The Air War in Spain

The Spanish civil war was the proving ground for the Blitzkrieg, or lightning war, the prologoue to Hitlers military expansion in Europe. Extensive use of air and tank warfare in support of ground troops was tested out on the battlefields in Spain. Spanish civilians and republican forces faced large scale carpet bombing of civilian targets, like Guernica, which would later be used on Britain. 

The air war in Spain saw the introduction of the Hartmann BF-109 and the later ME109, the Messerschmidts, pre jet, these were the fastest prop planes developed for their time. They acted as bomber support, troop strafing and for dogfights. The tradition of the dog fight, solo air combat between opposing pilots and their planes, continued during the Spanish Civil War. The tradition of Air Aces, solo combat veterans, continued, and many pilots who would later fight in World War II received their initiation into air combat in Spain. 

While Franco's forces were backed up by German Heinkel Bombers, Messerschmidts, Italian Chaboloto's and Breda's, the Republicans also had an airforce. Supported by Russian, French and American planes and an international brigade of pilots, the Republican air force was smaller than that of Franco's fascist allies. It's aim was to protect Republican cities from air attacks, which it did remarkably well, in air battles that were the reminiscent of the Battle of Britain.

Víctor Yanes