The Spanish Civil War was a challenging test of Soviet and German technical preparedness for a major conflict. And it was in Spain where many future aces saw the challenges they were yet to face in upcoming battles

From October 26th 06:00 GMT to October 28st 06:00 GMT (from October 25th 23:00 PDT to October 27th 23:00 PDT)

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While flying I-16 or He 112

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The Heinkel He 112 fighter was developed by Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in the middle of the 1930s and was supposed to become the main Luftwaffe fighter plane for the next 10 years. Its design employed numerous inovative decisions like reverse-gull wing planform, retractable landing gear and an all metal monocoque construction. The He 112 was also one of the first fighters equipped with cannon armament. But all these advantages were not enough to make Luftwaffe command give it preference over Messerschmitt Bf.109. So Heinkel had to choose other markets like Romania and Japan for its new model. The He 112 was also supplied to the infamous German Condor legion, which served with the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War.

The Republicans fielded the renowned Polikarpov I-16, nicknamed ‘ishak’ (the Donkey) by Soviet pilots, it remained unrivalled from its first flight in 1933 till the Germans started mass producing the Bf.109 and He 112 monoplanes.  Polikarpovs had a decisive advantage over Nationalist biplanes like the He 51s and the Fiat CR.32 because of the  ishak’s superior speed, good climb rate and mountable bomb and rocket armament.

The Spanish Civil War was a challenging test of Soviet and German technical preparedness for a major conflict. And it was in Spain where many future aces had their baptism of fire.