Subtitled
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 in Service with the Condor Legion during the
Spanish Civil War, 1936-39 this book chronicles the operational history, the
variants, and the paint schemes of the iconic German fighter during the
civil war in Spain. Although, there have been numerous books and articles
written about the Bf 109 in the Spanish Civil War, this one covers some new
ground and is the best single source modeler's reference available. It is
lavishly illustrated with mostly never before published photos attributed to
a “Private Collection” and detailed drawings from what appear to be the
original German maintenance manuals. In addition to a comprehensive
operational record, the book provides evidence of five distinct camouflage
schemes used by Bf 109s in Spain, makes a strong case that not all Jumo
engined variants saw service in Spain, and questions the existence of
another Jumo engined sub-variant.
The book is divided into three parts:
Part one is an overview of the operational history of the Bf 109 in the Spanish Civil War. This section is arranged chronologically and highlighted by the various battles the Condor Legion participated in. Most of the text is in the form of “after action” reports by pilots that participated in the aerial combats. I found the first hand accounts to be compelling reading, but was surprised that the author made no effort to reconcile the victory claims with the opposing side's loss records. Even if those records were not available, I think the author could have offered a disclaimer in the form of a statement to the effect of; independent verification of aerial victory claims was not obtained. In fact, the only aerial victories that the book brings into question is a Spanish Republican Polikarpov I-15 pilot's claim to have downed two Bf 109Es within days of the end of the war.
Part two details the variants of the Bf 109s used in the Spanish civil war beginning with a handful of prototypes and proceeding through to the Bf 109E. Here the author makes convincing arguments that the C variant never saw service in Spain and what was previously thought to be the B1 variant never existed. The bulk of the drawings from the maintenance manuals appear in this part and are used to illustrate detail differences of the variants.
Part three is dedicated to examining the color schemes worn by the Condor Legion's Bf 109s. The author provides photographic evidence of at least five different camouflage schemes in use by Spanish Civil War Bf 109s. Besides the well known RLM 63/65 (Gray, Pale Blue) camouflage, the aircraft also were painted in overall silberweiss (silver white), 70/71/65 (Black green, Dark Green, Pale Blue), a modification of the 70/71/65 scheme where the 70 elements were over painted with lighter colors, and RLM 61,62,63, 65 (Brown, Green Gray, pale Blue) schemes. The book provides photographic evidence of all the camouflage schemes.
Appendices cover aircraft histories of the Bf 109 A series and the prototypes that saw action in Spain, selected biographies of Condor legion Bf 109 pilots, and a J/88 victory list.
German Eagles in Spanish Skies is the best book available on the subject of Bf 109s in the Spanish Civil War. The photographs alone are worth the book's asking price. Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in aviation history.
July 2023