Air raid on Durango

Bombardment of Durango

Part of: Spanish Civil War

Bomb raid on Durango (photo taken from an Italian bomber on April 3, 1937)

date	March 31 to April 4, 1937
place	Durango , Bizkaia , Spain
output	German-Italian air forces were able to bomb the city for several days without losses of their own and without resistance.
consequences	Serious damage to the entire urban area of ​​Durango, probably more than 300 civilians killed.

Parties to the conflict
Spanish Republic	German Empire ( Legion Condor ) Italy ( Aviazione Legionaria )
Troop strength
none (city had no air defense)	~ 70 planes
losses
249 to 336 dead, 1,000 to 2,500 wounded	no

The Durango air raid was a bombardment of the Basque city ​​of Durango in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War . The attack was carried out by German and Italian planes fighting on the side of the Spanish nationalists . The attack took place as part of the Spanish nationalist campaign in northern Spain. Although one of the worst air raids in the Spanish Civil War, the event received far less attention than the air raid on Gernika , which occurred a few weeks later.

prehistory

In the spring of 1937 the fighting of the civil war shifted increasingly to northern Spain and the Basque Country, with the nationalist push aimed primarily at the capture of Bilbao and Santander . The republican troops in this area put up bitter resistance, which is why the advance of the Franco units temporarily stalled. In order to weaken the resistance and to clear the way for the advancing troops, planes of the Italian Aviazione Legionaria fighting on Franco's side and the German Condor Legion intervened in the fighting. Overall, in support of the ground forces were about 25 to 30 to bombers converted 52 transport aircraft Junkers Ju , five Heinkel He 111 B bomber, three Dornier Do 17 and ten Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 bombers (also upgraded transport planes) are available. There were also eleven German Heinkel He 51 fighters and 18 Italian Fiat CR.32 fighters.

As part of the preparations for the attack on the Republican lines, several urban targets were selected, including the city of Durango, located about 25 kilometers east of Bilbao, which was considered the republicans' reloading point, which was to be massively attacked with effect from March 31, 1937. Emilio Mola , one of the nationalist coup generals, saw it as justifiable in advance if the entire Basque province of Bizkaia had to be razed to the ground if necessary .

Course of the attack

The attack did not take place in a closed formation, but dragged on for the whole day and the days that followed, with groups of around four to six aircraft mostly dropping their bombs. The first machine on March 31, 1937, a German Ju 52 from Kampfgruppe 88 , appeared at around 7.20 a.m. over Durango, which at that time did not have its own air defense . The Ju 52 was therefore able to go down to a height of about 300 m, which made targeting easier, and dropped two 250-kilogram bombs and numerous incendiary bombs. At around 7:30 a.m., nine Italian SM.81 bombed Durango, dropping around 80 50-kilogram high explosive bombs. The first waves of attack hit the city at a time when early mass was being held in the three churches in Durango.

A bomb hit the Marienkirche, in which the local pastor , Don Carlos Morillo, was killed by falling rubble. The air strikes were indiscriminate and affected the entire city area. A bomb strike in St. Susanna's Church there killed 14 nuns. In addition to the heavy explosive bombs, 1-kilogram stick incendiary bombs were sometimes used.

At about 8:00 am the first CR.32- and He 51 fighter aircraft over Durango appeared, threw smaller cluster bombs of 10 kilograms, and shot at with machine guns , the arterial roads, which were allegedly fired (conflicting claims to) and rescue workers. Another wave of five bombers and nine fighter planes attacked the city at around 8:30 a.m., and the local Jesuit school was also hit. Since many people had sought refuge there, around 30 to 40 people were killed in the school alone. After the first waves of attacks, attempts were made to clear the devastated streets and to put out fires. However, since sporadic attacks continued to take place throughout the day until around 5.45 p.m., rescue and rescue attempts had to be interrupted several times.

On the three subsequent days, up to April 4, 1937, Italian and German aircraft approaching the city were bombed either individually or in groups of two or three planes. In total, around 45 tons of bombs fell on Durango, with around 15 tons being dropped by Italian machines.

Civilian casualties

The number of victims is not exactly certain. However, it is verifiable that at least 128 residents of Durango were killed in the attacks. Another 121 people are said to have died of their injuries in the hospitals in the surrounding cities, especially in Bilbao, over the next few days, bringing the number of fatalities to a total of 249. Ultimately, however, this number is not certain, Spanish sources also name up to 336 dead. There is also no clarity about the number of injured people, but it is likely to have been well over 1,000 (some sources even give the number of 2,500 injured). Since Durango had a population of almost 8,800 people in 1937, not including civil war refugees residing in the city, almost a third of all residents would have been killed or wounded. The Italian and German forces suffered no losses in the attack on the undefended city.

Aftermath

The air strike on Durango was not only the first direct attack on an undefended city in the context of the Spanish civil war in Europe, but it probably also claimed almost as many victims, possibly even more (the number of victims is often only estimated and varies greatly) like the air raid on Gernika a few weeks later. Nevertheless, the incident did not receive the same reception and attention in the arts and media as the devastating bombing of Gernika, although the attack on Durango can be interpreted as a kind of dress rehearsal for air strikes of this kind on cities.

The largely destroyed Durango fell into the hands of the advancing Spanish national troops on April 28, 1937 , who later rejected all responsibility for the destruction in the city and also for the death of the nuns and the priest Don Carlos Morillo and instead blamed the other side for it .

See also

• Air raid on Gernika (April 26, 1937).

literature

• Antony Beevor : The Battle for Spain. The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. Penguin Books, New York NY 2006, ISBN 0-14-303765-X .
• Herbert M. Mason: The Air Force. Build up, rise and fail in victory. Paul Neff Verlag KG, Vienna et al. 1973.
• Hugh Thomas : The Spanish Civil War. Revised and updated edition. Modern Library, New York NY 2001, ISBN 0-375-75515-2 .

Web links

• The traces of Durango's bombing. A tour about the bombing of Durango on March 31, 1937. Aerial photos for the audio guide of the Oficina de Turismo de Durango

Individual evidence

1. ^ Hugh Thomas: The Spanish Civil War. Revised and updated edition. 2001, p. 598.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Herbert M. Mason: The Air Force. 1973, p. 215 f.
3. ↑ Una instalación artística evoca a las 336 víctimas del bombardeo de Durango.
4. ^ Spanish Civil War - March 1937.