Heinkel He 59

1931 military floatplane family by Heinkel

The Heinkel He 59 was a twin engined German biplane designed in 1930, resulting from a requirement for a torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft able to operate on wheeled landing gear or twin floats.

In 1930, Ernst Heinkel began developing an aircraft for the Reichsmarine. To conceal the true military intentions, the aircraft was officially a civil aircraft. The He 59B landplane prototype was the first to fly, an event that took place in September 1931, but it was the He 59A floatplane prototype that paved the way for the He 59B initial production model, of which 142 were delivered in three variants. The Heinkel He 59 was a pleasant aircraft to fly; deficiencies noted were weak engines, limited range, small load capability, and insufficient armament.

The aircraft was of a mixed material construction. The wings were made of a two beam wooden frame, where the front was covered with plywood and the rest of the wing was covered with fabric. The box shaped fuselage had a fabric covered steel frame. The tail section was covered with lightweight metal sheets. The keels of the floats were used as fuel tanks each one holding of fuel. Most of the 140 B 2s and B 3s built by Arado were later converted by the Walter Bachmann Flugzeugbau for air/sea rescue (He 59C 2 and D 1) or specialised training in navigation (He 59C 1, D 1 and N), torpedoe dropping (E 1) and photographic roles (E 2). All of these aircraft were unarmed except for the He 59N. The Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force) rented four aircraft from Germany in August 1943. These were used to ferry long range reconnaissance patrols behind enemy lines. They were returned to Germany four months later.