Heinkel’s Failed Rival To The Bf 109 | The He 112 [Historical Deep-Dive]

The Heinkel He-112 was a sleek elliptical-winged aircraft developed in the mid-to-late 1930s. It could have been Germany's frontline fighter at the start of World War II had it not lost out to the BF mail gauntlet -109. However, it still has a the prototypes. I would eventually see combat and mixing up all the relevant information would be too confusing if I wanted to cover this from a purely chronological perspective. Also, quite a bit of research went into the production of this particular video and that's why it's a little longer. than usual, today's video is also very kindly sponsored by Blinkist, which is an app that I have personally used for just over a year, it is a great tool to expand your knowledge in a short period of time and I have learned a lot about productivity and time management using it Blinkist takes the best selection of non-fiction books, extracts all the key points and puts them into 15-minute text and audio explanations called Blinks, these easy-to-access bite-size bits of information mean you can learn in home or If you travel frequently like me, you can download them and listen to them while you are away.

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Thanks to Blinkist for sponsoring today's video and now back to the HG-112 In October 1933, the newly appointed Reich Minister of Aviation Hermann Goering wrote a letter to German aviation manufacturers expressing the need for a Ultra-fast courier coupled with a veiled suggestion to replace the word courier with fighter when the rest of Europe was unwatched, this letter was reinforced in 1934 when the Reichare Ministry quietly issued a specification for a single-seat fighter to replace the aging Heinkel 51 and Errado biplanes. 68. This specification was issued to select manufacturers including Heinkel Wolf and Dorado. Willie Messerschmitt's design joined the competition later and the development of that prototype will definitely be covered in its own video.

Meanwhile, all manufacturers would eventually receive a contract to produce three aircraft prototypes each, so the race was run to the rlm specification which required a single seat, single engine. -metal monoplane that could reach 400 kilometers per hour at an altitude of 4,000 meters the design work at

heinkel

was created by the brothers volta and secrete gunter the design work had already started in 1933 after goring's initial letter and then was upgraded to According to the new specification, the v1 prototype of their aircraft, now designated the Heinkel 112, was completed on 1 September 1935, less than 18 months after the initial contract was issued.

The design was inspired by the Heinkel He70, nicknamed the Blitz and recently covered in this. channel and retained many of its design features, notably the inverted gull wing, like the previous design, it had a monocoque fuselage with an oval cross section and both the wings and fuselage were constructed of line-to-dural alloys, its undercarriage The retractable landing gear had a wide track and Combined with the open cockpit, it was expected to have good ground handling characteristics. It was designed to be powered by Juncker's Jumo 210 engine, but these were not available at the time of its completion and the V-1 prototype was completed with a Rolls-Royce Kestrel.

Instead, initial test flights of the V-1 prototype began shortly after its completion. Heinkel's chief test pilot was generally satisfied with its handling, but it was noted that the overall drag of the fuselage was considerably greater than expected. Concerns about its maneuverability compared to the competition were also highlighted by the large span and

deep

chord of the wings, being considerably larger than any of the other competing prototypes, but the overall performance of the prototype still met and even It exceeded the official specifications, so it was sent for further evaluation after reviewing the initial test results. On test flights it was agreed that the large, thick profile wing had to be changed, so near the end of its construction, the wing of the v2 prototype was redesigned, the tips trimmed and the wing track straightened.

These changes technically placed the wing loading above the thresholds. of the specification but only by 0.05 kilos and this discrepancy was ignored in a flagrant violation of German precision. The V2 competed in tests against the new BF-109 prototype presented by Willie Messerschmitt. At this stage the 109 was considered the outlier with

heinkel

being the clear favorite Messerschmitt who at the time was working for bavarian aircraft factories or bfw for short, had given their fighter the slimmest fuselage possible and this resulted in a tight, cramped cockpit offering minimal headroom, The aircraft's steep ground attitude combined with poor forward visibility, a hinged canopy that made it difficult to look to the side, and narrow-track landing gear gave the 109 incredibly poor ground handling characteristics that would hardly make that the test pilots would appreciate it;

However, things were slowly starting to go against Heinkel in March 1936. The v2 prototype was severely damaged in an accident and was hastily sent back to its Rostock facility for repairs. These were completed in record time, but fate was apparently in a bad mood and the newly repaired prototype was destroyed in another accident the following month. A serious setback was not fatal as Heinkel had already completed its third prototype in January, this aircraft incorporated the last modifications made to the v2 before its accident and, in addition, the radiator had been redesigned, the tail surface was enlarged and He was given a closed space. cockpit, it was also the first prototype to feature enclosure fairings for the intended armament, which at the time would have been three mounted 7.9-millimeter MG17 machine guns.

In early 1937, the v3 was assigned to rocket engine experiments and, since 1930s rocket technology was as volatile as a honey badger deprived of slush it was no surprise when the experimental engine exploded and destroyed partially the aircraft the repeated design changes the accidents and the occasional unplanned explosion had a somewhat negative effect on the members of the rlm commission in early 1937 were already considering the BF-109 as the new favorite and a document in one of Their meetings titled Priority Acquisition of the BF109 made a clear indication of their opinion. Despite this worrying development, flight testing for the Heinkel prototypes continued at Richland.

This was mainly due to some influential members of the commission who personally supported Heinkel and his designs, as a result of his perseverance, both BFW and Heinkel would receive production orders for 15 so-called zero series aircraft and this led to Heinkel 112a of the Heinkel series having already begun construction of additional aircraft. plane before starting the new a series, so the first plane to be completed under a new contract would be the v4 prototype. This aircraft was equipped with the most powerful jumo 210da engine, was equipped with a two-stage supercharger and produced 690 horsepower. On takeoff, apart from once again having an open cockpit, the v4 was almost identical to the v3 before it exploded and received favorable reviews during its initial test flights, but before taking a closer look at the a series in general , we will explore the role of the 112 in the development of rocket-powered aircraft as such a role is not insignificant in 1936 the work of dr. vernon von braun on liquid fuel rocket engines had reached the point where test aircraft were needed ernst heinkel was a strong supporter of new ideas that promised advances in technology, so he offered to donate a pair of older Heinkels as test benches, these being an AG-72 and an AG-56.

Eventually, as these experiments progressed and advanced, the need arose for a more advanced high-speed aircraft and again Heinkel offered. The first 112 to be donated for rocket experiments was model 0-1 of the new A series. The tank Liquid oxygen tank was installed in front of the cockpit and the methyl alcohol tank was installed behind the pilot's seat, with the rocket motor itself. Unfortunately, mounted in the rear of the fuselage, during one of the first unmanned tests, the remotely launched rocket exploded upon ignition and completely destroyed the aircraft. Undeterred, Heinkel donated another 112, this time the v3 prototype, before testing began, had an enlarged tail and fin. and the horizontal stabilizer were reinforced against the expected thrust of the rocket motor.

This time the static tests were successful and after several of them were completed, the rocket-powered 112 was prepared for its first flight. Eric Varsits, a former test pilot from Richland, was assigned to this dangerous task as a safety precaution, the plane's jumo engine was started first and when it was running warm, the rocket engine ignited immediately, the plane exploded and The Jumo engine was launched high into the air, but miraculously and against all odds, Varsits was thrown out of the explosion and left with only minor injuries. Again, von Braun was unfazed and when he made a request for a third plane, Heinkel sent the v8 prototype which, by the way, would be the last of the a series before things moved on to the b series, a topic we will address. watch shortly To avoid a repeat of previous failures, a more cautious approach was taken with rocket testing in the v8;

The first tests were carried out with half fuel load and then a test flight with the aircraft flying on traditional engine power only after this. A second flight was carried out with the V8 climbing to 2600 feet on the engine power taps, then shutting down the engine and firing the rocket motor, probably not without some anxiety, but this time it worked and after 30 seconds of burning , the plane had accelerated to 460 kilometers per hour, this was the first time that an aircraft was propelled into the air solely by the power of a liquid fuel rocket engine. Following this, several other test flights were performed with various fuel loads, all of which were performed with university students at the controls.

Eventually, this progressed to takeoffs with the 112 with piston and rocket propulsion and finally, Vasets made the first fully rocket-powered flight in August 1937. Takeoff and flight under rocket propulsion before descending for a safe landing were also performed. They carried out rocket tests. The engines developed by Helmuth Volta and indeed Varsits came to prefer this to von Braun's designs for safety reasons. Volta rockets used hydrogen peroxide and calcium permanganate as a catalyst. This resulted in a chemical reaction that produced thrust in the form of hot vapors rather than direct. combustion As a result of this, most subsequent rocket-powered 112 flights would use the Volta engine.

All of these rocket experiments would culminate in the development of the HE-176, an experimental rocket-powered fighter that first flew in 1939 again with varsits in the controls, however, little is known about this particular aircraft and the project behind it. surrounds, since most of the documents related to him were destroyed during World War II. Now that the rocket experiment is out of the way, we will continue looking at regular He-112s in July. 1936 the v5 and v6 prototypes were completed, both modified to meet the new a0 standards, like the v4. The fifth prototype was also powered by the more advanced Jumo 210 da and had two machine guns.mounted on the fuselage.

In late spring 1937 this prototype was presented. For an Imperial Japanese Navy delegation that would eventually purchase the airframe, the V6 prototype was completed as a replacement for the straight V2 model and was intended to be the model aircraft for the planned Zero series. It was powered by the jumo 210c. This engine and power plant would become the standard engine for the HE-112A and B series. It also featured a revised radiator casing that was more aerodynamic than previous models and, like the v4 and v5, also had reduced tail surfaces for improvement. As concerns over the development of the BF-109 began to take hold, Heinkel needed to draw greater attention to its fighter program and so offered the EV6 prototype to the Ministry of Aviation as a test bed for the development of a new concept. of airplaine. armament the cannon armed fighter this offer was eventually accepted and the v6 was modified to a specification that required carrying a 20 millimeter rheinmetall borsig cannon mounted on the engine the ministry was eager to evaluate this new weapons system and hence the v6 prototype Modified was deployed in Spain for use with the Nationalist forces there in December 1936, but more on that particular aircraft, the final prototype of the A series was later completed, the V8, for various testing purposes, was equipped with an upgraded version of the daimler-benz db600a left 910 horsepower for takeoff initially designed to test the engine cooling system, the plane was later modified to be rocket propelled as mentioned before, it survived these tests unlike the poor v3 and would be converted back to a traditional power plant before being shipped as well.

Traveling to Spain for combat evaluation, employment of the A-series 112 overall was especially varied as Heinkel attempted to gain as much exposure as possible for its aircraft. The first aircraft built, the A01, was intended to become the prototype Ag-112 C0, which was a proposed transport aircraft for Craig's envisioned and ultimately fantastic sea transport fleet, as mentioned before, this aircraft met a quick and spectacular end, courtesy of a rocket engine explosion, the A02 was sent to Rachlin in June 1936 to participate in formal evaluation flights for the series and thus avoided the fate of exploding or crashing, much to the relief From the pilot, the A03 was used as a demonstration aircraft at exhibitions in Switzerland and Milan before it was also hauled away for rocket experiments and Heinkel retained the A04 for further development.

Evaluations Production of the A series was curtailed when Heinkel began to hear rumors that the Ministry of Aviation was heavily favoring the Messerschmitt BF-109, although this was a worrying fact, he remained confident and determined to continue development of the He-112 at the same time. He realized that substantial changes were needed to improve its capabilities and keep the aircraft competitive, so the remaining pre-production models still under construction were completed, but then work changed to a new, more advanced version of the 112. This The new HE112 series featured so many changes that it should deserve its own designation, but Heinkel insisted on keeping it under the existing title.

The first of the B series was not the most radical, but it still had some notable changes. It featured a completely redesigned fuselage and tail. air intakes in the engine cover and a new closed cockpit the first fuselage was known as the HE-112 V7 and was launched in October 1936 with test flights taking place until April 1937. The first fuselage that represented the transition to an almost complete redesign was the v9 in essence, it was a completely new aircraft, new wing, new fuselage, new tail, hardly anything left of the old one, you could find a series unlike the previous models that could be described as having an un- Uneventful, this was an elegant looking fighter.

Attention was paid to streamlining and both the fuselage and wings were covered with stretched skin and riveted flush. The old fixed radiator bath was replaced by a semi-retractable unit which was mounted under the fuselage and a smaller but more efficient elliptical wing was adopted. The v9 was powered by the Junckers Jumo 210 EA, which gave a maximum power of 680 horsepower at takeoff and propelled a three-bladed variable pitch propeller that allowed a maximum speed of 485 kilometers per hour at 4,000 meters, which of In fact it was faster than the BF-109 B2 series, the V9 also had superior armament, with a pair of 7.9 millimeter machine guns mounted in the fuselage and two 20 millimeter cannons mounted in the wings, unfortunately, despite the enormous improvements, a decision had already been made that would seal his fate, in fact, this decision had been made.

By mid-1936 it was not the ministry's attention to River, but within the inner circles of Hitler's government, pressed for time to achieve their political goals, they had favored Willie Meschersmit's design with the unfortunate task of breaking the news to Heinkel. It fell to Ernst Udette, a personal friend of Heinkel's who had recently been appointed head of the Luftwaffe's technical office, to say that Heinkel was disappointed would be an understatement. He argued that the redesigned He-112 was superior to the BF-109b in several aspects: it was 40 kilometers per hour faster it was more maneuverable it had a better rate of climb it was more resistant it had better weapons and it was not a nightmare to handle on the ground all of this It was more or less true, however, Udette admitted that the Heinkel was better in some ways than the Messerschmitt.

He didn't see much point in taking up valuable production capacity by building two fighters designed for the same role. He also featured points that Luftwaffe pilots had found the 109's deficiencies an acceptable price to pay for its performance and that with its elliptical wings the He-112 was difficult and expensive to manufacture, while the 109 had been designed from the beginning for rapid production. At the end of their meeting, he attempted to appease the bitterly disappointed Heinkel by suggesting that exports of his fighter were welcome and that permission would be granted for any number. of export licenses if he could find clients desperate to try to salvage something from this disaster and try to prove that his fight was still superior.

Heinkel took Udet at its word and subsequently began an extensive international sales campaign to ensure that it served 112. In various places, the first customers were soon knocking on the door and although the prototypes were flying through the skies of Spain, the first customer of He-112 export would be Japan upon seeing the v9 prototype during its demonstration flights on The Japanese delegation placed an order for 30 He-112BS. They needed a fast interceptor capable of combating the new Soviet aircraft in the skies over China, particularly bombers, and this well-armed machine would be well suited to the task. The first four models left Germany. for Japan in December 1937 and during the following year the 30 aircraft would be delivered, immediately after the Japanese delegation arrived, the Austrians placed an even larger order for a total of 42 units in November 1937.

However, in 1938 this order was reduced to 36 units. due to lack of money and in the end these fighters did not even reach austria as the country was absorbed by the third reich after the angelus of march 1938, this left heinkel in a bind as the large order for fighter production Suddenly found itself without funding or a customer, but then a new customer arrived: Spain. Impressed by the excellent performance of the three prototypes that had been sent to them, the Spanish air force placed an initial order for 12 Heinkel 112s and the order was subsequently increased. to 18. two of them were immediately available and were sent to Spain on the spot, followed by the rest during the first half of 1939, at the same time as this one was mounted on the V9 prototype along with two other He-112Bs on an aircraft European. sales tour one of the first countries to see the new aircraft was finland during the spring of 1938 a finnish flight officer was sent to germany to have first hand experience with the he-112 and in may of that year production began The model of the plane was sent to an exhibition in Finland.

The 112 was tested by several Finnish pilots, all of whom reviewed it favorably. However, the aircraft was ultimately rejected because the Finnish air force had already placed an order for the Fokker D21 and they could not. Save the funds for a second purchase. Another sales disappointment came in the Netherlands, who ultimately chose the Koolhoven FK 58 and the Hawker Hurricane and then in Switzerland, the He-112 was ignored in favor of the BF-109, much to the frustration of Heinkel. After Heinkel's fortunes improved when Romania expressed interest in its aircraft surrounded by hostile countries, Romania was eager for all the fighter aircraft it could get its hands on and as a result an order for 24 aircraft was placed in April 1939, this would eventually grow. 30 aircraft with all of them were delivered between June and October of that year.

Orders were also made to Hungary who expressed interest in purchasing a license to build the 112 in the country, however this was ultimately rejected and the Hungarians eventually turned to Italy for their fighter needs, although none of them. Their efforts achieved the great success Heinkel hoped for, as the 112 never entered large-scale production. The few fighters that were built enjoyed a very active and sometimes very long service life. With that in mind, we'll now take a brief look at that. Beginning with Japan, the v5 prototype of the 112 entered the inventory of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the fall of 1937.

Contrary to some sources, there does not appear to be any official record of He-112s ever seeing operational use over the skies of China. , regardless of how they were assigned. sent to the ijn air arsenal for evaluation, these tests included comparison flights with all similar aircraft types currently deployed by the navy compared to the navy's current frontline fighter, the a5m2, the 112 proved to be 65 kilometers faster, the rate of climb was almost identical, but the maneuverability of the Heinkel was inferior to the Mitsubishi. This was a decisive mark against Japan, which favored the Heinkel for large-scale use, since Japanese air doctrine placed almost obsessive importance on maneuverability.

They didn't really like the engine either. The 12-cylinder Jumo was considered liquid-cooled. inferior compared to air-cooled radials due to its complexity and reliability, so as a result of these tests, the final report concluded that the Heinkel was not the right choice for a front-line fighter and the testing body advised against Further orders were placed after the existing delivery of 30 aircraft was completed, the last of these arriving at the end of 1938. Some were assigned to various research institutes as demonstration aircraft representing the latest in German technology, while the remaining units They were assigned to the military for use as trainers and teaching. aid in spain the he-112 would see more active use along with the BF-109 prototypes the 112 v6 was sent to spain in december 1936. as mentioned above this aircraft was equipped with a 20 millimeter rimmed metal borsik cannon To test the effectiveness of such weaponry on fighter aircraft, the V6, along with the newly arrived Ju-87 and HS123, undertook ground attack missions against various Republican targets, such as armored vehicles, lightly fortified positions and artillery emplacements.

Many pilots volunteered to fly the experimental fighter, but only a few were approved to do so. Do it, those lucky enough to be qualified unanimously praised the aircraft's performance, its handling and its weapon. A notable example of the effectiveness of this weapon occurred on March 16, 1937. Lieutenant Wilhelm Balthazar was a new flight officer and relatively inexperienced in his flying time. He was mainly as an observer flight officer on the He-45 biplane and was stuck at Almarach airfield after an emergency landing while sitting in the commanding officer's office a report came in about an approaching Republican armored train and the Fighters immediately rushed to attack.

Balthazar saw the V-6 sitting on the edge of the airfield apparently without a pilot and then managed to convince the airfield commander that he was actually an experienced Heinkel pilot and asked for permission to fly the V6 on the attack mission against the train. that permissions had been granted and after a moment of silence to discover the new cabin, Balthazar took off and quickly caught up with the slower fighters, they attacked the train when it was stopped at a train station and on his third pass, Balthazar scored a direct impact with the 20 millimeter cannon that detonated the ammunition cart caused secondary explosions that destroyed the target and a good part of the train station athis return to base.

Balthazar also engaged and set fire to a Republican tank again, courtesy of the 20 millimeter cannon he was given. He received a warm welcome upon his return and, despite lying through his teeth about his experience, was given command of an experimental fighter unit consisting of three AG45CS and the V6 prototype, the V6 would continue to be used throughout the first half of 1937. However, luck ran out. On July 19, when he was aborted in a forced landing after his engine stalled, the pilot survived, but the fuselage had nearly torn in two on impact. In the spring of 1938, two other prototypes were sent to Spain for field testing.

The V8 and V9 prototypes were part of the pre-production models of the series. The V8's operational career was brief. It performed a series of experimental flights but was then severely damaged during an emergency landing. The repairs took several months to complete and after a A few more experimental flights closer to the end of the year he was sent back to Germany. The V9 performed well and fared better in part thanks to radical design changes that separated it from previous models similar to its predecessors. She was assigned the ground attack role and did this with admiration and earned high praise from Harrow Harder, an experienced Luftwaffe pilot.

Once its task was completed, the V9 was also sent back to Germany, where it was used as a demonstrator by Heinkel to attract foreign customers. Following positive reports from Spanish pilots who flew the 112 prototype, the Nationalist government decided to purchase several production aircraft. Once the first batch of aircraft was assembled and tested in Germany, the training of Spanish pilots began. This began in Germany and was then completed in Spain with the ar

rival

of the first seven. In January 1939, in the middle of the year, the number of 112 Bees in Spanish service had increased to 19. Occasionally, during the civil war, the 112 collided with Soviet-supplied I-16s.

They had a decided advantage over the previous models, however, the i-16 series 10 with a more powerful engine and heavier armament would have been a more difficult engagement, although there does not appear to be any official record of the two aircraft facing each other. during the final periods of the civil war. The Heinkels saw little along the way. of air combat, this was partly due to the absence of Republican fighters in some theaters and partly because, to Ernst Heikel's irritation, some Spanish squadrons were being re-equipped with the BF-109B and 109E, although they did see use. in tactical reconnaissance and on the ground. attack missions and were used in both these roles during the battle of Madrid shortly after the cessation of hostilities the national air force underwent a profound reorganization and on July 13 the AG-112 were sent to Spanish Morocco as part of a new mission to protect Spanish neutrality with the Allied landings of Operation Torch in 1942.

A tense period between Spain and the Allies began with frequent violations of Spanish airspace. During this tense period, HC-112s encountered Allied aircraft, including RAF Spitfires stationed at Gibraltar. , but no major combat occurred there was a notable incident in March 1943 when an He-112 intercepted and fired on a formation of P-38 Lightnings one of the American aircraft was shot down with damage and the incident could have had serious consequences if would have had very quick diplomacy and would not have covered it up. In the last years of the Second World War, the Spanish Hinkles barely saw any use due to lack of fuel, fatigue of the fuselage or excessively worn engines, the condition of the engines worsened so much that They often

failed

in mid-air, leading to numerous dead landings and in the end In 1947 there were almost no 112 airworthy models left, however, one or two airworthy models were recorded until 1952, when their racing career 14 years finally came to an end.

Hungary should have been the next major operator of the 112, but politics intervened. Shortly after orders for Japan and Spain were completed, Hungary and Romania approached Germany with requests for the 112. As Romania ranked higher among the German leaders due to its oil and grain resources, they received priority soon after. From this, the Hungarian government believed that their orders would be delayed indefinitely, so they inquired about the possibility of producing high-level fighters under license while this negotiation was taking place, three sample aircraft would be delivered over the course of 1939, all of which were versions of the HE-112B, all three were assigned to the Aeronautical Research Institute where they participated in comparative tests against several aircraft in Hungarian service.

In August 1939, the commander-in-chief of the National Defense Air Force, following the Reports on the 112's performance recommended it as the standard fighter for Hungary, however, negotiations with Germany over a production license had reached a dead end by the end of September and with the war against Poland now underway, the rlm banned the export of any model of aircraft or any engine and that put an end to that particular line of research as a result of this. A national fighter project based largely on the He-112 was started. This project would eventually lead to the development of the wm23, also known as the Silver Arrow.

Unfortunately, just before production models were ordered, the sole prototype was destroyed in an accident during a high-speed test flight and, with the exception of one or two illustrations, almost nothing of its history survived. to the war. The He-112s operated by Romanians would be the most active. Germany made considerable efforts to attract Romania to its side, including promising future deliveries. of the BF-109 and the immediate shipment of 24 He-112 already available, this aircraft was no stranger to Romanian pilots as they had extensively tested one of the prototypes in 1938 and the German offer was accepted and the aircraft was delivered as He - 112e later, the order for 24 aircraft was increased to 30 and immediately after their ar

rival

, the Heinkels were painted with the Romanian circles of red, yellow and blue and hurriedly put into service and the first aircraft became operational on July 14, 1939.

Training flights lasted until the spring of 1940. In the meantime, comparison tests were carried out with the recently completed prototype of the locally built iar80. The results of these tests declared that the iar was superior due to its more powerful engine and better load handling during high-speed aerobatics; However, the Heinkel was the easiest aircraft for the average pilot to fly and was especially easy to handle during takeoff and landing. That said, when the war with Russia began with Operation Barbarossa, the Heikel's role as a fighter was severely restricted in favor of the new IAR80 and, although its powerful armament of two cannons and two machine guns combined with small bombs was effective against ground targets it did not.

The lack of adequate armor around the engine cabin and fuel tanks combined with insufficient low-level attack training for the pilots and the frequency of three combat missions per day soon led to Heavy losses after initial attacks on the first Soviet airfields were completed at dawn, the enemy was soon on alert and numerous He112s were lost after being attacked at low altitude by fighters. They were quick to intercept them despite suffering losses, He112 pilots maintained a good liking for the aircraft throughout the war and much of this was due to its ease of use on the ground, often at airfields of questionable quality, an official report written in August 1941 gave the Heinkel a more mixed review, from which I will quote roughly here: The clumsy hg112e powered by a jumo 210 engine proved unsuitable for air battles due to its low horizontal speed, insufficient climbing capacity and lack of maneuverability compared to modern aircraft found.

However, its diving speed, which could be reached very quickly, was adequate. The ability to carry six 12-kilogram bombs was useful and could also be used successfully in low-level attacks if the fuel tanks and pilot's seat had been protected by armor. The great human losses suffered. In this type of missions, the equipped weapons could have been avoided, consisting of a practical combination of cannons and heavy machine guns. The ammunition used was also sufficient both numerically and in terms of firepower. However, it was totally inadequate. There were several occasions in which that tracer bullets fired from their own cannons and machine guns indicated to the pilot that all had reached the target without causing its destruction.

After a year of continuous service, nine He-112s had been lost in combat and of the 19 theoretically remaining at least eight They were not fit to fly and were stationary. in repair depots, these units would be pressed into service once again after the 1944 coup, although few would survive until the end of the war; those that did would end up in storage and their final flights would take place in the summer of 1946, when they were flown to an old airfield to wait their turn in the scrapyard, when it saw actual full-scale combat, the AG-112 It was beginning to show its age, however, in the early stages of World War II, during the fighting in the sky. over Poland, France and the English Channel, it could have flown without causing embarrassment.

That said, it likely would have been held back by its own design, as Ernst Udette himself had said that the BF-109 was easier to produce in quantities and when it comes to waging war on an industrial scale, the numbers They play an important role in deciding the outcome, of course other things come into play, like how much time, money and faith is invested in the radar for example, but the numbers still count for a lot, and that concludes this video about He112, as always, thank you so much for watching and of course an even bigger thank you to the sponsors with a special thanks to Deliado Kevin Bain and Facebook for their support as Wing Commander tier sponsors.

Thank you very much to everyone and me. I'll catch you all next time, bye.