Spanish Civil War: Nationalist Air Force

The Heinkel He 45 was a light bomber produced in Germany in the early 1930s, one of the first aircraft adopted by the newly-formed Luftwaffe. Its appearance was that of a conventional biplane and included seating for pilot and gunner in tandem, open cockpits. Developed in parallel with the He 46, it appeared in 1931 as a general-purpose biplane and was employed mainly as a trainer, but was also used by the Luftwaffe for reconnaissance and light bombing duties. Production of this plane totalled 512 aircraft, including those built under licence by Gotha, Focke-Wulf, and BFW.

On the 22nd of July 1936 General Franco requested the German government for assistance for his coup that was to be known as the Spanish Civil War. At this time, Germany was in full struggle to implement its economic resurgence and just had started the first phase of its own rearming program. In first instance, Francos request was rejected by the German officials. But with the intervention of Rudolf Hess, this request was forwarded to Adolf Hitler himself and so to the NSDAP (Nazi Party). Thanks to his persuasive power, Admiral Canaris, a close friend of Franco, succeeded in making clear that the long time benefits for Germany could be of far more importance than the short time risk that had to be taken. Already on the 28th of July Hitler approved secret aid for Franco on a larger scale than was demanded. Within one week 20 Ju 52s from Lufthansa were dispatched to Spain, and the first vessel (with a shipload of 86 German volunteers and six Heinkel He 51s among other things) was on its way to Cadiz. This was the first one of more than 170 shiploads to follow. In September the first twenty or so Heinkel He 46s arrived in Spain. Already in October the first six Heinkel He 45Bs that had arrived were formed into a reconnaissance unit of Aufklärungsgruppe A/88 at Avila.

After some battlefield experience it was decided to use the Heinkel He 45 mainly for artillery cooperation and gunnery direction. For the field of low-level reconnaissance, the He 45s seemed to be too vulnerable while the Heinkel He 70 was far more faster and better suited for this task. There is little known of the numerous missions of A/88 in which the two Ketten of 3 He 45s were involved except from the fact that the aircraft was reliable and responded very well to its needs. In March 1937 most of the unit was based at Sevilla-Tablada while 2 He 45s where operating from Vittoria to prepare the offensive against Bilbao. Three new He 45s were received to make up for the losses of the first period of wartime action. 1937 was a hard period for A/88 because the Republican Air Force was reinforced with modern Russian equipment and flak became deadly serious. When A/88 was sent back to take part in the northern campaign again, losses grew:

11-09-1937: Gefreiter Leske was killed while landing a He 45 riddled by flak at Burgos.
22-09-1937: Lieutenant Kempers He 45 was shot down over Santander
22-10-1937: Lieutenant Schwanengels He 45 shot down by Republican ground fire over Avilés.

When A/88 went to rest at Santander-Est in November there was only one operational He 45 left. During 1938 A/88 was extensively in action over the northern front. The He 45s mostly operated on their own, marking artillery and troop concentrations and trying to attack these later with small anti-personal bombs. They flew on a daily base and against all expectations, almost without losses. Until , on the 29th of August, a storm devastated La Cenia and reduced the number of operational He 45s to three, one of them (15-38 and probably the most photographed He 45 of A/88) ended upside-down in an olive tree. On the 20th of September Lieutenant von Kugelgen was seriously wounded after being attacked by Republican fighters and destroyed his aircraft when landing at Vinaroz. The next day another He 45 was intercepted but the pilot was only slightly injured by pieces of his shattered windscreen. By November 1938 A/88 was withdrawn from front service to recuperate with only one He 45 out of three in flying condition. In December the unit returned to operations again and was involved in the final campaign in Catalonia. At the end of March 1939 A/88 had still 3 He 45s at its disposal of which 2 were in flying condition. These two (15-34 and 15-36) were handed over to the Spaniards and this meant the end of the career of the He 45 with A/88, these aircraft being replaced by six Henschel Hs 126s.

That the He 45 in no way played an unimportant role in Spain is illustrated by this quotation from Patrick Laureau in Condor, The Luftwaffe in Spain: Reviewing their activities during the course of the conflict in Spain, the He 45 gives the appearance of being a champion in all categories. Fw Hans König for example carried out 95 missions in one during a single tour of operations. Of the Do 17 crews. Obfw Ernst Sorge (pilot), Lt Philips and Uffz Wawrock knocked up a record by carrying out 57 missions together.

When the first Do 17s arrived in February and March 1937 for the Legion Condor, six He 45s were handed over to the Spanish Nationalists. These formed a single escuadrilla within the Breguet 19 group 1-G-10 at Léon. Put into action as the 1st Grupo de Asalto and operating from Vitoria, this group saw intensive action in the north with the purpose to capture Bilbao. But due to the Republican offensive at La Granja, the group was recalled to Léon in June 1937. Here, together with the delivery of six new He 45s, 6-G-15 was formed. After some action in the north, the aircraft were stationed in Avila to take part in the Battle of Brunete where two of them were written off after ground looping.From August until the end of September 6-G-15 was operating in the northern front again under harsh conditions, at least five He 45s were shot down. After a short period of rest and reinforcement that brought the operational strength of 6-G-15 to fifteen aircraft, the unit was put in action for the Battle of Teruel till January 1938 and thereafter was involved in the advance to the Mediterranean until May 1938. Attrition was high, for instance, at the end of March only 3 aircraft were in flying condition and in May two aircraft were shot down and another two were written off due to accidents. Most action however took place during the the Battle of the Ebro till the 16th of November 1938 in which, at the peak of hostilities, every available He 45 locked more than 4 hours of operations a day. The last operations during the Civil War were executed during the final campaign in Catalonia. The last loss of a He 45 occurred only three days before the end of the war, when 15-15 exploded during a ferry flight on the 28th of March 1939, probably caused by sabotage. After the Civil War was brought to an end, all remaining He 45s were taken over by the Ejercito del Aire, while a further 15 aircraft were delivered during 1939. On the 1st of March 1940 25 were still in service, the majority with Grupo 41, the last one being phased out about 1950.

Source: AERONET GCE / IBERONET: Service life of the Heinkel He 45 part 2:

The Arado Ar 68 was a single-seat biplane fighter developed in the mid-1930s. It was among the first fighters produced when Germany abandoned the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles and began rearming. Designed to replace the Heinkel He-51, the Ar-68 proved to have admirable handling characteristics on its first flight in early 1934, despite Arado's inability to secure a sufficiently powerful engine for the prototype. Eventually, a Junkers Jumo 210 was installed and the Ar 68 went into production, though not before worries about the unforgiving nature of such a high-performance aircraft almost resulted in the cancellation of the project.

The Ar 68 entered service with the Luftwaffe in 1936 and one of the first units was stationed in East Prussia. Soon, the fighter was sent to fight in the Spanish Civil War, where it was outclassed by the stumpy Soviet Polikarpov I-16. Arado responded by upgrading the engine of the Ar-68E, which soon became the Luftwaffe's most widely-used fighter in 1937-8 before being replaced by the Messerschmitt Bf 109. The last Ar 68s served as night fighters in the winter of 1939-40 and fighter-trainers.

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he Dornier Do 17, sometimes referred to as the Fliegender Bleistift (German: "flying pencil"), was a World War II German light bomber produced by Claudius Dornier's company, Dornier Flugzeugwerke. It was designed as a Schnellbomber ("fast bomber"), a light bomber which, in theory, would be so fast that it could outrun defending fighter aircraft. The Dornier was designed with two engines mounted on a "shoulder wing" structure and possessed a twin tail fin configuration. The type was popular among its crews due to its manoeuvrable handling at low altitude, which made the Dornier capable of surprise bombing attacks. Its sleek and thin airframe made it harder to hit than other German bombers, as it presented less of a target.

Designed in the early 1930s, it was one of the three main Luftwaffe bomber types used in the first three years of the war. The Do 17 made its combat debut in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War, operating in the Legion Condor in various roles. Along with the Heinkel He 111 it was the main bomber type of the German air arm in 1939-40. The Dornier was used throughout the war, and saw action in significant numbers in every major campaign theatre as a front line aircraft until the end of 1941, when its effectiveness and usage was curtailed as its bomb load and range were limited. Production of the Dornier ended in the summer of 1940, in favour of the newer and more powerful Junkers Ju 88. The successor of the Do 17 was the much more powerful Dornier Do 217, which started to appear in strength in 1942. Even so, the Do 17 continued service in the Luftwaffe in various roles until the end of the war, as a glider tug, research and trainer aircraft. A considerable number of surviving examples were sent to other Axis nations. Few Dornier Do 17s survived the war. The last was scrapped in Finland in 1952.

The Do 17's baptism of fire came during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39), where it outpaced most enemy fighters and performed well. The Spanish nicknamed the Dornier the Bacalaos ("Codfish"). In early 1937, mass production began on the Do 17E and Do 17F series. The Do 17 F-1 was to replace the Heinkel He 70 as a high-flying fast reconnaissance aircraft, while the Do 17 E-1 was to supplant the Legion Condor's aging Heinkel He 111B bomber. However, more modern Soviet-supplied Republican aircraft were capable of intercepting the E and F variants, which prompted an upgrade of the Dornier's defensive armament.

Among the units committed to the Franco's cause was Hauptmann Rudolf Freiherr Von Moreau's 4.K/88. On 6 January 1937, it was decided by Erhard Milch, Albert Kesselring and Ernst Udet that the Legion should have more modern aircraft. Soon 12 Do 17 E-1s, as well as He 111 B-1s and Ju 86 D-1s were dispatched to serve in Spain. The unit was named VB/88 (Versuchsbomben Staffel, meaning Experimental Bomber Squadron). VB/88s Dorniers were involved in a strike around Guernica, but that particular unit's objective was a bridge, rather than civilian areas. VB/88 dropped 8 tonnes (9 tons) of bombs, while K/88 added 37 tonnes (41 tons) over the city itself causing the deaths of about 1,500 people. The bombing of VB/88 straddled the bridge. The only other target hit by the German bombers that day was the rail station. On 8 July 1937, the Dorniers flew multiple sorties to protect Nationalist forces now threatening the capital, Madrid. At this point, the Junkers Ju 86s had been withdrawn and replaced by the Do 17 Fs. In the spring of 1938, another unit, 1.A/88, equipped with Do 17s, also arrived in Spain. A total of 27 Do 17E, F and P variants were part of the Condor Legion.

The Spanish Civil War was to be the toughest test yet on the Do17 bomber. It proved to be fast, in fact was fast enough to outpace any enemy fighter, although it could not match Germany's own Bf109, but one important lesson was learnt. It was vulnerable to enemy gunfire, especially in the forward section. The nose had been shortened on the Do17E and the Do17F variants, but the firing arc of the forward gunner was restricted somewhat and the narrow diameter of the fuselage of the Do17 which was how it became known as the "Flying Pencil" meant cramped conditions for the cockpit area of the aircraft.

These lessons learnt, were applied to the Do17U. The nose was severely cut down and the forward machine gun positioned so that it had a complete arc of fire. An enlarged forward fuselage not only gave existing crew more room, but allowed for an additional crew member if required. All these modifications were to prove successful, and they were put into the Do17Z in 1939. It was this variant that was to see service throughout the battle of Britain and in operations during 1940 and 1941. One of the Do17 variants, was modified as a night fighter and had a nose section of a Ju88C fitted complete with cannon and machine guns. Additional to that was the installation of a FLIR (Forward Looking Infra Red) detector, said to be the worlds first. The first success of the use of the FLIR detector was the shooting down of a Wellington bomber of RAF Bomber Command on the night of October 16th/17th 1940 over the French-German border.

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The Heinkel He 46 was a German World War II-era monoplane designed in 1931 for the close reconnaissance and army co-operation roles. While it served with the Luftwaffe's front-line units only briefly at the start of World War II, the He 46 served as late as 1943 as a nighttime nuisance bomber and with the Hungarian Air Force. By 1934, about 500 He 46s had been built, and, by 1936, the Luftwaffe's aerial reconnaissance wings were all equipped with the He 46. In September 1938, 20 He 46C-1s were given to the Spanish Nationalists for use in the Spanish Civil War.

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The Heinkel He 59 was a German biplane designed in 1930 resulting from a requirement for a torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft able to operate with equal facility on wheeled landing gear or twin-floats. In 1930, Ernst Heinkel began developing an aircraft for the Reichsmarine. To conceal the true military intentions, the aircraft was officially a civil aircraft. The He 59B landplane prototype was the first to fly, an event that took place in September 1931, but it was the He 59A floatplane prototype that paved the way for the He 59B initial production model, of which 142 were delivered in three variants. The Heinkel He 59 was a pleasant aircraft to fly; deficiencies noted were the weak engine, the limited range, the small load capability and insufficient armament.

The aircraft was of a mixed-material construction. The wings were made of a two-beam wooden frame, where the front was covered with plywood and the rest of the wing was covered with fabric. The box-shaped fuselage had a fabric-covered steel frame. The tail section was covered with lightweight metal sheets. The keels of the floats were used as fuel tanks - each one holding 900 L (238 US gal) of fuel. Together with the internal fuel tank, the aircraft could hold a total of 2,700 L (713 US gal) of fuel. Two fuel tanks could also be placed in the bomb bay, bringing the total fuel capacity up to 3,200 L (845 US gal). The propeller was fixed-pitch with four blades.

During the first months of World War II, the He 59 was used as a torpedo- and minelaying aircraft. Between 1940 and 1941 the aircraft was used as a reconnaissance aircraft, and in 1941-42 as a transport, air-sea rescue, and training aircraft. The trainer models survived slightly longer in service than operational models, but all had been retired or destroyed by 1944. Some aircraft were operated by the Condor Legion in Spain during the Spanish Civil War in 1936 as coastal reconnaissance and torpedo floatplanes.

The Arado 95 was a single-engine reconnaissance and patrol biplane designed and built by the German firm Arado in the late 1930s. Ordered by Chile and Turkey, a number were taken over by the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) when World War II started. The Arado 95 was designed in 1935 as a two-seat seaplane, for coastal patrol, reconnaissance and light attack roles. The first prototype, an all-metal biplane powered by a BMW 132 radial engine, flew in 1936, while a second prototype was powered by a Junkers Jumo 210 liquid-cooled engine. The two prototypes were evaluated against the similar Focke-Wulf Fw 62. The BMW-powered version was considered worthy of further study, and a batch of six were sent for further evaluation with the Legion Condor during the Spanish Civil War . The Arado Ar 95 was the basis for the prototype Ar 195 carrier-based torpedo bomber, which was proposed for operation from the German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin.

The Ar 95 was not ordered by the German armed forces, and so was offered for export in two versions, the Ar 95W floatplane and Ar 95L landplane, with a fixed, spatted undercarriage. Six Ar 95Ls were ordered by the Chilean Air Force, being delivered prior to the start of World War II. Turkey placed an order for Ar 95Ws, but these were taken over by Germany on the outbreak of war. The requisitioned Ar 95s were designated by the Luftwaffe as the Ar 95A, and were used for training and for coastal reconnaissance operations in the Baltic Sea, operating off the coast of Latvia and Estonia in 1941, and in the Gulf of Finland. They continued operating until late 1944.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzjT6cWp-kQ
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m9uX7slXv0

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The Heinkel He 51 was a German single-seat biplane which was produced in a number of different versions. It was initially developed as a fighter, and a seaplane variant and a ground-attack version were also developed. It was a development of the earlier He 49. In 1931, Heinkel recruited the talented aircraft designers, Walter and Siegfried Günter, and their first major design for Heinkel was the Heinkel He 49. While this was officially an advanced trainer, in fact it was a fighter. The first prototype, the He 49a, flew in November 1932, and was followed by two further prototypes, the He 49b, with a longer fuselage, and the He 49c, with a revised engine.

The type was ordered into production for the still secret Luftwaffe as the He 51, the first pre-production aircraft flying in May 1933. Deliveries started in July of the next year. The He 51 was a conventional single-bay biplane, with all-metal construction and fabric covering. It was powered by a glycol-cooled BMW VI engine, with an armament of two 7.92 mm (.312 in) machine guns mounted above the engine. The He 51 was intended to replace the earlier Arado Ar 65, but served side-by-side with the slightly later Ar 68. The He 51 was outdated the day it entered service, and after an initial run of 150 production fighters, the design was switched into the modified He 51B, with approximately 450 built, including about 46 He 51B-2 floatplanes, and then finally a further 100 He 51C light ground-attack plane.

On 6 August 1936, six of the He-51s were delivered to Spain to fight in the Spanish Civil War. Initial operations were successful, with the Heinkels meeting and defeating a number of older biplane designs, with two Nieuport Ni-52 fighters, a Breguet 19 and a Potez 54 destroyed on 18 August 1936, the first day of operations by Spanish-flown He 51s. Deliveries continued as the hostilities increased, with two Nationalist squadrons equipped by November, and the Legion Kondor forming three squadrons of 12 aircraft each manned by German "volunteers".

This time of superiority was short lived, with the arrival of large numbers of modern aircraft from the Soviet Union, including the Polikarpov I-15 biplane and new Polikarpov I-16 monoplane, together with the Tupolev SB bomber, which was 110 km/h (70 mph) faster. The He 51 proved unable to protect the Legion Kondor's bombers, forcing it to switch to night operations, while also unable to intercept the much faster SB.[9] The He 51 was therefore withdrawn from fighter duty and relegated to the ground-attack role by both the Legion Kondor and the Spanish Nationalists, It was replaced in the fighter role by the Fiat CR.32 in the Nationalist Air Force, with the Legion Kondor receiving Messerschmitt Bf 109s from April 1937 to allow it to operate successfully in fighter operations. While a failure as a fighter, the Heinkel proved successful as a ground-attack aircraft, being used by Wolfram von Richthofen to develop the close support tactics which were used by the Luftwaffe in World War II. It continued in use as a ground attack aircraft for the remainder of the Civil War, although losses were heavy. After the war the 46 surviving aircraft would be joined by another 15 new builds, and serve in the utility role in Spain until 1952.

The experiences in Spain would prove once and for all that the days of the biplane fighter were over. Although the later model Fiat biplanes were superior to the He 51 and continued to soldier on in Nationalist service, the I-16s were basically untouchable because of their speed. If the conditions were right, they could use their heavy armament in a quick pass and then leave; if things weren't so favorable, they simply flew away. The lesson learned by all of the participants was that speed was far more important in combat than maneuverability. The He 51 continued in front-line service with the Luftwaffe until 1938, with it remaining in service as an advanced trainer for the first few years of World War II.