Heinkel He 70 (Blitz)

History of Heinkel He 70 (Blitz)

The Heinkel 70 (Blitz) was originally born out of a need for a fast plane for Lufthansa's "fast" mail delivery. For this type of platform, Lufthansa has the best short-haul performance of the six-passenger Lockheed Vegas and Type 9 Orion monoplanes on the market. In the end, Heinkel engineers delivered an excellent product that quickly set eight world speed records, covering long-distance speed.

Part of the post-70s experienced combat action in the Spanish Civil War with the legendary German "Condor Legion". In any case, by the time of World War II, the type was quickly replaced by more impressive varieties around the world.

Heinkel presented Lufthansa with a proposal that would eventually become the company's He 70 design. The plane used a wing concept developed by the Gunther brothers, both of whom now join Heinkel's office.

With speed a priority, the landing gear was fully retractable, the rivets were countersunk to leave a smooth aerodynamic surface, and the design became very streamlined with rounded wing edges. The first flight was recorded on December 1, 1932, and its overall responsiveness was excellent, while performance proved excellent. The standard operator of this aircraft consists of two people (pilot and navigator sitting side by side). The cabin is spacious enough to carry cargo or up to four passengers.

In the latter role, luggage can be safely stowed in the rear compartment, and seating for four people is arranged in two pairs of seats - two rows of seats facing each other. Power comes from a single BMW VI Series V12 liquid-cooled engine. A distinguishing feature of this engine is that it is cooled with glycol, rather than water or otherwise - a design decision by Heinkel engineers that required a smaller radiator, further reducing the excess weight of the airframe.

The He 70a became the first prototype, followed by the He 70b passenger prototype. The He 70c was used as a firing test platform, while the fourth was produced for Lufthansa, with a BMW engine. A fifth prototype also entered the Luftwaffe as a light bomber with BMW engines.

The He 70 has a clean, Heinkel standard design. The engine is placed at the very front end of the sleek duralumin monocoque and mounted low. Viewed from the front, the front fuselage has a rectangular shape, with a round fuselage and tail at the end. The crew cabin is mounted amidships under a framed, contoured canopy, interestingly slightly off to port.

Low spruce and plywood cantilevered wings are oval in shape, also arranged amidships in the form of low wings. The rear wing tapers to where a vertical rear wing with rounded edges is located. Stabilizers are mounted on the aft surface at the far rear.

While the He 70 retains two retractable main landing gear legs, there is no tail wheel - just a tail skid. Overall, the Heinkel He 70 is a pleasing design with flowing lines and contours.

Model production of civilian airliners reaches 28, of which 14 are delivered to Lufthansa. The first passenger model was the He 70A, followed by the He 70D and the He 70G. At launch, the He 70 was an impressive aircraft, essentially modern by early 1930s standards - fast and adaptable to multiple roles.

Lufthansa managed its fleet from 1934 to 1937, operating several routes in Germany. As impressive as the He 70 was, it had a relatively short civilian life before being replaced by larger aircraft capable of carrying more passengers, luggage and associated cargo.

In addition, the Luftwaffe saw a need for fast monoplanes in 1935, and its military value soon grew.

The Heinkel He 70 caught the attention of the rebuilt Luftwaffe, which itself ordered and received a communications-oriented He 70D model. From there the type further developed into a three-man light bomber (He 70E) and three-man reconnaissance/messenger model (He 70F).

Long-range reconnaissance models exist under the He 70F-1 and He 70F-2 brands. At least 28 He 70s were in service with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War, a conflict that was essentially a proving ground for German war machines such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 armored personnel carrier (Henkel's own He 112 fighter) After the unsuccessful bid for the fighter mission) and the Dornier Do 17 medium bomber Germany engaged there, some 11 Condor aircraft were handed over to Ejercito del Aire in Spain.

While the He 70 itself proved to be an aircraft, the system was not without some major flaws. The main thing is that the plane is prone to fire on impact, due to its magnesium fuselage that burns in the air as it heats up.

Crews are often out of luck when their plane catches fire, and the fire quickly engulfs both the crew and the plane. The He 70 was impressive by the standards of the early 1930s, but by the mid-1930s it had been greatly surpassed, and the genre was relegated to a secondary role or retired entirely, replaced by a new generation of aircraft that came online in time for World War II.

The heyday of the He 70 was after World War II. Before that, she was mainly used by the Luftwaffe as an instructor. It is important to note that the He 70 was also delivered to Imperial Japan for evaluation, resulting in IJN's Aichi D3A "Val" light bomber.

Henkel and the Reich met on several other such common grounds before the war cancelled this exchange of ideas and technology.

A total of more than 320 military and civilian variants were eventually produced, including the He 70K/He 170A licensed in Hungary. Eighteen German He 70s were also delivered to Hungary between 1937 and 1938, although they were equipped with Gnome-Rhone 14K Mistral Major engines.

These Hungarian exports included a pair of 7.8mm Gebauer machine guns. When the flammability problem became known, the Hungarians also discontinued their smaller He 70 until Germany was able to offer a more modern product.

The British company Rolls-Royce purchased at least one He 70G to be used as a sort of flying laboratory while testing different engines. The cabin on the He 70 serves this purpose well, allowing engineers and equipment to stay onboard and monitor flight performance in real time.

Purchased through RLM in exchange for four Kestrel engines.

Another wartime design by Heinkel, better known as the He 111 medium bomber, was derived from the He 70 experience. Looking at the two designs side-by-side, the similarities are apparent, especially the oval plane, which differs from the bomber used by the Junkers and Dornier developed at the same time.

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