Heinkel He 111H-6 (CASA 2.111)
To compete with fast American airliners, namely the Lockheed 12 Electra and Boeing 247, Ernst Heinkel directed his aircraft company to develop the fastest airliner in the world, sacrificing number of passengers for speed. It would use elliptical, inverted gull wings for better stability and lift. Initially, this would be the single-engined Heinkel He 70 Blitz, but since the He 70 could only carry four passengers, it was expanded to a two-engined, larger aircraft with a capacity for 8-12 passengers as the He 111. It was indeed the fastest airliner in the world when it first flew in February 1935, but its speed and capacity attracted the interest of the Luftwaffe, which was engaged in a steady buildup following Hitler’s accession to power in Germany. The Luftwaffe had no interest in a fast transport, but in a medium bomber. Though the He 111 would continue to be referred to as a “passenger aircraft” until the beginning of World War II, it was obvious to both friend and foe that it was being developed into a bomber—though Lufthansa would operate a few He 111C airliners until 1939 in that role.
The initial design used in the He 111A through L variants was a conventional stepped-nose, similar to that used in the Boeing B-17. These stepped-nose variants were used operationally by the Condor Legion force Hitler sent to fight in the Spanish Civil War. While the stepped-nose aircraft flew no worse or better than any other aircraft, the Luftwaffe desired speed and more visibility for pilots, who reported difficulty seeing over the nose on landing.
This led to a complete redesign of the nose, which deleted the cockpit “step” in favor of a bullet shape, with the entire nose glassed-in. The pilot and bombardier remained on the flight deck, with the instrument panel relocated slightly above the pilot and the rudder pedals on bars: essentially, there was no floor to the flight deck. To get to his bombsight, the bombardier slid his seat back and went forward. This added significant speed to the He 111P, the first variant with the redesigned nose, and pilots liked the superb visibility afforded by the all-glass nose. Because of the fuselage diameter, the bombs on the He 111 were carried vertically, which caused them to drop tail-first from the bomb bay before spinning the bomb nose-down. This caused a loss in both payload and accuracy, but the Luftwaffe never intended to be the He 111 to be a strategic bomber, nor worried much about accuracy.
Though stepped-nose He 111s would be used in small numbers as transports throughout World War II, the bullet-nose He 111Ps were quickly superseded on Heinkel’s production lines by the Junkers Jumo-engined He 111H, the definitive variant; the Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine was needed by Luftwaffe fighters. The first test of the He 111P/H series was over Poland in September 1939. Immediately, German crews learned the He 111’s fatal flaw: it did not have enough defensive armament. Lessons learned over Spain had led the Luftwaffe to believe that the He 111 was too fast for fighters to intercept, but an alarming number of losses over Poland—whose air force was obsolescent—proved otherwise. He 111 crews began finding spots for machine guns all over the aircraft as Heinkel itself began producing dizzying variants of the He 111, each with different defensive armament setups. Even this proved inadequate when the He 111 was committed to attacking England during the Battle of Britain: Hurricane and Spitfire fighters found the He 111 easy prey. In the bomber’s defense, this was due less to the He 111’s lack of armament and more towards flawed tactics by the Luftwaffe: the He 111, along with other bombers used by the Luftwaffe, were simply not designed for what they were attempting to do.
The He 111 nonetheless did inflict a great deal of damage to England’s cities; following the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe bomber force switched to night bombing, and thousands of British citizens were killed by He 111s in the Blitz of London and the near-destruction of other British cities such as Coventry and Liverpool. While the He 111 was not effective as anything but an area bomber and lacked defensive armament, it was still liked by its crews for its easy handling, and surprisingly, if the pilot was not killed or catastrophic damage done to the aircraft, it proved to be relatively resilient to battle damage.
Following the end of the Blitz, the He 111 was recognized by the Luftwaffe as being practically obsolete, but as Germany itself came under attack, replacement designs (such as the He 177 Greif) were either never built or never progressed beyond prototype stage, as emphasis shifted to fighter production. As a result, the He 111 remained in service and would continue to see action in the Mediterranean, over the Soviet Union, and in Norway, where it served as an adequate torpedo bomber. Production was slowed in favor of the Junkers Ju 88, which was far more versatile, and finally ended for good in 1944. By that time, the remaining He 111s in Luftwaffe service had their bomb racks removed and were flying as transports (ironically, what Heinkel had intended all along); a few were rebuilt as He 111Z Zwilling (Twin) heavy glider tugs, which were two He 111Hs joined at the wingtip with a fifth engine.
At the end of World War II, nearly all He 111s were scrapped. A large number survived in Spain, however, where they were built as CASA C.211s for some time after war’s end. These would be ironically reengined with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines and updated with new cockpit instruments, but remained basically the same as the He 111H. 6714 He 111s and C.211s were built, and the Spanish did not retire their aircraft until 1973. Of this number, 14 C.211s and four He 111s remain today, all in museums; the last flyable example, a C.211, crashed in 2003.
Frankfurt International Airport used to have a small vintage aircraft collection on the roof of the main terminal, including a Messerschmitt Me 262, a Junkers Ju 87 Stuka replica, and a Heinkel He 111--the latter, in actuality, one of the Spanish C.211s. Apparently the collection is no longer there, though the C.211 is now at another aviation museum at Hermeskeil, Germany.
This aircraft is one of the C.211s used in the movie "Battle of Britain," with Merlin engines. Dad got this picture on a typically rainy spring afternoon in 1980.
Heinkel He 111H-6 (CASA 2.111)
To compete with fast American airliners, namely the Lockheed 12 Electra and Boeing 247, Ernst Heinkel directed his aircraft company to develop the fastest airliner in the world, sacrificing number of passengers for speed. It would use elliptical, inverted gull wings for better stability and lift. Initially, this would be the single-engined Heinkel He 70 Blitz, but since the He 70 could only carry four passengers, it was expanded to a two-engined, larger aircraft with a capacity for 8-12 passengers as the He 111. It was indeed the fastest airliner in the world when it first flew in February 1935, but its speed and capacity attracted the interest of the Luftwaffe, which was engaged in a steady buildup following Hitler’s accession to power in Germany. The Luftwaffe had no interest in a fast transport, but in a medium bomber. Though the He 111 would continue to be referred to as a “passenger aircraft” until the beginning of World War II, it was obvious to both friend and foe that it was being developed into a bomber—though Lufthansa would operate a few He 111C airliners until 1939 in that role.
The initial design used in the He 111A through L variants was a conventional stepped-nose, similar to that used in the Boeing B-17. These stepped-nose variants were used operationally by the Condor Legion force Hitler sent to fight in the Spanish Civil War. While the stepped-nose aircraft flew no worse or better than any other aircraft, the Luftwaffe desired speed and more visibility for pilots, who reported difficulty seeing over the nose on landing.
This led to a complete redesign of the nose, which deleted the cockpit “step” in favor of a bullet shape, with the entire nose glassed-in. The pilot and bombardier remained on the flight deck, with the instrument panel relocated slightly above the pilot and the rudder pedals on bars: essentially, there was no floor to the flight deck. To get to his bombsight, the bombardier slid his seat back and went forward. This added significant speed to the He 111P, the first variant with the redesigned nose, and pilots liked the superb visibility afforded by the all-glass nose. Because of the fuselage diameter, the bombs on the He 111 were carried vertically, which caused them to drop tail-first from the bomb bay before spinning the bomb nose-down. This caused a loss in both payload and accuracy, but the Luftwaffe never intended to be the He 111 to be a strategic bomber, nor worried much about accuracy.
Though stepped-nose He 111s would be used in small numbers as transports throughout World War II, the bullet-nose He 111Ps were quickly superseded on Heinkel’s production lines by the Junkers Jumo-engined He 111H, the definitive variant; the Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine was needed by Luftwaffe fighters. The first test of the He 111P/H series was over Poland in September 1939. Immediately, German crews learned the He 111’s fatal flaw: it did not have enough defensive armament. Lessons learned over Spain had led the Luftwaffe to believe that the He 111 was too fast for fighters to intercept, but an alarming number of losses over Poland—whose air force was obsolescent—proved otherwise. He 111 crews began finding spots for machine guns all over the aircraft as Heinkel itself began producing dizzying variants of the He 111, each with different defensive armament setups. Even this proved inadequate when the He 111 was committed to attacking England during the Battle of Britain: Hurricane and Spitfire fighters found the He 111 easy prey. In the bomber’s defense, this was due less to the He 111’s lack of armament and more towards flawed tactics by the Luftwaffe: the He 111, along with other bombers used by the Luftwaffe, were simply not designed for what they were attempting to do.
The He 111 nonetheless did inflict a great deal of damage to England’s cities; following the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe bomber force switched to night bombing, and thousands of British citizens were killed by He 111s in the Blitz of London and the near-destruction of other British cities such as Coventry and Liverpool. While the He 111 was not effective as anything but an area bomber and lacked defensive armament, it was still liked by its crews for its easy handling, and surprisingly, if the pilot was not killed or catastrophic damage done to the aircraft, it proved to be relatively resilient to battle damage.
Following the end of the Blitz, the He 111 was recognized by the Luftwaffe as being practically obsolete, but as Germany itself came under attack, replacement designs (such as the He 177 Greif) were either never built or never progressed beyond prototype stage, as emphasis shifted to fighter production. As a result, the He 111 remained in service and would continue to see action in the Mediterranean, over the Soviet Union, and in Norway, where it served as an adequate torpedo bomber. Production was slowed in favor of the Junkers Ju 88, which was far more versatile, and finally ended for good in 1944. By that time, the remaining He 111s in Luftwaffe service had their bomb racks removed and were flying as transports (ironically, what Heinkel had intended all along); a few were rebuilt as He 111Z Zwilling (Twin) heavy glider tugs, which were two He 111Hs joined at the wingtip with a fifth engine.
At the end of World War II, nearly all He 111s were scrapped. A large number survived in Spain, however, where they were built as CASA C.211s for some time after war’s end. These would be ironically reengined with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines and updated with new cockpit instruments, but remained basically the same as the He 111H. 6714 He 111s and C.211s were built, and the Spanish did not retire their aircraft until 1973. Of this number, 14 C.211s and four He 111s remain today, all in museums; the last flyable example, a C.211, crashed in 2003.
Frankfurt International Airport used to have a small vintage aircraft collection on the roof of the main terminal, including a Messerschmitt Me 262, a Junkers Ju 87 Stuka replica, and a Heinkel He 111--the latter, in actuality, one of the Spanish C.211s. Apparently the collection is no longer there, though the C.211 is now at another aviation museum at Hermeskeil, Germany.
This aircraft is one of the C.211s used in the movie "Battle of Britain," with Merlin engines. Dad got this picture on a typically rainy spring afternoon in 1980.