Seefliegerstaffel 88
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Seefliegerstaffel 88 |
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|---|---|
| Lineup | November 1936 to June 1939 |
| Country |
.svg){kind=small} German Empire Franco-Spain.svg){kind=small}
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| Type | Squadron (air force) |
| insignia | |
| coat of arms | Ace of spades |
The Seefliegerstaffel 88 (AS / 88, from Aufklärungsstaffel-See 88) was the smallest independent flying association of the Condor Legion , which took part in the Spanish Civil War on Franco's side and, despite its comparatively modest size, made a significant contribution to the victory over the Spanish Republic . In contrast to the other flying formations of the Condor Legion, some of the members, in addition to those of the Air Force , also came from the Navy .
history
The first reconnaissance aircraft of the Kriegsmarine, Heinkel He 59 and Heinkel He 60 , arrived at the beginning of October 1936, even before the official deployment at the Puntales naval base in Cádiz . The unit, now known as Seefliegerstaffel 88, relocated to the safe Melilla at Christmas. The El Atalayón base there was already used in the 1920s by Spanish Dornier Wal flying boats built under license by CASA . During the Battle of Malaga, the German seaplanes patrolled Malaga, contributing to the victory of Franco's troops. After a six-month rest period, which was used for training and experiments, the squadron finally moved to Pollença in northern Mallorca in early July 1937 , where it remained stationed until the end of the war.
In the further course of the year, the operations of the AS / 88 concentrated on the protection of German merchant ships and the fight against enemy supplies that came into the country mainly via the ports on the Mediterranean after the end of the war in the north . From the beginning of 1938 the focus of the air raids shifted to the infrastructure of the republic. These included port facilities, train stations, trains, bridges, etc., with flights mainly carried out at night.
Balance sheet
The maximum squadron strength was around ten He 59s and the same number of He 60s. The smaller He 60s were mainly used for reconnaissance, the larger, armed He 59s were also used in combat missions. Only a British freighter was sunk by a torpedo off Valencia , otherwise both the 20 mm Rheinmetall on -board cannon (some machines were converted for this purpose, 3 MG were installed as standard) and the up to twenty 50 kg bombs were used in the event of attacks . The AS / 88 suffered its greatest losses in combat in the closing stages of the war during the fighting in Catalonia . A total of 17 of a total of 27 He 59s were lost, the majority however due to accidents. After the war, three of the 10 remaining He 59s stayed in Spain. In addition to seven He 60s, the squadron used a few other types of aircraft in small numbers, including a Junkers Ju 52 / 3m equipped with floats from the winter of 1937/1938 . Due to the spatial distance, it operated largely independently of the rest of the Condor Legion.
Members
Squadron captains
- Oberleutnant Karl-Heinz Wolff , October 1936 to February 1937
- Captain Günther Klünder, February 1937 to July 1937
- Captain Hans Hefele, July 1937 to January 1938
- Captain Martin Harlinghausen , December 1937 to December 1938
- Captain Smidt, December 1938 to June 1939
literature
- Ullrich Israel: The German torpedo pilots. Part 3: The premature emergency. In: Flieger-Revue. Data, facts, background. Extra. H. 35, 2011, ISSN 0941-889X .
- 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 .