Heinkel He 111

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_111

The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter
at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development it was described as a
"wolf in sheep's clothing" because the project masqueraded the machine as
civilian transport, though from conception the Heinkel was intended to provide
the nascent Luftwaffe with a fast medium bomber.

Perhaps the best-recognised German bomber due to the distinctive, extensively
glazed "greenhouse" nose of later versions, the Heinkel He 111 was the most
numerous Luftwaffe bomber during the early stages of World War II. The bomber
fared well until the Battle of Britain, when its weak defensive armament was
exposed. Nevertheless, it proved capable of sustaining heavy damage and
remaining airborne. As the war progressed, the He 111 was used in a variety of
roles on every front in the European theatre. It was used as a strategic bomber
during the Battle of Britain, a torpedo bomber in the Atlantic and Arctic, and a
medium bomber and a transport aircraft on the Western, Eastern, Mediterranean,
Middle Eastern, and North African Front theatres.

The He 111 was constantly upgraded and modified, but became obsolete during the
latter part of the war. The German Bomber B project was not realised, which
forced the Luftwaffe to continue operating the He 111 in combat roles until the
end of the war. Manufacture of the He 111 ceased in September 1944, at which
point piston-engine bomber production was largely halted in favour of fighter
aircraft. With the German bomber force virtually defunct, the He 111 was used
for logistics.

Production of the Heinkel continued after the war as the Spanish-built CASA
2.111. Spain received a batch of He 111H-16s in 1943 along with an agreement to
licence-build Spanish versions. Its airframe was produced in Spain under licence
by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA. The design differed significantly in
powerplant only, eventually being equipped with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. The
Heinkel's descendant continued in service until 1973.

Features of the He 111 were apparent in the Heinkel He 70. The first
single-engined He 70 Blitz ("Lightning") rolled off the line in 1932 and
immediately started breaking records. In the normal four-passenger version its
speed reached 380 km/h (230 mph) when powered by a 447 kW (600 hp) BMW VI
engine. The He 70 was designed with an elliptical wing, which the Günther
brothers had already incorporated into the Bäumer Sausewind before they joined
Heinkel. This wing design became a feature in this and many subsequent designs
they developed. The He 70 drew the interest of the Luftwaffe, which was looking
for an aircraft with both bomber and transport capabilities.

The He 111 was a twin-engine version of the Blitz, preserving the elliptical
inverted gull wing, small rounded control surfaces and BMW engines, so that the
new design was often called the Doppel-Blitz ("Double Lightning"). When the
Dornier Do 17 displaced the He 70, Heinkel needed a twin-engine design to match
its competitors. Heinkel spent 200,000 man hours designing the He 111. The
fuselage length was extended to just over 17.4 m/57 ft (from 11.7 m/38 ft 4½ in)
and wingspan to 22.6 m/74 ft (from 14.6 m/48 ft).


Role
Medium bomber

Manufacturer
Heinkel Flugzeugwerke

Designer
Siegfried and Walter Günter

First flight
24 February 1935

Introduction
1935

Retired
1945 (Luftwaffe)
1958 (Spain)

Primary user
Luftwaffe

Produced
1935–44

Number built
32 prototype aircraft
12 civilian airliners
808 pre war aircraft
5,656 aircraft (1939–44)
Total: 6,508.

Variants
CASA 2.111

The H variant of the He 111 series was more widely produced and saw more action
during World War II than any other Heinkel variant. Owing to the uncertainty
surrounding the delivery and availability of the DB 601 engines, Heinkel
switched to 820 kW (1,100 hp) Junkers Jumo 211 powerplants, whose somewhat
greater size and weight were regarded as unimportant considerations in a
twin-engine design. When the Jumo was fitted to the P model it became the He 111
H.

The He 111 H-1 was fitted with a standard set of three 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 15
machine guns and eight SC 250 250 kg (550 lb) or 32 SC 50 50 kg (110 lb) bombs.
The same armament was used in the H-2 which started production in August 1939.
The P-series was gradually replaced on the eve of war with the new the H-2,
powered by improved Jumo 211 A-3 engines of 820 kW (1,100 hp). A count on 2
September 1939 revealed that the Luftwaffe had a total of 787 He 111s in
service, with 705 combat ready, including 400 H-1 and H-2s that had been
produced in a mere four months. Production of the H-3, powered by the 895 kW
(1,200 hp) Jumo 211 D-1, began in October 1939. Experiences during the Polish
Campaign led to an increase in defensive armament. MG 17s were fitted whenever
possible and the number of machine guns was increased to seven. The two waist
positions received an additional MG 15 or 17, and on some variants a belt-fed MG
17 was even installed in the tail.

After the Battle of Britain, smaller scale production of the H-4s began. The H-4
was virtually identical to the He 111 P-4 with the DB 600s swapped for the Jumo
211D-1s. Some also used the Jumo 211H-1. This variant also differed from the H-3
in that it could either carry 2,000 kg (4,410 lb) of bombs internally or mount
one or two external racks to carry one 1,800 kg (3,970 lb) or two 1,000 kg
(2,210 lb) bombs. As these external racks blocked the internal bomb bay doors, a
combination of internal and external storage was not possible. A PVR 1006L bomb
rack was fitted externally and an 835 L (221 US gal) tank added to the interior
spaces left vacant by the removal of the internal bomb-bay. The PVR 1006L was
capable of carrying a SC 1000 1,000 kg (2,210 lb) bomb. Some H-4s had their PVC
racks modified to drop torpedoes. Later modifications enabled the PVC 1006 to
carry a 2,500 kg (5,510 lb) "Max" bomb. However 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) "Hermann" or
1,800 kg (3,970 lb) "Satans" were used more widely.

The Heinkel He 111 served on all the German military fronts in the European
Theatre of World War II. Beginning the war as a medium bomber it supported the
German campaigns in the field until 1943 when, owing to Western Allied and
Soviet air superiority, it reverted to a transport aircraft role.

German-built He 111s remained in service in Spain after the end of the Second
World War, being supplemented by Spanish licence-built CASA 2.111s from 1950.
The last two German-built aircraft remained in service until at least 1958.

Specifications

He 111 H-6

General characteristics
Crew: 5 (pilot, navigator/bombardier/nose gunner, ventral gunner, dorsal
gunner/radio operator, side gunner)
Length: 16.4 m (53 ft 9½ in)
Wingspan: 22.60 m (74 ft 2 in)
Height: 4.00 m (13 ft 1½ in)
Wing area: 87.60 m² (942.92 ft²)
Empty weight: 8,680 kg (19,136lb lb)
Loaded weight: 12,030 kg (26,500 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 14,000 kg (30,864 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Jumo 211F-1 or 211F-2 liquid-cooled inverted V-12, 986 kW (1,300
hp (F-1) or 1,340 (F-2)) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 440 km/h (273 mph)
Range: 2,300 km (1,429 mi) with maximum fuel
Service ceiling: 6,500 m (21,330 ft)
Rate of climb: 20 minutes to 5,185 m (17,000 ft)
Wing loading: 137 kg/m² (28.1 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: .082 kW/kg (.049 hp/lb)

Armament

Guns:
up to 7 × 7.92 mm MG 15 or MG 81 machine guns, (2 in the nose, 1 in the dorsal,
2 in the side, 2 in the ventral) some of them replaced or augmented by
1 × 20 mm MG FF cannon (central nose mount or forward ventral position)
1 × 13 mm MG 131 machine gun (mounted dorsal and/or ventral rear positions)

Bombs:
2,000 kilograms (4,400 lb) in the main internal bomb bay.
Up to 3,600 kilograms (7,900 lb) could be carried externally. External bomb
racks blocked the internal bomb bay. Carrying bombs externally increased weight
and drag and impaired the aircraft's performance significantly. Carrying the
maximum load usually required rocket-assisted take-off.





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