Franco and the Condor Legion

`This is an important new book from Michael Alpert, the well-known specialist on the military history of the Spanish Civil War. He makes a succinct but wide-ranging analysis of air power in the Civil War, embracing the deployment of Republican, Nationalist, German, Italian and Russian air forces. Based on a considerable breadth of sources, the book is marked by a lively narrative encompassing both military history and the history of air force combatants in the air and on the ground, in particular the lives and values of the German aviators who made up the Condor Legion and their encounter with the Spanish insurgents. Alpert makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the changing techniques of air warfare and the lessons learnt, or not learnt, during the Civil War, as well as their impact on World War II.' - Sebastian Balfour, Emeritus Professor of Contemporary Spanish Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science

The Spanish Civil War was fought on land and at sea but also in an age of great interest in air warfare and the rapid development of warplanes. The war in Spain came a turning point in the development of military aircraft and was the arena in which new techniques of air war were rehearsed including high-speed dogfights, attacks on ships, bombing of civilian areas and tactical air-ground cooperation. At the heart of the air war were the Condor Legion, a unit composed of military personnel from Hitler's Germany who fought for Franco's Nationalists in Spain. In this book, Michael Alpert provides the first study in English of the Spanish Civil War in the air. He 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. His book provides new perspectives on the air war in Spain, the precedents set for World War II and the possible lessons learnt.