In July 1936, Spain’s air force was outdated and ill-prepared for modern warfare. Its few Nieuport-Delage fighters, Breguet bombers and Dornier seaplanes belonged to another era, unsuited to the conflict about to unfold. The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War turned the country’s skies into a testing ground for new aircraft and tactics that would soon shape the Second World War.

As Spain divided between Republic and Nationalist forces, so too did its air power. Both sides raced to secure modern planes and foreign aid. Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union seized the chance to test their latest designs and doctrines: Heinkels, Junkers and Fiats battled Soviet-supplied Polikarpovs, turning Spain into an aerial laboratory with worldwide significance.

The Spanish Civil War in the Air, Volume 1: 1936–1937 traces the conflict’s early air battles, from the improvised beginnings of July 1936 to the struggle for control over Madrid and the Basque Country. It reveals how obsolete aircraft were replaced by modern machines, how pilots on all sides learned brutal new lessons, and how these experiences shaped later air strategy. Richly illustrated with rare photos, detailed maps and Jean-Marie Guillou’s colour artworks, this volume vividly captures the men, machines and moments that defined the birth of modern air warfare.