The Blue Squadron (Spanish: Escuadrillas Azules, German: 15. Spanische Staffel) was the name given to the group of volunteer pilots and ground crews recruited from the Spanish Air Force that fought in the side of Germany on the Eastern Front, during the Second World War. This squadron was a counterpart offered by Franco to Germany by their help with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. Flying Focke-Wulf and Messerschmitt fighters and fighter-bombers, they accumulated an impressive record on the Eastern Front, destroying more than 160 Soviet aircraft in two years, with only a handful of losses. The unit remained in central Russia, despite requests by Muñoz Grandes that they be attached to the Blue Division, until their withdrawal in late 1943