Mehtidis, Alexis - Aviazione Legionaria - The Italian Air Force in the Spanish Civil War

Aviazione Legionaria - The Italian Air Force in the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939

Notes on its Orders of Battles, Strengths and Commanding Officers

Alexis Mehtidis

On July 20, 1936, twelve three-engine Savoia Marchetti SM.81 bombers – with no markings - took off from the Elmas base in Sardinia for Melilla in Morocco. The aircraft had been fictitiously sold to a Spanish journalist and their crews were in civilian clothes, with no ID papers. Only nine planes arrived at their destination. This was the beginning of the Aviacion del Tercio, the first element of Mussolini's air commitment to Franco's side in the Spanish War.

These aircraft were soon reinforced by a large number of fighters - mostly Fiat CR.42 biplanes -, reconnaissance and liaison aircraft and other bombers. They were then formed into an autonomous air group called "Aviazione Legionaria" and placed under the direct command of the Duce for three years.

At the height of operations, this expeditionary force consisted of nearly 240 aircraft and 3,000 men. The Italians paid a high price for this intervention as 150 of their pilots were buried on Spanish soil. By way of comparison, the German Condor Legion committed more than 600 aircraft and lost just under 300 men.

The author, using his own method of historian, reviews the order of battle of this air force and its evolution throughout the conflict, the strength of the different types of aircraft involved, and pays particular attention to the officers who commanded the different units involved.

25 pages – in english