Description

The first book published in English to focus exclusively on the exploits of the fighter aces of the Aviación Militar in their fight against the elite pilots of the better armed Nationalist force.

At the start of the Spanish Civil War, most young fighter pilot officers joined the rebels, while the high ranking officers, grupo or escuadrilla commanders, and the NCOs, sergeants and corporals remained loyal to the government. Mostly flying the obsolete Nieuport Ni.52s these loyalists were soon outpaced by the more modern Fiat CR.32s and Heinkel He 51s.

However, at this early stage of the war, there were several Republican airmen who became aces and famous in the process, despite the small numbers of enemy aircraft shot down. Widely speaking, the Republican military aviation did not keep an exhaustive record of individual shooting claims. However, sufficient documentation exists to make a reasonable assumption as to which pilots fall into the ace category.

This volume details the exploits of those pilots, ideal for fans of previous works in the Osprey Aircraft of the Aces series on Nationalist CR.32 Aces and Polikarpov I-15, I-16 and I-152 Aces.

Table of Contents

The Republican Fighter Force in 1936-37
The Escuadra de Caza nº 11
Fighter Pilots in the North
Chato Pilots
Mosca Pilots
Nightfighter Pilots

Appendices
-Technical specification and performance tables for all fighter types serving in Spain
-List of Top Scoring pilots in the Spanish Republican Aviation
-Colour Plates Commentary
-Selected bibliography

Product details

Published 20 Mar 2013
Format Ebook (PDF)
Edition 1st
Extent 96
ISBN 9781849086691
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Series Aircraft of the Aces
Short code ACE 106
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Rafael A López Permuy

Rafael A Permuy López, a Reserve Artillery Major,…

Illustrator

Mark Postlethwaite

Mark Postlethwaite was born in Leicestershire in 1…

Resources

Discover More

Visit our exclusive member's website to see artwork, maps, and more from this book.

Resources

Book Vote

Tell us what titles you would like to see published by Osprey, then vote for your favourites in our monthly book vote!

Related Titles

Sign up for Osprey membership for access to thousands of plane profiles, maps, battle scenes and more. Plus up to 30% off website purchases

Free UK delivery for orders £30 and over