Condor Legion

The Condor Legion was a large German military unit, which was created by the Third Reich in 1936 to fight in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Their mission was to provide combat and fire support to General Francisco Franco's forces fighting against the Stalin-backed socialist government. Although it was essentially a military aircraft unit of the Luftwaffe, it also included ground troops and armored vehicles, using the Wehrmacht's field weapons. Some of the armament had newly been designed and manufactured as this armed conflict would be an opportunity to test them.

The first military unit of the Condor Legion was the Luftwaffe Sonderstab 'Wildberg', which carried out their first mission from July 28 to August 10, 1936. They conducted Unternehmen Feurzauber (Operation Magic Fire) from July 28 to August 10, 1936. This was a troop transport operation as they had to air ferry General Francisco Franco's army from North Africa (Spanish Morocco) to Spain, where they would join the other Spanish rebels. To transport the Spanish troops, the Germans employed the Junkers Ju 52. This reliable three-engine cargo plane had been in service since 1931. Meanwhile, the first fighter aircraft employed by the Germans in Spain was the Heinkel He 51, which was a very maneuverable biplane. By mid 1937, the most effective bomber of the Condor Legion would be introduced; it was the Junkers Ju 87, which was a dive bomber, an important fire support weapon of the Franco's Nationalist Army. At the beginning of 1938, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 arrived in Spain, a fast monoplane used in the fighter role.

The German Army's component of the Condor Legion was the armored unit called "Imker", whose men were equipped with Panzer I, II, and III as well as with anti-tank guns and other infantry weapons. This unit was called sometimes Panzergruppe 88. A large group of German military instructors went to Spain alongside this unit to give the Franco's soldier combat instructions and German armament operation lessons. There was also a small German naval component deployed with this German unit in Spain; it was the Gruppe Nordsee.

Commanders

All the Condor Legion's commanders were Luftwaffe's officers. The first commander was General Major Hugo Sperrle, who was replaced in late 1937 by Helmuth Volkmann. While the first chief of staff was Alexander Volle, who was replaced by Wolfram von Richthofen. Hermann Plocher was the last chief of staff until 1939.

Uniforms

Before the Condor Legion was formally and adequately organized and established, German volunteers in Spain wore only civilian clothing. At the beginning, the air crews wore the Lufthansa summer uniform, while the tank crews wore workers overalls. By the end of October 1936, however, the uniforms and rank badges of the Condor Legion had been standardized. They had been designed to allow the Germans to pass unnoticed and blend in with the Nationalist Army's troops. Their pilots wore leather jacket, short cloth jacket, and boots. Tank crews wore uniforms similar to the pilots' but they put on a black cap.

Condor Legion Aircraft

Junkers Ju 52 transport plane

Junkers Ju 87 'Stuka' dive bomber

Heinkel He 51 biplane fighter

Heinkel He 111 bomber

Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter

Below, the Junkers Ju 87s, Stuka, in Spain

 

 

 Below, a very maneuverable biplane fighter: the Heinkel He 51, which was useful in the Spanish Civil War

Condor Legion's ground troops wearing the Nationalist Army's uniform in late 1936.