On 6 August 1936, six of the He 51s were delivered to Spain to fight in the Spanish Civil War. Initial operations were successful, with the Heinkels meeting and defeating a number of older biplanes of the Spanish Republican Air Force. They were soon outclassed by the arrival of Russian Polikarpov I-15 and 16 fightersand the Heinkels soon were restricted to ground support, the German "volunteer" pilots gathering experience that would later be used to great effect in WW2.
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