Aviazione Legionaria
 

Hello All.
Can anyone recommend a book on the Aviazione Legionaria - the Italian air contingent involved in the Spanish civil war? I'm looking at some sort of overall operational view, not just individual aircraft like the Osprey books.

...geoff

Re: Aviazione Legionaria
 

Geoff

I was hoping someone else would answer, since my knowledge of your request is minimal, to say the least.

As far as I know, nothing has been published in English, perhaps not too surprisingly, but very little, it seems, has been published in Italian as well.

I have one single book from 1981 by Angelo Emiliani titled Italiani nell'aviazione Repubblicana Spagnola. It has some 140 pages, illustrated, yes, but not too much. At this time I don't remember why I bought it, since I don't speak Italian. It was cheap and perhaps I believed it should contain much more than it really seems to do. No day-by-day stuff at all.

There is of course one book in English published in 1997 'Wings over Spain' by Emiliani Ghergo, but that is basically a pictorial one with an extended text to each picture, and I don't think that is what you are after, is it?
It does have a bibliography though, and if interested send me a PM with your e-mail and I scan it for you (two pages) since there are a few more books listed in there which can be directly linked to the Aviazione Legionaria.

Cheers
Stig

Re: Aviazione Legionaria
 

Three more which might be useful:

Guerra di Spagna e Aviazione Italiana. Pedriali, Ferdinando. Ufficio Storico Aeronautica Militare Italiana, Roma, 1992. 413 pages.

La Aviacion Legionaria en la Guerra Espanola. Nassaes, Alcofar. Editorial Euros, Barcelona, 1975. 397 pages.

Ali di Guerra Sulla Spagna 1936-1939. Pedriali, Ferdinando. IBN Editore, Roma, 2015. 268 pages.

I don't know how much Italian content are in the following by Jesús Salas Larrazábal, but they may be useful (all somewhat oversize books):

Guerra Aérea 1936/39, Tomo I: La Batalla Aérea por Madrid. Instituto de Historia y Cultura Aeronauticas, Madrid, 1998. xiv+420.

Guerra Aérea 1936/39, Tomo II: La Campana del Norte. Instituto de Historia y Cultura Aeronauticas, Madrid, 1998. x+364.

Guerra Aérea 1936/39, Tomo III: Guerra en los cielos de la antigua Corona de Aragón. Instituto de Historia y Cultura Aeronauticas, Madrid, 2001. viii+310.

Guerra Aérea 1936/39, Tomo IV: El Desenlace. Instituto de Historia y Cultura Aeronauticas, Madrid, 2003. viii+277.

Enjoy!

Frank.

Re: Aviazione Legionaria
 

As noted there's not a lot available unless you're able to read Italian.


Kagero did a two volume set in English from their Air Battles series which is a decent primer and uses some of the titles mentioned above as sources.
http://www.shop.kagero.pl/media/prod...?lm=1526629802

http://www.shop.kagero.pl/media/prod...?lm=1526580395
http://www.shop.kagero.pl/en/cricket...937-vol-i.html
http://www.shop.kagero.pl/en/cricket...39-vol-ii.html

Re: Aviazione Legionaria
 

Thanks for the input, Gents.

Stig,
I too acquired one of Angelo Emiliani's books "Spagna 1936-39: l'aviazione legionaria". This one's a pictorial with easy (well, easier) to translate captions. Cool book, but not much in the way of historical text. On holidays chasing the ever-growing 10yo at present, but will drop you a message later.

Frank,
I have Larrazábal's English volume "Air War over Spain". It's been a while since I read it but it has reasonable coverage of the overall air war - including the Italian contingent. I was hoping for a "Condor Legion" style coverage of the Aviazione Legionaria similar to that done by Karl Ries & Hans Ring. Thanks for the other pointers. I'll have to pull in some favours from my uni contacts and see if I can track down a preview or a library copy.

Orwell,
I have volume 1. Didn't realize there was a volume 2 yet. Many thanks for the heads-up.

I remain ever-optimistic that a new English-language book will be available.
Thanks again,
...geoff

Re: Aviazione Legionaria
 

One more book: http://www.ibneditore.it/shop/grassi...gna-1936-1939/


I do not have it.




Ed