economical operations and low initial cost. To standard Tiger Moth components (including wings, tail unit, landing gear and engine mounting) he added a new plywood-covered wooden fuselage, locating the pilot in an open cockpit behind an enclosed cabin which accommodated up to four passengers. The prototype, powered by an 89kW de Havilland Gipsy III engine, was flown at Stag Lane in March 1932. It was later shipped to Canada for trials on floats and skis, undertaken in service with Canadian Airways Ltd. Eight of the 98 British-built Fox Moths were exported to Canada between 1932 and 1935, and two more examples were built by de Havilland Aircraft of Australia. Many of these were powered by the Gipsy Major engine and some had sliding hoods over the cockpit. A single Japanese-built copy, powered by a 112kW radial engine and known as the Chidorigo, was flown by the Japanese Aerial Transport Company. After the war, in 1946, de Havilland Canada built 52 examples of the D.H.83C, which had a number of small improvements including trim tab on the elevators, an enlarged clear-view hood over the cockpit and the installation of a 108kW Gipsy Major 1C engine. Another example of the D.H.83C (there were no D.H.83A or D.H.83B variants) was completed by Leavens Bros Ltd in 1948.

After the war, in Torrecica, where it was intended to link missions, was found in perfect condition the old EC-VVA, c / n 4087, which before the war had been equipped with floats and boarded to the ship "Artabro", for an scouting expedition to the Amazon River, and that the war finally frustrated. Of the six DH-83 acquired by the Republican goverment, only this one joined the Air Force as 30-147, later being given, the February 2, 1941, to Antonio Zúñiga Alvareda in compensation for his DH-83 EC-AVA, which had been requisitioned by the government. He received the civil registration EC-AEI, being low on February 25, 1973, some time after he left to fly.


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## gekho (Oct 20, 2010)

The Hanriot H.43 was a military utility aircraft produced in France in the late 1920s and early 1930s which was primarily used by the Aéronautique Militaire as a trainer. While Hanriot had spent most of the 1920s manufacturing further and further developments of the HD.14 that had flown in 1920, the H.43 was an entirely new design. It was a conventional single-bay biplane with staggered wings of unequal span and a fuselage of fabric-covered metal tube. Accommodation for the pilot and passenger was in tandem, open cockpits and the main units of the fixed, tailskid undercarriage were linked by a cross-axle.

Two prototypes in 1927 were followed by the LH.431 in 1928, a much-modified version that dispensed with the sweepback used on both the upper and lower wings of the H.43, had a new tail fin and added metal covering to the sides of the fuselage. This was ordered into production by the Aéronautique Militaire, which ordered 50 examples. These were slightly different again from the LH.431 prototype, having divided main undercarriage units, wings of slightly greater area, and redesigned interplane struts. Over the next six years, the Army would purchase nearly 150 examples for a variety of support roles including training, liaison, observation, and as an air ambulance. At the Fall of France in 1940, 75 of these aircraft remained in service. H.43 variants were also operated by civil flying schools in France, as well as 12 examples purchased for the military of Peru. The H-437 version was a trainning aircraft that flew for thr first time in 1933. Six of these prototypes were sold to the Spanish Republic and used as trainers until the end of the war.


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## gekho (Oct 20, 2010)

The Hispano HS-43 was a Spanish single engine, tandem seat biplane, designed as a basic trainer. Twenty five were ordered by the Aeronáutica Naval but only five had been completed when the Spanish Civil War intervened. In 1934 the Aviación Militar called a competition for a Spanish designed and built basic trainer. Three companies responded, including La Hispana Suiza who had recently taken over the aircraft interests of La Hispana, which had been bought by Fiat. Their aircraft, the Hispano HS-34, is now sometimes referred to as the Hispano E-34, in the earlier company's style. The Hispano HS-34 was a single engine biplane, seating two in tandem. It had unswept single bay wings of the same span and constant chord, with some stagger. The wings were fabric covered wooden structures. Only the lower wing carried dihedral. The N-shaped interplane struts were assisted by flying wire bracing. The upper wing was supported over the fuselage by a pair of N-shaped struts to the upper fuselage longerons. The upper centre section had a large cut-out in its trailing edge for better upward visibility and also contained the fuel tank. Ailerons were fitted only on the lower wing. The HS-34 had its tailplane mounted on top of the fusealge, carrying split elevators. The rudder was horn balanced. The HS-34 had a rectangular cross section fuselage formed from steel tubing with internal wire bracing. Its cockpits were open. The undercarriage used a pair of internally sprung mainwheels with balloon tyres and a tailskid. A split axle was mounted on a short V-strut below the fuselage. On the prototype the undercarriage main legs were short, mounted on the lower fuselage longerons and assisted by short forward struts. The second prototype and production aircraft had longer legs fixed to the upper longerons. The prototype and production series aircraft were powered, as the rules of the competition required, by a 105 hp (78 kW) Walter Junior four cylinder inverted inline engine, though the second prototype was fitted with the more powerful 130 hp (97 kW) de Havilland Gipsy Major of the same configuration.

The HS-34 did not win the Aviación Militar competition and was therefore not ordered by them but the Aeronáutica Naval placed an order for twenty five in August 1935. Only five had been built before the Spanish Civil War put a end to production of non-combat aircraft. In 1941, after the war a final HS-34 was assembled using recovered parts and a Gipsy engine. Hispano had hopes of restarting production, suggesting the HS-34 might find a rôle as a glider tug. A successful test took place on 18 April 1942, flown by the usual Hispano test pilot Fernando Floes Solis but the type was not accepted by the military. Instead, it flew with the civil Aero Club of Seville. Lage suggests that this aircraft may be the HS-41 referred to in the 1942 Hispano catalogue. The second prototype, with its Gipsy engine, new undercarriage and Handley Page slots was displayed before the war at the International Exposition held at Montjuich in 1935.


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## gekho (Oct 21, 2010)

The plane was a development of Potez 36. First of all it featured new, slimmer fuselage, with three seats, instead of two. A disadvantage were non-folding wings, with shorter slats. The original Potez 430 first flew in June 1932. It had 105 hp radial engine Potez 6Ас. 25 examples of this variant were completed, followed by other variants, differing with the last digit in designation. Other variants built in significant numbers were Potez 431 and Potez 438. 161 of Potez 43 family were built in total.


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## Gnomey (Oct 21, 2010)

Good shots!


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## gekho (Dec 2, 2010)

In the early 1930s, the French company Breguet Aviation started design of a twin-engined transport aircraft, sharing the wing design with the Breguet 460 military multi-purpose aircraft and the Breguet 462 bomber, a mock-up of the initial design, designated Breguet 46T, was displayed at the 1934 Paris Air Show.[4] The new design, named Fulgur, and re-designated Breguet 470 T12 before the prototype was completed, was a low-winged monoplane of all-metal construction, accommodating 12 passengers. It had a retractable tailwheel undercarriage and was powered by two Gnome-Rhône 14K radial engines. The Fulgur made its first flight on 5 March 1936, its two powerful engines giving a maximum speed of 385 km/h (239 mph), leading it to be described as the fastest commercial transport in the world.

The prototype Breguet 470 was entered in the 1936 Paris–Saigon–Paris race, with the hope of winning a large cash prize (1,800,000 Francs), and with a promise that the winner would be purchased by the French Air Ministry, setting out on 25 October, reaching India before having to withdraw due to a mechanical fault. It was re-engined with more powerful, 937 hp (699 kW) Gnome-Rhône 14N radials in 1937 before being entered into that year's Istres–Damascus–Paris race, finishing fifth in a time of 21 hours 3 min, with de-militarised Savoia-Marchetti SM.79s bombers occupying the first three places and a de Havilland Comet racer finishing fourth. No further production followed, and the prototype was sold to the Spanish Republican government at the time of the Spanish Civil War. It was painted dark green, but the paint peeled in many places giving the plane a scruffy look. The aircraft was used mainly for LAPE[8] flights between Barcelona and Toulouse, although the Spanish Republican Air Force occasionally used it as a military transport as well. It escaped to France following the surrender of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, the aircraft then being scrapped.

Source: Breguet 470 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## gekho (Dec 20, 2010)

Harold Edward Dahl (29 June 1909 – 14 February 1956) was a mercenary American pilot who fought in the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War. He was a member of the "American Patrol" of the Andres Garcia La Calle group. He was nicknamed "Whitey" due to his very blond hair. Born in Champaign, Illinois, he graduated from flying school at Kelly Field on 28 February 1933 and joined the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Second Lieutenant. His commission ended in 1936 due to gambling and subsequent court convictions. He then became a commercial pilot, but again gambling forced him to escape to Mexico. He was flying charter and cargo flights carrying material for the Second Spanish Republic, as Mexico was one of the very few distant countries to support the Spanish government. He was told about the good salary paid for mercenary pilots and so he joined Spain under the name of Hernando Diaz Evans, Evans being his mother's maiden name. He reported nine kills in this unit, though only five were ever confirmed.

During the reorganization of the Fighter Squadrons in May 1937, Dahl was posted to a squadron with a large variety of nationalities. Frank Glasgow Tinker said that this made it very hard for a pilot to coordinate his place in the group during fighting. It seems that this was the case on June 13 of that year, where he was surprised by enemy planes and was shot down and taken prisoner. Initially sentenced to death, there were some diplomatic movements to free him. His first wife Edith Rogers, a known singer of impressive beauty, was said to have visited Francisco Franco himself to plead for his life. This story later became the basis of the 1940 movie Arise, My Love. He stayed in prison until 1940 and then returned to the U.S. After he and Edith Rogers divorced, he accepted another mercenary job, this time with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and served during World War II where he trained RCAF pilots for combat in Europe at an airfield near Belleville, Ontario. It was here that he met his second wife Eleanor Bowne, the daughter of the richest man in Belleville. After the war, he was accused of stealing equipment from the air force that had been decommissioned.

Around 1951, he joined Swissair and stayed in Switzerland but in 1953 he was caught smuggling gold with his girlfriend and was expelled from the country, an event that compelled his second wife to divorce him. Back in Canada, he became a cargo pilot flying DC-3s when on 14 February 1956 he was killed during a crash in bad weather.


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## Gnomey (Dec 21, 2010)

Nice stuff!


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## Madmax_ (Dec 25, 2010)

Thank u for sharing Moscas and other Republican airplanes.


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## gekho (Feb 22, 2011)

Albert Baumler was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, on 17 April 1914. He did his primary and basic training at Randolph Field from June 1935 to February 1936, and then did his advanced training at Kelly Field from 19 February to 17 June 1936. He was however eliminated on the latter date, at which he had 205 hours and 30 minutes of training time and a total of 319 hours and 15 minutes flying time. On 15 October 1936 he received a commercial transport rating. He resigned his Army Air Corps commission and made his way to Spain. 

In Spain he flew for the Spanish government from 27 December 1936 to 15 July 1937. He qualified on the I-15 on 7 February 1937 and was assigned to Kosokov’s Escuadrilla, which was equipped with I-15 Chatos. At 11:30 on 16 March his patrol flew a sortie from Soto Madrid. In the Brihuega-Valdesor-Pajares sector the patrol met a formation of Fiat CR.32s. In the ensuing combat Baumler shared a CR.32 with A. N. Zeitsoff. It seems that totally two CR.32s were claimed in this combat for no losses. Four days later, on 20 March he attacked a group of three Italian SM.81 bombers escorted by five Fiat CR.32s. Baumler claimed a Fiat 10 kilometer southeast of Brihuega. 

On 17 April he was on his second mission of the day, operating from a base near Sarrion, Teruel, when his group intercepted a formation of Heinkel He51 pursuits. Giving chase to the enemy, Baumler crippled a Heinkel; as he did not see it crash, he was awarded with only a probable victory. He did, however, obtain credit for a subsequent "kill" in this same combat. Kosokov’s Escuadrilla converted to Polikarpov I-16 Moscas in the end of May and Baumler qualified on the I-16 on 1 June 1937. On 2 June he claimed a CR.32 in flames over the San Ildefonso-Segovia area. Operating from Castejon on 14 June, he claimed another Fiat over Huesca. At 16:45 on 8 July he was part of a group out of Chozas Madrid to escort ten Rasante light bombers to Quejormas, when his group engaged an enemy force of bombers and fighter escorts. In the ensuing combat he claimed a probable Fiat CR.32. Baumler returned to the US in the end of July after having claimed 2 biplane victories and a total of 4. Totally during his time in Spain he flew 174 hours and 35 minutes. While flying for the Spanish government he earned $1,500 a month plus $1,000 for each aircraft shot down. 

After his return to the US he rejoined the Army, being commissioned to Second Lieutenant and rated as a pilot on 30 September 1938. When the recruitment of pilots for the AVG in China started in March 1941, Baumler signed up for this unit as one of the 100 pilots recruited. However he ran afoul on Ruth Shipley at the State Department, who refused him a passport on the grounds that he had violated his previous travel documents by flying for a foreign government. Instead he was posted to AMISSCA (United States Military Mission to China) flying with spare parts for the AVG on the Pan Am Clipper, which left for Hawaii on the night of 3-4 December 1941. However his intent seems to have been to join the AVG when arriving in Burma. 
He made as far as Wake Island, where he awoke to Japanese bombs, shells and bullets on 7 December. The Pan Am Clipper escaped with twenty-seven bullet holes, none in a vital spot. The cargo was dumped and the aircraft filled with refugees, including Baumler and a dozen of civilian workers, took of for the devastated Hawaii at noon. 

In February 1942 he was serving with the 15th PG, 45th PS, and at the end of the month he had 725 hours and 30 minutes of training time and a total of 1750 hours and 20 minutes flying time. He was sent to the 10th AF in India, and attached to the Flying Tigers for experience. On 4 July 1942 he joined the 23rd FG, 75th FS. He was Commanding Officer of the 74th FS from 11 December 1942 to 18 February 1943. During the Second World War he claimed 5 more victories and he ended the war with 2 biplane victories and a total of 9. He was decorated with two DFCs and one AM. Baumler continued to serve after the war before retiring from the Air Force Reserve in September 1965. Post-war he was decorated with a BS and Commendation Ribbon. He passed away on 2 August 1973 in Denison, Texas.


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## Gnomey (Feb 24, 2011)

Nice shot!


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## gekho (Apr 1, 2011)

Frank Glasgow Tinker was a distinguished American mercenary pilot for forces of the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). A graduate of DeWitt High School and the Naval Academy, Tinker was the top American ace for the Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War. Frank Tinker was born on July 14, 1909, in Kaplan, Louisiana, the son of Frank Glasgow and Effie Tinker. He had two sisters. The family moved to DeWitt (Arkansas County) on July 3, 1924. Tinker graduated from high school in DeWitt in 1926 and, at the age of seventeen, joined the U.S. Navy. Tinker spent three years in the navy before receiving a prestigious appointment to the Naval Academy at Annapolis. After graduating from Annapolis in 1933, Tinker was sent to Randolph Field, Texas, for flight training. In six months, he graduated and was transferred to Pensacola, Florida, where he completed his training. 

During 1934–1935, Tinker was stationed with the West Coast Fleet. He served as an observer for the navy and crashed with his pilot on May 15, 1935. Tinker’s only grievance seems to be his prematurely gray hair, which he attributed to this crash. Tinker lasted only six months in the fleet. After a quarrel in Long Beach resulted in a court-martial, Tinker again got into a clash only a couple of months later and had his commission revoked. Later in 1935, Tinker joined the crew of a Standard Oil tanker running from New York to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a third mate. By July 1936, Tinker left his job with Standard Oil. Tinker was never married and had no children. By December 16, 1936, Tinker left for Spain to fight with the Republican forces against the Nationalists, led by Francisco Franco, and the fascist nations of Italy and Germany. Earlier, Tinker attempted to join the Ethiopian government as a pilot for Addis Ababa against Benito Mussolini and his invading Italian forces. This failed, as the Ethiopian government had no air force of its own. Tinker believed that Adolf Hitler and Mussolini were involved in what amounted to a military invasion of Republican Spain, and he decided to offer his services as a fighter pilot for the Republican Air Force.

When Tinker joined the Republican Air Force, it was contrary to the United States’ policy of non-intervention. To circumvent this policy, the Spanish ambassador to Mexico recruited Tinker in secret. This was in response to letters sent by Tinker to the Spanish ambassador in Washington DC and Mexico City, and the Spanish Consul-General in New York City. As Tinker began his clandestine voyage to Spain, he took the alias Francisco Gomez Trejo. During the war, Tinker became a squadron commander and was credited with eight enemy kills, making him an ace. By late August 1937, Tinker returned to the United States. During the Spanish Civil War, Tinker flew with other notable American mercenaries, including Harold Dahl, Orrin Dwight Bell, Derek Dickinson, Jim Allison, Charlie Koch, and Albert Baumler. Tinker has been placed in the American Fighter Aces Association for his eight confirmed kills and recorded compensation totaling $18,500 from his exploits in the Spanish Civil War. His eight confirmed enemy kills of the war placed him at the top among the American pilots. 

After the war, Tinker was a guest speaker in New York on the radio program “We the People,” discussing his feats in civil war Spain. Tinker also wrote a series of articles for the Saturday Evening Post titled “Some Still Live.” The articles were published in book form with the same name in 1938. He wrote a number of other articles including a series for the Arkansas Gazette Magazine describing his voyage from St. Charles (Arkansas County) down the White and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans with his fox terrier. Tinker’s death is reported as a suicide; however this has continued to be controversial. He was found in the Hotel Ben McGehee in Little Rock (Pulaski County) on June 13, 1939, with a .22 caliber weapon lying on a chair three feet from the bed. A bottle of scotch, relics of Tinker’s career with La Patrulla Americana during the Spanish Civil War, and an acceptance letter from the Chinese Air Force were scattered across the room. The letter was the result of correspondence between Tinker and General Claire Chennault. His suicide has been attributed to shellshock from the war and even maltreatment from the U.S. government. Neither has been substantiated, and some even consider his apparent suicide as nonsense, since Tinker was known to carry a .45 Colt with him in his suitcase. Ernest Hemingway, an admirer of Tinker, after learning of Tinker’s suicide, reportedly commented he would have tried to dissuade Tinker from taking his own life if he had known of Tinker’s plight. Tinker was buried in DeWitt with “¿Quien Sabe?” (“Who knows?”) engraved on his tombstone.

Sources:


_View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk5ntW_Qwcc_


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## gekho (Apr 2, 2011)

Shadows of war; The Videogame


_View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHewZxwZBPY_


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## Johnny Curedents (Jun 4, 2011)

Thank you, Gehko, for the enormous effort you put into posting both Republican and Nationalist aircraft; I thought I had seen just about all the photos that existed, but you proved to me that I had a lot to learn. If it were ever possible, I would enjoy adding to these pictures some discussion of the colours and markings of aircraft, especially of Nationalist planes. De todos modos, me ha gustado mas de lo que te puedo decir y te lo agradezco de nuevo.


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## vikingBerserker (Jun 4, 2011)

Excellent posts!

Welcome aboard Johnny.


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## gekho (Jun 5, 2011)

Johnny Curedents said:


> Thank you, Gehko, for the enormous effort you put into posting both Republican and Nationalist aircraft; I thought I had seen just about all the photos that existed, but you proved to me that I had a lot to learn. If it were ever possible, I would enjoy adding to these pictures some discussion of the colours and markings of aircraft, especially of Nationalist planes. De todos modos, me ha gustado mas de lo que te puedo decir y te lo agradezco de nuevo.



Thank you for your words; I am happy to see people enjoy my threads. And please feel free to add all the pictures and information you have about the SCW. And of course welcome to our forum.

Y por cierto, felicidades por tu excelente español.


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## Rafhart (Nov 10, 2011)

I have a question about the Tupolev I-4 (ANT-5) did not find any mention of this plane and reportedly took part in the war, as I understand the Republican side.


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## Sagittario64 (Nov 21, 2011)

How did the I-15/I-152 fare against its opponents later in the war? i understand some skilled pilots were still flying it during 1937-38. i know that the bf.109 was in force already, and the next year the italians introduced the fiat g.50


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## kruaxi (Jan 4, 2012)

Fantastic data. Thanks a lot


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## gekho (Feb 16, 2013)

The González Gil-Pazó GP-1 was a single engine, two seat open cockpit training aircraft, built in Spain in the 1930s to compete for a government contract. Declared the winner, production was curtailed by the Spanish Civil War. Two cabin variants, the González Gil-Pazó GP-2 and GP-4, were also built. The first aircraft produced from the collaboration between Arturo González Gil y Santibañez and José Pazó was the Gil-Pazó No.1. It was, like all of their aircraft, a low wing cantilever monoplane. It was built of wood and metal with plywood skinning, seated two and had an unfaired conventional undercarriage. Reportedly similar to a Miles Hawk, it was powered by an ADC Cirrus engine. Almost no specifications are known, apart from a loaded weight of 778 kg (1715 lb). It first flew in June 1932 and was last recorded at Cuatro Vientos, Madrid in July 1936.

In 1934 the Director General de Aeronáutica issued a specification for a two seat trainer and Gil-Pazó's response was the GP-1. This "supremely elegant" aircraft, with two open cockpits and a trousered undercarriage was reportedly somewhat like the Miles Hawk Major in appearance. Its wings, of semi-elliptic plan, had a wooden structure and a stressed plywood skin. Flaps were fitted. The fuselage was a steel tube structure, fabric covered at the rear with dural skinning forward. For its first flight in June 1934 it was powered by the same Cirrus engine as the No.1 but this was replaced by a 145 kW (195 hp) Walter Junior inverted in-line engine for the trainer contract competition.

The competitive trials, against the Loring X, the Hispano HS-34 and the Adaro 1.E.7, assessed the Gil-Pazó GP-1 as the clear winner, so in 1936 González Gil and Pazó received an order for 100 aircraft. These were to be built by AISA, the Talleres Loring factory at Carabanchel Alto, Madrid. None of these had been completed by July 1936 at the start of the Spanish civil war, and with rebel forces approaching Madrid in October, AISA retreated to Alicante. About forty GP-1s were built here during the war in a collaboration with Hispano-Suiza. In 1935-6 the open cockpit GP-1 was developed into two cabin types, the González Gil-Pazó GP-2 and GP-4. Both had raised rear fuselages faired into the cabin tops. The GP-2 was powered by a 97 kW (130 hp) de Havilland Gipsy Major engine and had two seats in tandem. Only one two-seater was built. A second GP-2 was built as a single seater with one, rather than two, cabin side windows each side. The GP-4 was powered by a 97 kW (130 hp) Walter Major engine and carried four people. Only one GP-4 was constructed.

Two notable flights were made before the Civil War. In January 1936 Ramón Torres and Carlos Coll set a record with their flight from Barcelona to Agadir, Morocco in the two seat GP-2. The single seat GP-2 was flown by Lorenzo Richi in March 1936 from Madrid to Bata in what was then Spanish Guinea at an average speed of 187 km/h (116 mph). About thirty of the forty GP-1s built at Alicante were captured by the Nationalist forces, given military serials and incorporated into Grupo 30. After the war at least twelve of these were given Spanish civil registrations; one remained on the register until 1961. One GP-2 and the sole GP-4 were also on the Spanish civil register until about 1960. The GP-4 had been flown into Nationalist hands by Pazó in September 1936, where it was used for liaison and transport duties.

Source: González Gil-Pazó GP-1 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## gekho (Feb 22, 2013)

The Hispano Suiza E-30 was a trainning aircraft made in Spain for Navy Air Force. The first five units were sent to the San Javier´s Trainning School in 1933. When the Civil War broke out, only 20 examples had been delivered, falling 10 of them in the hands of the Republic. At the beginning they were used as light bombers over the Aragon front, but due to its lack of speed and limited bomb load, they are reasignated to the Observer School of Los Alcazares, that already owned 20 more units built in Albacete. With the end of the war, only 13 units are recovered, joinning those that were on service with the Nationalist Air Force. In the newborn Spanish Air Force (Ejercito del Aire), they were used as liaison and trainning aircrafts, wearing the military code EE-2. They spent the rest of their lives at the Trainning School of Leon, being retired in 1952.


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## gekho (Mar 12, 2013)

The Fleetster received Approved Type Certificate Number 369 on 29 September 1930. It was designed to meet a requirement of the New York, Rio, and Buenos Aires Line (NYRBA) for an aircraft to serve the coastal routes in South America. The Fleetster had a streamlined all-metal monocoque fuselage with a wooden wing. The powerplant was a 575 hp (429 kW) Pratt Whitney R-1860 Hornet B radial engine. It was available as a landplane or seaplane and could accommodate up to eight passengers, although the three NYRBA aircraft were fitted with two full-width seats each for three passengers.

A parasol-wing version (the Model 20 Fleetster) was also developed with the wing supported by four short struts. The open cockpit was moved to behind the passenger cabin and the space used as a cargo compartment. Three aircraft were built for NYRBA and a private Canadian customer.
In 1932 a carrier-borne dive bomber version (Model 18) was evaluated by the United States Navy as the XBY-1, it was not ordered but was the first stressed-skin aircraft; and the first aircraft with so-called "wet wing" integral fuel tanks in the wings; operated by the Navy.

During the early stages of the SCW, the Republican goverment try to buy desperately aircrafts for it´s airforce. One of it´s suppliers was Mexico, that managed to send some airplanes through the United States. First American shipment sailed from New-York for France on the 28th of December 1936 and consisted of the complete stock of American Airlines Vultees, except for NC-13767 that had crashed in January 1936. These Vultees were accompanied by 3 Consolidated 20A Fleetsters, 5 Lockheed model 9 Orions and 1 Northrop Delta. 

Source: Consolidated Fleetster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## nuuumannn (Mar 15, 2013)

Gekho, here's a passage out of Aircraft of the Spanish Civil War 1936 - 1939 by Gerald Howson about the Vega:

"Only one Locheed Vega flew in the Spanish Civil War. This was a seven passenger Model 5B, NC534M (c/n 103), powered by a 450 hp Pratt Whitney Wasp radial engine. It was sold in 1929 to the Mexican airline CAT (Corporacion de Aeronautica de Transportes) and re-registered XA-BHI. In 1934 it was sold to Coronel Roberto Fierro Villalobos, then Mexico's foremost pilot, re-engined and re-registered XA-AAD. In December 1936, Fierro, who was by then Director General de Aeronautican in Mexico and a strong supporter of the Spanish Republicans, sold it to the Spanish ambassador in Mexico. Together with a Lockheed Sirius and an Orion, both likewise supplied by Fierro, it sailed for Spain on board the _Sil_ on 22 December 1936, reaching Santander on 12 January 1937. After serving with the Basque air arm for some weeks, the Vega was flown across Nationalist territory to the main Republican zone, where it joined the ranks of LAPE. Its Spanish registration and LAPE fleet number are not recorded. The LAPE pilot Joze Maria Carreras, who flew it frequently, told the author that it had neither engine cowling nor undercarriage spats, and that blotches of green and ochre had been painted on its original red finish by way of camouflage."

The two aeroplanes in the photo you supplied are not Vegas, but Consolidated 20A Fleetsters. Great thread.


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## nuuumannn (Mar 15, 2013)

Identification of the aircraft in the LAPE section illustrations. Airspeed AS.6J Envoy EC-AGE, Douglas DC-2 EC-AAY, Junkers G 24 M-AJAJ, Dougls DC-1 EC-AGN, B.A. Eagle 2 EC-CBC x 2, Ford 4-AT-F Trimotor EC-RRA, Northrop 1C Delta EC-AGC, Spartan Executive EC-AGM, D.H.89 Dragon Rapide EC-AZZ.


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## gekho (Mar 16, 2013)

nuuumannn said:


> Gekho, here's a passage out of Aircraft of the Spanish Civil War 1936 - 1939 by Gerald Howson about the Vega:
> 
> "Only one Locheed Vega flew in the Spanish Civil War. This was a seven passenger Model 5B, NC534M (c/n 103), powered by a 450 hp Pratt Whitney Wasp radial engine. It was sold in 1929 to the Mexican airline CAT (Corporacion de Aeronautica de Transportes) and re-registered XA-BHI. In 1934 it was sold to Coronel Roberto Fierro Villalobos, then Mexico's foremost pilot, re-engined and re-registered XA-AAD. In December 1936, Fierro, who was by then Director General de Aeronautican in Mexico and a strong supporter of the Spanish Republicans, sold it to the Spanish ambassador in Mexico. Together with a Lockheed Sirius and an Orion, both likewise supplied by Fierro, it sailed for Spain on board the _Sil_ on 22 December 1936, reaching Santander on 12 January 1937. After serving with the Basque air arm for some weeks, the Vega was flown across Nationalist territory to the main Republican zone, where it joined the ranks of LAPE. Its Spanish registration and LAPE fleet number are not recorded. The LAPE pilot Joze Maria Carreras, who flew it frequently, told the author that it had neither engine cowling nor undercarriage spats, and that blotches of green and ochre had been painted on its original red finish by way of camouflage."
> 
> The two aeroplanes in the photo you supplied are not Vegas, but Consolidated 20A Fleetsters. Great thread.



Uuuuups, it´s true... sorry, my fault.


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## nuuumannn (Mar 16, 2013)

No worries, very much enjoying this thread, Gekho; the Spanish Civil War holds a particular fascination for me.


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