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Heinkel He 51

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Heinkel
IndustryAerospace
Founded1922
FounderErnst Heinkel
Headquarters
Germany
ProductsAircraft


Template:Infobox aircraft

The Heinkel He 51 was a German single-seat biplane designed primarily as a fighter aircraft. Variants included a seaplane model and a version tailored for ground-attack missions. Its design evolved from the earlier He 49.

Design and development

In 1931, Heinkel enlisted the skilled aircraft designers, the Walter and Siegfried Günter. Their initial major project for Heinkel was the Heinkel He 49.[1] Although it was officially classified as an advanced trainer,[2] its true purpose was as a fighter aircraft.[1]

The aircraft was commissioned for production by the then-secret Luftwaffe under the designation He 51, with the first prototype taking flight in May 1933.[3] Deliveries commenced in July of the following year.[3]

The He 51 featured a traditional single-bay biplane layout, constructed entirely of metal with fabric covering. It was powered by a glycol-cooled BMW VI engine and armed with two 7.92 mm (0.312 in) machine guns positioned above the engine.Template:Fix/category[citation needed]

Intended to supplant the earlier Arado Ar 65, the He 51 operated alongside the slightly newer Arado Ar 68. However, it became outdated even before entering active service. Following an initial production run of 150 units,[1] manufacturing shifted to the updated He 51B, with roughly 450 built,[1] including approximately 46 He 51B-2 floatplane variants,[4] plus an additional 100 He 51C light ground-attack models.[1]

Operational history

File:He 51 LC Galland Kopie klein72.jpg
Heinkel He 51C piloted by Adolf Galland during the Spanish Civil War

On August 6, 1936, six He 51s were dispatched to Spain to support the Spanish Civil War efforts of the Nationalists.[5] Early engagements were successful, with these aircraft overcoming older and obsolete fighters of the Spanish Republican Air Force on their first operational day, August 18, 1936.[6] Additional deliveries followed, and by November two Nationalist squadrons were equipped with He 51s, alongside three squadrons from the Condor Legion, each comprising twelve planes crewed by German "volunteers".[6]

This period of aerial dominance was brief due to the arrival of numerous advanced Soviet aircraft, such as the biplane Polikarpov I-15 and the innovative monoplane Polikarpov I-16,[7] along with the faster Tupolev SB bomber, which outpaced the Heinkel by 110 km/h (68 mph).[8] The He 51 struggled to provide effective escort for Legion Condor bombers, prompting a shift to night missions,[9] and it was incapable of intercepting these faster SB bombers.[8] Consequently, it was withdrawn from frontline fighter roles and reassigned to ground-attack duties by both Nationalist forces and the Legion Condor.[8][10] The Fiat CR.32 replaced it within the Fascist Nationalist Air Force's fighter units, while from April 1937 the Legion Condor began operating Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters.[11]

Although its effectiveness as a fighter diminished rapidly, the Heinkel demonstrated greater value in ground-attack roles. Under the command of Wolfram von Richthofen, it contributed to developing close air support tactics later adopted by the Luftwaffe during World War II.[12] It remained active in this capacity throughout the Civil War despite heavy losses. Afterward, Spain retained the surviving forty-six aircraft and supplemented them with fifteen newly constructed units; these continued in Spanish service until 1952.Template:Fix/category[citation needed]

Within the Luftwaffe, frontline use of the Heinkel ended in 1938 when it transitioned to advanced training roles at various Jagdfliegerschulen[13] during the early years of World War II.[14]

Variants

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File:He 51 B-2.jpg
He 51B-2 during flight
He 51a
Prototype featuring a redesigned vertical stabilizer, updated wing structure, and modified landing gear, along with a new radiator system differing from the He 49.[15]
He 51A-0
Preliminary production batch; total of nine units constructed.[15]
He 51A-1
The first mass-production model; 150 aircraft manufactured.
He 51B-0
Reinforced pre-production variant; twelve built.
He 51B-1
Standard production model based on B-0; 450 produced.
He 51B-2
Designed as a floatplane fighter and reconnaissance platform; forty-six completed.
He 51B-3
Version adapted for high-altitude operations.
He 51C-1
Configured for ground attack missions; one hundred built, with seventy-nine deployed to Spain supporting the Legion Condor and Nationalist aviation forces.
He 51C-2
C-1 model upgraded with enhanced radio systems and other refinements; twenty-one manufactured.
He 52
Experimental high-altitude prototype; single unit created.[16]
A.1
Spanish Air Force designation assigned to the He 51B-1.[17]

Operators

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File:Истребитель Heinkel He-51B.jpg
Bulgarian-operated Heinkel He-51B
Template:BUL
File:Flag of Germany (1935–1945).svg Germany
Template:Country data Spanish State

Specifications (He 51B-1)

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See also

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Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Green and Swanborough 1994, p. 295.
  2. ↑ Mondey 1996, p. 80.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Donald Luftp96
  4. ↑ Green and Swanborough 1988, p. 15.
  5. ↑ Hooton 1994, pp. 121–122.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Green and Swanborough 1988, p. 20.
  7. ↑ Hooton 1994, p. 125.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Hooton 1994, p. 127.
  9. ↑ Hooton 1994, p. 126.
  10. ↑ Green and Swanborough 1988, p. 21.
  11. ↑ Green and Swanborough 1988, pp. 21–22.
  12. ↑ Green and Swanborough 1988, p. 23.
  13. ↑ Munson 1978, p.  70.
  14. ↑ Mondey 1996, p. 81.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Green and Swanborough 1988, p.14.
  16. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  18. ↑ Green and Swanborough 1988, p. 17.

Bibliography

  • Donald, David, editor. Warplanes of the Luftwaffe. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-874023-56-5.
  • Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "The Cadre Creator ... Heinkel's Final Combat Biplane." Air Enthusiast No. 36, May–August 1988, pp. 11–24. ISSN 0143-5450.
  • Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
  • Hooton, E.R. Phoenix Triumphant: The Rise and Rise of the Luftwaffe. London: Arms & Armour Press, 1994. ISBN 1854091816.
  • Mondey, David. The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II. London: Chancellor Press, 1996. ISBN 1-85152-966-7.
  • Munson, Kenneth. German Aircraft of World War II in Colour. Poole, Dorset, UK: Blandford Press, 1978. ISBN 0-7137-0860-3.
  • Taylor, John W.R. "Heinkel He 51." In Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the Present, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. ISBN 0-425-03633-2.

External links

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