Hey .... how about a Spanish Civil War arena/plane set? :D

[Arlo]

Walter Oesau

Walter "Gulle" Oesau was born to a bank director in Farnewinkel near Meldorf, Germany on 28 June 1913. He joined the German Army (Heer) in October 1933 and served in the Second Artillery Regiment as an enlisted soldier. After being transferred to a Luftwaffe transport unit, he undertook flying training in 1934 as a cadet (Fahnenjunker) at the Luftwaffe Academy (Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule) in Hanover. Upon completion of his training he was assigned to Jagdgeschwader 132, as a Leutnant. The unit was re–designated as Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" in May 1939.[Note 1][1][2][3][4]

Oesau started his operational career with the Condor Legion, along with future contemporary aces such as Werner Mölders and Adolf Galland. He was one of the first to join 3. Jagdgruppe 88 in Spain in April 1938.[Note 2][1] The Staffel, commanded by Werner Mölders, took part in the Spanish Civil War where Oesau claimed eight victories, flying 130 combat missions. For this he received the Spanish Cross (Spanienkreuz) in Gold with Diamonds. He was also wounded in this conflict which earned him the Spanish Wound Badge. He also received the Medalla de la Campaña and the Medalla Militar.[1][2][4]

On 1 March 1939 Oesau joined the Headquarters Flight (Stabsschwarm) of I./JG 2. By 15 July 1939 Oesau was promoted to Oberleutnant and given command of 2./JG 20. On 15 July 1939, I./JG 20 was activated in Döberitz initially consisting of two Staffeln drawn from JG 2. Prior to the invasion of Poland I./JG 20 was transferred to Strausbergon 26 August 1939. From there, the group was transferred to Sprottau (modern Szprotawa) anticipating an attack from the Polish Air Force. A week later the group moved to Brandenburg. On 21 February 1940, the unit was relocated to Bönninghardt under the control of JG 51. It continued to operate in this fashion until the end of the Battle of France. On 4 July it was re–designated III./JG 51. Oesau served as Staffelkapitän of 7./JG 51.[5][6]

Oesau got his first World War II victory during the Battle of France on 13 May 1940, when he claimed a French Curtiss P-36 Hawk over Halsteren in the Netherlands, earning him the Iron Cross 1st class (Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse). On 31 May, he claimed three Spitfires during a patrol North West of Dunkirk and next day he claimed a Bristol Blenheim. On 13 June 1940, he shot down the last French aircraft kill claimed by JG 51, a French Amiot bomber. By the end of hostilities in France on 25 June, his World War II tally stood at 5 (13 including Spanish kills).[5][7]

Following the Battle of France, the Luftwaffe started its attacks on Channel convoys as a prelude to the Battle of Britain. The primary task of JG 51 during this time was to provide fighter escort to these bomber missions. The commander of JG 51, Oberst Theo Osterkamp established a policy of unrestricted combat air patrol (freie Jagd) of fighter Staffeln providing loose protection rather than close escort to the bombers, actively seeking out Royal Air Force fighters. On 7 July 1940 Oesau claimed one Spitfire.[2][5]

German records indicated that his death was caused by an explosive shell in the cockpit, his body having several bullet wounds. Later an image from the Gun camera was published (without caption) that purportedly showed Oesau's aircraft from the right side.[32][33][34]

Oesau was aged 30 at the time of his death. He had a total of 127 kills gained over 300 missions. 27 were Spitfires, 14 four-engined bombers, 44 were scored on the Eastern Front and 9 in the Spanish Civil War. In recognition of his record, JG 1 received the title Oesau in honor of its fallen Geschwaderkommodore. Only Werner Mölders had a similar honor with JG 51 Mölders. Walter Oesau is buried in Meldorf, close to his birthplace and the town museum (Dithmarscher Landesmuseum) has documented his last journey in pictures.[2][3][6][15]

During his career, Oesau was mentioned five times in the Wehrmachtbericht. These were the daily reports by Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and even one mention is considered to be high military honor. The last one on 15 May 1944 was after his death.[35]

Awards

Spanish Medalla de la Campaña
Spanish Medalla Militar
Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords and Diamonds
Iron Cross (1939)
2nd Class (15 May 1940)
1st Class (20 May 1940)
Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold for fighter pilots with pennant "300"
Wound Badge (1939) in Black
German Cross in Gold on 17 October 1943 as Oberstleutnant and Jagdfliegerführer 4
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Sword
Knight's Cross on 20 August 1940 as Hauptmann and Staffelkapitän of the 7./JG 51
9th Oak Leaves on 6 February 1941 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the III./JG 3
3rd Swords on 15 July 1941 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the III./JG 3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Oesau

[Arlo]

Hans-Karl Mayer

Mayer was born 8 March 1911 at Rouffach, in Alsace-Lorraine. He served with the Condor Legion in the Spanish Civil War with 1. Staffel, Jagdgruppe 88, claiming eight victories. On his return from Spain Oberleutnant Mayer was posted to 1. Staffel, Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing), becoming Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) in October 1939. He claimed his first victory of World War II on 5 November 1939 downing a French Potez 63. Mayer claimed eight more victories during the Battle of France, including five aircraft shot down on 14 May 1940 alone. During the Battle of Britain he then shot down two Hurricanes over the Isle of Wight on 12 August 1940. On 25 August Mayer shot down a Hurricane for his 15th victory, that of F/L AWA Bayne (8 victories) of 17 Squadron, who bailed out. The next day Mayer shot down two Spitfires. One of his victim was ace Sgt Cyril Babbage (7 victories) of No. 602 Squadron RAF, who bailed out. Hauptmann Mayer was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 3 September.

Mayer was made Gruppenkommandeur I./JG 53 on 1 September 1940, and recorded his 30th victory on 15 September. On 17 October 1940 Mayer took off on a test flight and never returned, his body washing up on the English coast 10 days later. He was possibly a victim of RAF ace F/L D. McMullen of No. 222 Squadron RAF.[1] He was buried in the German Plot, (Row 3, Grave 4) at Hawkinge Cemetery, Kent.[2]

During his career he was credited with 39 aerial victories, 8 in the Spanish Civil War and 31 in World War II.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans-Karl_Mayer

[Arlo]

Walter Grabmann

Grabmann joined the Police force in 1924, learnig to fly and serving with the Luftpolizei (Air Police), assigned to Flight Surveillance North Bavaria, Fürth. He then enlisted in the Luftwaffe in October 1934, and served as Adjutant, Jagdgeschwader 134 "Horst Wessel" from March 1936.

From September 1938 to March 1939 Major Grabmann was Commander of Jagdgruppe 88 with the German Condor Legion in Spain, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes and early versions of the Messerschmitt Bf 109. He claimed a Polikarpov I-15, I-16 and an SB-2 bomber all shot down on 23 September 1938. Another SB-2 was downed on 10 October 1938, and a I-16 on 15 October. His last claim (an I-15) was on 4 January 1939.

He returned to Germany in April 1939 as commanding officer of I./Lehrgeschwader 1, equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter.

In July 1939 he served with V.(Z)/LG 1. Whilst providing cover for the Heinkel H 111Ps of II./Kampfgeschwader 1, LG 1 encountered Polish PZL P.11s of the Brygada Pościgowa over Warsaw on the evening of 1 September 1939. Major Grabmann was wounded in this encounter when his Bf 110 was hit by fire from a Polish PZL P.11 fighter.

On 15 April 1940 Grabman became CO of Zerstörergeschwader 76. On 18 May 1940 Royal Air Force Hawker Hurricanes shot down 3 Bf 110Cs of ZG 76, including Grabmann, while flying a low-level attack on Douai airfield. He parachuted to safety (his gunner Fw. Krone was killed) and was captured by French troops. Grabmann was repatriated six days later by an advancing German panzer column.[1]

He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 September 1940. Oberstlt. Grabmann was credited with a further 6 victories during World War II — 1 during the Battle of France and 5 in the Battle of Britain — claimed in about 110 combat missions.

In August 1941 Grabmann commanded Zerstörerschule 2 in Memmingen, and in August 1942 was appointed Fighter Leader for the Holland area (Jafü Holland). During this time Grabmann flew a Focke Wulf Fw 190A-5, (Werknummer 410054—factory number) "X" as his personal mount. In November 1943 Grabmann became Commander, 3. Jagddivision and then 1. Jagddivision in April 1945.

Taken prisoner at the end of the war, General Major Grabmann was repatriated to Germany in May 1948. Walter Grabmann died on 20 August 1992 in Munich.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Grabmann

[Arlo]

Horst Tietzen

Tietzen was born 19 July 1912 at Arnswalde (today Choszczno in Poland). As a Leutnant, Tietzen served with 3. Staffel of Jagdgruppe 88 of the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. He claimed his first air victory on 19 July 1938, downing a Republican I-16. He claimed a further six victories and was awarded the Spanienkreuz in Gold. In August 1939 Tietzen was appointed Staffelkapitän of 5./Jagdgeschwader 51.

He shot down a French Bloch MB.174 bomber for his first victory of World War II on 20 April 1940. He recorded his 17th victory on 25 July 1940, a Spitfire near Dover. On 15 August Tietzen shot down three Hurricanes. He became the fourth German fighter pilot to record 20 victories on 18 August. However, on the same day he was shot down in aerial combat with Royal Air Force Hurricane fighters over the Thames Estuary. His body later washed ashore at Calais in France. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross on 20 August 1940 and was also promoted to Hauptmann. He was credited with 27 victories, 7 during the Spanish Civil War and 20 during World War II.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horst_Tietzen

[Arlo]

Wilhelm Balthasar

Balthasar was born in Fulda, Hesse-Kassel. Like his father, who was killed in action on Western Front in World War I, Wilhelm served in the Reichswehr as an artillery officer from 1933 until his transfer to the Luftwaffe in 1935. In November 1936, he volunteered to join Sonderstab W, named after its commander General Helmuth Wilberg, for deployment in the Spanish Civil War.

Following his arrival in Spain, Balthasar served with Kampfgruppe K/88 and Aufklärungsgruppe A/88 flying bomber and reconnaissance missions in Junkers Ju 52 and Heinkel He 70. On 23 November 1936, he brought back information that enabled German forces to successfully bomb the port city of Cartagena and also gained his first victory when he shot down a Spanish Republican Air Force I-16 on 20 January 1937.

On 16 March 1937 Balthasar made an emergency landing at Almorox airfield. As he landed his crippled He-70, 3 J/88s fighters were taking off on a train strafing mission. Spotting an experimental Heinkel He-112 fighter nearby Balthasar, claiming to be an experienced fighter pilot, received permission to fly the monoplane fighter. Balthasar took off and using the Heinkel's 20mm cannon blew up an ammunition rail-car. On his way back to the airfield, he also claimed a republican tank destroyed. Upon landing, Balthasar was initially reprimanded by the commanding officer. However, when the commander learned of his escapade, he was given command of Aufklärungsgruppe A/88, a detachment of He-45 biplanes and the He-112 fighter given the tasks of armed reconnaissance, ground attacks and artillery spotting.

In September 1937, Wilhelm Balthasar joined Jagdgruppe 88 J/88 and claimed six more victories (including four Tupolev SB bombers in one mission on 7 February 1938) flying He-51 and the legendary Messerschmitt Bf 109. He returned to Germany in March 1938. For his bravery and leadership in Spain he became one of only 28 men to be awarded the Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwertern und Brillanten.

At the outset of World War II, Balthasar was Staffelkapitän of 1./Jagdgeschwader 1, which was in July 1940 renamed 7./Jagdgeschwader 27. The squadron did not see any action during the 1939 operation Fall Weiss, as it was tasked with the air defense of Berlin. On 10 May 1940 German forces launched the offensive in Western Europe and it was there Balthasar made his mark. On his first mission, 11 May 1940, he claimed three Belgian Air Force Gloster Gladiator fighters and a French Morane 406. He also recorded 9 victories in two days between 5 and 6 June 1940, which brought his World War II tally to 21. For this achievement, on 14 June 1940, Hauptmann Balthasar was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), becoming the second Luftwaffe fighter pilot after Werner Mölders, to be so decorated.[1] Ultimately, Balthasar was the most successful German fighter pilot of the French campaign with 23 victories.

On 1 September 1940, Balthasar was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III/ Jagdgeschwader 3, hunting in the skies above London. On 4 September he was seriously wounded in the leg during a dogfight with several 222 Squadron Spitfires over Canterbury and although still on crutches, Balthasar was flying operationally again some 14 days later. On 23 September 1940 he claimed two Spitfires and had three more victories before returning for hospital treatment in November 1940.

On 16 February 1941 Hauptmann Balthasar took over the Richthofen Geschwader, succeeding Hauptmann Greisert who assumed temporary command following the loss of Helmut Wick . Between 22 June and 27 June 1941 he claimed another nine Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft, including five Bristol Blenheim bombers on 23 June, which brought his victory total to 40. For this milestone, he was awarded Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) on 2 July 1941.

Wilhelm Balthasar was killed only a day later during an aerial combat with RAF fighters over Aire, France. As he was diving violently in his Bf 109 F-4, the wing of his aircraft malfunctioned and he crashed to his death near Saint-Omer. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of Major and buried at a World War I cemetery in Flanders alongside his father.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Balthasar

[Arlo]

Herbert Schob

Herbert Schob (12 May 1915 – 5 April 1981) was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. During his career Herbert Schob was credited with 34 aerial victories, 6 in the Spanish Civil War and 28 during World War II.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Schob

[Arlo]

Gotthard Handrick

Gotthard Handrick received his Abitur (diploma) in 1929 and the joined the military service of the Reichswehr.

As a fighter pilot, he participated in Spanish Civil War and claimed 5 aerial victories while flying for the Legion Condor (including a I-15 on 9 September 1937 and an I-16 on 18 May 1938).

In July 1937 Handrick was appointed to command Jagdgruppe 88 (18 July 1937 – 10 September 1938) and assumed command of I./JG 26 (1 May 1939 – 23 June 1940) after his return from Spain in 1938.[3] On 24 June 1940 command of Jagdgeschwader 26 was handed over to Major Handrick, who passed command of I./JG 26 to Hpt. Kurt Fischer.[4] On 22 August 1940 Major Adolf Galland of III./JG 26 replaced Handrick as Geschwaderkommodore of JG 26.

He then became Kommodore of Ergänzungsjagdgruppe 2 briefly before a posting in October to I./JG 28. In June 1941 Handrick was posted to command JG 77. While serving on the Eastern Front he claimed a MiG-3 on 29 September and a Pe-2 on 22 October 1941.

During World War II he claimed another 10 victories[5] while serving in the German military, earning him the German Cross in Gold on 17 October 1943.[6]

In May 1942 Oberstlt. Handrick transferred to command JG 5 in Norway and Northern Russia. From June 1943 to June 1944 he was Jagdfliegerführer Ostmark, then as an Oberst. become commanding officer of 8. Jagddivision in Austria until the end of the war.

After the war he worked in Hamburg as a representative of Daimler-Benz.[7]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthard_Handrick

[Devil 505]

I'm loving these mini-biographies, Arlo. 

[Arlo]

Thanks, Dev. There's more Condors than any .... but then .... the numbers favored that.

I feel that a study of the pilots adds a human element to this bit of history.

[Arlo]

The Spanish Republican Air Force

The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939.

Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics (Aeronáutica Militar) and Naval Aeronautics (Aeronáutica Naval), the Republican Air Force became the Air Forces of the Spanish Republic, Fuerzas Aéreas de la República Española (FARE), also known as Arma de Aviación,[5] after it was reorganized following the restructuring of the Republican Armed Forces in September 1936, at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.[6] This defunct Air Force is largely known for the intense action it saw during the Civil War, from July 1936 till its disbandment in 1939.

The Spanish Republican Air Force was popularly known as "La Gloriosa" (The Glorious One). But, according to some historians, the command structure of the Spanish loyalist forces was marred by ineptitude and lack of decision-making throughout the Civil War.[7] Starting from the crucial first weeks of the conflict in July 1936, the rebel side was able to undertake a massive airlift of troops from Spanish Morocco using mostly the slow Ju 52, without any Spanish Republican interference. This was the world's first long-range combat airlift and the military planes on the Spanish Republican side failed to check it.[8]

The Battle of Guadalajara and the defence of the skies over Madrid against Nationalist bombing raids during the capital's long siege would be the only scenarios where the loyalist air force took part in an effective manner. In other important republican military actions, such as the Segovia Offensive, the Battle of Teruel and the decisive Battle of the Ebro, where the Aviación Nacional was relentlessly strafing the loyalist positions with accurate low-level attacks,[9] the republican military airplanes were practically absent from the skies. Moreover, when they appeared and attacked, they did so in an unorganized and inadequate manner that mostly failed to achieve positive effects.[10]

Most of the Spanish Republican planes that survived the conflict were repainted with the markings of the Aviación Nacional after the defeat of the Spanish Republic in the Iberian battlefields.[11]

After 18 July 1936 coup d'état, the Republican government lost the military planes that were in aerodromes under rebel control. The loyalist areas of Spain retained, however, a great part of the 60 Breguet XIX, 27 Vickers Vildebeest and 56 Hispano-Nieuport Ni-52 planes that the Spanish Air Force had before the hostilities, for the Republic had the control of the majority of the territory. Nevertheless, confronted with a war of attrition in the same month, the Spanish Republican government bought in France 14 Dewoitine D.371, 10 Dewoitine D.373 and 49 Potez 540, among other military aircraft, for the value of 12 million francs.All these planes were largely obsolete at the time,[16] so that in the first four months after the start of the hostilities, the only aircraft of the Republican government that could be considered modern were three Douglas DC-2s that had been purchased recently for LAPE, the Republican airline in March 1935.[17] These were requisitioned by the Spanish Republican Air Force and used as military transports.

Within the month of his military coup, the help received by Francisco Franco from Nazi Germany (Condor Legion) and Fascist Italy (Aviazione Legionaria) gave the rebels the upper hand in airpower over Spain. The first German and Italian bombers arrived to increase the size of the rebel air force already in July 1936 and Fiat CR-32 and Heinkel He-51 fighter planes began operating in August.[18] These planes helped the rebel army side to gain full control of the air, as did the Italian Aviazione Legionaria and the German Condor Legion.

In September 1936 the Navy and Air Ministry (Ministerio de Marina y Aire) and the Air Undersecretariat, (Subsecretaria del Aire), both part of the National Defence Ministry (Ministerio de la Defensa Nacional) were established under the command of Indalecio Prieto as minister. For identification purposes the Republican tricolor roundel was replaced by red bands, an insignia that had previously been used on Aeronáutica Naval aircraft during the monarchy in the 1920s, before the time of the Republic.[19][20] In the same month the first serious air combat took place over Madrid when Italian bombers attacked the city in a massive bombing operation.[21]

The western democracies, like France, the United Kingdom and the United States didn't help the young Spanish Republic. Afraid of the "Communist threat" Neville Chamberlain and Léon Blum were ready to sacrifice Spain, as they later sacrificed Czechoslovakia, in the belief that Hitler could be appeased.[22] In the void thus created, only the Soviet Union helped the Spanish government effectively.[23] At the end of October, four months after the rebels had been supplied with German and Italian aircraft by Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, the first Tupolev SB bombers arrived from Russia. They were nicknamed "Katiuska". One month later the first Soviet fighter planes arrived to alleviate the lack of operational planes in the loyalist side, the Polikarpov I-15, nicknamed "Chato" (Snubnosed)[24] and the Polikarpov I-16, nicknamed "Mosca" (housefly) by the loyalists and "Rata" (rat) by the rebels. The Polikarpov R-5 and the R-Z reconnaissance bombers were known as "Natacha" in the Spanish Republican Air Force.[25]

The Republican air arm was restructured again in May 1937. The new structure included two branches, the Arma de Aviación and the Subsecretaría de Aviación, but unified the Aeronáutica Militar and Aeronáutica Naval. Some sources give this date as the date of the creation of the Spanish Republican Air Force, although it had been previously operative as an air force already. The Republican Air Force would keep this structure until this disbandment two years later.[26] Many planes belonging to the fleet of the Spanish Republican Airline LAPE (Líneas Aéreas Postales Españolas) were requisitioned by the Spanish Republican Air Force and used as military transports.[27]

Many innovative, and often lethal, aeronautical bombing techniques were tested by Hitler's Condor Legion German expeditionary forces against loyalist areas on Spanish soil with the permission of Generalísimo Franco. The pilots of the Spanish Republican Air Force were unable to check these modern-warfare attacks. Their planes were mostly obsolete and often in a bad state of disrepair.[28] The ungainly French Potez 540, a highly vulnerable plane that proved itself a failure in Spanish skies during the Civil War,[29] was labelled as 'Flying Coffin' (Spanish: Ataúd Volante) by loyalist pilots.[30] The rebel side, however, claimed that both air forces were almost equal, since the Soviet Union was helping the loyalist air force, but the fact was that:[31]

On the other side, the fabled military support provided by the Soviet Union was too little and too late – and generally of poor quality. In addition, whilst the Nationalists received vast supplies on credit from the US and Britain, Stalin's assistance came with strings attached.

The Spanish Republican Air Force was unable to counteract the deadly low-level attacks and close support of the infantry tactics developed by Wolfram von Richthofen during the Civil War.[32] As an air force it became practically ineffective after the Battle of the Ebro in 1938, when the spine of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces was broken. Finally the Spanish Republican Air Force was completely disbanded after the decisive rebel victory on 1 April 1939.

The last Republican military airport in Catalonia was in Vilajuiga, from where on 6 February 1939 Commander Andrés García La Calle led a great part of the planes of the Spanish Republican Air Force to France. The orders had been given in haste by the beleaguered authorities of the doomed Republican Government who wanted to prevent the aircraft from falling into the enemy's hands. The planes landed in Francazal near Toulouse, where the French authorities impounded them, arrested the Spanish Republican pilots and swiftly interned them in concentration camps.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Republican_Air_Force

[Arlo]

Aviación Legionaria / Aviazione Legionaria

The Legionary Air Force (Italian: Aviazione Legionaria, Spanish: Aviación Legionaria) was an expeditionary corps from the Italian Royal Air Force. It was set up in 1936 and sent to provide logistical and tactical support to the rebel faction after the pro-Fascist military coup which marked the onset of the Spanish Civil War. This air force would fight the conflict against the Spanish Republic alongside its Nazi German equivalent, the Condor Legion, and the Italian ground troops of the Corpo Truppe Volontarie. They served from August 1936 to the end of the conflict in March 1939. Their main base of operations was Majorca in the Balearic Islands.[1]

At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936, the rebel armies in Spanish North Africa led by Francisco Franco had about 30,000 troops and Moroccan nationals under his command, along with some artillery units. In order to transfer his troops and material to mainland Spain, on 24 July 1936, Franco turned to the Italian consul in Tangiers and then directly to major Luccardi, the military attache in the Italian consulate. Through them Franco tried to convince Benito Mussolini to send twelve transport aircraft, twelve reconnaissance planes, ten fighter aircraft, 3000 aerial bombs, antiaircraft machine guns and at least forty five transport ships. At first Mussolini was reluctant to send them, despite his sympathy for Franco, but his son-in-law Galeazzo Ciano put pressure on him and he changed his mind on July 25. Ciano had in the meantime spoken with two representatives of the Spanish monarchy about thirty fighter planes and other equipment sent by the French government that would arrive on August 2.

On July 27 Mussolini ordered the under-secretary for the Regia Aeronautica, general Giuseppe Valle, to send 12 three-engined Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 bombers with crews and the relevant specialists. These would form the first unit, initially known at first as Aviación del Tercio[2] and set out at dawn on 30 July from Cagliari-Elmas on Sardinia, where they had picked up three officials from the Scuola di Navigazione di Altura at Orbetello, the 'gerarca' Ettore Muti and the tenente-colonnello Ruggero Bonomi. The aircraft crews and the specialists were all volunteers from 7th, 10th and 13th Stormo and were provided with civilian clothes and fake documents. All the Italian symbols on the planes had been blotted out to prevent an international incident with pro-Republican European governments. Fake documents stated that the planes were being sold to the Spanish journalist Luis Bolin.

Not all of the Fascist Italian planes sent to the rebel faction reached Morocco - the plane commanded by Angelini crashed in the Mediterranean, that under Mattalia crashed near Saïda (in a French-controlled part of Morocco), and that commanded by Lo Forte had to make an emergency landing near Berkane (also in French Morocco) and was seized by the local authorities. The nine survivors of the Moroccan crashes were provided with nationalist papers and transferred to the airport at Tetuan, from which they helped over the following days to escort the transport ships Araujo, Ciudad de Alicante and Ciudad de Ceuta, which together carried 4,000 men, 4 artillery batteries, 2 million cartridges and 12 tons of other munitions to mainland Spain.

Encouraged by this first operation's success, Mussolini began to send a more steady stream of munitions, personnel and supplies under the name of Aviación Legionaria, Aviazione Legionaria.

Besides military targets, the Aviazione Legionaria carried out a great number strategic bombings of cities in the Spanish Republican rear-guard intended to terrify the civilian population into surrender. The most significant are the 1936 Bombing of Madrid ordered by General Franco, in which the city's residential areas were subject to aerial bombardments —with the exception of the upper class Salamanca district which was assumed to contain many Nationalist supporters. Three Italian bombers attacked the Renteria bridge in the outskirts of Guernika some before[3] the Bombing of Guernica done on April 26 1937 by the Condor Legion, followed by bombed Almeria.[4]

But it would be in 1938 when the Italian planes did most of their large-scale bombing operations over the cities of Barcelona, Alicante, Granollers and Valencia, as well as the Bombing of Xàtiva in 1939, with a total of 728 raids over Spanish Mediterranean cities launching a total of 16.558 bombs mostly over civilian targets and inflicting many, mostly civilian, casualties.[4]

On 12 May 1939 the last Italian aircrew embarked for Italy on the ship Duilio at Cadiz. By the end of the conflict the Aviazione Legionaria had had a total of 135,265 hours' flying time on 5,318 operations, dropping 11,524 tons of bombs and destroying 943 enemy air units and 224 ships. 171 Italian personnel had been killed and 192 wounded, with 74 fighters, 8 bombers, 2 ground-attack planes and 2 reconnaissance aircraft shot down or destroyed. The ratio of results to men and machines lost was positive, but also confirmed the Regia Aeronautica's commanders in their mistaken belief that biplanes and triplanes were still valid in modern combat. In fact the age of air warfare dominated by these aircraft was waning and it was becoming evident that radio needed to be mounted on all aircraft and that bomb-aiming now had to be done with special instruments rather than by sight[5] These errors of judgement would prove decisive when Italy entered the Second World War in 1940.

12 Fiat CR.32 biplanes arrived in Melilla in transport ships on 14 August 1936 (405 would have been sent to Franco by the end of the operation) and by the end of August the "Cucaracha" squadron was formed at Caceres with aircraft of that type. Initial dispatches of aircraft were followed by more numerous ones - in March 1939 eleven of the new monoplane Fiat G.50 fighter were sent, to be based at the base at Ascalona, though in the end they never saw action.

Various bombers were sent 55 three-engined S.M.81 "Pipistrello", 99 of the three-engined Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 "Sparviero" and 16 of the Fiat BR.20 "Cicogna". The units were made part of the 21st Stormo da Bombardamento Pesante and from the 251st and 252nd Squadriglia Pipistrelli delle Baleari. The "Cicogne" went to 230th Squadriglia da bombardamento veloce in summer 1937, before being moved to the 231st in 1938.

Altogether a total of 764 airplanes were sent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviazione_Legionaria

[Arlo]

Julio Salvador Díaz-Benjumea

He entered the military academy at the age of 15.

In 1931 he was assigned as a fighter pilot to 2a Escuadra Aérea, based at Seville-Tablada. He also received the title of air mechanic. Salvador had logged 550 flying hours by the time he and most of his fellow officers at the base backed the Nationalist cause on the night of 18 July 1936 and occupied Seville-Tablada airfield.

In July 1936, he was sent to Gancedo’s squadron, at Tablada, and moved with them to Algeciras and Malaga on the morning on 18 July.

On 28 July, after the arrival at Burgos of two Nationalist fighters from Tablada airfield, Seville, there was the first combat between Ni-H.52s from both sides  over the Sierra de Guadarrama.

When Heinkel He 51s arrived in Seville he, like Joaquín García Morato, joined the Rambaud Escuadrilla.

SS Usaramo with the first contingent of German volunteers arrived.On 10 August, the first He 51 was fully assembled and ready for operations.
The German pilots at Tablada were able to put on a display patrol to both test the re-assembled Heinkels and to impress their Spanish comrades with the performance of their aircraft. In accordance with their instructions they were not authorised to enter combat, and so the first few days were spent training five rebel Spaniards selected from the first group of 18 fighter pilots to join the Nationalist side; capitán Luis Rambaud and Joaquín García Morato and teniente Miguel García Pardo, Ramiro Pascual and Salvador.

The small cadre of Spanish pilots working with the Germans had formed themselves loosely into what they called the Escuadrilla Rambaud. After the losses suffered on 23 August, the Escuadrilla was disbanded in the end of the month.

On 17 August, he claimed his first victory when he claimed a Potez 54 over Santa Cruz de Mudela.

Next day, on 18 August, he claimed one Ni.52 and two Breguet XIXs over Merida.

On 27 August, Captain Ángel Salas took off from Aragon in a Nieuport aircraft, eventually arriving at Olmedo. He had written to Joaquín García Morato, from Saragossa hospital, asking if he could occupy the vacant place in the He 51 squadron. Morato had replied to the effect that the situation, so far as the He 51s were concerned, was not very hopeful, but that he had heard some Fiat fighters were due to arrive in Seville, and suggested that it might be better for him to try to get one of these machines allocated to him.

In fact, Salas went to Cáceres, where for some days he acted as a machine-gunner in Ricardo Guerrero's squadron of Ju 52s, and from there he went to Seville in company with Salvador.

By this time, Capitano Vincenzo Dequal commanded both Escuadrillas of the Aviación del Tercio and capitán Salas was accepted into the 2a Escuadrilla de Caza del Tercio

On 20 September, Ángel Salas and Salvador joined the forces in Cáceres, where they continued to operate with the Fiat squadron.

On 5 November came the first big aerial battle of the war. Nine Fiats from Torrijones, led by Maccagno (the pilots included Joaquín García Morato, Ángel Salas and Salvador) met about 15 Chatos and some Potez aircraft between Leganés and Madrid. Without waiting for the support of five additional Fiats from Talavera, Maccagno led them in to attack, relying on superior performance to compensate for lack of numbers. Morato shot down a Chato, and then damaged the engine of a Potez, forcing it to land. Salas shot down a Chato, which crashed in flames, and 5 km south-east of Barajas he scored hits on two more Chatos. He, in turn, came under attack, but put his aircraft into a steep dive and made good his escape at treetop level. Salvador chased a Chato as far as Barajas and attacked two Potez machines without success.

On 13 November, 14 Fiat CR.32s escorted five ”Junkers” and three ”Romeos”. Over the Paseo de Rosales (Madrid) they were surprised by 16 I-15s led by Starshiy Leytenant Pavel Rychagov, which dived on them from above out of the sun. Despite immediately being on the defensive, the Fiat pilots managed to protect the bombers as the air battle broke up into a series of individual combats.

In the early morning on 18 February, two Nationalist Ro.37s (flown by Spanish pilots) took off, followed by three Ju 52/3ms escorted by the Spanish Patrulla Azul and the Italian Fiat Group (totally 25 CR.32 including the Spanish). When they arrived over the front at Jarama, the CR.32s turned so that they were patrolling parallel to the front, while a large formation of Polikarpov fighters waited on the other side. When the Ro.37s and Ju 52/3ms were safe and returning, capitán Joaquín García Morato broke formation and, followed by teniente Salvador and capitán Narciso Bermúdes de Castro, launched himself into Soviet fighters near Arganda. Among the Spaniards, Capitán Morato, who returned with damage to his fighter, was credited with an I-15 and another as a probable while teniente Salvador was credited with and I-16 and a second fighter as a probable.

General Kindelán recommended that Morato be awarded the Cruz Laureada de San Fernando; Spain’s highest military honour for bravery while Salvador was proposed for the Military Medal. The Nationalist Government also exploited the success of this fight against the odds to lobby Italy for additional CR.32s.
In the evening on the same day, two I-16s were shot down. Capitano Guido Nobili and Sergente Maggiore Vittorino Daffara shared one between them and teniente Salvador was credited with the second.

Between 11 and 16 July, he claimed two R-5s, one I-16, a A-101 and an additional enemy aircraft.

On 2 September, 2-G-3 surprised a formation of about 15 Chatos in the Belchite area, of which they destroyed seven. These victories were scored by Ángel Salas Larrazábal and Salvador (two each) and by Joaquín García Morato, Javier Allende Isasi and Careaga.
These claims can’t be verified with Government records.

On 31 May, 2-G-3 took off with a total of eight machines, in company with capitán Javier Murcia Rubio's squadron (3-G-3). Their task was to escort a number of Ju 52/3ms and Ro.37s over the Puebla de Valverde sector.
 
On arrival, they encountered 25 Chatos and ten Ratas. Combat began immediately but the Nationalist crews were successful in protecting the bombers, which, their task completed, made good their escape.

Eight I-15s and two I-16s were shot down without losses. The successful pilots were de Hemricourt (I-15), Salvador (3 I-15s and 1 I-16), Rafael Simón García (I-15), Manuel Vázquez Sagastizábal (I-15), Murcia (2 I-15s) and Meurza (I-16).

During this combat Ángel Salas was attacking a Chato when three enemy fighters in turn attacked him. His Fiat was hit several times before he managed to break away from the attack, but his machine was vibrating so badly that he had to return to base.

During a second sortie of the day on 19 June Teniente Salvador (CO 1-E-3) enjoyed better luck, bouncing two Chatos from above near La Puebla, one of which exploded in the air, the other following in flames. It seems that these come from the 3a Escuadrilla and both pilots survived with wounds. Salvador then had to retire with an overheating engine.

On 1 August, near Fayón, a group of Spanish pilots led by comandante Joaquín García Morato (3-G-3) engaged a formation of I-15s. Although CR.32 pilot Munaiz de Brea lost his life during the action, the Spaniards claimed seven ‘Curtiss fighters’ destroyed. Two of these aircraft were the first successes for alférez Antonio Manrique Garrido (1-E-3) - one I-15 was seen to fall in flames near Mequinenza, while the pilot of the second machine escaped by parachute. The other kills were individually credited to comandante Morato, capitán Salvador (1-E-3), teniente Manuel Vázquez Sagastizábal (1-E-3), teniente Joaquín Velasco Fernández Nespral (7-E-3) and teniente Emelio O’Connor Valdivielso (4-E-3).

On 25 August, 2-G-3 shot down two Chatos (Ángel Salas and Salvador) and lost José M.a Etayo Elizondo (2-E-3), who died of injuries after trying to land his burning Fiat (3-63) at Campanario. It seems that Elizondo possibly was credited with one victory at the time of his death.

During the war, Salvador claimed 24 biplane victories and 1 balloon.

During the Spanish Civil War, he accumulated 1,066 flying hours in 567 operational sorties. With the Fiat CR.32 alone, he flew 515 sorties totalling 893 hours. Among his claims were 13 I-15s.

When the war ended, he was sent to the 22nd Fighter Regiment (Tablada) and was later named as leader of the Fighter School, which had been moved from Villanubla to Reus and then to Morón, where it remained until it was disbanded in 1953.

He relieved Salas in Command of the expeditionary squadron in Russia, where he remained from March to November 1942.

In the afternoon on 22 August, the Bf 109F-2s of 15. (Span)/JG 51 were involved in combat with Soviet LaGG-3s.
At 17:25, they made two claims when Salvador claimed one and Manuel Bengoechea Menchaco (4th and last claim) a second.

On 29 October, Salvador claimed a LaGG-3.

15. (Span)/JG 51 made one additional clam this day when capitán Carlos Serra Pablo-Romero claimed another LaGG-3 at 12:25, at 600 meters south-east of Kislino (he also claimed an additional LaGG-3 as a probable during the day).

He returned to Morón, remaining there until he was named as Air Attaché in Washington.

Salvador ended the war with 24 biplane victories and a total of 26.

Later, he was Director of the Academia General del Aire, Chief of Staff for the Straits Air Region, leader of the Defensive Air Forces and second in command of the Alto Esládo Mayor.

In November 1969, he was named Air Minister and in 1970 was promoted to Lieutenant-General.

Salvador passed away on 22 June 1987.

[Arlo]

More on Frank Tinker ....

He volunteered for the Republican side loyal to the left-wing government, and soon found himself at a training center near Guadalajara, where he and fellow American pilots Whitey Dahl and Jim Alllison were introduced to the Russian-built Polikarpov I-16 monoplane, nicknamed the Mosca—the most advanced fighter aircraft in the world. Tinker recalled this exchange with the commander of the Russian squadron, "Captain Ramon":
RAMON: Have you ever seen planes like those before? JIM: Segurrissimamente. (Why, certainly.) WHITEY: Hell, yes. (Whitey had actually flown our American P-26 model while in the American Army.) MYSELF: Sí, sí. (My Spanish was still a little weak.) RAMON (looking slightly surprised): Do you think that you could fly them? WHITEY: Oh, I flew planes like this about three years ago. RAMON (looking astonished): What! JIM: Yeah, they're a little antiquated, but I suppose we could learn to fly the things again.... ....RAMON: These planes are the most modern fighting planes in the world. THE THREE OF US: Aw, bologny (or its equivalent); we've seen the same things in the United States at least five years ago. ALL RUSSIANS: !*%&@_#$&%****! (may be translated as general disbelief).
Tinker spent just six months in Spain, shooting down eight enemy planes before returning home in July 1937. Author Carl Posey, who wrote about Spanish Civil War pilots in our May 2009 issue, tells what happened then:
Tinker earned a bit of fame and fortune with his memoir, along with a law suit from former comrades who didn’t like his characterization of them. Some Still Live ends with a lament: Having been rejected by the Army Air Corps, Tinker wrote “I suppose there is nothing left except to follow Horace Greeley’s advice and go West.” He meant China. In the event, he only got to Arkansas. On June 13, not three months after the war in Spain ended, Tinker was found dead in his room in Little Rock’s Hotel Ben McGee, shot in the head with a .22 pistol. He was 29.
Tinker's apparent suicide saddened and puzzled friends like Ernest Hemingway, who as a war correspondent had hung out with him and other American pilots in Madrid. Written on Tinker's tombstone is this epitaph in Spanish: "Quien Sabe" (Who Knows).

http://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/celebrating-a-spanish-civil-war-hero-109069070/#6IG0kHqDRFpCY9iS.99

One of the teams of the 1st LaCalle comprised American pilots only : Frank Tinker, Harold Evans Dahl,Jim Allison and Charlie Coch and was eventually called the 'American Patrol' by the Spaniards. Coch left early due to health problems, Allison was shot down wounded and stayed away until he was transferred to a bomber group. Tinker and Dahl stayed together for most of the time on the 1st LaCalle until Dahl was shot down and taken prisoner. A replacement that joined the group then was the American-Spanish S.Selles nicknamed 'Chang' because he had stayed long time in Japan. He became a very close friend with Tinker until one day Selles was arrested by the Russian anti-spy police as a japanese agent, disappeared for a long period and then it became known he was executed. Tinker reported that he was constantly keeping notes on many things which he mailed to his sister in Japan while the Russians said he was also very fluent in the Russian language , a secret to all , that enabled him to listen to what was said around him. From Tinker's book it seems that this view was considered rather probable, although it is something that can not be thoroughly checked  .

http://imansolas.freeservers.com/Aces/Frank_Tinker.html


(1) Charlie Coch : as young pilot when he was to join the Lafayette squadron in WW1 and (2) when he joined the 1st LaCalle to lead the 'American Patrol'. Coch was an aviation veteran of the middle war years that lost his fortune in the economic crisis.


(3) Jim Allison : He was shot down and wounded and when recovered was sent to a bomber squadron. He later quit Spain and went over to Mexico.


(4)  Ben Leider : A professional reporter-journalist and  a Communist Jewish militant, who volunteered without pay to the democratic cause. Fluent in Spanish and the ideological jargon was loved by the Spanish pilots. He served in a different but neighbouring squadron with Tinker and fought heroically. Tinker watched him shot down and killed in a combat they fought together.


(5) Albert John ,'Ajax', Baumler: A decommissioned US Air Corps cadet , Baumler went to Spain and was sent early to a Russian squadron equipped with I-15. After a reorganisation of the Spanish Air Force and when Tinker left the 1st LaCalle they flew together in the 1st Moscas manned with Russians. They stayed close until the end of the war and actually until Tinker's death; Baumler was most probably the last man to meet him and encouraged him to enlist to the 'Flying Tigers.

Baumler was the closest friend to Tinker on his last days. He will finish the war as Major of USAF considered as the only American pilot to have fought against all enemy countries :  Italy , Germany and Japan.  Baumler flew initially as an American pilot liaised to the Flying Tigers then this unit became the USAF 23rd Group . Baumler ended WW2 as a Major, commanding one squadron in this group, eventually becoming the Group's executive officer. Before retirement he served as a radar controller in Korea when some of his Russian colleagues of his own squadron in Spain were fighting in Migs on the other side . Looking them on the radar he used to laugh bitterly saying : 'These are ...my boys !'


Tinker's victory against the Bf109B , 6-4 (12/6/1937)

"...The key to Tinker's character was his ability to walk on the tightrope
between's exposure to the brutalization of war and the simple faith of his Arkansas roots
- a mental and moral equilibrium which allowed him to serve
both as a paid mercenary and genuine hero of the Republican cause" 

This was an 'epitaph' written by Hemingway on the death of his friend F. Tinker


Hemmingway

[Arlo]

Albert Baumler

He was born in Bayonne, New Jersey. In 1935-1936, he underwent primary pilot training at Randolph Field and was commissioned in the United States Army Air Corps.

After the start of the Spanish Civil War, Baumler resigned his commission and offered his services to the Republican side. He went to Spain and served there from December 27, 1936, on a contract that promised him a salary of $1,500 a month plus $1,000 for each aircraft he shot down. In February 1937, he was assigned to the Escuadrilla Kosakov fighter unit under Russian command, flying a biplane Polikarpov I-15 "Chato". In 1937, he flew many combat missions against the Nationalists, generally dueling against German and Italian aircraft. On March 16, he was credited with his first victory, over an Italian Fiat CR.32 fighter, in a team with A. Zaitsev. On March 20, he was credited with another CR.32, 10 km southeast of Brihuega, as his first individual kill. On April 17, he claimed a German Heinkel He 51 fighter from the Legion Condor over Teruel, and with a second He-51 credited as probably shot down.

In late May 1937, Baumler was assigned to the 1st Escuadrilla de Moscas unit, commanded by the Russian Ivan Lakyeyev, flying a faster Polikarpov I-16 "Mosca" fighter. On June 2, he claimed another CR.32 in the Segovia area, and on June 14 another over Huesca. On July 8, he probably shot down his last CR.32. He became a close friend of another American mercenary pilot flying for the Spanish Republic, Frank Tinker, who was posted to this squadron after having fought successfully with the 'Lacalle Squadron'. Baumler flew his last missions on July 15, then returned to the United States in August.

In total, he was credited with shooting down four enemy planes individually and the fifth as a team victory (sometimes counted as 0.5), and with two probables.

In 1938, Baumler rejoined the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant, but in 1941 he resigned his commission again to join the American Volunteer Group ("Flying Tigers") then training in Burma. He was however refused a passport due to his Spanish combat. He returned to the U.S. Army, and in December was assigned to the U.S. Military Mission in China, probably with the expectation that he would serve as AMISSCA's liaison to the AVG, which was in need of experienced staff officers. He flew east on a Pan Am Clipper flying boat that was carrying tires and spare parts for the AVG fighter planes. The cargo was dumped, and Baumler and the aircraft returned after it was strafed at Wake Island on the morning of December 7, 1941 - the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

In February 1942, Baumler served in the 45th Pursuit Squadron, and in May he was sent to China as a U.S. Army captain. He was credited with two aerial victories, on June 3 and 22, though these cannot be confirmed, and the first is probably erroneous.

From July 4, 1942, he served in the successor of the Flying Tigers, the 75th Fighter Squadron of the 23rd Fighter Group as a pilot and as squadron adjutant under Major David Lee "Tex" Hill. Flying P-40E fighters, he was credited with four or five further Japanese aircraft from July to September 1942, his last victories. From December 11, 1942 to February 18, 1943, he commanded the 74th FS. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal, and was promoted to major. He seems to have been the first American pilot credited with destroying aircraft of all three Axis Powers.[citation needed]

The end of the war resulted in the rapid demobilization of the Air Force and Baumler, lacking a college degree and with a history of drinking problems and former association with the Soviets, was turned down for a regular commission, and accepted a permanent rank of master sergeant in order to remain in the service. In the immediate postwar period, he served at Gander Air Force Base in Newfoundland.

During the Korean War, he served as a Ground Controlled Approach (GCA) operator and was selected as the controller to direct the landing of General (and President-Elect) Dwight D. Eisenhower's plane when he made his famous visit to Korea. It is said that during the Korean War he was responsible for a radar interception unit and from the way some Migs were manoeuvering he identified some of the Russian pilots as his former wingmen in Spain. He used to refer to them, laughingly, as 'My Boys'.

His final duty station was Perrin Air Force Base in Texas, where he met and married Erma Loraine Northern of Telephone, Texas. He separated from the Air Force in September 1965 and was placed on the retired list at his reserve rank of major based on his combat decorations.

He died on August 2, 1973 at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Waco, Texas and was buried in Georgetown Cemetery, outside of Pottsboro, Texas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Baumler

During his thirty-plus years of military service, Baumler was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (with oak leaf cluster), Air Medal, Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, American Defense Service Medal (with foreign service star), American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (with 3 campaign stars), World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal (with 2 campaign stars), Air Force Longevity Service Award (with 6 oak leaf clusters), Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, and United Nations Korean Service Medal, and was rated a Senior Pilot.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=41552959

[Arlo]

Frank and Ajax: A Beautiful Friendship
June 17, 2011
By William Rukeyser



Two Americans stand out as among the most effective and least typical of their generation to aid Spain in its fight against Fascism. Unlike most of the other U.S. volunteers who participated in the Spanish Civil War, the flyers Frank Tinker and Albert J. “Ajax” Baumler were not politically motivated men who learned to fight; they were military men who learned their role in 20th-century history.

Tinker and Baumler both grew up in modest families and were in the U.S. military early in the Depression. Baumler came from New Jersey and joined the Army as a radio operator in 1933. He later got his wings, was discharged, and worked briefly as a United Airlines co-pilot before signing a contract with the Spanish government to fly for the Republic. Tinker was raised in rural Arkansas, where his father was an engineer at a rice mill. Determined to go to the Naval Academy, but from a family with no political connections, Tinker joined the Navy as an enlisted man and won admission to the Academy by examination. Graduating in the depths of the Depression, he had no Navy job waiting for him, so he joined the Army to be trained as a fighter pilot. He completed his training at the Navy’s Pensacola flight school.

Like many in Spain, Tinker and Baumler clearly saw that the civil war was a prelude to World War II, which would eventually envelop the United States. However, they did not join the Spanish Republic’s Air Force (FARE) out of idealism. Early in the war the Spanish government desperately needed trained flyers and paid well for the best.

Remember the coolly calculating character played by Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, who had made money smuggling arms to Ethiopia? But, as the Vichy-French police commander points out, “The winning side would have paid you much better.” The same held true for the two American flyers Tinker and Baumler.

Tinker grew to hate Hitler and Mussolini and foresaw the probability of the U.S. eventually being at war with them. As a result of being in hotels and movie theaters in Madrid under fire, in his 1938 book Some Still Live, Tinker writes, in our country “we may expect more or less the same thing. I can almost see the crowds standing around watching the Little Rock Fire Department dig bodies out of… hotels… and philosophically discussing the condition of the remains.”

As flyers and fighters, Tinker and Baumler distinguished themselves. They arrived in Spain and initially flew old French-built planes that were barely suited for warfare. After they proved their abilities, they were assigned to fighter squadrons flying some of the very last biplane fighters, I-15s (which look more like World War I planes than World War II) and the first monoplane fighter with retractable wheels, the Russian-built I-16, which the Spanish referred to as the Mosca (a pun based on the word for fly and the fact that the crates the planes arrived in were stamped “Moscow”).



Since both men were paid bonuses for each enemy plane they shot down, the Spanish bookkeeping was very conservative. Witnesses had to verify and wreckage had to be produced. Tinker’s officially recognized 8 “kills” and Baumler’s 4½ (indicating shared credit for a victory) are only part of the count. Tinker also had 11 “probables.”

Either way, the two pilots were the most accomplished Americans to fly for the Spanish. In 1937 they flew over and participated in some of that year’s most important battles: Madrid, Teruel, Jarama and Guadalajara. Among their accomplishments: Tinker was the first U.S. pilot (some accounts say the first anywhere) to down a Messerschmitt 109 (the Nazis’ most advanced fighter) and Baumler downed both German and Italian planes.

Neither man was a saint. They were both hard drinkers who liked to party to excess. Both had disciplinary problems in the U.S. military. Tinker had been kicked out of the Navy for brawling and lack of discipline. When off duty, they would go to Madrid and hang out with people like Ernest Hemingway. Tinker and the writer told each other tales about their exploits hunting along the White River in Arkansas. Tinker also went to movie theaters while the city was under attack and observed how cartoon characters could speak much better Spanish than he could.

Despite that limitation, Tinker briefly commanded his fighter squadron, which included Spanish and Russian pilots. How was that possible? In 1937, most planes did not have radios; cockpits were open and the commands were given by hand signals.

By mid 1937, Spain had trained enough of its own pilots and had no further need of the Americans’ services.

Upon returning home, the flyers were not greeted as heroes. They both encountered severe problems with the Passport Office and other government branches. Tinker was denied when he tried to re-enlist in the Navy. He wrote and delivered radio broadcasts in support of the Spanish government during the Civil War, although he kept his distance from some supporters of the Republic because he was unabashedly anti-Soviet. Baumler kept a lower profile and was able to rejoin the Army.

Both men kept in mind that there were more battles to be fought. When Tinker was found dead in 1939 (recent research debunks the theory that he committed suicide), correspondence about flying for China against Japan was found next to his body. Two years later, Baumler had signed up with the Flying Tigers.

Even though the White House covertly supported the Tigers, the Passport Office still gave Baumler trouble and delayed his departure for Asia. His fellow flyers were already in Burma, but he was on his way to China when the Japanese shot up his passenger plane at Wake Island on Pearl Harbor Day. He escaped injury and had to fly to China in the other direction, via the Atlantic, Africa and India. In his first victory over a Japanese plane, he simultaneously became an Ace (with 5 victories) and the first American pilot to down a plane from each of the three Axis enemies (Germany, Italy, and Japan.) He ended the war as Major Ajax Baumler.

After the war, Baumler remained in the U.S. Air Force at the reduced rank of sergeant. Was that payback for bucking the government in the Spanish Civil War, as many thought, or, as his detractors claimed, simply because of his drinking and the fact that he didn’t finish college? As it says on Tinker’s gravestone, “¿Quién Sabe?” (“Who knows?”)

Both pilots have been honored by the Spanish aviators’ organization, the Asociación de Aviadores de la República (ADAR). They are listed on its website among “Our Flyers,” and ADAR sent a medal and a Republican flag to the centennial celebration held at Frank Tinker’s gravesite in DeWitt, Arkansas.

http://www.albavolunteer.org/2011/06/frank-and-ajax-a-beautiful-friendship/