Ask any history buff what they consider the Spanish Civil War to be about and the majority will reply, "Oh, communists versus Fascists." If only this were true, it would really be an uninteresting period to duplicate. Heinkel 70F2 (single-engined predecessor to the famous 111) pursued by an I-16 "Chato" fighter (1/72 scale). Photo by Pat Condray The war in the air adds complexity to chaos and is worthy of attention if only for its significant place in the development of aerial combat. Imagine if you will, the period of aviation growth before the great war of 1914-1918 as a clutch of insects eggs, each separate, each growing into a similar entity. The war itself would be the larval stage, eating, consuming, always growing at the expense of the surrounding environment. Now as the guns fall silent, the pupal stage -- when the interregnum halted all but the most dedicated producers and certain world powers ignored the fact that the aeroplane was here to stay. New weapons systems, and vastly expanded strength in both fighter prototypes and the concept of the multi-position tactical bomber slowly emerged as the League of Nations stood face to face, vowing never to do again what they had done such a short time before. Now the emergent insect came into the daylight, not yet the iron butterfly of 1942, but significantly moving towards the tactics of modern air warfare. The butterfly lives but a few hours. In that time it procreates which is it's basic purpose. This is as it was to be in the air confrontations over Spain, from the balmy blue skies of Andalucia to the terrible cold of the Northern regions. It was sporadic and disorganized, but it surely planted the seeds that were to ripen into Blitzkrieg, strategic bombing and the wide scan of air to air to ground communications. Blasting civilian targets, and Ta Cadena, the hounding of refugees by strafing aircraft (as a tactical factor to the advantage of incoming ground forces) were all honed to near perfection in this troubled land. Observed by the many (even Errol Flynn went for a trip to the frontline outside Madrid), most chose to ignore the lessons of the air war, most notably the United States Army Air Corps. One particular veteran with six victories confirmed to his credit presented a portfolio on aerial fighter to fighter combat which was totally rejected, as one might expect, since the pilot in question was black and a Socialist. Others came away with a good deal more -- the Germans and Italians reaped a great harvest. Not the least were those lessons learned during the bombing of Guernica in which both nations were actively involved. The propoganda. machines of these aspirant superpowers published the weight of bombs and numbers of aircraft involved which put the rest of Europe into a panic of air raid precautions, even digging up Hyde Park in London with visions of Korda's Things To Come, fired up by Goebbels. Mister Hitler proclaimed that the English capital would be razed to the ground in ten days. All of this was thanks to the spurious sums published based on the indiscriminate bombing of a perhaps not so innocent Basque town (Astra Romana arms works in the northeastern suburbs?). The air war in Spain was not so much a catalyst as a trigger for what was to come. Up until now, no complete history of the conflict above has been written, although a few of the myth shave been dispelled in the last couple of years by the works of authors such as Howson, and Miranda Mercado. The latter will eventually finish his mammoth task in the year 2010 judging by the latest release, so we will all have to wait for this tremendous end to the series. Lacking Miranda's three view drawings of aircraft, Howson's book lists all known types with some particularly good anecdotes to accompany the pictures. Even to the end of the conflict, ignorance of opposing aircraft types proved to be a significant factor in both air to air and ground to air confrontations. Recognition books as we know them now were not only in short supply, but woefully inadequate for the troops on the ground. Take in mind the Spanish war was fought in extremes of environmental conditions, from the extreme cold of Extramadura to the thirst challenging Sierras. Many assumptions were made and printed as gospel, which we know now to be untrue, but at the time the skies were full of 'Martins' and Curtiss fighters which either side opened fire upon at the slightest sign of angry action, many being brought down by 'friendly fire'. This situation was never to be resolved in this war or the next. Outbreak At the outbreak of hostilities, the Republicans took the majority of areas which included airfields and so inherited a large number of civilian aircraft types as well as a good slice of the existing military planes. In July 1936, the equipment stood as such. We will, to avoid confusion, call the Government side with all its many houses, Republican, and the Insurgents, revolutionary and Fascist, by the title Nationalist. A total of 427 aircraft were owned by the Republicans, including just 130 of military classification and a number under repair. There were 128 craft on the Nationalist side of which 78 were classed as military or naval. Included in these numbers are the machines belonging to the National Airline, LAPE, and about 110 aircraft apportioned to the thirty or so aero clubs then in existence. Four small private air taxi firms were also involved in the sudden takeover. What is fascinating is that by the end of the war, 3,800 aircraft had been deployed in one role or another, consisting of no less than 283 types, not counting sub marks. All major producers of aircraft in the world of the thirties were represented excepting Japan, who were obviously up to their own thing, saving their 'copies' to come out on the Day of Infamy. These figures, of course, include both clandestine and open imports, so there's a whole range of choice for the wargamer to pick from. Polikarpov I-15 fighter: More manueverable than the I-16, it was a fair match for the Italian CR 32, superior to the Ita51. Let's look at the non-intervention policy; 'non' being the operative word. Britain, Germany and France decided to sit on the sidelines officially whilst Italy got in with help for the Nationalist cause bef6re the sanctions were semi-imposed. Luis Bolin flew straight from dropping Franco off in Morocco to meet with Il Duce, who gave a squadron of Savoia SM81 tri-motor transport planes to start the airlift across the straits of Gibraltar, reenforcing the rising in Seville and placing the core of the Spanish army of Africa on mainland Spain. A trio of Dornier Wals's also helped in the early hours of this, the first major airlift in history, and Quiepo de Lliano compounded the effect by driving trucks around the newly occupied city, repainting them quickly in garish colours to fool the residents, whilst local light planes buzzed the roofs with little more menace than an OshKosh air display, but most of the peasants were duly impressed. The early days of aerial combat were haphazard to say the least. One Northern airfield's Nid 522's went into different camps and fought with each other over their home territory until some order was restored. Up on the Teruel front, a lone Fairchild KR22C parasol monoplane bombarded trench digging Republicans with unripe pumpkins. On the other side a boastful Republican spotted a battalion of Requetes (volunteer Nationalists) and emptied two bags of stones from the open door of his DeHavialand Puss Moth onto their red berets. Back to Non-Intervention Germany by now was both shipping and flying in representative models of their latest combat planes, albeit under the title of postal and 'sports' models. France opened the doors through underground activities and under the jurisdiction of Andre Malreaux, an established author, communist aircraft started to reach the Republican aero dromes. It is here we can sort out after all these years, the thin excuses that the Reds out numbered the Fascists four to one in the air. All of the German and Italian aircraft that were supplied to be crewed by German trained Spanish pilots were instantly combat-ready, whereas the hodgepodge of airframes delivered to the Republicans from all parts of the globe sans armament and usually sans engines, usually arrived in drastic need of modification to turn them into any semblance of a warplane. Also, the 'never to come' spares, often had to be created on the battlefield. A fair amount of kits came from Great Britain, though only through the auspices of private buyers. The Czechs and Belgians sent 'experimentals' routed via Turkey and similar middle eastern countries. On land, sea and in the air, the Soviet Union provided, at a cost, the most effective fighters and bombers in the form of the Tupolev SB2 Fast bombers, I-16 Rata, I-15 and I-15BIS fighters, RZ and and R5 Recce Light bombers. The president of Mexico and some of his associates also supported the left regime but sadly many of those shipments lie at the bottom of the sea off the northern coast of Spain and in the Mediterranean sea, victims of the Non Interventionist Italian submarines who just happened to be patrolling those waters. These ships were filled with who-know's-what? For instance, a whole shipment of T.28 multi-turreted tanks were dispatched but never arrived. For the wargamer, the early days' combats were similar to those of World War One with mixed machine patrols, dog-eat-dog fights, etc., but as the war progressed, limitations came into force which curtailed the pilots of both sides severely. Boundaries set for the Nationalist free rangers in their newly acquired Fiat CR32s -- all silk stockings and svelte Chanel -- (well that's how the aeroplane appears to me!) were ordered not to venture over the Republican lines and quite often had to turn their backs on enemy aircraft despite having the up sun advantage. The poor old Reds were even more restricted. Working as a tactical infantry support force, they were only scrambled AFTER getting a call of help from the PBI (Poor Bloody Infantry to us Americans.) This meant that they struggled to gain altitude and were positioning themselves over what was possibly a whole new area of operations whilst coping with superior Nationalist fighters diving down out of the blue. The Republicans also broke the back of their potential air force by parcelling units out in a 'penny packets' dispersal system all over the countryside making it almost impossible to put up little more than token resistance to the much more modernist approach of the Franco Forces. Life for the pilots was fairly acceptable although their equipment was not up to the expected standards of regular contemporary airforces. Wages for Republican pilots were $40 per month, compared with the average soldier's pay of $16. The Nationalist Duke De Lerma gives a very attractive account of his day, starting with a bit of trench strafing followed by Tapas and a game of golf, swim and bath, then on to lunch with Uncle. Following the traditional Siesta, another early afternoon/evening trench job coming home high into the setting sun, but no sign of the enemy. Out for Pasado and late dinner. Sounds great, but even given the CR32 to play with, life could prove awfully short. Markings and camouflage started with the original schemes. Private planes retained most of their original finishes. The military types started off with their natural metal finish or some degree of dark greens and browns. Colour concept as far as I am concerned is a matter for the individuals. We all perceive colour in subtly different ways, so unless we require to spend whole evenings trying to prove one colour against another, I think it best left to the eye rather than the reference work. Accurate photographs are so few as to be discardable and early toned prints, due to the processing of the thirties, must be included in this category. Even if you had an original paint chip from 1936, would you be sure that it was a real shade, who knows how the elements would degrade it in nearly sixty years, so let's just go for a pigment that pleases our eye and looks 'just about right', rather than agonise over the impossible 100% accurate paint job. As the war progressed, blotch and semi-patterned schemes were added over the original. A number of SB2 light bombers sported a "sandy pink" undercoat with a lizard scale like pattern applied over the top in olive or dark green. Many machines were delivered in the original paint schemes for the countries to which they had been originally destined; French bombers in chocolate brown, German fighters in pale grey and Italian aircraft in the mottled finish they had used in the skies over Abyssinia only months before. CR32's based on the island of Majorca retained their metal finish with exotic squadron and personal markings were often added on at the whim of the individual. Nationalist aircraft carried a simple 2 x 2/3 code number which was rather strange to interpret and often led to 'overlapping' amongst various types, adding confusion to photo reference sources. Republican types also sported a wide range of serials but were just as confusing, causing headaches to modern-day historians trying to make any sense of the system. Do not be influenced by even accredited photographs, especially of the Red Planes. Immediately after the war, the Franco government had massive amounts of records destroyed leaving some little data existing in private sources for us poor mortals to pick over. An innovation tacked on in Spain was the use of local scenery to influence the camouflage schemes on aircraft based in a particular area, changing with the seasons. Seems like an obvious idea now, but back in the thirties, it was quite revolutionary. Quite a feast for the painter with an impressionist bent. The spirit of Salvador Dali should be in all of us when it comes to camouflaging Spanish Civil War Aeroplanes. Rather than go through the usual run of the mill regular types in detail, I have picked out a handful of anecdotes, culled from a number of reference works as a trigger for your imagination to follow up. A highly effective bomber conversion proved to be the DC2. MORANDA portrays the cabin layout as retaining the original passenger seats with a selection of bombs laid out for the bombardier to transport to a gutter shaped chute following a simple procedure as the high tech DC droned over targets: 1. Carry bomb down the cabin chute. 2. Place bomb in chute, having set fuse for correct altitude. 3. Open outer chute door (quite important, this bit!!) 4. Place right boot behind bomb and kick it out. (the bomb not the boot) 5. Hurrah - target destroyed! Actually, this primitive method proved more than a bit successful on many occasions. One mission in the dark against Madrid flown by a Nationalist DC2 managed to throw a bomb through the window of a room inhabited by some lesser known Republican Functionary. The original DC1 which had been purchased by Howard Hughes and brought up to DC2 standards, found its way to the South of Spain during a heavy landing at Malaga it was written off, but still survives in part, as it's aluminum fuselage longerons were salvaged to rebuild the wooden bier, destroyed in a red air raid, that supports the virgin Nuestra Senora de la Esperanza (our lady of hope), which is carried every Easter in the great religious procession -- quite a fitting end for such a great old flying machine. I-16 "Moska" Fighter: First monoplane with retractabe landing gear. Was used in Spain -- roughly equal to early marks of Messerschmitt BF-109 Another US pioneer, the Vultee VI and VIA, have been given much coverage as they were, in the new world, the last of the single engined fast airliners which had set so many precedents for the rest of Europe. It apparently turned into a really good light bomber, comparable to the Heinkel 70, of which more later. With its retractable undercart and swept forward windscreen, it could rack up a top speed of 225 MPH, a more than respectable performance for the time. Various models arrived from A sorts of compass points and were converted into efficient warplanes. Despite the general lack of weapons and engines, the Vultees were considered by the Republican engineers to have priority in the conversion que. All the well-known items from the DeHavilland Moth line were used in Spain (excepting the Hummingbird of which there was only one, and the Dragon Express of which there were but a few). Most famous was, of course, the DN89 Dragon Rapide, the aircraft that started the whole shebang when G-ACYL flew Generalissimo Franco from his exile in the Canary Islands to lead his army of Africa to invade the mainland. Later examples were used on both sides in a startling number of toles from bomber and transport to Fighter leaders. One commander inheriting a bunch of Romeo 37 fighter/reccc planes from Italy insisted on leading his group in his favourite Dragon Rapide. Tiger Moths, Puss Moths, DH 60 Moths - you name 'em, they were in much evidence, proving adaptable to any task they were called upon to fly. Going back a generation or two, Old Bristol F2B fighters of World War One vintage, re-engined with Hispano engines, floated around in initially agressive roles soon reverted to training. Photographs depicting formations of F2B's over the battle front could have been drawn from WWI archive material. As a final reference to a British product, the Hawker Spanish Fury, three of which were owned by the Republicans at the commencement of the hostilities, lived a somewhat questionable career, in line with it's sleek and delicate form. At one point in the war, a single Fury was all that remained to defend the skies above Madrid, the capital. Just one week later, a horde of I-15's swarmed up to support this lone avenger. Perhaps with another week's delay in reinforcements, Europe's history might have taken a different course. The development of tactical bombing will always be associated with the Spanish war. The shadow of Guernica which alarmed the rest of the world was compounded by the first use of purpose built dive bombers in the shape of three Junkers JU 87A Stuka's over the Teruel front in 1937. Delineation between ground attack and true dive bombing must be considered in any game because the latter method requires very special techniques and aircraft. The little Henschel HS 123 biplane was designed as a diving machine but was never used in this mode in Spain. Although most had been relegated to training units by 1941, towards the end of the World War Two, many were reinstated (some from the scrapyards) to fight in their original role on the Russian front. The distinctive JU87 represents all that is Teutonically efficient, and in Spain, their operations were conducted in total secrecy. The more commonly known 'B' models which replaced the earlier types were even withdrawn from the Great Victory display in 1939 to avoid the prying eyes of the world press. A large number of the Heinkel He5l biplanes deployed to Spanish squadrons were used in the ground attack mode, having become obsolete in their original role of fighter. Of the many French machines exported, two deserve special mention. The low wing Dewotine 510 monoplane can be seen in propaganda pictures in most histories, but in reality only two arrived in Barcelona late in 1936. A leak to the papers and an international outcry by the French opposition government ensued. The Dewotine had one original feature, the 'Moteur Canon' an automatic 20mm was positioned along the of the engine cylinders to fire through a hole in the propellor hub. So angry did the French become, that the engines were returned to the builders although they had not been equipped with the gun, for like the example that had been sent for the Royal Air Force to rest, the shooting equipment had mysteriously been removed before delivery. The Russians in the meantime already had a complete model so the flap was for nothing. The two engineless Dewotines were reported at many airfields in the Republican sector and even accredited with the shooting down of a German seaplane! At the other end of the scale, the Potex 542 multi-place bomber was used with great success by the Reds. Usually crewed by five, the Spanish models arrived without armament and there were few trained airmen who could manage more than one task at a time, so crews of seven members, each performing one job only, were not uncommon. Patrols of individual bombers, usually with no fighter escort, often carried a defensive armament of a brace of shotguns, and one memorable flight was crewed by a collection of seven people many who did not speak each other's language. How the French pilot communicated with the Spanish second pilot to order the Russian bomb aimer where to drop must have been something to experience, but bomb they did. The Potex 542's did sterling service, they were rugged but slow and proved that unescorted bombers even with numbers of machine guns for defense were easy meat for the fighter, a lesson only relearned at considerable cost by the U.S. 8th airforce over Europe during WWII. Another political farce came from a completely different direction! Shortly after the war started, a massive new aircraft factory was built in Canada, subsidised, so it now has emerged, by the Republican government. The type to be produced was the already well outdated Grumman GE 23 (FF. 19, late of the US Navy), a two seat classic with the portly lines and retractable undercarriage as was common to all early Grumman naval combat types. It would seem that the Turkish government had expressed a great interest, but it was only a short time before the authorities discovered the real destination of the Grummans and an embargo was placed on any further supplies of spare airframes and engines. The 34 models that did make it to Spain were very successful, particularly in the anti-ship role. Although the Republicans didn't get much for their investment, the factory was on line to start producing Hawker Hurricanes for Britain in her hour of need so some good came of the whole mess after all. Anecdotes exceed the number of types and even the regular examples would take a couple of fair sized books to record. Even now, more and more fascinating facts emerge, like the one about the Belgian Romano R83 fighter that even the parent company didn't know they were producing. The prototypes were classified as trainers of a different kind, but that's another story. Wargaming For the wargamer, the combinations and potential missions are endless. While no set of specifically Spanish Civil War air war rules exist to my knowledge, slight modifications to existing early World War Two rules should be easily managed, some of the older systems still looking the best. Donald Featherstone's book Air War Games would be a good starting point as would the veteran Paragon World War One, regular and campaign rules (Currently available from Skytrex, Ltd, 28 Brook Street, Mymeswold, Loughborough, Leics, England). Just choose your favourite format, allow for the limited uses of radio and ground communication, and the handcuffing orders from above, and try the period out for yourselves. Availability of models is also subject to the sort of effort you are willing to put into the quest. A suitable scale for gaming, 1/300th, was until recently mostly based on WW2 onwards types. Scotia Models, available from Simtac, Inc., 20 Attawan Road, Niantic, C7 06357, which should be available in the USE have expanded into ranges (SB2, CR32, etc.) which should satis~ most tastes. In the larger 1/72 scale, probably more suitable for collecting, rather than tabletop fighting, a great number of Vac Form (producers of vacuum-formed kits, rather than the more common injection-molded variety) companies have turned to the period of the Interregnum in the search for even more arcane aeroplanes to market. Injection moulded examples come from some of the old British kit companies through what used to be the Eastern Bloc. Recently released by Heller, the Potex 540 is an elegant model of the French bomber. A number of fighter and liaison aircraft used to be produced by Heller, but since the merger with the Humbrol company, the Spanish 'relevant' models seem to have been dropped. Two to track down in collectors shops should be the ME 109B and the Dragon Rapide. 'Supermodel' of Italy also produces a very Fine Fiat CR32 and Savoia SM81, both absolute "musts" for any embryo collector. Czechoslovakia seems to produce just about everything in 1/200th resin these days. A contact address for these ranges is ING ANTONIN MARESKA, POD VILAMI 23, 14000 PRAHA 4, C.S.F.R. Usually a medium size order allows the small companies over there to produce to your requirements in addition to the existing models. If I could choose one book from that many that involve themselves with the Air war to a greater or lesser degree it would be AIRCRAFT OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR by Gerald Howson and published by Putnam (ISBN 0851778429). Anyone interested in the period really should own a copy. Well, folks, good luck with your Spanish Air Wargaming. It's a never ending source of enjoyment. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier # 59 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1992 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com