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==Spanish Civil War==

==Spanish Civil War==

When the [[Spanish Civil War]] began, Germany gave massive support to [[Francisco Franco]], including supplying aircraft for his air force.  After the [[Soviet Union]] started supplying the Republicans with modern fighters, Germany sent in the latest model Bf-109s.  The first unit became operational in 1937, and it drew first blood for the German fighter on July 8 when Me-109s shot down two government Tupolev SB-2 bombers.  One of the pilots involved in that action, Guido Honess, later became the first Bf-109 pilot to killed in combat just four days later while attacking another SB-2.  Honess was shot down by an I-16 monoplane fighter flown by Frank Tinker, the highest scoring American to fly in the war.<ref>[http://www.luftwaffe.cz/spanishcw.html  Aces of the Spanish Civil War]</ref>  Bf-109s also took part in the infamous attack on the town of Guernica.<ref>''The Spanish Civil War'', by Frances Lannon, Osprey Publishing, 2002</ref>  The Me-109 was the most modern airplane in the war, but was only available in limited numbers.  Even at the height of German involvement, there were never more than 60 of the fighters in operation in Spain, in contrast to six squadrons of Soviet-made I-16s.<ref>''The World’s Great Fighters: From 1914 to the Present Day'', by Robert Jackson, Amber Books, 2001</ref>  The clear superiority of the 109 over anything the Republicans could field made up for the disparity of numbers, and then some.

When the [[Spanish Civil War]] began, Germany gave massive support to [[Francisco Franco]], including supplying aircraft for his air force.  After the [[Soviet Union]] started supplying the Republicans with modern fighters, Germany sent in the latest model Bf-109s.  The first unit became operational in 1937, and it drew first blood for the German fighter on July 8 when Bf-109s shot down two government Tupolev SB-2 bombers.  One of the pilots involved in that action, Guido Honess, later became the first Bf-109 pilot to killed in combat just four days later while attacking another SB-2.  Honess was shot down by an I-16 monoplane fighter flown by Frank Tinker, the highest scoring American to fly in the war.<ref>[http://www.luftwaffe.cz/spanishcw.html  Aces of the Spanish Civil War]</ref>  Bf-109s also took part in the infamous attack on the town of Guernica.<ref>''The Spanish Civil War'', by Frances Lannon, Osprey Publishing, 2002</ref>  The Bf-109 was the most modern airplane in the war, but was only available in limited numbers.  Even at the height of German involvement, there were never more than 60 of the fighters in operation in Spain, in contrast to six squadrons of Soviet-made I-16s.<ref>''The World’s Great Fighters: From 1914 to the Present Day'', by Robert Jackson, Amber Books, 2001</ref>  The clear superiority of the 109 over anything the Republicans could field made up for the disparity of numbers, and then some.

The Spanish Civil War made the Me-109’s reputation, and it gave Luftwaffe pilots that flew in it vital combat experience and led to the development of more flexible fighter tactics which gave the German pilots a great advantage in the first year of the war before the Allies adapted.  In many ways, the experience of the Bf-109 in Spain paralleled that of the [[Mitsubishi Zero]] in [[Second Sino-Japanese War|China]].

The Spanish Civil War made the Bf-109’s reputation, and it gave Luftwaffe pilots that flew in it vital combat experience and led to the development of more flexible fighter tactics which gave the German pilots a great advantage in the first year of the war before the Allies adapted.  In many ways, the experience of the Bf-109 in Spain paralleled that of the [[Mitsubishi Zero]] in [[Second Sino-Japanese War|China]].

==World War II==

==World War II==