Екінші дүниежүзілік соғыстағы неміс бомбалаушысы Heinkel He 111

World War II German medium bomber

The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after the First World War prohibiting bombers, it was presented solely as a civil airliner, although from conception the design was intended to provide the nascent Luftwaffe with a heavy bomber. Perhaps the best recognised German bomber of World War II due to the distinctive, extensively glazed "greenhouse" nose of the later versions, the Heinkel He 111 was the most numerous Luftwaffe bomber during the early stages of the war. It fared well until it met serious fighter opposition during the Battle of Britain, when its defensive armament was found to be inadequate. Among the designers seeking to benefit from German re armament was Ernst Heinkel. Heinkel decided to create the world's fastest passenger aircraft, a goal met with scepticism by Germany's aircraft industry and political leadership. Heinkel entrusted development to Siegfried and Walter Günter, both fairly new to the company and untested. The He 111 was a twin engine version of the Blitz, preserving the elliptical inverted gull wing, small rounded control surfaces and BMW engines, so that the new design was often called the Doppel Blitz ("Double Lightning"). When the Dornier Do 17 displaced the He 70, Heinkel needed a twin engine design to match its competitors. Heinkel spent 200,000 man hours designing the He 111. The fuselage was lengthened to from and wingspan increased to from Nitschke also praised its high speed "for the period" and "very good natured flight and landing characteristics", stable during cruising, gradual descent and single engined flight and having no nose drop when the undercarriage was operated. During the second test flight Nitschke revealed there was insufficient longitudinal stability during climb and flight at full power and the aileron controls required an unsatisfactory amount of force. The design would have achieved a greater total speed had the DB 600 inverted V12 engine that powered the Messerschmitt Bf 109s tenth through thirteenth prototypes been available.</blockquote>

Taxiing was easy and was only complicated by rain, when the pilot needed 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 and should be held until touchdown. This was to avoid a tendency by the He 111 to drop a wing, especially on the port side. Sliding and removable panels were manufactured into the nose glazing to allow the pilot, navigator and or bomb aimer to exit the aircraft quickly, without a time consuming retreat into the fuselage. The fuselage contained two major bulkheads, with the cockpit at the front of the first bulkhead. The nose was fitted with a rotating machine gun mount, 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. The commonly used Lotfernrohr series bombsight penetrated through the cockpit floor into a protective housing on the outside of the cockpit. The fuel instruments were electrical. The He 111 used the inner fuel tanks, closest to the wing root, first. The outer tanks acted as reserve tanks. The pilot was alerted to the fuel level when there was left. A manual pump was available in case of electrical or power failure but the delivery rate of just per minute demanded that the pilot fly at the lowest possible speed and just below The He 111 handled well at low speeds. The machine gun in the nose could be moved 10° upwards from the horizontal and 15° downwards. The He 111 V4 was unveiled to the foreign press on 10 January 1936. The He 111 C 0 was a commercial version and took the form of the V4 prototype design. The first machine was designated D AHAO "Dresden". It was powered by the BMW VI engine and could manage a range (depending on the fuel capacity) of The fuselage dimensions were in the He 111 V1, but changed in the C to The Jumo 205 diesel powerplant replaced the BMW VI. Nevertheless, the maximum speed remained in the bracket. This was increased slightly when the BMW 132 engines were introduced. – a likely direct precursor of the wartime Kraftei aviation engine unitization concept. The He 111G was the most powerful as well as the fastest commercial version.]] The initial reports from the test pilot, Gerhard Nitschke, were favourable. The He 111'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 The military aircraft – V1, V3 and V5 had a span of
The first prototypes were underpowered, as they were equipped with BMW VI 6.0 V12 in line engines. This was eventually increased to with the installation of the DB (Daimler Benz) 600 engines in the V5, which became the prototype of the "B" series. Only ten He 111 A 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 ) due to the extra MG 15 machine gun in the nose. Another gun position was installed on top of the fuselage, and a third in a ventral position as a retractable "dustbin" turret. The bomb bay was divided into two compartments and could carry of bombs. The problem with these additions was that the weight of the aircraft reached The He 111's performance was seriously reduced; in particular, the BMW VI 6.0 Z engines, which had been underpowered from the beginning, made the increase in weight even more problematic. 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 Ministry of Aviation. 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 (W. Nr./Works numbers) 1431 to 1437. The B 0s were powered by DB 600C engines fitted with variable pitch airscrews. The E 1 variant with Jumo 211A 1 engines was developed in 1937, the He 111 V6 being the first production variant. The E 1 had its original powerplant, the DB 600 replaced with the Jumo 210 Ga engines. The more powerful Jumo 211 A 1 engines desired by the Ministry of Aviation were not ready; another trial aircraft, He 111 V10 (D ALEQ) was to be fitted with two oil coolers necessary for the Jumo 211 A 1 installation. The E 4's eight internal vertically aligned bomb racks could each carry a bomb. The last E Variant, the He 111 E 5, was powered by the Jumo 211 A 3 and retained the fuel tank on the port side of the bomb bay. Only a few E 4 and E 5s were built. The RLM had acquired an interest in rocket boosters fitted, for the sake of simplicity, below the wings of a heavily loaded bomber, to cut down the length of runway needed for takeoff. Once in the air the booster canisters would be jettisoned by parachute for reuse. The firm of Hellmuth Walter, at Kiel, handled this development. The first standing trials and tests flights of the Walter HWK 109 500 Starthilfe liquid fueled boosters were held in 1937 at Neuhardenberg with test pilot Erich Warsitz at the controls of Heinkel He 111E bearing civil registration D AMUE.

The He 111 design quickly ran through a series of minor design revisions. One of the more obvious changes started with the He 111F models, which moved from the elliptical wing to one with straight leading and trailing edges, which could be manufactured more efficiently. The Turkish interest, prompted by the fact the tests of the next prototype, He 111 V8, was some way off, prompted the Ministry of Aviation to order 40 F 4s with Jumo 211 A 3 engines. These machines were built and entered service in early 1938. This fleet was used as a transport group during the Demyansk Pocket and Battle of Stalingrad. At this time, development began on the He 111J. It was powered by the DB 600 and was intended as a torpedo bomber. As a result, it lacked an internal bomb bay and carried two external torpedo racks. The Ministry of Aviation gave an order for the bomb bay to be retrofitted; this variant became known as the J 1. In all but the powerplant, it was identical to the F 4. The final variant of the F series was the F 5, with bombsight and powerplants identical to the E 5. Powered by the DB 600G engines, it could carry a payload. Only a few of the pre production J 0s were fitted with the powerplant, the DB 600 was used, performance deteriorated and the torpedo bomber was not pursued. The J variants were used in training schools until 1944.

The He 111P incorporated the updated Daimler Benz DB 601A 1 liquid cooled engine and featured a newly designed nose section, including an asymmetric mounting for an MG 15 machine gun that replaced the 'stepped' cockpit with a roomier and more aerodynamic glazed stepless cockpit over the entire front of the aircraft. This smooth glazed nose was first tested on the He 111 V8 in January 1938. These improvements allowed the aircraft to reach at and a cruise speed of , although a full bomb load reduced this figure to The design was implemented in 1937 because pilot reports indicated problems with visibility. The pilot's seat could actually be elevated, with the pilot's eyes above the level of the upper glazing, complete with a small pivoted windscreen panel, to get the pilot's head above the level of the top of the "glass tunnel" for a better forward view for takeoffs and landings. The rear facing dorsal gun position, enclosed with a sliding, near clear view canopy, and for the first time, the ventral Bodenlafette rear facing gun position, immediately aft of the bomb bay, that replaced the draggy "dustbin" retractable emplacement became standard, having been first flown on the He 111 V23, bearing civil registration D ACBH. One of Heinkel's rivals, Junkers, built 40 He 111Ps at Dessau. In October 1938, the Junkers Central Administration commented:<blockquote>Apparent are the externally poor, less carefully designed components at various locations, especially at the junction between the empennage and the rear fuselage. All parts have an impression of being very weak The visible flexing in the wing must also be very high. The left and right powerplants are interchangeable. Each motor has an exhaust gas heater on one side, but it is not connected to the fuselage since it is probable that the warm air in the fuselage is not free of carbon monoxide (CO). The fuselage is not subdivided into individual segments, but is attached over its entire length, after completion, to the wing centre section. Outboard of the powerplants, the wings are attached by universal joints. The latter can in no way be satisfactory and have been the cause of several failures. The P 1 featured a semi retractable tail wheel to decrease drag. The P 6 variant was the last production model of the He 111 P series. In 1940, the Ministry of Aviation abandoned further production of the P series in favour of the H versions, mostly because the P series' Daimler Benz engines were needed for Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Bf 110 fighter production. The remaining P 6s were redesignated P 6/R2s and used as heavy glider tugs. The most notable difference with previous variants was the upgraded DB 601N powerplants. The P 7 variant's history is unclear. The P 8 was said to have been similar to the H 5 fitted with dual controls. The P series was gradually replaced on the eve of war with the new H 2, powered by improved Jumo 211 A 3 engines of This variant also differed from the H 3 in that it could either carry of bombs internally or mount one or two external racks to carry one or two bombs. As these external racks blocked the internal bomb bay doors, a combination of internal and external storage was not possible. A PVR 1006L bomb rack was fitted externally and an tank added to the interior spaces left vacant by the removal of the internal bomb bay. The PVR 1006L was capable of carrying a SC 1000 bomb. Some H 4s had their PVC racks modified to drop torpedoes. The H 5 series followed in February 1941, with heavier defensive armament. Like the H 4, it retained a PVC 1006 L bomb rack to enable it to carry heavy bombs under the fuselage. The first ten He 111 H 5s were pathfinders, and selected for special missions. The aircraft sometimes carried flashlight bombs which acted as flares. The H 5 could also carry heavy fire bombs, either heavy containers or smaller incendiary devices attached to parachutes. The H 5 also carried LM A and LM B aerial mines for anti shipping operations. After the 80th production aircraft, the PVC 1006 L bomb rack was removed and replaced with a heavy duty ETC 2000 rack, enabling the H 5 to carry the SC 2500 "Max" bomb, on the external ETC 2000 rack, which enabled it to support the bomb. Some H 3 and H 4s were equipped with barrage balloon cable cutting equipment in the shape of cutter installations forward of the engines and cockpit. They were designated H 8, but later named H8/R2. These aircraft were difficult to fly and production stopped. The H 6 initiated some overall improvements in design. The Jumo 211 F 1 engine of increased its speed while the defensive armament was upgraded at the factory with one MG FF cannon in the nose and/or gondola positions (optional), two MG 15 in the ventral gondola, and one each of the fuselage side windows. Some H 6 variants carried tail mounted MG 17 defensive armament. The performance of the H 6 was much improved. The climb rate was higher and the bomber could reach a slightly higher ceiling of When heavy bomb loads were added, this ceiling was reduced to The weight of the H 6 increased to Some H 6s received Jumo 211F 2s which improved a low level speed of At an altitude of the maximum speed was If heavy external loads were added, the speed was reduced by
Other designs of the mid H series included the He 111 H 7 and H 8. The airframes were to be rebuilds of the H 3/H 5 variant. Both were designed as night bombers and were to have two Jumo 211F 1s installed. The intention was for the H 8 to be fitted with cable cutting equipment and barrage ballon deflectors on the leading edge of the wings. The H 7 was never built. The H 9 was intended as a trainer with dual control columns. The airframe was a H 1 variant rebuild. The powerplants consisted of two JumoA 1s or D 1s. Many H 11s were equipped with a new PVC rack under the fuselage, which carried five bombs. Additional armour plating was fitted around crew spaces, some of it on the lower fuselage which could be jettisoned in an emergency. Engines were two Junkers Jumo 211F 2, allowing this variant to carry a load to a range of Heinkel built 230 new aircraft of this type and converted 100 H 3s to H 11s by the summer of 1943. Funkgerät (FuG) radio equipment. FuG 10P, FuG 16, FuBl Z and APZ 6 were fitted for communication and navigation at night, while some aircraft received the FuG 101a radio altimeter. The H 16 retained its eight ESAC internal bomb cells; four bomb cells, as on previous versions could be replaced by a fuel tank to increase range. ETC 2000 racks could be installed over the bomb cell openings for external weapons carriage. Empty weight was and the aircraft weighed fully loaded for take off. German factories built 1,155 H 16s between the end of 1942 and the end of 1943; in addition, 280 H 6s and 35 H 11s were updated to H 16 standard. The last major production variant was the H 20, which entered into production in early 1944. It was planned to use two Junkers Jumo 213E 1 engines, turning three blade, Junkers VS 11 wooden bladed variable pitch propellers. It would appear this plan was never developed fully. Though the later H 22 variant was given the 213E 1 engines, the 211F 2 remained the H 20's main power plant. Heinkel and its licensees built 550 H 20s through the summer of 1944, while 586 H 6s were upgraded to H 20 standard. In contrast to the H 11 and H 16, the H 20, equipped with two Jumo 211F 2s, had more powerful armament and radio communications. The defensive armament consisted of an MG 131 in an A Stand gun pod for the forward mounted machine gun position. One rotatable Drehlafette DL 131/1C (or E) gun mount in the B stand was standard and later, MG 131 machine guns were added. Navigational direction finding gear was also installed. The Peil G6 was added to locate targets and the FuBI 2H blind landing equipment was built in to help with night operations. The radio was a standard FuG 10, TZG 10 and FuG 16Z for navigating to the target. The H 20 also was equipped with barrage balloon cable cutters. The bomb load of the H 20 could be mounted on external ETC 1000 racks or four ESAC 250 racks. The sub variant H 20/R4 could carry twenty bombs externally. A batch of ten were produced and five were built from existing H 6s. The machines were joined by a center wing formed by two sections in length. The powerplants were five Junkers Jumo 211F engines producing each. The total fuel capacity was This was increased by adding four drop tanks. With this load, the He 111Z had a range of and a speed of The maximum bombload was To increase power, the five Jumo 211F 2 engines were intended to be fitted with Hirth TK 11 superchargers. Onboard armament was the same as the He 111H 6, with the addition of one MG 151/20 cannon in a rotating gun mount on the center section. The layout of the He 111Z had the pilot and his controls in the port fuselage only. The controls themselves and essential equipment were all that remained in the starboard section. The aircraft had a crew of seven; a pilot, first mechanic, radio operator and gunner in the port fuselage, and the observer, second mechanic and gunner in the starboard fuselage. The He 111Z was to have been used in an invasion of Malta in 1942 and as part of an airborne assault on the Soviet cities of Astrakhan and Baku in the Caucasus in the same year. During the Battle of Stalingrad their use was cancelled due to insufficient airfield capacity. Later in 1943, He111Zs helped evacuate German equipment and personnel from the Caucasus region, and during the Allied invasion of Sicily, attempted to deliver reinforcements to the island. During operations, the He 111Z did not have enough power to lift a fully loaded Me 321. Some He 111s were supplemented by rocket pods for extra takeoff thrust, but this was not a fleet wide action. Two rockets were mounted beneath each fuselage and one underneath each wing. This added in weight. The pods were released by parachute after takeoff. Eight were shot down or destroyed on the ground in 1944.

Central Air Transport Corporation (CATC) operated a single ex air force He 111A re fitted with Wright Cyclone radial engines. Deutsche Luft Hansa operated 12 aircraft.