Heinkel He 114

Heinkel He 114

Company type	Military reconnaissance seaplane
Industry	Aerospace
Founded	1930s
Headquarters	Germany
Products	Reconnaissance seaplanes

Template:Infobox aircraft

The Heinkel He 114 was a sesquiplane reconnaissance seaplane developed during the 1930s for deployment by the Kriegsmarine aboard naval vessels. Serving as a successor to the company's earlier He 60, it was eventually superseded by the Arado Ar 196, which became Germany's principal observation seaplane.

Design and development

The He 114 featured a conventional fuselage and flotation system, but distinguished itself with a sesquiplane wing configuration, characterized by a significantly smaller lower wing. The upper wing was mounted to the fuselage using cabane struts, while the lower wing maintained a reduced span yet retained a chord similar to that of the upper wing.

Operational history

In 1939, the German battleship Gneisenau is seen with a He 114 positioned on its catapult

The He 114 did not achieve notable success and was produced in limited quantities, with service in the Luftwaffe lasting only briefly. Whereas its predecessor, the He 60, exhibited excellent water handling but poor aerial agility, the He 114 struggled with unsatisfactory performance both afloat and in flight.

Romania received 24 units, with the last eight remaining operational until 1 May 1960. In July 1943, Spain acquired twelve aircraft across the A and C variants; these remained active until their retirement in 1954.

On 1 November 1939, Sweden placed an order for twelve B-1 variant aircraft, initially expected for delivery in December of that year but delayed until spring the following year. In April 1940, Sweden increased this order by twenty-four more units. However, Heinkel informed them that due to a German government embargo on military exports to Sweden, the original order would not be fulfilled. By the time this restriction was lifted, the initial twelve aircraft had already been absorbed into Luftwaffe service. Later in 1940, Germany offered to supply twelve aircraft to Sweden again; Sweden accepted, but this arrangement was soon canceled. Ultimately, in 1941, twelve used He 114s were delivered to Sweden disassembled in crates. After assembly and comprehensive refurbishment, they entered service at Roslagens flygflottilj (F2) in Hägernäs under the designation S 12 (with S indicating 'reconnaissance aircraft' in Swedish).

The hilfskreuzer Atlantis, Pinguin, and Widder were each outfitted with two He 114 aircraft. These planes played a vital role throughout their raiding missions during 1940-41 until they were either lost or became unserviceable. Some of these aircraft were substituted by Arado models delivered by supply vessels while the cruisers remained at sea.

Surviving aircraft

In 2012, divers uncovered the remains of a Heinkel 114 submerged in Lake Siutghiol, Romania. Alongside the Heinkel wreckage, parts of two additional seaplanes were found: a Blohm & Voss BV 138 (initially misidentified as a Savoia-Marchetti S.55) and a Junkers W 34 (which was located in 2013). These aircraft remnants were retrieved by divers from the Romanian Navy in October 2012 and are currently preserved at the National Museum of the Romanian Navy.

Variants

He 114A-0

Preliminary batch of 10 aircraft, each powered by a 656 kW (880 hp) BMW 132Dc engine.

He 114A-1

Training model equipped with a 656 kW (880 hp) BMW 132Dc engine, with 33 units produced.

He 114A-2

Primary production version designed for shipboard operations.

He 114B-1

Export variant derived from the He 114A-2, supplied to Sweden with 12 units built.

He 114B-2

Export model for Romania, with six aircraft constructed.

He 114B-3

Additional export batch for Romania, totaling 12 units.

He 114C-1

Biplane reconnaissance type used by the Luftwaffe, with 14 produced.

He 114C-2

Unarmed shipborne version intended for Kriegsmarine commerce raiders, four manufactured.

Operators

Germany

• Luftwaffe

Romania

• Royal Romanian Naval Aviation operated a fleet of 24 aircraft.
• Romanian Air Force utilized several examples until 1960.

Spain

• Spanish Air Force
• Spanish Navy

Sweden

• Swedish Air Force

References

Bibliography

• Axworthy, Mark (September–October 1999). "Flank Guard: Romania's Advance on Stalingrad, Part Two". Air Enthusiast (65): 72–75. ISSN 0143-5450.
• Cortet, Pierre (March 2000). "Rétros du Mois" [Retros of the Month]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (84): 7. ISSN 1243-8650.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Donald, David, editor. Warplanes of the Luftwaffe. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-874023-56-5.
• Muggenthaler, August K. (1977). Das waren Die Deutschen Hilfskreuzer 1939-1945. Bewaffnete Handelsschiffe im Einsatz (in Deutsch). Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 3-87943-261-9.
• Munson, Kenneth (1978). German Aircraft Of World War 2 in colour. Poole, Dorset, UK: Blandford Press. ISBN 0-7137-0860-3.
• Smith, J. R., and Anthony Kay. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam & Company, 1972. ISBN 0-370-00024-2.