Heinkel He 50
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| He 50 | |
|---|---|
 |
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| A Heinkel He 50 of a night ground attack unit on the Eastern Front. | |
| Type | Dive-bomber |
| Manufacturer | Heinkel |
| Maiden flight | 1931 |
| Introduced | 1935 |
| Retired | 1944 |
| Primary user | Luftwaffe |
The Heinkel He 50 was a World War II era dive-bomber originally designed for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Serving in German pre-war dive-bombing units, the He 50 served almost until the end of World War II as a night harassment bomber.
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[edit] Background
In 1931, the Japanese Navy placed an order with the Heinkel aircraft company for a two-seat dive-bomber capable of carrying 250 kg of bombs and capable of using either wheeled or float undercarriages.
[edit] Development
A prototype, the Heinkel He 50aW, was completed in the summer of 1931. It was a bi-plane of wood, steel tube construction and fabric covering. The aircraft had twin-floats for an undercarriage and was powered by a Junkers-L 5 engine. The engine was found to be underpowered. A second prototype, the He 50aL, was built, which was powered by a Siemens Jupiter VI engine and had a wheeled undercarriage. A second He 50aL was built and re-designated He 50b. Based on the He 50b, a small production batch of aircraft designated Heinkel He 66 was completed for the Japanese Navy.
[edit] Production and Luftwaffe service
The He 50aL was re-designated He 50 V1 and demonstrated to the German Defence Ministry in 1932. This resulted in an order for three development aircraft, and a production batch of 60 He 50A-1 aircraft, which were built during the summer of 1933. China placed an order for 12 He 50As, but modified with an engine cowling mounted around the engine and designated He 66b. These aircraft were commandeered by the Luftwaffe and re-designated He 50B. In 1935 the He 50 was delivered to the Luftwaffe’s first dive-bomber unit, and later partially equipped nine other dive-bombing units. The He 50, however, was steadily replaced by the Henschel Hs 123 and Junkers Ju 87, after which He 50s were transferred to dive-bomber training units.
In the spring of 1943, surviving He 50s were rounded up from training schools and delivered to night ground attack units operating on the Eastern Front. The He 50 was used to conduct night harassment sorties on the Eastern Front until September 1944, when the units were disbanded.
[edit] Specifications (He 50 A)
Data from Kay & Smith, p. 120.
General characteristics
- Crew: 2 (pilot, observer/gunner)
- Length: 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in)
- Wingspan: 11 m (37 ft 8¼ in)
- Height: 4.5 m (14 ft. 9¾ in.)
- Wing area: 34.8 sq m (374.59 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 1,600 kg (3,528 lb)
- Loaded weight: 2,620 kg (5,778 lb)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 235 km/h (146 mph)
- Service ceiling: 6,400 m (20,998 ft)
Armament
- 1× 7.92 mm (0.31 in) MG 15 machine gun for rear seat.
- Up to 250 kg (551 lb) bomb load.
[edit] References
- Donald, D. (ed.) Warplanes of the Luftwaffe: Combat aircraft of Hitler’s Luftwaffe, 1933–1945. Aerospace Publishing, 2001.
- Kay, A.L. and Smith, J.R. German Aircraft of World War II. Naval Institute Press, 2002.
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