Junkers Ju 52/3m

In August 1936 20 aircraft were sent to Spain, where, flown by German volunteers, their first task was to transport 10,000 troops from Spanish Morocco. In the following November, about 50 Ju 52/3mg4e bombers were included in the equipment of the German Condor Legion, deployed to Spain in support of Franco’s Nationalist forces. Operations included the bombing of Republican held Mediterranean ports and the support of the land battle around Guernica, the destruction of which town brought the German bombers notoriety. In Luftwaffe service the Ju 52 bomber was soon replaced by types such as the Ju 86 and Do 17 and from then on it operated purely as a military transport.