Heinkel He 112

History of Heinkel He 112

The Heinkel He 112 was the only serious threat (besides the Messerschmitt Bf 109), which would be the first modern monoplane in service in Germany. The aircraft showed potential from the start, but was ultimately developed too late to be considered by the RLM, and the Bf 109 made the right impression at the right time. With the UK already under contract with Supermarine to mass-produce the Spitfire, Germany felt an urgent need to modernize and move forward with the life-cycle development of their most promising design, the Bf 109. The airframe was used in many rocket propulsion tests and by the end of its development run proved to be a better aircraft than it had begun.

The system was exported to a handful of axle-friendly countries, produced in limited numbers, and disappeared as silently as it seemed.

The He 112 draft came in 1934 just in time for a tiebreaker with the Messerschmitt, Arado and Focke-Wulf drafts. Tests took place in the spring of 1935, and the Messerschmitt and Heinkel types came out on top. The Heinkel He 112 was developed from the Heinkel He 70 four-seater airliner, which is an important footnote in itself, as the development of the He 70 forced the Heinkel company to develop new design and manufacturing methods for modern aircraft.

The original He 112 system was actually powered by a 695-horsepower Rolls-Royce Kestrel Mk IIS engine, as the expected Junkers Jumo 210 series has yet to hit the market. The first demonstration of the He 112 V1 prototype showed that its massive wings created significant drag. Therefore, the V2 was designed with thin wings that were "sniped off".

The V3 arrived quickly, with a few small changes, most notably the enclosed cockpit.

Trials between He 112 and Bf 109 continued in 1935, but ended in 1936 when the Messerschmitt product went into full production. Nonetheless, development of the He 112 continued, attracting a large number of potential export customers.

With fewer than 100 He 112s produced in total, overall sales in the export market never really materialized.

Despite the development effort, the He 112 program has nothing to show other than a large number of development prototype models. Inevitably, the He 112A series became the first mass-produced fighter, but it was followed by the completely redesigned and refined He 112B series.

The B model is known for its foam roof, which itself is a big improvement over the standard "frame" design. While useful to fighter pilots, this particular bubble cover was quite complex and was divided into three separate parts instead of the two-piece canopy later seen on Mustangs and Spitfires.

With two 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns cleverly mounted on either side of the fairing and two additional 20mm MG FF cannons on the wings, the armament is impressive.

The He 112 airframe was used extensively for rocket propulsion testing, during which several prototypes crashed and were miraculously rebuilt. Outside of its years of development, the system actually served in some limited battles with the Condor Legion.

A total of 30 were shipped to the Japanese Navy, but were used for pilot training. While the Bf 109 achieved mythical status in global conflicts, the He 112's promising but unrealized design became a footnote to World War II aircraft design.

Regardless, it's a promising endeavor, and one that will likely provide much-needed experience for advancing Germany's rocket research program.

Picky aviation enthusiasts will notice the similarities between the wing and nose design to the British Hurricane Hawke.

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