José María Bravo

José María Bravo Fernández-Hermosa (8 April 1917 – 26 December 2009) was a Spanish Republican fighter pilot and flying ace. During the Spanish Civil War, he fought for the Second Republic and later for the Soviet Union in the Second World War. Until his death in 2009, he was the highest-scoring Spanish fighter pilot still alive.

Early life José María Bravo was born Madrid in 1917 and studied at the Institución Libre de Enseñanza, where he was considered a good student. His good grades won him a place at a study-abroad program in Germany.

Spanish Civil War and exile Polikarpov I-16 of the Fundación Infante de Orleans painted in the colors of the FARE. Its code is CM-249, which had been flown by Bravo during his wartime career. Upon the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in July 1936, Bravo volunteered to serve in the Spanish Republican Air Force (FARE). He had already flown gliders. Bravo was accepted and traveled to the Soviet Union as part of the first course of pilots, and underwent six months of training in Kirovabad (later Ganja, Azerbaijan).

Bravo returned to Spain in June 1937 as a non-commissioned fighter pilot and an expert in the state-of-the-art Polikarpov I-16 monoplanes. He flew with Russian pilots in the 1ª Escuadrilla de Moscas. His command abilities and charisma earned him multiple promotions: Teniente (11 March 1938) and Capitán (31 May 1938).

He was put in command of the 3ª Escuadrilla de Moscas and participated in the battles of the Levante and Ebro. This squadron achieved the most aerial victories during the Levante Campaign, with 10 credited to Bravo. On 27 August 1938, he became the adjutant of Grupo 21 de Caza (under the command of Manuel Zarauza Clavero and composed of I-16 fighters) at only 22 years old. The Republican defeat at the Ebro made imminent Republican defeat inevitable and the Catalonia Offensive forced the remaining Republican pilots to flee to France, Bravo among them. He was credited with 23 individual aerial victories achieved during 160 aerial combats and 1200 flying hours. He flew the I-16s marked CM-193 y CM-249.

Following the defeat and dissolution of the Republic in 1939, Bravo went into exile – initially in France. He was detained in camps for asylum seekers at Gurs and Argelès-sur-Mer in southern France, but was able to make his way to the Soviet Union. He resumed his studies at Járkov (Ukraine).

Second World War Following the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Bravo tried to join the Soviet Air Forces (VVS). He was initially unable, as the VVS did not accept foreign aircrew; instead, Bravo served with Soviet ground forces, in a unit laying mines and carrying out sabotage, in the Azov area.

Memoir José María Bravo & Rafael de Madariaga (2007); El seis doble: Bravo y los Moscas en la Guerra Civil Española y en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, Madrid. .