Spanish civil war [1936-1939]

Angel Salas Larrazabal-fighter ace of two wars

In November 2011, a 44.5-size shoe with a rubber sole and the remains of a calf bone was found near the town of La Fatarella in eastern Spain. Although the police were immediately called in, the appearance of the shoe suggested that it would not be a recent crime, but that the remains found would be of more interest to archaeologists. They discovered the skeleton of a man about 180 cm tall, who had with him ammunition for Soviet-made rifles and two hand grenades of Polish origin. According to the fragments found, the corpse was identified as a soldier of the Republican International Brigades, who was killed by a grenade explosion. It had him partially covered with soil and the advancing soldiers of gen. Francotook his rifle, helmet and covered the protruding rest with soil. Under these circumstances, the date of "Charlie's" death (as it was called by the scientific community) can be determined quite accurately. It happened on November 14, 1938 during the final phase of the Battle of Ebro.

Spanish fighter ace, fighting in two wars.

In 30 years, the Liaison Regiment was the only unit of its kind in the Spanish army. After the outbreak of the uprising in July 1936, at the last moment he escapes the fate of other Madrid troops who are attacked by militants and their members arrested or, as in many cases, mercilessly executed. The regiment embarks on an adventurous journey, which cannot do without casualties, to join the units of the National Movement in Segovia, alongside which it is set to fight.

100 years ago, on April 10, 1908, František Kriegel was born in Stanislawów. It has made a remarkable impression on our modern history. The poor Jewish boy from Galicia was the only Czechoslovak top prisoner-politician who said NO! to Brezhnev in the turbulent days of August 1968 and did not sign the Moscow dictatorship and thus saved our Czechoslovak honor. The well-known Czech philosopher Karel Kosík once said that he tried to find a similar act in Czech history: it can only be compared to Jan Hus's actions in Constance.

František Kriegel, a Czechoslovak politician who did not sign the consent to the dictates of Moscow in August 1968, would have lived to be hundreds of years old these days. In the second of the three parts, we will find František Kriegl during the Prague Spring and the invasion of the five armies of the Warsaw Pact. This portrait of František Kriegl was also published in a slightly different form in the exile "Roman" Letters and will be reminded by Letters No. 2/2008, published this month.

František Kriegel, a Czechoslovak politician who did not sign the consent to Moscow's dictates in August 1968, would be 100 years old last Thursday. The final part of the recollections is devoted to the period after 1968, when the then communist regime tried to make František Kriegl's life unpleasant in every possible way. But they couldn't break him. His signature appeared among Charter 77 among the first. This portrait of František Kriegl was also published in a slightly different form in the exile "Roman" Letters and will be reminded by Letters No. 2/2008, published this month.

Soon after the First World War, a new enemy of democratic and socialist forces emerged - fascism. It is a specific phenomenon of the first half of the 20th century. Fascism, in terms of ideology, absorbed everything that could be heard in the masses. His starting point was nationalism and chauvinism, and he did not despise extreme racism. His thoughts were always very flexible and willing to adapt to the situation. They always tried to get attention.

Fighter Aces Spanish Civil War 1936-39 - Nationalists. Spaniards, Germans, Italians

Fighter Aces Spanish Civil War 1936-39 - Republicans. Spaniards, French, USA, Yugoslavia, USSR

During the Spanish Civil War, a number of types originally from the United States served in the Republican Air Force. Due to the US embargo on the export of military equipment to the Iberian Peninsula, these were almost always civilian aircraft and, in a few cases, individual pieces of military aircraft. The only exception was the Grumman GE-23, called the "Dolphin" in the Republican Air Force. This two-seat fighter and fighter aircraft was an export version of the Grumman FF-1, built for the US Navy. The Spanish Government Air Force acquired a total of 34 copies, produced under license by the Canadian manufacturer Canadian Car & Foundry Company. They included them in the regular service in the spring of 1938.

The emissaries of the Spanish Republic, searching in the USA for suitable types to strengthen the government air force, encountered a biplane two-seat fighter Grumman FF-1 in the fall of 1936. This probably happened in September, when the United States held a cap. Augustín Sanz Sainz. And so it is most likely to be said that the decision to manufacture these aircraft at the Canadian Car & Foundry Company (CC & FC) factory in Fort William was from the very beginning the interest of the Spanish Republicans.

The first aircraft of Czechoslovak construction, which appeared in the sky of civil war-torn Spain, became the fighter Avia BH-33E. The only specimen arrived on the Iberian Peninsula at the end of August 1936. It can serve as a textbook example of how the Republican Air Force gained combat aircraft after the outbreak of hostilities. In addition, it can also be used as an example of the sad fact that the effort made did not match the final effect. The famous saying " For a lot of money, little music " is suitable for the Avia BH-33E.

Among the interesting and today almost forgotten aircraft constructions that flashed through the history of the Spanish Civil War are the American types Bellanca 28-70 and 28-90.

Long after the end of the Spanish Civil War, there were reports that the Republican Air Force had actively deployed Blériot-SPAD S 510 biplane fighters of French origin in the fighting. Machines of this type were also among the victories of insurgent fighters.

The position of the most modern Republican bomber before the arrival of the Soviet Tupolevs SB was acquired by the French twin-engine type Bloch MB 210. Compared to another French design, the Potez 54 high-altitude aircraft, it was an all-metal aircraft with a classic layout, a self-supporting low-flying aircraft. The good impression was somewhat spoiled by the then angularity of the then Société des Avions Marcel Bloch products. Unfortunately, the small amount of MB 210 delivered from France did not allow this bomber type to play a more significant role in Spain.

The aviation actions of the Spanish Civil War fascinate with the presence of a large number of different aircraft structures. Types flew over the Iberian Peninsula, which then played a significant part during World War II. And also here it was possible to see really rare aircraft. Undoubtedly, this second group included the only prototype of the French twin-engine multi-seat combat aircraft Breguet 460.

During their career, the Bulldogs II only got into real combat in a single air force, at the very end of their life. A total of eight fighters of this type were sold by Estonia to Republican Spain, in the colors of which biplanes in 1937 intervened in an encounter in the Asturian sky. The predominant nationalist aircraft faced here, including the much more modern machines of the German Legion Condor .