Limits of Learning: Soviet Air Power, Industrial Constraints, and the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)

This article investigates Soviet air power in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), focusing on the interplay between operational experience, industrial constraints, and technological adaptation. Using Russian State Military Archive materials and firsthand reports from personnel in Spain, it demonstrates that the USSR actively learned from the conflict, shaping aircraft design, pilot training, and doctrinal reforms. Yet structural limits – production bottlenecks, engine shortages, and the Great Purges – slowed implementation. External pressures, including aid to China and the Non-Intervention framework, further constrained support. The study reveals how systemic and transnational factors restricted the Soviet Air Force’s capacity to capitalise on Spanish experience, offering insights into Soviet air power before Operation Barbarossa.