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Air combats fought on 12 July resulted in two Aero A.101s claimed by Höness, an SB‑2 to Pingel, and three I‑16s by Pingel, Fw.

Guido Höness claimed two Tupolev SB‑2 bombers. The Bf 109s drew first blood on 8 July 1937 when Leutnant Rolf Pingel and Uzz. The Bf 109s, utilising superior tactics developed by Leutnant Werner Mölders, turned air superiority in favour of the Condor Legion. Based near Ávila, its main mission was to escort the Junkers Ju 52 bombers. The first major action of 2.J/88 with the Bf 109, took place during the Battle of Brunete in July 1937. The unit initially suffered several landing accidents, until the pilots became familiar with taking off and landing on the narrow‑track undercarriage. Staffel, commanded by Oberleutnant Günther Lützow. Messerschmitt Bf 109 C-1, Jagdgruppe 88, Legion Condor Over the next few months the He 112 V6 was flown by several pilots, but on 19 July 1937, with Unteroffizier Max Schulze flying, the engine seized during landing, and the He 112 V6 broke its back and was written off. Armed with a single 20 mm cannon firing through the airscrew hub, the Kanonenvogel (cannon bird) was to be evaluated as a ground attack aircraft and assigned to Jagdgruppe 88 at Almorox in March. The supplied Soviet fighters ( Polikarpov I-15 and I-16) easily outperformed the Heinkel He 51s, and in late 1936, three Messerschmitt Bf 109 prototypes were sent to J/88, and soon followed by the first 15 of the latest Bf 109As. Meantime aid from the Soviet Union arrived for the Republican forces. Oberleutnant Eberhardt Kraft made the unit's first claim on 25 August 1936, a Casa-Breguet 19. While the Spanish Air Force pilots trained, Trautloft and the other pilots became the first of an eventual 326 aircrew who would serve with Jagdgruppe 88 during the next two and a half years. Under the leadership of Leutnant Hannes Trautloft J/88 arrived by sea in August 1936.

In addition to a detachment of converted Junkers Ju 52s, a initial cadre of six Heinkel He-51s, were despatched, with enough service staff to instruct the Spanish aircrews in the operation and maintenance of the aircraft. The Germans used the war as an opportunity to evaluate new equipment, guns, vehicles and aircraft, and to develop tactical techniques which were later used in the 1939-45 conflict. The Condor Legion was an expeditionary force of soldiers and airmen sent to aid the Spanish Nationalist group during the Spanish Civil War. J/88 consisted of a headquarters ( Stab) and four squadrons ( Staffeln), although the 4th Staffel was short-lived. Jagdgruppe 88 (J/88) was a German Condor Legion fighter group serving in the Spanish Civil War.