Heinkel He 111

During the war, test pilot [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] evaluated many Luftwaffe aircraft.

Among them was a He 111H-1 of Kampfgeschwader 26 which force landed at the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] on 9 February 1940.

Brown described his impression of the He 111s unique greenhouse nose:

The overall impression of space within the cockpit area and the great degree of visual sighting afforded by the Plexiglas panelling were regarded as positive factors, with one important provision in relation to weather conditions.

Should either bright sunshine or rainstorms be encountered, the pilot's visibility could be dangerously compromised either by glare throwback or lack of good sighting.

Taxiing was easy and was only complicated by rain, when the pilot had to slide back the window panel and look out to establish direction.
On take off, Brown reported very little "swing" and the aircraft was well balanced.

On landing, Brown noted that approach speed should be above 145 km/h (90 mph) and should be held until touch down.
This was to avoid a tendency by the He 111 to drop a wing, especially on the port side.

Competition


In the mid-1930s, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] competed with Heinkel for RLM contracts.

The main competitor to the Heinkel was the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

In 1935, comparison trials were undertaken with the He 111. At this point, the Heinkel was equipped with two
BMW V1 engines while Ju 86A was equipped with two [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], both of which had 492 kW (660 hp).

The He 111 had a slightly heavier takeoff weight of 8,220 kg (18,120 lb) compared to the Ju 86's 8,000 kg (17,640 lb) and the maximum speed of both aircraft was 311 km/h (193 mph).

However the Ju 86 had a higher cruising speed of 177 mph, 9 mph faster than the He 111.

This stalemate was altered drastically by the appearance of the DB 600C, which increased the He 111's power by
164 kW (220 hp).

The RLM awarded both contracts, and Junkers sped up development and production at a breathtaking pace, but the
financial expenditure for the Junkers was huge. In 1934-1935, 3,800,000 RM (4½% of annual turnover) was spent.

The Ju 86 appeared at a large amount of flight displays all over the world which helped sales to the RLM and abroad.

Dornier, also currently competing with their [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], and Heinkel were not as successful. However in production terms the He 111 dominated with 8,000 examples produced.

Just 846 Ju 86s were produced, and the Ju 86's weak performance could not match that of the He 111.

Having dropped out of the race, Junkers concentrated on the Junkers Ju 88 design. It would be the He 111 that
entered the Luftwaffe as the dominant numerical type at the beginning of the Second World War.

In view of this disaster [failure of the Ju 86], it was understandable that the Luftwaffe encouraged with particular urgency and attention conversion of the He 111 into a standard bomber.

This was pursued in a similar manner to the Ju 86.

Three machine-gun stands were installed that, spacewise, were more favourable, especially when the entire fuselage nose, including the cockpit, was later expanded to make provision for an all-round-vision canopy.

Nobody sang praises to my fast commercial aircraft, something that eventually happened.

----------------Lien actif :

—[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The sheep; Early civilian variants


He 111C


The first prototype, He 111 V1 (W.Nr. 713, D-ADAP), first flew from [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-Marienehe on 24 February 1935.

It was followed by the civilian-equipped V2 and V4 in May 1935.

The V2 (W.Nr. 715, D-ALIX) used the bomb bay as a four-seat "smoking compartment", with another six seats behind it in the rear fuselage.

V2 entered service with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in 1936, along with six other newly-built versions known as the He 111 C.

The He 111V4 was unveiled to the foreign press on 10 January 1936.

Nazi propaganda inflated the performance of the He 111C, announcing its maximum speed as 400 km/h (249 mph), in reality its performance standing at 360 km/h (224 mph).

The He 111C-0 was a commercial version and took the form of the V4 prototpye design.

The first machine, designated D-AHAO "Dresden".

It was powered by the BMW VI engine and could manage a range (depending on the fuel capacity) of 1,000 km
(621 mi) to 2,200 km (1,367 mi) and a maximum speed of 310 km/h (193 mph).

The wing span on the C series was 22.6m (74 ft 1¾in).

The fuselage dimesions stood at 17.1m (56 ft 1¾in) in the He 111V1, but changed in the C to 17.5m (57 ft 5in).

The Jumo 205 diesel-type powerplant engine replaced the BMW VI.

Nevertheless, the maximum speed remained in the 220–240 km/h (137-149 mph) bracket.

This was increased slightly when the BMW 132 engines were introduced.

A general problem existed in powerplants. The He 111 was equipped with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-cooled engines.

The German aviation industry lacked powerplants that could give an output more than 600[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The engines that were of suitable quality were kept for military use, frustrating German airline Lufthansa and forcing it to rely on the BMW VI or 132s.

Un He 111 C, très "civilisé" !

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He 111G


The He 111G was an upgraded variant and had a number of differences to its predecessors.

To simplify production the leading edge of the wing was straightened, like the bomber version.

Quite a few different engine types were used, among them the BMW 132, BMW VI, DB 600 and DB601A.

Some C variants had been upgraded with the new wing modifications.

A new BMW 132H engine was also used in a so-called Einheitstriebwerk (unitary powerplant).

These radial engines were used in the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The wing units and engines were packed together as complete operating systems, allowing for a quick change of
engine.

The He 111G was the most powerful as well as the fastest commercial version.

The G-0 was given the BMW VI 6.0 ZU.

Later variants had their powerplants vary.

The G-3 for example was equipped with the BMW 132.

The G-4 was powered by DB600G inline 950 hp engine and the G-5 was given the DB601A with a top speed of
410 km/h (255 mph).
By early 1937, eight G variants were in Lufthansa service.

The maximum number of He 111s in Lufthansa service was 12.

The He 111 operated all over Europe and flew flights as far away as [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. Commercial development ended with
the He 111G.

Basic design (based on the He 111 H-3)


The design of the He 111A-L initially had a conventional stepped [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The introduction of the P variant meant that the He 111P and following production variants would be fitted with a fully
glazed "bullet" or "fishbowl"-like nose.

The stepped cockpit now merged into the glazed nose which housed the pilot, bombardier, and navigator.

The fuselage contained two major bulkheads.

The cockpit was at the front of the first bulkhead.

The nose was fitted with a rotating machine gun mount which was offset to allow the pilot a better field of forward vision.

The cockpit was fully glazed, with the exception of the lower right section, which acted as a platform for the
bombardier-gunner to be positioned.

The [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] penetrated through the cockpit floor into a protective housing on the external side of the cockpit area.

Between the forward and rear bulkhead was the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], which was constructed with a double-frame to strengthen it for carrying the bomb load.

The space between the bomb bay and rear bulkhead was used up by [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] equipment and contained the dorsal and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] positions.

The rear bulkhead itself contained a hatch which led to the rest of the fuselage which was held together by a series of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The wings' [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] were [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] back to a point inline with the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], while the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] were angled forward slightly.

The wing contained two 700 L (190 US gal) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] between the inner wing main [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], while at the head of the main spar the oil coolers were fitted. Between the outer spars, a second pair of reserve fuel tanks were located carrying an individual capacity of 910 L (240 US gal) of fuel.

The outer trailing edges were formed by the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and flaps, which were met by smooth wing tips which curved forward into the leading edge.

The outer leading edge sections were installed in the shape of a curved "strip nosed" [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], which was positioned ahead of the main spar.

Most of the interior ribs were not solid, with the exception of the ribs located between the rear main spar and the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

This was of solid construction, though even they had lighting holes.

The control systems also had some innovations.

The control column was centrally placed and the pilot sat on the port side of the cockpit.

The column had an extension arm fitted and had the ability to be swung over to the starboard side in case the pilot was incapacitated.

The control instruments [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] head in the ceiling which allowed viewing and did not block the pilot's vision.

The fuel instruments were electrified.

The He 111 used the inner fuel tanks closest to the wing root.

The outer tanks acted as reserve tanks.

The pilot would be alerted to the fuel level when the tank had 100 L (26 US gal) left.

A manual pump was available in case of electrical or power failure, but the delivery rate of just 4½ L (1.2 US gal) per minute demanded that the pilot fly at the lowest possible speed and just below 3,048 m (10,000 ft).

Fortunately, the He 111 handled well at low speeds.

The defensive [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] positions were located in the glass nose, the ventral, dorsal and lateral positions in the fuselage and all offered a significant [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The design of the nose allowed the machine gun position to be moved 10° upwards from the horizontal and 15°
downwards.

The gun can also traverse some 30° laterally.

Both the dorsal and ventral machine guns can move up and downwards by 65°.

The dorsal position can also move the 13 mm (.51 in) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 40° laterally, but the ventral 7.92 mm
(.312 in) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] could be moved 45° laterally.

Each MG 81 single machine gun mounted in the side of the fuselage could move laterally by 40°, and could move
upwards from the horizontal by 30° and downwards by 40°.

Military variants


He 111 A - D


The initial reports from the test pilot, Gerhard Nitschke, were favourable.

The plane's flight performance and handling were impressive although it dropped its wing in the stall.

As a result, the passenger variants had their wings reduced from 25 m (82 ft) to 23 m (75 ft).

The military aircraft - V1, V3 and V5 - spanned just 22.6 m (74.1 ft).

The first prototypes were underpowered, as they were equipped with 431 kW (578 hp) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 6.0 six-cylinder in-line engines.

This was eventually increased to 745 kW (999 hp) with the fitting of the DB ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]) 600 engines into the V5, which became the prototype of the "B" series.

Un BMW VI

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Only 10 He 111A-0 models based on the V3 were built, but they proved to be underpowered and were eventually sold to China.

The type had been lengthened by 1.2 m (3.9 ft) due to the added 7.92 mm (.312 in) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in the nose.

Another gun position was installed on top of the fuselage, and another in a ventral position, which could retract.

The bomb bay was divided into two compartments and could carry 680 kg (1,500 lb) of bombs.

The problem with these additions was that the weight of the aircraft reached 8,200 kg (18,080 lb).

The He 111's performance was seriously reduced; in particular, the BMW VI 6.0 Z engines were not now powerful enough.

The increased length also altered the 111's aerodynamic strengths and reduced its excellent handling on takeoffs and landings.

The crews found the aircraft difficult to fly, and its top speed was reduced significantly.

Production was shut down after the pilots reports reached the RLM. However, a Chinese delegation was visiting Germany and they considered the He 111 A-0 fit for their needs and purchased seven machines.

The first He 111B made its maiden flight in the autumn of 1936.

The first production batch rolled off the production lines that summer, at Rostock.

Seven B-0 pre-production aircraft were built, bearing the Werknummern (Works numbers) 1431 to 1437.

The B-0s were powered by DB 600C engines fitted with variable pitch airscrews.

The screws increased output by 149 kW (200 hp).

The B-0 had a MG 15 machine gun installed in the nose. The B-0 could also carry 1,500 kg (3,310 lb) in their vertical cells.

The B-1 had some minor improvements.

The installation of the revolving gun-mount in the nose and a flexible Ikaria [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] under the fuselage.

After improvements, the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (RLM- Reich Air Ministry) ordered 300 He 111B-1s; the first were delivered in January 1937.

The B-2 variant had its engines upgraded to the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 634 kW (850 hp) DB 600C, or in some cases, the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] 690 kW (925 hp) 600G.

The B-2 began to roll off the production lines at the Heinkel works in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in 1937.

The He 11B-3 was a modified trainer. Some 255 B-1s were ordered.

However, the production orders were impossible to fulfill and only 28 B-1s were built.

Owing to the production of the new He 111E, only a handful of He 111B-3s were produced.

Due to insufficient capacity, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] built the He 111B series at their plants in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

The B series compared favourably with the capacity of the A series.

The bomb load increased to 1,500 kg (3,300 lb), while there was also an increase in maximum speed and altitude
to 215 mph (344 km/hr) and 22,000 ft (6,700 m)^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}

The armament was settled at three machine gun positions. Save for the windshield, the dorsal gunner's position was exposed to the elements.

In late 1937, the D-1 series entered production. However, the DB 600Ga engine with 781 kW (1,047 hp) planned for this variant was instead allocated to the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] production lines.

Heinkel then opted to use Jumo engines, and the He 111 V6 was tested with Jumo 210 G engines, but was vastly
underpowered.

However, the improved 745 kW (999 hp) Jumo 211 A-1 powerplant prompted the cancellation of the D series altogether and concentration on the design of the E series.