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The air campaigns fought during the Spanish Civil War prompted technical and tactical developments for all parties - from the actual deployment of air power through to communications. This work examines the opposing air forces in the Spanish Civil War as well the intervention of the German, Italian and Soviet air forces in their respective guises.
Provides the first study in English of the Spanish Civil War in the air. Alpert describes and analyses the intervention of German, Italian and Soviet aircraft in the Spanish conflict, as well as the supply of aircraft in general and the role of volunteer and mercenary airmen. He offers new perspectives on the air war in Spain, the precedents set for World War II and the possible lessons learned. --Adapted from publisher description.
-- A comprehensive encyclopedia of all the aircraft that served both the Nationalist rebels and the Republican government-- Contains detailed information about clandestine importation of aircraft by both sidesFor the first time, all the astonishingly varied types of aircraft used in the war are described in a single volume. Containing sections on Spanish aviation before the war, the civil war itself, and the opposing air forces, Aircraft of the Spanish Civil War, 193639 fills the gap on the bookshelves of everyone interested in the history of military aviation.
At the start of the Spanish Civil War, most young fighter pilot officers joined the rebels, while the high ranking officers, grupo or escuadrilla commanders, and the NCOs, sergeants and corporals remained loyal to the government. Mostly flying the obsolete Nieuport Ni.52s these loyalists were soon outpaced by the more modern Fiat CR.32s and Heinkel He 51s. However, at this early stage of the war, there were several Republican airmen who became aces and famous in the process, despite the small numbers of enemy aircraft shot down. Widely speaking, the Republican military aviation did not keep an exhaustive record of individual shooting claims. However, sufficient documentation exists to make a reasonable assumption as to which pilots fall into the ace category. This volume details the exploits of those pilots, complementing previous works in the Osprey Aircraft of the Aces series on Nationalist CR.32 Aces and Polikarpov I-15, I-16 and I-152 Aces.
The CR.32 Falco was a handsome and highly manoeuvrable biplane fighter. During General Franco's fight with the Republicans for the control of Spain from 1936 – 39, no fewer than 477 CR.32s were involved, with an astounding 709 confirmed aerial victories, and an additional 320 kills claimed, for just 62 losses. As these statistics reveal, the CR.32 was the unrivalled master of the skies over Spain. By the war's end, the five leading aces of the conflict were all Spanish CR.32 pilots. Their exploits, and those of the other leading CR.32 aces, are examined for the first time in English in this exciting volume.
In June 1941 Adolf Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of Russia and the defining moment of World War 2. Unrestricted total war was released onto a massive area of central and Eastern Europe. On the ground and in the air the massive forces of Germany and the Soviet Union fought out opic battles that stretched as far east as Moscow and Stalingrad before the inexorable strength of the Soviet forces gradually forced the Axis armies to retreat westwards to Berlin and beyond. Historians have made us familiar with the period's great land battles, for example, Starlingrad, Kursk and Leningrad. What is less familiar, however, is the tale of the evolving aerial strategies adopted by the Luftwaffe and the Russians. Initially outclassed and outperformed by the might of the Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front, Soviet equipment and tactics improved immeasurably during the war, thereby helping to negate the potency of the Luftwaffe in the various theatres. Drawing upon his knowledge as a professional pilot and on detailed researches, Andrew Brookes examines the history of the aerial war on the Eastern Front.Covering the war chronologically, the author initially examines the strategic balance before analysing the role of the Luftwaffe in the first phase of Barbarossa, with the Germans again adopting their Blitzkrieg tactics. Subsequent chapters record the changing strategic balance as the Russians employ more potent aircraft, including many supplied through the Arctic convoys by Britain and the USA, as the tide of war turned against the Germans. Supplementing the author's well-researched and authoritative text are over 160 mono illustrations including line drawings and contemporary photographs.
An in-depth biography of the top American ace under contract with Spain during the Spanish Civil War that recounts his rise from a teen enlisted seaman to a top fighter pilot and published author who socialized with Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn.
The bombing of Guernica has become a symbol of Nazi involvement in the Spanish Civil War, but the extent of the German commitment is often underestimated. The Luftwaffe sent 20,000 officers and men to Spain from 1936 to 1939, and the Condor Legion carried out many missions in support of the Spanish Nationalist forces and played a lead role in many key campaigns of the war. Aircraft that would play a significant role in the combat operations of World War II (the Heinkel 11 bomber, the Me 109 fighter, and others) saw their first action in Spain, fighting against the modern Soviet fighters and bombers that equipped the Republican Air Force. Condor Legion bombers attacked Republican logistics and transport behind the lines as well as bombing strategic targets, German bombers and fighters provided highly effective close air support for the front-line troops, and German fighters and anti-aircraft units ensured Nationalist control of the air. The experience garnered in Spain was very important to the development of the Luftwaffe. The war allowed them to hone and develop their tactics, train their officers, and to become the most practised air force in the world at conducting close support of ground troops. In effect, the Spanish Civil War proved to be the training ground for the Blitzkrieg which would be unleashed across Europe in the years that followed. In this rigorous new analysis, Legion Condor expert James Corum explores both the history and impact of the Luftwaffe's engagement during the Spanish Civil War and the role that engagement played in the development of the Luftwaffe strategy which would be used to such devastating effect in the years that followed.
What was the relationship between President Franklin D. Roosevelt, architect of America’s rise to global power, and the 1936–39 Spanish Civil War, which inspired passion and sacrifice, and shaped the road to world war? While many historians have portrayed the Spanish Civil War as one of Roosevelt’s most isolationist episodes, Dominic Tierney argues that it marked the president’s first attempt to challenge fascist aggression in Europe. Drawing on newly discovered archival documents, Tierney describes the evolution of Roosevelt’s thinking about the Spanish Civil War in relation to America’s broader geopolitical interests, as well as the fierce controversy in the United States over Spanish policy. Between 1936 and 1939, Roosevelt’s perceptions of the Spanish Civil War were transformed. Initially indifferent toward which side won, FDR became an increasingly committed supporter of the leftist government. He believed that German and Italian intervention in Spain was part of a broader program of fascist aggression, and he worried that the Spanish Civil War would inspire fascist revolutions in Latin America. In response, Roosevelt tried to send food to Spain as well as illegal covert aid to the Spanish government, and to mediate a compromise solution to the civil war. However unsuccessful these initiatives proved in the end, they represented an important stage in Roosevelt’s emerging strategy to aid democracy in Europe.
In the pantheon of air power spokesmen, Giulio Douhet holds center stage. His writings, more often cited than perhaps actually read, appear as excerpts and aphorisms in the writings of numerous other air power spokesmen, advocates-and critics. Though a highly controversial figure, the very controversy that surrounds him offers to us a testimonial of the value and depth of his work, and the need for airmen today to become familiar with his thought. The progressive development of air power to the point where, today, it is more correct to refer to aerospace power has not outdated the notions of Douhet in the slightest In fact, in many ways, the kinds of technological capabilities that we enjoy as a global air power provider attest to the breadth of his vision. Douhet, together with Hugh “Boom” Trenchard of Great Britain and William “Billy” Mitchell of the United States, is justly recognized as one of the three great spokesmen of the early air power era. This reprint is offered in the spirit of continuing the dialogue that Douhet himself so perceptively began with the first edition of this book, published in 1921. Readers may well find much that they disagree with in this book, but also much that is of enduring value. The vital necessity of Douhet’s central vision-that command of the air is all important in modern warfare-has been proven throughout the history of wars in this century, from the fighting over the Somme to the air war over Kuwait and Iraq.