(Heinkel) He 112 @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • Heinkel He 112 B-0 Heinkel He 112 B-0
    Heinkel He 112 B-0
  • The V1 prototype (D-IADO), powered by a Rolls-Royce Kestrel The V1 prototype (D-IADO), powered by a Rolls-Royce Kestrel
    The V1 prototype (D-IADO), powered by a Rolls-Royce Kestrel
  • He 112 V2 (D-IHGE) He 112 V2 (D-IHGE)
    He 112 V2 (D-IHGE)
  • He 112 V3 (D-IDMO), first armed prototype He 112 V3 (D-IDMO), first armed prototype
    He 112 V3 (D-IDMO), first armed prototype
  • He 112 V4 (D-IZMY), first A-0 He 112 V4 (D-IZMY), first A-0
    He 112 V4 (D-IZMY), first A-0
  • He 112 V6, A-series pattern aircraft He 112 V6, A-series pattern aircraft
    He 112 V6, A-series pattern aircraft
  • He 112 V6 (D-ISJY) He 112 V6 (D-ISJY)
    He 112 V6 (D-ISJY)
  • The V6 "Kanonenvogel" in Spain (Condor Legion) The V6 "Kanonenvogel" in Spain (Condor Legion)
    The V6 "Kanonenvogel" in Spain (Condor Legion)
  • He 112 V7 (D-IKIK), first B-series prototype He 112 V7 (D-IKIK), first B-series prototype
    He 112 V7 (D-IKIK), first B-series prototype
  • He 112 V8 (D-IRXO), DB 600-powered He 112 V8 (D-IRXO), DB 600-powered
    He 112 V8 (D-IRXO), DB 600-powered
  • The V9 (D-IGSI), true B-series prototype The V9 (D-IGSI), true B-series prototype
    The V9 (D-IGSI), true B-series prototype
  • He 112 V10, DB 601-powered (570 km-h) He 112 V10, DB 601-powered (570 km-h)
    He 112 V10, DB 601-powered (570 km-h)
  • He 112 V11 He 112 V11
    He 112 V11
  • He 112 V12 He 112 V12
    He 112 V12
  • He 112 B-0 He 112 B-0
    He 112 B-0
  • He 112Bs at Rostock (1938) He 112Bs at Rostock (1938)
    He 112Bs at Rostock (1938)
  • The Japanese order in Luftwaffe markings<br>(Sudeten crisis, 1938) The Japanese order in Luftwaffe markings<br>(Sudeten crisis, 1938)
    The Japanese order in Luftwaffe markings
    (Sudeten crisis, 1938)
  • In Spain, during the Civil War In Spain, during the Civil War
    In Spain, during the Civil War
  • Hungarian He 112B V.303 (1940) Hungarian He 112B V.303 (1940)
    Hungarian He 112B V.303 (1940)
  • Hungarian V.303 (April 1941) Hungarian V.303 (April 1941)
    Hungarian V.303 (April 1941)
  • Romanian markings, Focsani (1942) Romanian markings, Focsani (1942)
    Romanian markings, Focsani (1942)
  • He 112B instrument panel He 112B instrument panel
    He 112B instrument panel
  • Cockpit, left side Cockpit, left side
    Cockpit, left side
  • Cockpit, right side Cockpit, right side
    Cockpit, right side
  • He 112B three-view drawing He 112B three-view drawing
    He 112B three-view drawing

Heinkel He 112

The Heinkel He 112 is a German single-seat fighter designed by the twin brothers Walter and Siegfried Günter. It was one of four aircraft entered in the competition for the first modern monoplane fighter of the Luftwaffe, which it lost to the Messerschmitt Bf 109. The Luftwaffe only used it briefly, but Heinkel exported it in small numbers to Japan, Spain, Romania and Hungary. About one hundred were built in all (98 according to most sources, 85 of them of the redesigned B series). The He 112 is also remembered as the first aircraft to fly with a liquid-fuelled rocket engine, during experiments led by Wernher von Braun and test pilot Erich Warsitz.

Design and development

Background

In the early 1930s the Luftwaffe, still secret, was equipped with biplane fighters such as the Heinkel He 51 and the Arado Ar 68. In February 1934 the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) asked Arado, Heinkel and the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) for prototypes of a modern fighter; Focke-Wulf joined in September. Disguised as a "sports aircraft", the requirement called for an all-metal monoplane with retractable undercarriage, a speed of 400 km/h at 6,000 m, ninety minutes of flight at full power, a climb to 6,000 m in seven minutes, a ceiling of 10,000 m, a Junkers Jumo 210 engine, two 7.92 mm machine guns or one 20 mm cannon, and a wing loading below 100 kg/m². The four entries were the Arado Ar 80, the Focke-Wulf Fw 159, the Heinkel He 112 and the Messerschmitt Bf 109.

Heinkel's design

Heinkel had begun work in late 1933 and the project was renamed He 112 on 5 May 1934. The Günter brothers drew directly on their fast He 70 Blitz mail plane: the He 112 was essentially a scaled-down He 70, with an all-metal oval monocoque fuselage, flush riveting, a two-spar inverted gull wing of elliptical planform and an outward-retracting undercarriage. The wide track of this undercarriage gave the He 112 much better ground handling than the Bf 109.

Prototypes and competition

The V1 was completed on 1 September 1935. As the Jumo 210 was not yet available, it received a 518 kW (695 hp) Rolls-Royce Kestrel V. Its large wing gave a low wing loading but also a lot of drag. The V2, completed in November 1935, received a 480 kW (640 hp) Jumo 210C and wings shortened by about one metre; the V3 (January 1936) was the first armed prototype, with two MG 17 machine guns in the cowling.

During the official trials, begun at Rechlin in October 1935 and continued at Travemünde in early 1936, the thick high-lift wing and open cockpit of the He 112 cost it speed: 440 km/h against 467 km/h for the Bf 109 with the same engine. The Ar 80 and Fw 159 were quickly eliminated, and Heinkel and Messerschmitt each received an order for ten further prototypes. The arrival of the Bf 109 V2 on 21 March 1936 tipped the balance: the Messerschmitt was faster at all altitudes and more agile, while the He 112 V2 crashed during spin tests and was later written off. On 12 March 1936 the RLM had already issued a "Bf 109 priority procurement" document, although some officials still favoured the Heinkel, which was more comfortable and easier to land.

He 112 A

Ten pre-series He 112 A-0 aircraft were nevertheless ordered. The V4 (June 1936), first of the series, introduced a new elliptical wing, a Jumo 210D engine with two-speed supercharger and an armament of two MG 17 and two 20 mm MG FF wing cannon, earning it the nickname "Kanonenvogel" (cannon bird). The V5 was handed over to Wernher von Braun for rocket experiments, the V6 served as the pattern aircraft for the A series and the V8 tested the Daimler-Benz DB 600Aa engine. The A-0s differed from the V6 only in details; two of them (A-05 and A-06) were shipped to Japan in March 1937. In October 1936 the RLM decided to switch the remaining aircraft to a completely redesigned version, the He 112 B.

He 112 B

The B series was practically a new aircraft: lightened structure with flush riveting, cut-down rear fuselage, new fin and rudder, semi-retractable radiator and a fully enclosed three-piece bubble canopy whose central section slid back. Armament comprised two 7.92 mm MG 17 in the sides of the cowling (500 rounds each) and two 20 mm MG FF in the wings (60 rounds each), with a Revi 3B reflector sight. The V7 (October 1936) was the first B-series airframe, but the V9, flown in July 1937 with a Jumo 210 engine, is considered the true prototype of the series: weighing 1,617 kg empty, it reached 485 km/h at 4,000 m. The V10 received an 876 kW (1,175 hp) DB 601Aa and reached 570 km/h, the V11 a DB 600Aa, and the V12, taken from the B-1 production line, became the pattern aircraft of the B-2. The three production versions differed mainly by their engine: Jumo 210C for the B-0, Jumo 210D (or Ea) for the B-1 and fuel-injected Jumo 210G for the B-2.

Rocket experiments

From 1936 Wernher von Braun, who was developing liquid-fuelled rocket engines (alcohol and liquid oxygen) at Kummersdorf, obtained the support of Ernst Heinkel, who first supplied a wingless He 112 fuselage for ground tests and then several airworthy prototypes. Test pilot Erich Warsitz was assigned to the programme at the end of 1936. Tests moved in the spring of 1937 to the airfield of Neuhardenberg, about 70 km east of Berlin. In June 1937 Warsitz made the first flight of an He 112 propelled by an additional von Braun rocket engine, during which the piston engine was shut down in flight; the flight ended with a wheels-up landing and a fire in the fuselage, but the aircraft was repaired. Later flights used the hydrogen-peroxide rocket engine of Hellmuth Walter, which was simpler and safer. These experiments led to the Heinkel He 176, the first aircraft powered solely by a liquid-fuelled rocket.

Operational history

Spain

In late 1936 the V6, re-armed with a 20 mm cannon firing through the propeller hub, was sent to Spain for evaluation with the experimental fighter unit of the Condor Legion, alongside the first Bf 109 prototypes. Flown at first by Oberleutnant Günther Radusch from Tablada (Seville), it was used mainly for ground attack. Its best-known exploit is attributed to Oberleutnant Wilhelm Balthasar who, learning that a Republican armoured train was approaching, took the aircraft up and destroyed the train at Seseña station with his cannon, then set an armoured car on fire on the way back. The V6 was written off on 19 July 1937 after its engine seized on landing (some sources give 1938). The V8 and then the V9 also went to Spain, the latter mainly as a sales demonstrator flown by Spanish pilots.

The Spanish Nationalists then bought the He 112B. Twelve aircraft were first ordered, then the total rose to 17 or 19 (two B-0, seven B-1 and ten B-2 according to Wikipedia), mostly aircraft that Japan had refused. Assembled by Heinkel workers at León from November 1938, they equipped Grupo de Caza 5-G-5 under Comandante José Muñoz Jiménez, which flew top cover for Fiat CR.32 units. Operations began on 17 January 1939 and on 20 January Capitán García Pardo shot down a Polikarpov I-16 over Igualada, the only air victory of the He 112 in the Civil War. After the war the surviving aircraft were transferred in July 1939 to Spanish Morocco, where they formed Grupo 27 alongside Fiat G.50s. From 1942 they intercepted Allied aircraft violating Spanish airspace (C-47 transports, Spitfires and P-38s, as well as Vichy French D.520s); on 3 March 1943 Teniente Miguel Entrena Klett damaged a P-38 Lightning, which had to land in Algeria. Short of fuel and spare parts, the He 112s were grounded from 1944; the last airworthy example was still listed in 1952.

Germany

During the Sudeten crisis in 1938 the Luftwaffe pressed every available fighter into service. The batch of He 112Bs then being completed for Japan was requisitioned to form IV./JG 132 on 1 July 1938, based at Oschatz and then Karlsbad. The crisis having passed, the unit became I./JG 331 in November 1938 and received Bf 109Cs, and the He 112s were returned to Heinkel. A few other He 112s formed a factory defence unit flown by Heinkel's civilian test pilots, before being replaced by Heinkel He 100s.

Japan

Impressed by the V9, which a delegation saw at the Marienehe factory in late 1937, the Imperial Japanese Navy ordered thirty He 112Bs with an option for a hundred more; it had already received the V5 and two A-0s. Twelve He 112 B-0s were shipped in the spring of 1938 under the designation A7He1 (Navy Type He Air Defence Fighter). Although about 65 km/h faster than the Mitsubishi A5M, the He 112 was rejected by Japanese pilots, who preferred the manoeuvrability of their own fighter and found the Heinkel too demanding to maintain. The option was cancelled, the rest of the order refused, and the A7He1s were used mainly as trainers before being withdrawn well before Pearl Harbor. Allied intelligence nevertheless believed them in service and gave them the code name "Jerry".

Austria

In November 1937 an Austrian delegation led by General Alexander Löhr compared the Bf 109 and the He 112 V9; test pilot Hans Schalk preferred the Heinkel for its handling and equipment. On 20 December 1937 Austria ordered 42 He 112Bs (reduced to 36 for budgetary reasons), but the Anschluss of March 1938 prevented any delivery.

Romania

In April 1939 Romania bought 24 He 112Bs already built, then a total of 30, while waiting for Bf 109s. Its pilots, trained at Heinkel, ferried them home between July and October 1939. The IAR 80, which outperformed the He 112 in a comparative fly-off, was chosen for production and no further Heinkels were ordered. The aircraft equipped Escadrilele 51 and 52 of Grupul 5 Vânătoare; on 27 August 1940 Locotenent Nicolae Polizu shot down a Hungarian Caproni Ca.135bis reconnaissance aircraft, the first Romanian air victory. On 22 June 1941, the first day of the war against the Soviet Union, twelve He 112s escorted Potez 63 bombers attacking Bolgrad and Bulgărica and clashed with I-16 fighters; Sublocotenent Teodor Moscu claimed one of them. Mainly used for ground attack, the He 112s suffered heavy losses from enemy fire and maintenance difficulties, were withdrawn after the fall of Odessa in October 1941 and then served as trainers until 1944.

Hungary

Hungary ordered 36 He 112Bs on 7 September 1938, but Germany blocked the deliveries. The V9, sent as a demonstrator in February 1939, crashed on 14 February during a mock combat against a Fiat CR.32. Three B-1/U2s with Jumo 210Ea engines were finally delivered, armed with Hungarian 8 mm Gebauer machine guns and fitted with bomb racks. A licence agreement for production by Manfréd Weiss in Budapest was cancelled in December 1939, the RLM refusing to license the engine; Hungary turned to the Reggiane Re.2000. The three He 112s, numbered V.301 to V.303, served for training and local defence, were deployed to Debrecen during the 1940 Transylvanian crisis and were destroyed in the Allied raid on Budapest-Ferihegy airfield on 9 August 1944. Manfréd Weiss nevertheless built the WM-23 Ezüst Nyíl ("Silver Arrow"), a wood and steel-tube fighter inspired by the He 112 and powered by a Gnome-Rhône Mistral Major radial; its only prototype crashed in early 1942.

Other countries

Yugoslavia ordered thirty He 112Bs before cancelling. Finland, which saw an He 112 B-1 at a Helsinki exhibition in May 1938, preferred the Fokker D.XXI, and the Netherlands, after testing a B-1, chose the Koolhoven F.K.58.

Variants

  • He 112 V1 to V3 : first prototypes with large wing and open cockpit; V1 with Rolls-Royce Kestrel V, V2 and V3 with Jumo 210C.
  • He 112 V4 to V6 and V8 : prototypes of the A series; V5 and V8 used for rocket tests, V6 tested in Spain with a 20 mm cannon.
  • He 112 A-0 : pre-series of ten aircraft with Jumo 210C; two delivered to Japan.
  • He 112 V7, V9 to V12 : prototypes of the B series; V10 with DB 601Aa (570 km/h).
  • He 112 B-0 : first production version, Jumo 210C engine.
  • He 112 B-1 : Jumo 210D (or 210Ea) engine.
  • He 112 B-2 : fuel-injected Jumo 210G engine.
  • He 112 B-1/U2 and B-2/U2 : versions delivered to Hungary and Romania (with bomb racks).
  • A7He1 : Imperial Japanese Navy designation of the He 112 B-0.
  • He 112 R : unofficial designation of the aircraft fitted with a rocket engine.

Operators

  • Germany : Luftwaffe (IV./JG 132, Condor Legion).
  • Hungary : Royal Hungarian Air Force.
  • Japan : Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service.
  • Romania : Royal Romanian Air Force (Grupul 5 Vânătoare).
  • Spain : Nationalist Air Force, then Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire).

Surviving aircraft

No He 112 has survived.

References

  • Bernád, Dénes. Heinkel He 112 in Action. Squadron/Signal Publications, 1996.
  • Fleischer, Seweryn. Heinkel 112. Wydawnictwo Militaria 164, 2002.
  • Air International. "The Curious Saga of the He 112", parts 1 and 2, May and June 1989.
  • Ledet, Michel. "Le Heinkel He 112", Avions no. 34 to 36, 1996.
  • Forsyth, Robert. Aces of the Legion Condor. Osprey, 2012.
  • Warsitz, Lutz. The First Jet Pilot: The Story of German Test Pilot Erich Warsitz. Pen and Sword, 2009.
  • Heinkel, Ernst. Stormy Life. E.P. Dutton, 1956.

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Heinkel He 112 of Wikipedia ( authors )

Heinkel He 112

  • Role : Fighter.
  • Manufacturer : Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke.
  • Designers : Walter and Siegfried Günter.
  • First flight : September 1935.
  • Status : retired.
  • Primary users :
    • Luftwaffe.
    • Imperial Japanese Navy.
    • Spanish Air Force.
    • Royal Romanian Air Force.
    • Royal Hungarian Air Force.
  • Produced : 1935 to 1939.
  • Number built : about 100 (98 according to most sources).
  • Developed from : Heinkel He 70 Blitz.

    • Specifications (He 112 B-2)

  • Crew: one.
  • Length: 29 ft 6 in (9 m).
  • Wingspan: 37 ft 9 in (11.5 m).
  • Height: 12 ft 2 in (3.7 m).
  • Wing area: 250 sq ft (23.2 m²).
  • Airfoil: Heinkel 16.5% (root and tip).
  • Empty weight: 3,704 lb (1,680 kg).
  • Max takeoff weight: 4,916 lb (2,230 kg).
  • Powerplant: One Junkers Jumo 210 inverted V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine (Jumo 210Da according to Wikipedia).
  • Power: 689 hp (514 kW).
  • Propeller: 3-bladed variable-pitch.
  • Maximum speed: 303 mph (488 km/h) at 11,500 ft (3,500 m).
  • Range: 680 mi (1,100 km).
  • Service ceiling: 26,000 ft (8,000 m).
  • Wing loading: 21.0 lb/sq ft (102.5 kg/m²).
  • Guns: 2 × 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns in the engine cowling (500 rounds each) and 2 × 20 mm MG FF cannon in the wings (60 rounds each).
  • Bombs: six 10 kg (22 lb) bombs on underwing racks (export versions).

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Heinkel He 112 of Wikipedia ( authors )
Heinkel He 112 : Your comments on this subject
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