What was the first strategic airlift in history?

The purpose was to evade the Republican naval blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar and fly the rebel soldiers stationed in Spanish Morocco to the rebel-controlled area of Andalusia. That operation of transporting troops and equipment from Morocco to Andalusia is often cited as "the first airlift in military history."

Over 85 days, from 19 July to 11 October 1936, the Nationalists moved at least 14,000 men — 23,000 according to some sources — and at least 270 tons of war material, 400 tons according to others. On 10 August Franco had 38 aircraft, twenty of them Ju 52s. There were 868 round-trip flights by the German aircraft between their arrival in Morocco at the end of July and the end of the airlift. The Germans are credited with the key role in the operation, transporting around 13,000 soldiers.

Operating as a regular passenger aircraft, a Ju 52 normally carried 17 passengers; with all seats removed, 35 soldiers could sit on the floor, packed tightly. The airlift was vital for the Nationalists and helped turn the failed coup into a prolonged civil war. It has been written that it is no exaggeration to say the airlift saved the Nationalist cause in the summer of 1936.