Heinkel He-111, Germany’s Most Potent WW2 Bomber
German medium bomber, one of the main bombers of the Luftwaffe (there were also modifications for torpedo bombers and attack aircraft). In total, more than 7,600 copies were built of various modifications, which makes this aircraft the second largest built German bomber in the Second World War.
He-111 Medium Bomber
He-111 Design History
In the early 1930s, German aircraft designer Ernst Heinkel decided to build the world’s fastest passenger aircraft (at the same time, such a task was skeptically perceived both by representatives of the German aircraft industry and by the new political leaders of Germany). Heinkel entrusted the design of the aircraft to the Gunther brothers, people who were new to his company.
The designed aircraft was superior to the existing Lockheed 9 Orion, which was a direct competitor to Heinkel’s design. The first example of the soon widely known Heinkel He 70 “Blitz” (German for “Lightning”) took off in 1932 and immediately began to break speed records. In its usual version, designed for four passengers, it could reach speeds of up to 320 km/h, although it was equipped with a single engine with a capacity of only 600 hp. The elliptical wing shape, already used by the Gunther brothers in the development of their own sports aircraft Bäumer Sausewind before joining the Heinkel company, became characteristic of all subsequent developments of the brothers.
The design attracted the attention of the Luftwaffe, which selected aircraft to be converted into medium bombers.
Combat use
Western front
The He 111 was the first German aircraft shot down over British territory in World War II.
On the night of October 5-6, 1941, two He-111s, sent from Crete to reconnoitre British transports to supply the 8th Army in North Africa, accidentally found an anchored transport Thistlegorm in one of the bays at the entrance to the Gulf of Suez. in the holds of which there was a large arsenal of explosives – anti-tank mines, artillery shells, cartridges and grenades. On the deck of the ship were two light tanks, two railway carriages and two steam locomotives. With a full moon, coming in from the stern and not encountering anti-aircraft fire, the planes attacked the transport. The bombs hit the fourth hold, which was loaded with ammunition. As a result of the explosions, the stern of the ship was torn off, the deck was littered with debris. At 01:30 the ship sank with a roll of about 45 ° at a depth of about 30 m.
Eastern front
On the night of June 22, 1941, the Heinkels bombed the border airfields, cities, and fortifications of the USSR.
On the night of June 22, 1944, the planes attacked the Poltava airfield, where American bombers landed after a “shuttle” raid. The raid involved up to 200 He-111H from KG 53 and KG 55, brought to the object by He-111H-16 / R3 targeting aircraft from III / KG 4. As a result of the strike, 44 B-17 bombers and 5 other aircraft were destroyed, and more 28 B-17s and 28 other vehicles were damaged. They also managed to destroy significant stocks of aviation gasoline.
