Heinkel 70 in Spanish Civil War
 

Heinkel 70 was initially a fast passenger plane but it was converted to military purposes as He 70 F-2. The plane was used in reconaissence and bombing missions by the reconaissence squadron (Aufklärungsgruppe) A/88 of Legion Condor.

While serving Legion Condor I wonder if someone knows more about following losses regarding He 70:
- 15.6.1937 A/88 lost a plane over Miravalles, three-men crew Lt. Gottanka, Lt. Lindemann, Uo. Heerschag all KIA, was it He 70?, cause?
- 10.7.1937 over Cuatro Vientos He 70 shot down by Republican fighter, Lt. von Posser and Og. Reinhold KIA, corresponding Republican claim?
- 20.8.1937 over El Musel/Gijón He 70 shot down by flak or enemy fighter? crew parachuted

Republican (Soviet) claims vs. He 70:
- He 70 shot down on 13.12.1936 by Sergey Cherknyh (I-15), is there a confirmation by the loss records of Legion Condor?
- He 70 (mistaken as Bf 109!) shot down on 7.1.1937 by Sergey Cherknyh (I-16), is there a confirmation by the loss records of Legion Condor?

The remaining Heinkel 70´s were passed to Spanish Aviación Nacional on November 1937 and they served in the Grupo 7-G-14. Does anyone know details of the service history of He 70 in the Aviación Nacional and in the Grupo 7-G-14 during the Spanish Civil War?

Re: Heinkel 70 in Spanish Civil War
 

Hello,
According my notes and investigations, the one shot down in Zeberio, near Miravalles (Bilbao province) was due to Flak

For the 10-July 1937 I have the name of two crews so it could happen that was shot down two He-70's. I have photos of the remains of von Posser's aircraft and certainly it was shot down vertically because the size and damage of the wreckage. Other a/c could manage to return crashlanding in the process; there are photos of the 14-43 with the fuse broken in two at the end of a earth bank and this could be the second loss that day. In both photos the environtmen resembles the one in central Spain, area of Brunete battle

Best
Francisco

Re: Heinkel 70 in Spanish Civil War
 

Thanks for info. The case of 15.6.1937 seems clear (He 70 shot down by flak).

About the Legion Condor losses of 10.7.1937 there appears to be some controversy if it was Heinkel 70 which was actually lost on that day. Permuy Lopez et al. deny that He 70 was lost on that day in their booklet "Heinkel 70/170 Blitz" (published in Spanish in 2007). The Legion Condor plane lost on that day may have been of other type (Do 17?) - details about this and other things about Heinkel 70 in Spain have been discussed shortly also at another forum: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtop...?f=32&t=218315

When it comes to 20.8./21.8.1937 it seems that no Heinkel 70 were lost on that day - at least not over locations near Gijón.

The Republican (Soviet) claims on Heinkel 70 on 13.12.1936 and 7.1.1937 do not seem to correspond with the recorded combat losses of Legion Condor. There probably was a combat contact between Soviet-piloted I-15 (Rychagov or Cherknyh) and He 70 of A/88 on 13.12.1936 but it appears that the He 70 was able to escape. The first time when He 70 was forcelanded due to air combat damage (but repaired later?) has been recorded to date on 1.2.1937 and the first definitively confirmed combat loss of He 70 was the above mentioned loss of 15.6.1937 according to booklet "Heinkel 70/170".