Spanish Civil War: Nationalist Air Force

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The Meridionali Ro.37 Lince (Italian: "Lynx") was a two-seat Italian reconnaissance biplane, a product of the Industrie Meccaniche Aeronautiche Meridionali (IMAM) company. It followed the Ro.1 as the main reconnaissance aircraft for the Italian army.A contest was held by the Regia Aeronautica for a light reconnaissance aircraft and a heavier aeroplane. The first should have 350 km/h (190 knots/220 mph) maximum speed, five hours endurance, three machine-guns and a bomblets dispenser, armour, and the capability to operate from improvised airfields. The heavier one should have 325 km/h maximum speed, at least 1,300 km (800 miles) endurance, 7,000 m (22,750 feet) ceiling, climb to 5,000m (16,000) in 19 minutes, three crew, five weapons, high wing and other details. Limited production of the IMAM Ro.30, an improved Ro.1 with a defensive turret and better engine, resulted. It was rejected by the Regio Esercito and not chosen for production, being only capable of 200 km/h (110 knots), five hours endurance, a climb rate of 4,000 m (13,000 feet) in 20 minutes, and had three weapons. IMAM did not give up after the modest success of the Ro.30 and so designed a new aircraft, the Ro.37, which first flew in 1933.

gekho said:

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S!
The first image in this series shows a wingless Do-17e in the foreground, the wing is barely visible to right of photo.

Salute Gekho!

I am doing research on the 17's, and have questions on the 17 in SCW.

gekho said:

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.

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I see you copied my Wiki entry verbatim.

gekho said:

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.

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What happened to all the 17's after the Civil war?
While called "Bacalaos", I see a lot of them with "Pablo" (versus "Pedro" on 111's) Why?
How many total 17's went to Spain?

I have more, will be easy on you.

Thank you for all your effort to educate us!
S!

Very cool!

Frantish said:

Salute Gekho!

I am doing research on the 17's, and have questions on the 17 in SCW.



I see you copied my Wiki entry verbatim.



What happened to all the 17's after the Civil war?
While called "Bacalaos", I see a lot of them with "Pablo" (versus "Pedro" on 111's) Why?
How many total 17's went to Spain?

I have more, will be easy on you.

Thank you for all your effort to educate us!
S!

Click to expand...

According tu different sources, the number of delivered Do -17 to Spain ranges from 31 to 47.
The most probable number seems to be 32.
They were E-1 and F-1 variants to be used by VB-88 first, and A-88 squadron later.
In summer 1938 more modern P-1 were delivered.

12-13 planes survived from the war, and served in the 8 - G - 27 gruppo.

Regards

Hello everybody,

There is something I would like to make clear; all the information provided here is always taken from internet or any of my E-books. I hardly ever write something by myself, translating only when I am not able to find the information in english; one of my main sources is the wikipedia, although in many occasions the information is incomplete or wrong. What I wanted to say is that I dont pretend to attribute all that information to my personal effort; I just copy the info and post the photos so you can understand better the circumstances under all theses planes flew.

Concerning the nickname of "Pablo",it was also used along with the "Bacalao", but this one was more frecuently. The amount of planes sent to Spain is a extremly polemic subjet in Spain; experts are not able to reach an agreement. In any case Vg-33 seems to have good sources, so I think you can trust him. The only thing I can do is to recommend you some good books (the e-book versions are available everywhere and are very easy to find and download) where you can find what you are looking for:

- Weapons for Spain, Gerald Howson. a very polemic book; some spanish experts are not agree with him
- Ali d´Italia series. These books provide a very good information about the italian planes of the SCW.
- Classic Publications, Luftwaffe colours, Volume One, section two; The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939.
- Elite Osprey 0053 - International Brigades In Spain (1936-39)
- Elite Osprey 0131 - The Condor Legion - German Troops in the Spanish Civil War
- Osprey Campaign series 0060 - The Ebro 1938
- Osprey Men at arms 0074 - The Spanish Civil War 1936-39
- Osprey Aircam/airwar 003 - Spanish Civil War Air Forces
- La maquina y la historia - Perfiles aeronauticos españoles
- Air magazine. It´s a french magazine. They usually publish very good articles about SCW planes.
- Avions magazine. It´s a french magazine. They usually publish very good articles about SCW planes.

Forums/Sites

AERONET GCE / IBERONET Probably the best forum of the spanish aviation. If any of you have a question about the SCW, you will find the answer here. You can write in english; there are people from many different parts of the world and always someone answer in english.

AviationCorner.net - Fotografía aeronáutica - Punto de encuentro para spotters en español Many of the pictures I post here are from this site.
Spanish Civil War aircraft - Home Page
Military Aspects of the Spanish Civil War
AVIONES GUERRA CIVIL ESPA¥OLA

Enjoy!!

This was a biplane aircraft of mixed construction, with two seats, and a 560 hp Fiat A.30 inline engine. It reached 300 km/h (162 knots) and perhaps even more with this engine, the same as that of the Fiat CR.32. The Ro.37 had a 7,000 m ceiling, 3,000 m climb in 11 minutes, over 1,200 km (750 miles) endurance, three machine guns (two in the nose and one dorsal), twelve 15 kg bombs, and good agility. It was similar to the Hawker Hind, rather than a light army aircraft, and its performance was similar to the later Westland Lysander, but the contemporary British design was the Hawker Hector. The Ro.37 was later fitted with the 600 hp Piaggio P.IX radial engine. The better reliability of this engine was considered more desirable and so this was the main version produced.

The R.37 also served in the Spanish Civil War, with the first ten arriving in late 1936. Another 26 (possibly 58) went to this theatre and were used for many missions and tasks. They were used as assault aircraft, even though they were unarmoured. The results were satisfactory and some were even converted to a single-seat machine for use as attack fighters. The two-seat versions were used as heavy fighters, providing protection for S.81 bombers from Republican I-15s.

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The Caproni Ca.135 was an Italian medium bomber designed in Bergamo in Italy by Cesare Pallavicino. It flew for the first time in 1935, and entered service with the Peruvian Air Force in 1937, and with the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) in January 1938.

In 1938 seven aircraft were earmarked for the Aviazione Legionaria to serve in the Spanish Civil War. These Tipo Spagna ("Spanish Type") aircraft were refitted with Fiat A.80 R.C.41 engines, rated at 746 kW (1,000 hp). Crews from 11 Wing were sent to Taliedo (just outside Milan), to take the first seven aircraft - designated Ca.135S - to Spain. One was damaged on take-off, the other six flew to Ciampino near Rome, where two suffered damage on landing. After repairs and some modifications, the seven aircraft were not ready to leave for Spain until late 1938. During the flight two were forced by icing to return to Italy and three crashed into the sea. Only two arrived at Palma de Mallorca, where they remained unused for six months.

The CANT Z.501 Gabbiano (Italian: Gull) was a single engine flying boat that served with the Italian Regia Aeronautica during World War II. It had a crew of four or five and was used mainly for reconnaissance. Initially a successful aircraft, it was obsolete by 1940, but was still used throughout World War II, suffering many losses. The last aircraft was retired in 1950. It was also the holder of two world records for long-distance flight.

Filippo Zappata was one of the foremost Italian aircraft designers. He worked for Cantieri Navali Trieste (CANT), for some years, but went to France in 1927 to work for Blériot. He returned to Italy at the prompting of Italo Balbo and resumed work at CANT on a series of new aircraft. The first of these was the Z.501, designed to replace the Savoia-Marchetti S.78. The prototype Z.501, was first flown in 1934 by test pilot Mario Stoppani. The aircraft had a very slim fuselage, a high parasol wing and a single wing-mounted engine nacelle. In the prototype a 560 kW (750 hp) inline Isotta-Fraschini Asso engine was fitted, with an annular radiator that resembled a radial engine (it had no liquid cooling). The engine nacelle was extended to carry a rear-facing machine gun, while other guns were mounted in the centre fuselage and nose. All were 7.7 mm (.303 in) Breda-SAFAT. Bombs up to 640 kg/1,410 lb (4 × 160 kg/350 lb) were carried under the wings. The aerodynamic low-drag design was typical of Zapata-designed aircraft, as was the wooden construction. Overall, the aircraft was similar to the PBY Catalina, although this aircraft had two engines and was larger.

The production aircraft had an endurance of 12 hours. However, the record-breaking version, as was quite common at the time (mainly due to the low fuel consumption of the piston engine), greatly exceeded this. The USA had established a new endurance record of 3,860 km (2,400 mi); a Z.501 with the civilian registration I-AGIL was used to re-take the record in accordance with Mussolini's wishes. It was manned by Stoppani and two others, fitted with a special metal three-blade propeller, and other modifications. On 19-20 May 1934, the modified Z.501 established a new seaplane distance record of 4,130 km (2,570 mi), by flying from Monfalcone to Massawa, in Eritrea, in 26 hours and 35 minutes. This distance record was lost to a French aircraft that flew 4,335 km (2,694 mi) on 23 June the same year, so another record flight was made on 16 July. The plan was to fly to Djibouti, a distance of 4,700 km (2,900 mi), but instead the aircraft flew 4,930 km (3,060 mi) to Berbera, Somaliland, in 25 hours.

The Z.501 entered squadron service with the Regia Aeronautica in 1937, and by the time Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940 more than 200 formed the equipment of at least 17 squadrons and four flights. The Z.501's operational debut was with a unit of the Aviazione Legionaria, based in Majorca and operating in support of the Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War. A small number of Z.501s served with a coastal defence unit of the Romanian air force. A total of 454 was delivered before production ended in 1943. Altogether, eleven Z.501s were delivered to Spain. The first one was obtained by the Aero Club de Cádiz shortly after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. This Aero Club raised enough money to buy a single Z.501 by public subscription and when the aircraft was delivered early in September 1936, this plane was baptized Cádiz in honour of its donors. Sadly enough this aircraft crashed on its first mission of war on the 22nd of September 1936, due to the unfamiliarity of its pilots with the controls. Three more Z.501s arrived in December 1936 at Palma de Mallorca with Italian crews to carry out reconnaissance missions. Shortly afterwards these aircraft were handed over to the Spanish Nationalists Air Arm and were formed into Grupo 2-G-62, based at Pollensa, Mallorca. Even before operations started, on the 1st of February 1937 62-1 struck the mast of a freighter while taking off and crashed, killing both pilots and injuring the other two crew members.

In March 1937 2-G-62 was reinforced by five more aircraft (62-4 62-8) and was divided into two squadrons. The squadron insignia (see the first picture of this story) were painted on the black roundels on the fuselage. In August 1937 the original painting scheme of these aircraft was replaced by two black stripes on both wings and three black stripes round the rear fuselage. The primary task of 2-G-62 was tracking all shipping in the West Mediterranean, bringing supplies for the Republicans. From August 1937 2-G-62 even worked in secrecy in close co-operation with the 142a, 145a and 188a Squadriglia of the Regia Aeronautica, based in Sardinia. While performing this task, the Z.501s were driven to the edges of their possibilities and it is said that these aircraft clocked more flying hours than any other Nationalist aircraft, even more than the indestructible Ju 52. So, mostly due to wear, in the beginning of 1938 only five aircraft were still in flying condition, and at the end of the Civil War in April 1939 no more than 3 aircraft were serviceable.

Great pics!

The CANT Z.506 Airone (Italian: Heron) was a triple-engine floatplane produced from 1935. It served as a transport and postal aircraft with the Italian airline "Ala Littoria". During World War II it was used as a reconnaissance aircraft, bomber and air-sea rescue plane, by the Italian Regia Aeronautica and Regia Marina, Aeronautica Cobelligerante del Sud, Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana and the Luftwaffe. The military version revealed itself to be one of the best floatplanes ever built. Despite its wooden structure, it was able to operate even in very rough seas. A number of Z.506S air-sea rescue aircraft remained in service until 1959.

The CANT Z.506 aircraft was designed as a 12 to 14-seat transport twin-float seaplane, powered by three 455 kW (610 hp) Piaggio Stella IX radial engines. It was derived from the larger and heavier Z.505 seaplane. The Z.506 entered production in 1936 as the Z.506A, powered by more powerful 560 kW (750 hp) Alfa Romeo 126 RC.34 nine cylinder radial engines, giving a maximum power of 780 CV on take off and 750 CV at 3,400 meters. The fuselage had a wooden structure covered in tulipier wooden lamellas. The wings were built with a structure of three box-type spars linked by wooden wing-ribs covered by ply-wood. The floats were made of duraluminium, covered in chitonal and 12,50 meters long. Armament was a 12,7 (0,5 inch) Breda-SAFAT machine-gun in the dorsal position and three 7,7mm (0,303inch) machine-guns, one in the ventral position and two on the sides of the fuselage. It had a crew of 5. It was produced in the "Cantieri Riuniti dell 'Adriatico" and "Cantiere Navale Triestino" (CRDA CANT) factories in Monfalcone and Finale Ligure. It was also produced by Piaggio under licence. The Z.506A entered service with the Ala Littoria air company flying around the Mediterranean. Flown mostly by Mario Stoppani, the Z.506A set a number of altitude, speed and distance records for its class between 1936 and 1938, including speeds of 191.539 mph (308.25 km/h) over 3,107 (5000 km) and 198.7 mph (319.78 km/h) over 1,243 miles (2000 km), and 200.118 mph (322.06 km/h) over 621 miles (1000 km). It subsequently flew 3,345.225 miles (5383.6 km) in a closed circuit. It carried a load of 4,409 lb (2000 kg) to 25,623 ft (7810 m.) and 11,023 lb (5000 kg) to 22,693 ft (6917 m). A military version was developed as the Z.506B. It was powered by three 560 kW (750 hp) Alfa Romeo 127 RC 55 engines and entered service in 1939. This version was also a record breaker. A larger version of the Z.506A was built in 1937 as the Z.509.

Great stuff!

This Fiesler Storch video shows its maneuverability.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDcB0pSUYOI


Wheels

That plane has always amazed me.

Great pics of the SM-55 too!

In 1938 the Nationalist Air Chief, General Kindelán, ordered 4 Cant Z.506Bs to replace the aging and slow Cant Z.501s in the inventory of Teniente-Coronel Ramón Franco, the overall commander of the Región Aérea de los Baleares. Ramón Franco was the younger brother of General Francisco Franco and one of the most popular aviators of the Nationalist Air Forces. But long before these aircraft arrived in Pollensa, Mallorca, the civil and bright painted Z.506s of Ala Littoria were a common sight in the Spanish harbours. This airline kept regular flights in the Mediterranean, one of them being the line Rome-Palma-Melilla-Cadiz where such colorful Z.506s as the I-DORA, I-DOTE and I-FANO were regular sights. After having followed a ten-day conversion training at the Cant factories at Monfalcone, four complete Spanish aircrews transferred their first two new aircraft to Pollensa on the 21st of August 1938 and the second two on the 27th of August. These aircraft equipped escuadrilla 1-E-73 under the command of Capitán Antonio Sorriano, part of the newly formed unit 2-G-62-73, while escuadrilla 2-E-62 was equipped with the old Cant Z.501s (62 was the type number of the Cant Z.501 and 73 that of the Cant Z.506).

VG-33 said:

According tu different sources, the number of delivered Do -17 to Spain ranges from 31 to 47.
The most probable number seems to be 32.
They were E-1 and F-1 variants to be used by VB-88 first, and A-88 squadron later.
In summer 1938 more modern P-1 were delivered.

12-13 planes survived from the war, and served in the 8 - G - 27 gruppo.

Regards

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I thank you and Gehko for the pictures and info!!

VG-33, can you point me to, or post, the ID codes of all the Do-17? The "27*xx" number.

Gracias