German Eagles
in Spanish Skies

by David Johnston

Schiffer Military History

Reviewed by Brett Green

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The Spanish Civil War broke out in 1936. The leader of the far-right Nationalist faction, Gerneral Francisco Franco, requested military assistance from Nazi Germany in July 1936.

Hitler sent military advisers, officially discharged from the Wehrmacht and acting in the capacity of volunteers, and in November 1936, sent military aircraft, pilots and crew under the name Legion Condor.

Legion Condor was initially equipped with obsolescent Heinkel He 51 biplanes but by December, the brand new and vastly superior Messserschmitt Bf 109 started to equip J/88.

David Johnston has delivered a detailed account of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and its pilots in the Spanish Civil War, covering detailed operational history, variants used in Spain, camouflage and markings and Appendices.

The book is presented in high quality hard cover 8.5" x 11" format comprising 176 pages. 235 black and white photos are included. These are really the jewel in the crown of this book. They are generally large and well reproduced with useful captions. I have never seen the majority of these images.

The bulk of the book is dedicted to operational history. The Author intersperces the text with personal accounts from Legion Condor pilots, making this quite a lively read.

The second part of the book describes variants of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 in Spain, ranging from the prototypes, through to the Bf 109 A, B, C, D and E. This section also covers the modifications and developments applied to the Messerschmitt Bf 109 as a result of their experiences in Spain. The detailed text and photos are supplemented with relevant and useful technical drawings.

The camouflage and markings section includes a terrific selection of photos covering schemes from silver-white paint, RLM 70/71/65, the typical Legion Condor Bf 109 scheme of RLM 63 Grey upper surfaces over RLM 65 Light Blue lower surfaces and some fascinating variations with modified schemes featuring overall light grey or light blue fuselages and three colour wing upper surfaces (possibly RLM 61/62/63. If I had one suggestion for this book, I would have liked to have seen a section of colour profiles with side and plan views of these schemes.

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The book is rounded out with three Appendices:

• Legion Condor Bf 109 Prototype and A series Aircraft Histories

• Biographies of Selected Pilots

• J/88 Victory List

This is a detailed and interesting account of the use of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 in the Spanish Civil War.

It will be valuable for the armchair historian and also a rich source of inspiration and reference for modellers.

Thanks to the Author for the sample.

Review Copyright © 2019 by Brett Green
This Page Created on 1 October, 2019
Last updated 1 October, 2019

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