Reconnaissance Squadron 88

Reconnaissance Squadron 88 ; (A / 88)
Lineup	November 1936 to June 1939
Country	German Empire Franco-Spain;
Type	Squadron (air force)
insignia
coat of arms	devil

The reconnaissance squadron 88 (A / 88) was a reconnaissance unit of the German air force within the Condor Legion . Compared to the two larger groups, Kampfgruppe 88 (K / 88) and Jagdgruppe 88 (J / 88), it was a smaller flying unit of the Condor Legion, which took part in the Spanish Civil War on Franco's side and despite its comparatively modest size contributed significantly to Franco's victory over the Spanish Republic .

The squadron was a reinforced squadron , which consisted of three swarms of long-range reconnaissance and a swarm of close-up reconnaissance units of nominally six aircraft each. This somewhat unusual constellation means that other sources / 88 A / 88, in analogy to K / 88 and J as an equipped four squadrons group describe. Compared to these, however, the A / 88 had a significantly lower number of aircraft, the nominal squadron strength of the two groups was twice as high with ten and twelve aircraft respectively.

history

The first six German Heinkel He 46 reconnaissance aircraft arrived in Ávila in the second half of October 1936 , and in the following month they were reinforced by a further six Heinkel He 45s and twelve Heinkel He 70s . The He 46 was not flown any further after a short time. The other two types were not only used for reconnaissance, but also as light bombers (He 70) and fighter bombers. In the first few months, the fast He 70 with its greater range was not only used over the nearby Madrid front, but also across the country over strategic targets. The smaller He 45 flew in particular tactical "free hunting" missions. With the appearance of Polikarpow I-16 , however , the republican air forces had a fighter machine for the first time from spring 1937, which had a superior speed compared to the He 70.

The squadron was spread over several airfields during this time, with the majority in Tablada . In preparation for the war in the north , six He 70s lay in Salamanca and two He 45s were pushed forward in Vitoria . In mid-June 1937, the fighting in the north was initially interrupted and at the beginning of the Battle of Brunete eight He 70s of the A / 88 were relocated to Valdemorillo in early July . After the republican offensive repulsed the long-range reconnaissance aircraft of the A / 88 returned north to Villarcayo .

In August 1937, the long-range reconnaissance squadron began to be converted to the Dornier Do 17 . This had previously been tested by the test bomber squadron 88 (VB / 88) and was still mostly used as a bomber and occasionally also for weather reconnaissance. After the conquest of Cantabria, the long-range scouts were in Santander from the beginning of October 1936 (first La Albericia and then Pontejos) . After the last He 70 had been handed over to the Spaniards, the Thursday 17 were distributed to Burgos and La Rasa near El Burgo in mid-November .

During the Battle of Teruel in the winter of 1937/1938, the A / 88 was used both over Teruel and various other targets in the Republican-held areas. The Do-17 operated mainly from Buñuel and Tauste in the upper Ebro Valley. After the successful Aragon offensive and the breakthrough of the Franco troops to the Mediterranean, a group of He 45s was relocated to La Sénia in mid-May , which became the main base of operations for nine months after the conquest by the Spanish nationalists.

In view of the planned advance on Valencia, the entire A / 88 was brought together a short time later in Vinaròs , where it supported this operation until the start of the Battle of the Ebro . In July 1937 she received a new Do 17, with which a bomber squadron and a reconnaissance swarm could be set up. From the middle of August, the offensive forces were temporarily transferred to Kampfgruppe 88 and the remainder of the squadron flew exclusively reconnaissance missions. In November 1938, the materially emaciated squadron moved back to Tauste, where it was refreshed in terms of personnel and material. From December onwards it intervened again in the fighting in Catalonia . The majority of the Thursday 17 were in Buñuel during these weeks .

After the conquest of Barcelona , the entire squadron moved to Sabadell at the end of January 1939 and launched air raids on the last remaining military airfields of the republican air forces in early February . In addition to the two previous aircraft types, the A / 88 also received the first Henschel Hs 126 at this time and the last He 45s were handed over to the Spanish national air force at the end of February.

After the end of hostilities in Catalonia, the squadron moved via Sanjurjo to Barcience in the center of the country. The Do 17 cleared primarily in the direction of Cartagena , one of the last ports of the republic, while the Hs 126 was used in the run-up to the ultimately no longer necessary attack on the Spanish capital for photo reconnaissance of the area between Madrid and Toledo .

Balance sheet

The A / 88 was the only photo reconnaissance association on the side of the Franco troops , neither the Spanish National Air Force ( Aviación Nacional ) nor the Italian Aviazione Legionaria had this capability. The comparatively small number of Do-17 bombers was compensated for by the high precision of the bombing attacks, so that the squadron also made an important contribution to Franco's victory in this role. A total of 14 of the 29 Do-17s used by the Condor Legion were lost, 32 of which were sent to Spain. Six copies were shot down, two of them from the VB / 88, the rest were lost in accidents.

staff

Squadron captains

Captain Heinsius, October 1936 to January 1937
First Lieutenant Hans-Detlef von Kessel, January 1937 to September 1937, shot down by flak over Llanes
Captain Joachim Gerndt, September 1937 to February 1938
Captain Hentschel, February 1938 to January 1939
Major Matussek, January 1939 to June 1939

literature

Raúl Arias Ramos, Lucas Molina Franco: Alemanes en la Guerra Civil. la Legión Cóndor. Tikala, Madrid 2011, ISBN 978-84-9928-075-2 .
Patrick Laureau: Legion Condor. The Luftwaffe in Spain 1936–1939. Hikoki, Ottringham 2000, ISBN 1-902109-10-4 .