Aircraft of the Aces - Aces of the Legion Condor

Here is a concise, comprehensive, well-told story of the establishment and combat history of Germany's Legion Condor's fighter unit component during the Spanish Civil War. Jagdgruppe 88 was the fighter element within the Legion (4 squadrons), which along with its bomber, anti-aircraft, and reconnaissance/transport units, had been sent to Spain in 1936 by Hitler to assist the rebel forces (i.e. Nationalists) fighting against the leftist Republican government. Indeed, the war itself was to be a proving ground for Jagdgruppe 88, which had entered combat flying what was at the time Germany's standard fighter plane, the Heinkel 51 biplane. Within a few months, the Heinkel 51 was found to be inferior to the Republican fighters (the I-15 'Chato' biplane and the I-16 'Rata' monoplane, both fighters supplied by the Soviet Union). So the decision was made to send the new Messerschmitt 109 monoplane fighter (which represented in 1936 a revolutionary leap in aircraft design) to Spain for wartime evaluation and testing. This would be done in stages over the length of the conflict. The book points out that the Legion Condor played a significant role in winning Spain for Franco, and also that the Civil War demonstrated the importance of air power to battlefield victory. Achieving clear air superiority would be crucial in WW2, and Germany would learn this in the Spanish conflict. Many Famous Luftwaffe fighter aces would start their combat career in Spain: H. Trautloft, H. Harder, H. Ihlefeld (ace w/130 kills), G. Lutzow (110), W. Oeasau (118) and two future leaders of the Luftwaffe fighter force: Adolf Galland (104) who would start his combat missions in Spain in a He-51 Biplane and end WW2 flying Me-262 jets and Werner Molders the highest ace in the Condor Legion with 14, also the first man to reach the 100 mark in aerial victories, a developer of fighter tactics and an inspirational leader of the Luftwaffe. All this men gained priceless experience and they took it back to Germany to train the growing fighter force for the coming conflict. The Color plates are excellent as usual and in the appendices there are tables with all the aces of the Condor Legion and their aerial victories. Excellent book, highly recommended.