Junker Ju.52/3m in Spain, part one

 

The Junkers Ju.52/3m was used for the first in a pure military use at the Spanish Civil War, against the Second Spanish Republic. It was one of the first aircraft used by the nationalist faction when, on as early as 20th July 1936 (the conflict started two days earlier, on 18th July) a Lufthansa airplane covering the regular route Bathurst (nowadays Banjul, in Gambia)- Villa Cisneros (Spanish Sahara)- Las Palmas (Canary Islands) registered as D-APOK and named Max von Müller was requisitioned at Gando airfield, in the Canary Islands. It was used to transport to Germany the committee which bought military help for the nationalists. Eight days later, the first out of twenty requested Ju.52/3m arrived together with six additional Heinkel He.51 fighters.

Among the first missions of the type, stands out the first massive airlift in history when around 14.000 troops and 500 tons of material were transported from airfields in Spanish Morocco to Southern Spain in the initial four months of the conflict.

In November 1936 the Ju.52/3m was assigned to the three Staffeln of the Kampfgruppe 88, the bombing unit of the Condor Legion, where it gained a formidable reputation both as bomber and transport. In the bomber role it took part in the infamous Bombing of Guernica, Madrid and other towns and cities in the Spanish Mediterranean coast. By late 1937 the type was considered obsolete as a bomber and, thanks to the effective Polikarpov I-16 of the FARE (Fuerzas Aéreas Repúblicanas Españolas - Spanish Republican Air Force), it was relegated to the night bomber role, before being replaced in the day bomber role by more modern types such as the Heinkel He.111 or the Dornier Do.17. After being replaced, the Ju.52/3m passed on to nationalists units, which formed the Escuadra Nº1 (Squadron No.1) of the Spanish Aerial Brigade. A total of 63 Ju.52/3m (nicknamed as "Pedro" in that country) flew in Spain until the end of the conflict on 1st April 1939 with the final sortie in a bombing mission taking place on 26th March 1939 against the town of Belmez in the province of Córdoba. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_52#Military_use_1932–1945

2. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkers_Ju_52 (translated)

3. Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 186 - Junkers Ju-52 in Action