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The Computation of Aerial Victories

During the Spanish Civil War claims of aerial victory and loss by the Nationalist and Republican air forces were always in dispute. Any aircraft forced to land outside its own airfield was classified as being shot down, conversely the loss of an aircraft was admitted only if it had been destroyed. This formula explained the great disparity between claims, conceded losses by the enemy, and the payment of bonuses based upon spotty confirmations by multinational flyers. To confirm a "kill," one had to see the opponent catch fire, blow up, or hit the ground, or to see the pilot bail out. To follow a crippled adversary down was suicidal, as one became exposed to other enemy fighters in the vicinity.

Fortunately for Tinker and company, the Fiat CR 32’s vulnerable point lay in its oil and water cooling systems as well as the location of the gas tank. The frontal positions of all three made the Italian fighter terribly exposed in a head-on attack. Red pilots always attacked from the front or below, and all Fiats lost burned in the air, thereby making confirmations easy. Unfortunately for Tinker, however, most enemy pilots learned to offer him as poor a frontal target as possible, displaying great knowledge and skill in aerobatics.

Synopsis of Frank Tinker's Military Tour in Spain

From January 7 to July 29, 1937, the span of his combat tour in Spain, Frank Tinker flew a total of 191.20 hours and downed eight enemy fighters. On March 14, Tinker piloted a Russian Polikarpov I-15 Chato pursuit (CA-056) out of Guadalajara. He destroyed one Fiat CR 32 during a two-hour flight and landed at Valencia. During a second mission six days later, he flew bomber escort and flamed a similar Italian fighter. While patrolling the Teruel front on April 17, in his Chato biplane pursuit (CA-058), he shot down a Condor Legion Heinkel He 51.

His next victories occurred after his assignment to the Soviet la Escuadrillas de Moscas (I-16s) commanded by Captain Ivan A. Lakeev. On June 2, Tinker dogfought with Fiats while flying bomber escort over Segovia. He bested a Fiat while flying an I-16 Number (CM-070). On June 16, he again destroyed a CR 32 in his Mosca fighter (CM-023). Scarcely a month later, on July 12, Tinker became the first American combat flyer to down a German Messerschmitt BF 109. He recorded his next "kill" five days later when he brought down a second Messerschmitt while on escort duty. Tinker notched his last victory the following day near Brunete (July 18) when he overcame a Fiat while escorting a squadron of R-5 Rasante bombers.

Synopsis of Albert J. Baumler's Military Tour in Spain

Albert J. "Ajax" Baumler recorded his first aerial "kill" with Kosokov’s I-15 Russian squadron on March 16, 1937. In his Chato fighter (CA-023) on a sortie out of Soto Madrid, his patrol happened across a formation of Fiat CR 32s. The following dogfight occurred in the Brihuega-Valdesor-Pajares sector, and Baumler shared a victory with Soviet pilot A. N. Zeitsoff. Four days later, Baumler (CA-022) assailed a group of three Italian SM. 81 bombers escorted by five Fiat pursuits. Baumler destroyed a Fiat 10 kilometers southeast of Brihuega. On April 17 the American was on his second mission of the day, operating from a base near Sarrion, Teruel, when his group intercepted a formation of Heinkel He 51 pursuits. Giving chase to the enemy, Baumler crippled a Heinkel; as he did not see it crash, he was awarded with only a probable victory. The mercenary did, however, obtain credit for a subsequent "kill" in this same contest.

On May 30, Baumler and Frank Tinker were transferred to Polikarpov I-16 monoplanes. While flying his Mosca (CA-069) on June 2, Baumler flamed a Fiat over the San Idelrviso-Segovia area. Operating from Castejon on June 14, he brought down another Fiat over Huesca. Ajax’s final victory occurred on July 8 in a Mosca (CA-022) out of Chozas Madrid. On this final sortie, he was escorting a formation of ten Rasante light bombers to Quejormas, when his group engaged an enemy force of bombers and fighter escorts. In the ensuing melee, Baumler downed a Fiat.

From December 27, 1936 to July 15, 1937, Baumler compiled 174.35 hours in service to the Spanish Republic. During this period, he was awarded three-and-a half Fiats, one Heinkel He51, and the probable destruction of a Fiat and a Heinkel.

Ben Leider's Tragically Brief Tour in Spain

Benjamin David Leider, a native of Romania, began his life as the son of an impoverished common laborer in New York City. Blessed with an exceptional mind and great energy he rose from his humble beginnings to graduate with honors from the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism and win a position as labor reporter for the New York Post. An avid pilot, he flew his small Cessna to press assignments and was affectionately known by his colleagues as the "Flying Reporter". Throughout his early career as a journalist, Leider, a member of the American Communist Party, was recognized as an enemy of entrenched plutocracy and a friend of the working class. In September 1936, he resigned his position with the Post and embarked for Spain to help defend the Spanish Republican government. Over the opposition of Loyalist airforce authorities, who argued that Leider did not possess the instincts of a fighter pilot, he would nevertheless eventually claim an aerial victory over the Jarama front before losing his own life on February 19, 1937.