Junkers 87 in the SCW.

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more.........................................

The Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" in Spain during the CW.

Ju-87A.

During the first days of April 1938, the objectives selected were in Lérida, Balaguer and Tremp - on days 2, 5 and 6, respectively, acting mainly on communication nodes. After the arrival of the national troops by Vinaroz (Castellón), on April 21, 1938, the Group J.88 of the Legion Condor moved to the newly occupied La Cenia airfield, located in the southern limit of the province of Tarragona. There was also deployed the 5.J/ 88, with its Junkers Ju 87. The staff of that unit was housed in a villa requisitioned in the nearby village.

The operational debut of the "Stuka" from its new base occurred on April 25, with a service on concentrations of enemy troops in Cuevas de Vinromá, on whose target it returned to act the following day, 26, with two services, throwing 2.25 tons of bombs. That is, with bombs of 500 and 250 kilograms simultaneously in the two days.

Sources: Legion Condor. Ries&Ring
Mitos y falacias de los bombardeos del Maestrazgo por aviones Stuka (Mayo de 1938). APORTES nº90, año XXXI (1/2016).
Condor: The Luftwaffe in Spain, 1936-39. Patrick Laureau.

No appreciable damage is observed on the Stuka in question and at Ries & Ring I did not find details about a forced landing in that area. Any details? Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more.........................................

The Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" in Spain during the CW.

Ju-87A.

The following service was not carried out until the beginning of May, specifically on day 4 on Torreblanca, achieving three targets. On the 15th, the Junkers Ju 87 again bombarded Cueva de Vinromá, but they had to return because of the bad weather. On 18 and 19 the objectives were Albocácer and Ares del Maestre, where they returned to action in the days of 24, 28 and 29 of May.

On the 25th, the bombing took place on Benasal, where there was an important concentration of enemy vehicles, on which bombs of 500 kilograms were launched, bombardment that would be repeated again on the 28th. On the 26th, the "Stuka" would attack Villar de Canes, a town located in the Sierra del Maestrazgo, south of Albocácer, difficult to access, an attack that would be repeated on the 31st, which also bombarded Sarratella, a border town with Albocácer.

According to Ries & Ring: As to the information the Ju 87 Stuka carried out precision bombing on troops' assembly areas and vehicle columns on May 21 (target Albocácer), May 24 (target Ares del Maestre), May 25 (target Benasal) and May 26 (target Villar de Canes). Each with a 500 kg bomb under the fuselage, the Kette Jolanthe's aircraft attacked specific targets, images of the effect on the target were also obtained that helped to improve future dive bombing attacks.

But according to this source: In May 1938 the squadron, now stationed in La Sénia, bombarded for experimental purposes only four small villages selected at random with no military importance in the interior of the province of Castellón (Albocàsser, Benassal, Ares del Maestrat And Vilar de Canes), a total of 38 people died.
Http://ccaa.elpais.com/ccaa/2015/12/23/ ... 06301.html

Sources: Legion Condor. Ries&Ring
Mitos y falacias de los bombardeos del Maestrazgo por aviones Stuka (Mayo de 1938). APORTES nº90, año XXXI (1/2016).
Condor: The Luftwaffe in Spain, 1936-39. Patrick Laureau.
http://reibert.info/threads/legion-kond ... dor.30929/

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more.........................................

The Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" in Spain during the CW.

Ju-87A.

During the first days of June of 1938 the objectives of the "Stuka" were located in Benlloch, and again in the vicinity of Villar de Canes, Benasal, Albocácer and Azdaneta. On the 9th the Ju 87A bombed the antiaircraft batteries located in the village of Villafamés, and in successive days the "Stuka" patrol acted on Borriol, again Villafamés, Villareal, Alcora and Artana, being the objective of the aircrafts, preferably the positions of the enemy batteries of artillery.

On July 27 the Kette "Jolanthe" with its three Stukas attacked concentrations of Republican troops on both banks of the Ebro; the bridgeheads and crossing elements were the targets of the Ju-87A. Then the Kette of Ju-87 was shifted to the K / 88 and the 5. J / 88 was equipped with Ar 68 and employed as night fighters.

Sources: Legion Condor. Ries&Ring
Mitos y falacias de los bombardeos del Maestrazgo por aviones Stuka (Mayo de 1938). APORTES nº90, año XXXI (1/2016).
Condor: The Luftwaffe in Spain, 1936-39. Patrick Laureau.
http://reibert.info/threads/legion-kond ... dor.30929/

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more.........................................

The Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" in Spain during the CW.

Ju-87A.

In the Ebro.

The activities that both sides maintained in the first days of the battle, were focused in the bridges of the Ebro and the concentrations of troops. On July 27, four times the Jolanthe chain (Jolanthekette) with its three Ju 87 A executed missions against enemy targets on both banks of the Ebro; Bridgeheads and mobile crossing points (bridges) were additional targets of the Stukas. Systematically the K./88 attacked the pontoons on the Ebro, which after a few days and for not to be recognized from the air were built by the Republican pioneers up to 70 cm below the surface of the water.

At the end of July, the air units deployed by the Condor Legion always had the same tenor: crossing points on the Ebro! Ju 87 were understandably launched against these important targets.

All the month of August continued the bombing flights against the bridges and catwalks of the Ebro, in order to interrupt the supply to the front zone, where it was fought hard. The bombs were launched by the K./ 88 combat group, as well as by the A./ 88 and Stukas chain in the target area and the bridges itself, as well as access roads on both banks of the river.

The missions of the Stukas were carried out under intense anti-aircraft fire from the ground on 11, 13, 14, 15 and 16 August and this last day also with opposition from Republican fighter aviation. On those days were attacked the bridges south of Mora de Ebro and three times the bridges located to the north under heavy anti-aircraft fire. The targets (besides the bridges) were railroads, troop and antiaircraft positions, a tunnel east of Mora la Nueva and ammunition parks in Corbera, Rasquera, Ginestar, Benifallet among other points.

Sources:Legion Condor. Ries&Ring
Mitos y falacias de los bombardeos del Maestrazgo por aviones Stuka (Mayo de 1938). APORTES nº90, año XXXI (1/2016).
Condor: The Luftwaffe in Spain, 1936-39. Patrick Laureau.
http://reibert.info/threads/legion-kond ... dor.30929/

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more: The Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" in Spain during the CW.
Ju 87A.
On September, the two available planes made an attack on the northwest exit of Corbera, as well as an cross roads in Venta de Camposinos; this target was also bombed on 05 and 06, as well as a concentration of troops in Pinell. On 07 and 11 were attacked reserve units in Fatarella. The day 13 artillery positions south of Fatarella received three hits in two successive attacks. This attack was repeated successfully on the 18th. On the 20th, the pair of Stuka attacked twice an ammunition depot in Paitrosos and the bombing was repeated twice the next day. On day 22 two missions with two airplanes were executed against Ampolla railway station.

After this missions, the time of the Junkers Ju-87A in Spain was coming to an end because for the month of October the new Ju-87B would arrive ...................

Sources:Legion Condor. Ries&Ring
Mitos y falacias de los bombardeos del Maestrazgo por aviones Stuka (Mayo de 1938). APORTES nº90, año XXXI (1/2016).
Condor: The Luftwaffe in Spain, 1936-39. Patrick Laureau.
http://reibert.info/threads/legion-kond ... dor.30929/

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more: The Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" in Spain during the CW.
Ju 87A.
Sources:Legion Condor. Ries&Ring. Pag 209.
Does anyone have any idea when the repairs took place and how long the plane was inactive? Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more: The Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" in Spain during the CW.
Ju 87 B.
Five B Series aircrafts arrived in Spain in October 1938, they replaced the Series A planes and were integrated into the K. / 88 as Stuka 88 and numbered from 29-8 to 29-11. These aircrafts operated from Sanjurjo with the He-111. The unit had 33 troops grouped into five pilots, three gunners, nine mechanics, six armorers, an engine specialist, two radio specialists, an electrician, four drivers, an interpreter and two scribes. The technology had evolved and with this plane it was possible to launch bombs of 500 kilograms with the full crew (pilot and gunner).

On January 14, 1939 the Ju 87 B attacked merchant ships in the port of Tarragona throughout the day, managing to sink three of them. On January 27 the Oblt. Fritz Glanser passed the control of Stuka 88 to Oblt. Heinz Bohne, newcomer on January 11 with the Uffz. Karl Fitzner. On March 4, 1939, the road bridge in Salvacañete was attacked and on March 5, the one located in Villanueva that was not hit. That same day the Ju 87 B Code 20-11 was hit by enemy fire during an attack in Teruel and forced to land, fortunately in territory under national control. On March 7, the entire section attacked the Viver / Segorbe / Sagunto sector. On March 16 it was the turn of the highway bridge in Meco and on the 17th the railway crossing northwest of Arganda. On March 18, the Stukas attacked artillery positions southwest of Titulcia.
Sources: Legion Condor. Ries&Ring
Mitos y falacias de los bombardeos del Maestrazgo por aviones Stuka (Mayo de 1938). APORTES nº90, año XXXI (1/2016).
Condor: The Luftwaffe in Spain, 1936-39. Patrick Laureau.
https://reibert.info/threads/legion-kon ... r.30929/9/
Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more.........................................

The Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" in Spain during the CW.

Ju-87 B.

A record took place on March 27 with thirteen sorties to attack all routes in the Arges sector. From there, the republican resistance broke down and even then the Ju-87 B could afford to practice free hunting in the outskirts of Madrid.

Apparently it was the operations carried out in Spain that made it possible to fine-tune the precision bombings in a more or less favorable environment. Finally the last operations were carried out against targets located in the center of Spain in the spring of 1939. The air operations in Spain proved without a doubt that only a few Stukas, each armed with a single bomb, could obtain better results than a Complete Geschwader of horizontal bombers .....................

Sources: Legion Condor. Ries&Ring
Mitos y falacias de los bombardeos del Maestrazgo por aviones Stuka (Mayo de 1938). APORTES nº90, año XXXI (1/2016).
Condor: The Luftwaffe in Spain, 1936-39. Patrick Laureau.
https://reibert.info/threads/legion-kon ... dor.30929/

According to Ries & Ring to Spain, five Ju-87 B arrived but looking at the photos ...... Cheers. Raúl M .

[Maxschnauzer]

Ju 87A Number 29-4

[tigre]

Hello to all ; a complement regarding to the first Ju 87: The Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" in Spain during the GCE.
The first and only Ju 87 A.
The Junkers 87 that arrived in Spain in the end of 1936, was a pre-production version of the Series A-0 (V4) manned by Uffz. Herrmann Beurer and Zitzewitz. The idea was to test the dive bombing techniques in real operations. On December 20, 1936, it operated with the V (ersuch) J./88 (experimental squadron) in Tablada. According to the last source, this plane carried the numeral 23-1 (later the Junkers Ju 87 took the numeral 29 and therefore the Stuka 29-1 did not exist).
Sources: Legion Condor. Ries & Ring
Myths and fallacies of the bombing of the Maestrazgo by airplanes Stuka (May of 1938). Aportes nº90, year XXXI (1/2016).
Condor: The Luftwaffe in Spain, 1936-39. Patrick Laureau.
http://hangar127.rssing.com/chan-6099947/latest.php
Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more.........................................

The Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" in Spain during the CW.

Emergency Landing of the Ju-87 B 29-10 (it seems) in Villafranca.

Sources: http://hangar127.rssing.com/chan-6099947/latest.php

More details? Cheers. Raúl M .

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Tigre,

Thanks for the above. You provide more hard facts to AHF than almost anyone else!

Do you know if Stukas were ever used to bomb Republican hydro-electric power stations in the Pyrenees?

Cheers,

Sid.

[tigre]

Hello Sid ; thanks for your kindness . I did not find anything about it. For what I know mostly their targets were troop concentrations, artillery positions, depots, communications routes and bridges. Cheers. Raúl M .

[Ironmachine]

Do you know if Stukas were ever used to bomb Republican hydro-electric power stations in the Pyrenees?

Those attacks were carried out by He70s, no stukas involved.

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Tigre,

Thanks. A nul result is still a hard fact of value.

Thanks,

Sid.