Heinkel He 51

The Heinkel He 51 was a German single-seat biplane which was produced in a number of different versions. It was initially developed as a fighter, and a seaplane variant and a ground-attack version were also developed. It was a development of the earlier He 49.

In 1931, Heinkel recruited the talented aircraft designers, Walter and Siegfried Günter and their first major design for Heinkel was the Heinkel He 49. While this was officially an advanced trainer, in fact it was a fighter. The first prototype , the He 49a , flew in November 1932, and was followed by two further prototypes, the He 49b , with a longer fuselage, and the He 49c, with a revised engine.
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Heinkel He 51 oli saksalainen 1930-luvun hävittäjälentokone.
Se oli vuonna 1935 palvelukäyttöön tulleena vielä kaksitasoinen. Luftwaffe käytti sitä vuoteen 1942 asti erilaisissa tehtävissä.

Koneen prototyyppi He 49a lensi marraskuussa 1932. He 51 oli natsi-Saksan Luftwaffen ensimmäisiä varustelutilauksia. Versio He 51A tuli Luftwaffen käyttöön huhtikuussa 1935. Se, että Heinkel toteutti näin vanhanaikaisen hävittäjän on osaltaan voinut johtaa siihen, että Heinkel pakotettiin Luftwaffen pommikonetuottajaksi huolimatta yhtiön haluista valmistaa myös hävittäjiä.

Saksan Legion Condor, joka tuki Francisco Francon joukkoja Espanjan sisällissodassa, käytti He 51 -hävittäjiä. Ne eivät kuitenkaan menestyneet tasavaltalaispuolen neuvostoliittolaisia hävittäjiä vastaan, jotka edustivat uudempaa näkemystä hävittäjistä. He 51:tä käytettiin siksi hyökkäyksiin maakohteita vastaan. Hävittäjärooli jäi Bf 109:lle.

Vuodesta 1938 alkaen Messerschmitt Bf 109 korvasi He 51:t Luftwaffessa. Vuoteen 1942 asti He 51 toimi koulukoneena.

He 51 -koneesta kehitettiin He 52 ja He 51W -koneet.
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The type was ordered into production for the still secret Luftwaffe as the He 51 , the first pre-production aircraft flying in May 1933. Deliveries started in July of the next year. 

The He 51 was a conventional single-bay biplane, with all-metal construction and fabric covering. It was powered by a glycol -cooled BMW VI engine, with an armament of two 8 mm (.323 in) machine guns mounted above the engine.

The He 51 was intended to replace the earlier Arado Ar 65 , but served side-by-side with the slightly later Ar 68. The He 51 was outdated the day it entered service, and after an initial run of 150 production fighters, the design was switched into the modified He 51B , with approximately 450 built, including about 46 He 51B-2 floatplanes, and then finally a further 100 He 51C light ground-attack plane.

On 6 August 1936, six of the He 51s were delivered to Spain to fight in the Spanish Civil War along with the fraction of the army in revolt. Initial operations were successful, with the Heinkels meeting and defeating a number of older biplane of the Spanish Republican Air Force, with two Nieuport Ni-52 fighters, a Breguet 19 and a Potez 54 destroyed on 18 August 1936, the first day of operations by Spanish-flown He 51s. Deliveries continued as the hostilities increased, with two Nationalist squadrons equipped by November, and the Legion Condor forming three squadrons of 12 aircraft each manned by German "volunteers". 

This time of superiority was short lived, with the arrival of large numbers of modern aircraft from the Soviet Union , including the Polikarpov I-15 biplane and new Polikarpov I-16 monoplane, together with the Tupolev SB bomber , which was 110 km/h (70 mph) faster. The He 51 proved unable to protect the Legion Condor ‍'​s bombers, forcing it to switch to night operations, while also unable to intercept the much faster SB. 

The He 51 was therefore withdrawn from fighter duty and relegated to the ground-attack role by both the Legion Condor and the Spanish rebels. It was replaced in the fighter role by the Fiat CR.32 in the rebel Nationalist Air Force , with the Legion Condor receiving Messerschmitt Bf 109s from April 1937 to allow it to operate successfully in fighter operations.

While a failure as a fighter, the Heinkel proved successful as a ground-attack aircraft, being used by Wolfram von Richthofen to develop the close support tactics which were used by the Luftwaffe in World War II. It continued in use as a ground attack aircraft for the remainder of the Civil War, although losses were heavy. After the war the 46 surviving aircraft would be joined by another 15 new builds, and serve in the utility role in Spain until 1952.

The experiences in Spain would prove once and for all that the days of the biplane fighter were over. Although the later model Fiat biplanes were superior to the He 51 and continued to soldier on in Nationalist service, the I-16s were basically untouchable because of their speed. If the conditions were right, they could use their heavy armament in a quick pass and then leave; if things weren't so favorable, they simply flew away.

The He 51 continued in front-line service with the Luftwaffe until 1938, with it remaining in service as an advanced trainer for the first few years of World War II. 

Mörkö-Morane / Bogey-Morane

Suomen ilmavoimien lentolaivueista Morane-kalustoa käytti kaksi laivuetta, lentolaivueet 14 ja 28. Koneen lento-ominaisuudet olivat hyvät. 

Vakauden suhde ohjattavuuteen oli pelkän lentämisen kannalta hyvä, mutta ammuttaessa kone oli tavattoman epävakaa lyhyt runko liikehti tähdättäessä levottomasti. 

Koneen kaartokyky oli hyvä, minkä ansiosta moni suomalaislentäjä säilytti henkensä tiukoissa tilanteissa. 
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The M.S.406 had a parallel career in Finland. In February 1940, the first 30 French fighters were allocated to LeLv 28, commanded by Major Jusu. 
These aircraft received the Finnish designations MS-301 to MS-330. 

They were used in combat during the Winter War, against the USSR and carried out 259 operational sorties and shot down 16 Soviet aircraft. In modified form, the M.S.406 were later involved in the Continuation War. Between November 1939 and 4 September 1944, Lv28 scored 118 aerial victories flying the Morane M.S.406 (the unit flew Bf 109Gs for a time, as well). The unit lost 15 aircraft. Total Finnish kills were 121. 

The top Morane ace in all theatres was W/O Urho Lehtovaara, with 15 of his 44.5 total kills achieved in Moranes. 

The Finnish nicknames were Murjaani ("moor"), a twist on its name, and Mätimaha (roe-belly) and Riippuvatsa (hanging belly) because of its bulged ventral fuselage.
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Morane-Saulnier 406:n pääaseena oli potkurinnavan läpi ampuva 20 mm Hispano-Suiza-tykki. Ase oli epäluotettava ja lakkoili usein jo parin ammutun sarjan jälkeen. 410-mallissa oli neljä 7,5 mm siipikonekivääriä, joiden läpäisykyky oli heikko. 

Aseistusta parannettiin Suomessa asentamalla tykin tilalle 12,7 mm Berezina ja Colt -konekiväärejä, joista erityisesti Berezina oli epäluotettava.

Radion kuuluvuus ja toiminta oli sekin kyseenalainen. Moottori oli alitehoinen ja herkkä ylikuumenemiselle. Aseiden, moottorin ja radion ohessa koneen paineilmajärjestelmä aiheutti Ilmavoimien mekaanikoille paljon päänvaivaa.

Morane-Saulnier oli suunnitteluaikanaan ajanmukainen kone, mutta jo vuonna 1939 Länsirintamalla vanhentunut. Suomessa eversti Rikhard Lorentz esitti koneen hyllyttämistä suurten tappioiden vuoksi jo syyskuussa 1942. Hyllytysesitykseen liittyvät parannusehdotukset johtivat Mörkö-Moraneen.

Moranen varustaminen venäläisellä sotasaalismoottorilla (Klimov M-103) nousi ensimmäisen kerran esille elokuussa 1940. Pontimena oli alkuperäisen Hispano-Suiza-varamoottorien ja -varaosien puute ja Klimov M-103:n samankaltaisuus Hispano-Suizan kanssa, olihan M-103 siitä kehitetty. Toimeksianto peruttiin jo kuukauden kuluttua, kun selvisi, että Suomi sai ostaa Morane-hävittäjiä Saksan sotasaalisvarastosta.

Jatkosodassa Morane osoittautui suoritusarvoiltaan ja aseistukseltaan niin riittämättömäksi, että omat tappiot ilmataisteluissa alkoivat kasvaa. Syyskuussa 1942 eversti Richard Lorenz esitti vaihtoehtoisesti koneen hyllyttämistä tai sen varustamista joko M-105 tai M-103 -moottorilla.
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The Finnish Frankenplane

Finnish variants
France sent 30 Morane-Saulnier to Finland, between 4 and 29 February 1940. 
By 1943 the Finns had received an additional 46 M.S.406s and 11 M.S.410s purchased from the Germans. By this point, the fighters were hopelessly outdated, but the Finns were so desperate for serviceable aircraft that they decided to start a modification program to bring all of their examples to a new standard.

The aircraft designer Aarne Lakomaa turned the obsolete "M-S" into a first rate fighter, the Mörkö-Morane (Finnish for Bogey or Ogre Morane), sometimes referred to as the "LaGG-Morane". Powered by captured Klimov M-105P engines (a licensed version of the HS 12Y) of 820.3 kW (1,100 hp) with a fully adjustable propeller, the airframe required some local strengthening and also gained a new and more aerodynamic engine cowling. 

These changes boosted the speed to 525 kilometres per hour (326 mph). Other changes included a new oil cooler taken from the Bf 109, the use of four belt-fed guns like the M.S.410, and the excellent 20 mm (0.787 in) MG 151/20 cannon in the engine mounting. However, supplies of the MG 151 were limited, and several received captured 12.7 mm (0.500 in) Berezin UBS guns instead.

The first example of the modified fighter, MS-631, made its first flight on 25 January 1943, and the results were startling: the aircraft was 64 kilometres per hour (40 mph) faster than the original French version, and the service ceiling was increased from 10,000–12,000 metres (33,000–39,000 ft).

Originally, it was planned to convert all the 41 remaining M.S.406s and M.S.410s with the Soviet engine, but it took time, and the first front-line aircraft of this type did not reach LeLv 28 until July/August 1944. By the end of the Continuation War in 1944, only three examples had been converted (including the original prototype). 


Lieutenant Lars Hattinen (an ace with six victories) scored three kills with the Mörkö-Morane, one with each Mörkö-Morane in the squadron. More fighters arrived from the factory, though, and the Mörkö-Moranes took part in the Lapland War as reconnaissance and ground attack aircraft. Not all the Mörkö-Morane conversions were completed before March 1945, when the entire re-engining programme was halted. After the end of the war, the total was brought to 41, which served as advanced trainers with TLeLv 14 until September 1948. In 1952 all remaining Finnish Moranes were scrapped
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Mörkö-Morane / Morane-Saulnier MS 406 C1
Miehistö: 1 ohjaaja
Pituus: 8,17 m
Kärkiväli: 10,62 m
Siipipinta-ala: 16,00 m²
Tyhjäpaino: 2 210 kg
Suurin lentoonlähtöpaino: 2 787 kg
Moottori: Klimov M-105P -rivimoottori, 12 sylinteriä, 
Teho: 820 kW (1 100 hv) 2 000 metrissä, potkurina W-61P.
Huippunopeus: noin 440 km/h (merenpinnan tasalla)
Huippunopeus: noin 510 km/h (4 000 metrissä)
Kohoamisnopeus: noin 17 m/s (0–3 000 metrissä)

Aseistus: 2 x 7,5mm mg + 1 x 20 mm Mauser MG-151/20 -tykki johon 150 ammusta.
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Asennussuunnittelu aloitettiin välittömästi. Moottoriksi tuli 1 100 hevosvoiman (820 kW) Klimov M-105P ja pääaseeksi 20mm tykki, jonka lisäksi siipiin jätettiin kaksi 7,5 mm konekivääriä. Muutoksia jouduttiin tekemään myös pakoputkistoon, ahtimeen, jäähdytysnestesäiliöön ja öljynjäähdyttimeen. Muutostyö tehtiin ilman piirustuksia ja ensimmäinen muutettu kone (MS-631) valmistui koekäyttöön jo tammikuussa 1943 ja ensilento tapahtui helmikuussa 1943. 

Koneessa ilmeni kuitenkin jäähdytysongelmia, jolloin koneeseen jouduttiin suunnittelemaan kokonaan uusi nestejäähdytin. Myös öljynjäähdytin jouduttiin vaihtamaan Messerschmittin jäähdyttimeen[3]. Koelennoilla kesällä ja syksyllä 1943 Mörkö-Morane osoittautui selvästi alkuperäistä paremmaksi. Huippunopeus oli 510 km/h luokkaa ja kohoamisnopeus jopa 25 m/s.

Sarjamuutosten valmistelu aloitettiin joulukuussa 1943. Saksasta ostettiin helmikuussa 1944 85 kappaletta M-105-moottoreita. Niiden lisäksi käytettiin omia sotasaalismoottoreita. Sarjaosien valmistukseen päästiin huhtikuussa 1944 ja ensimmäiset muutetut koneet luovutettiin laivuekäyttöön heinäkuussa 1944 ja viimeiset valmistuivat maaliskuussa 1945, jolloin kaikki 41 käyttökelpoista Morane-hävittäjää oli muutettu Mörkö-Moraneiksi.

Morane MS 406  vs                                 /             Mörkö-Morane 
Teho:  860 hp                                          /            Teho: 1100 hp

Matkanopeus: 300 km/h                        /             Matkanopeus: 410 km/h
Nopeus merenpinnassa: 377 km/h      /              Nopeus merenpinnassa: 435 km/h
Huippunopeus: 449 km/h                     /              Huippunopeus: 510 km/h

Toimintamatka: 840 km                        /              Toimintamatka: Ei tiedossa
Nousunopeus: 14 m/s                          /               Nousunopeus: 17-20 m/s
Lakikorkeus: 8500 m                            /               Lakikorkeus: 11800 m
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Sveitsissä lisenssillä valmistettu versio D 3801 vastasi suorituskyvyltään suunnilleen Mörkö-Moranea. 
Sen moottori Hispano-Suiza HS 12Y51 kehitti 1 050 hv. Jäähdytin oli kiinteä. 
Nopeus oli 535 km/h. 
Aseistuksena oli MS 410:n tapaan neljä konekivääriä ja tykki.

Caproni AP.1

Caproni Bergamaschi AP.1 was an Italian monoplane attack aircraft designed by Cesare Pallavicino, coming from the Breda firm.

Developed from the Ca.301, a single-seat fighter version of a similar design that was not put into production, the AP.1 was a two-seater version, fitted with a more powerful Alfa Romeo radial engine.

Designed to serve both as a fighter and an attack aircraft, it was a low-wing monoplane with a fixed landing gear of mixed construction, having trouser-covered legs. Although it was a monoplane at a time when many of the air forces of the world were flying biplanes, the Caproni was still an anachronism with fixed landing gear (at that time, most aircraft also had fixed landing gear).

The AP.1 prototype first flew on 27 April 1934. An initial series of 12 aircraft was delivered within 1936. In the same year, the Regia Aeronautica ordered a second series with improvements including a more powerful Alfa Romeo engine and more aerodynamic landing gear. In service, the large landing gear trousers were often removed for ease of maintenance.

The Caproni AP.1 equipped a total of eight squadriglie (Italian air unit equivalent to half an RAF squadron) of the assault wings of the Regia Aeronautica. It took part in the Spanish Civil War, but its unsatisfactory performance led to its quick replacement with the also disappointing Breda Ba.64, Ba.65 and Ba.88 types.

Four examples were acquired by El Salvador for use in the Escuadrilla de Caza (a fifth aircraft was shipped to replace an aircraft which crashed during a ferrying flight), and another seven were sold to Paraguay and used in the Chaco Postwar period (1939-1945). Another 10 aircraft ordered by Paraguay were diverted to the Regia Aeronautica.

General characteristics
Crew: two
Length: 9.34 m (30 ft 8 in)
Wingspan: 13.01 m (42 ft 8 in)
Height: 3.00 m (9 ft 10 in)
Empty weight: 1,940 kg (4,277 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Alfa Romeo 126 RC.34, 582 kW / 780 hp
Maximum speed: 347 km/h (216 mph)
Range: 1,500 km (935 miles)
Service ceiling: 6,500 m (21,320 ft)
Armament: 2 × 7.7 mm Breda SAFAT mg + 1 × 12.7 mm (.50 in) machine gun
Bombs: 500 kg 

Fieseler Fi.167

Fieseler Fi 167 oli saksalainen lentotukialukselle tarkoitettu torpedopommittaja/pommittaja ja tiedustelukone.

Vuonna 1936 laskettiin Natsi-Saksan laivastolle suunnitellun lentotukialus Graf Zeppelinin köli. Samana vuonna maan ilmailuministeriö lähetti valikoiduille lentokoneenvalmistajille vaatimukset monikäyttöisestä tukialuskoneesta.

Vaatimuksina olivat lyhyt lentoonlähtö- ja laskeutumismatka (nyk. STOL = Short Take Off and Landing) kokoontaitettavat kaksitasosiivet, jarrukoukku tukialukselle laskeutumiseksi sekä riittävän luja rakenne pommitussyöksyyn suurella nopeudella. Arado ja Fieseler vastasivat kummankin valmistaessa kaksi prototyyppiä.

Fieselerin prototyypit olivat lento-ominaisuuksiltaan sekä käsiteltävyydeltään hyvät. Ne pystyivät hyvin hitaaseen lentoon ja laskeutumaan erittäin pienellä nopeudella. Yleinen suorituskyky sekä kantokyky olivat hyvät.

Yhtiö sai 12. esituotantokoneen mallia Fi 167A-0 tilauksen. Erikoispiirteenä oli kiinteä mutta pudotettavissa oleva laskuteline. Tämän tarkoituksena oli estää koneen sukeltaminen tai ympärimeno pakkolaskussa veteen laskutelineen osuessa vedenpintaan. Lentotukialusohjelman peruunnuttua lisätilauksia ei tehty. 

Yhdeksän konetta toimitettin Romaniaan missä niitä käytettiin Mustanmeren rannikolla. Tyyppiä oli myös koelentolaivue 167:ssä miehitetyssä Hollannissa 1940–1942. Valmistettuja koneita ei tiedetä säilyneen.


Kone on verrattavissa brittiläiseen Fairey Albacore-koneeseen.
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The Fieseler Fi 167 was a 1930s German biplane torpedo and reconnaissance bomber designed for use from the Graf Zeppelin class aircraft carriers under construction from 1936 to 1942.

In early 1937, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (German Ministry of Aviation) issued a specification for a carrier-based torpedo bomber to operate from Germany's first aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin construction of which had started at the end of 1936. The specification was issued to two aircraft producers, Fieseler and Arado, and demanded an all-metal biplane with a maximum speed of at least 300 km/h (186 mph), a range of at least 1,000 km and capable both of torpedo and dive-bombing. By the summer of 1938 the Fiesler design proved to be superior to the Arado design, the Ar 195.
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General characteristics
Crew: 2 (pilot and gunner)
Length: 11.40 m 
Wingspan: 13.50 m 
Height: 4.80 m 
Wing area: 45.52 m² 
Empty weight: 2,806 kg 
Loaded weight: 4,509 kg
Max. takeoff weight: 4,859 kg 
Powerplant: 1 × Daimler-Benz DB 601B liquid cooled inverted V12, 809 kW (1,100 PS)
Maximum speed: 325 km/h 
Cruise speed: 250 km/h 
Range: 1,300 km 
Service ceiling: 8,200 m 
Armament: 1 × 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns, 1 × MG-15 machine gun in rear cabin.
Bombs: 1 × 1000 kg  bomb or 1 × 765 kg  torpedo or, 1 × 500 kg, plus 4 × 50 kg.
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The aircraft exceeded by far all requirements, had excellent handling capabilities and could carry about twice the required weapons payload. Like the company's better known Fieseler Fi 156 Storch, the Fi 167 had surprising slow-speed capabilities; under the right conditions, the plane would be able to land almost vertically on a moving aircraft carrier.

For emergency landings at sea the Fi 167 could jettison its landing gear, and airtight compartments in the lower wing would help the aircraft stay afloat at least long enough for the two-man crew to evacuate.

Two prototypes (Fi 167 V1 and V2) were built, followed by twelve pre-production models (Fi 167 A-0) which had only slight modifications from the prototypes.
Since the Graf Zeppelin was not expected to be completed before the end of 1940, construction of the Fi 167 had a low priority. When construction of the Graf Zeppelin was stopped in 1940, the completion of further aircraft was stopped and the completed examples were taken into Luftwaffe service in the Erprobungsgruppe 167 evaluation/test unit.

When construction of the Graf Zeppelin was resumed in 1942 the Ju 87C took over the role as a reconnaissance bomber, and torpedo bombers were no longer seen to be needed. Nine of the existing Fi 167 were sent to a coastal naval squadron in the Netherlands and then returned to Germany in the summer of 1943. After that they were sold to Croatia,

The remaining planes were used in the Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt (German Aircraft Experimental Institute) in Budweis, Czechoslovakia, for testing different landing gear configurations. The large wing area and low landing speeds made it difficult for the Fi 167 to properly carry out the tests so the two test aircraft had their lower wings removed just outboard of the landing gear.[citation needed]

The Fi 167's short-field landing and load-carrying abilities made it ideal for transporting ammunition and other supplies to besieged Croatian Army garrisons, between their arrival in September 1944 and the end of the War.

During one such mission, near Sisak on 10 October 1944, an Fi 167 of the Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia was attacked by five North American Mustang Mk IIIs of No. 213 Squadron RAF. The crew of the Fieseler had the distinction of shooting down one of the Mustangs before itself being shot down—possibly one of the last biplane "kills" of the war.

Henschel Hs 123

Henschel Hs 123 oli saksalainen syöksypommittajaksi suunniteltu lentokone. Sen aseistuksena olivat konekiväärit ja kevyet pommit.

Koneen suunnittelu alkoi vuonna 1933, jolloin sen huomattiin olevan ylivoimainen kilpailijaansa Fieseler Fi 98:aan nähden. Mutta kaksi kolmesta prototyypistä menetettiin kun siivet irtosivat syöksyssä. 
Siksi suunniteltiin uusi prototyyppi, jossa tämä ongelma oli korjattu. Koneesta tehtiin parannettu versio, Hs 123B, jossa oli parempi moottori, parempi aseistus ja suljettu ohjaamo avoimen sijasta. 

Tästä huolimatta Luftwaffe valitsi mieluummin Junkers Ju 87:n (Stukan) ja siksi 
Hs 123 koneen ura syöksypommittajana kesti vain vuoden. 
Sitä alettiin kuitenkin käyttää maataistelukoneena vuoteen 1944 saakka. Koneita rakennettiin 602 kappaletta.
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The Henschel Hs 123 was a single-seat biplane dive bomber and close-support attack aircraft flown by the German Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War and the early to midpoint of World War II. It proved to be robust, durable and effective especially in severe conditions. It continued to see front-line service until 1944, only to be withdrawn due to a lack of serviceable airframes and spare parts (production ended in 1940).

Henschel was a German locomotive manufacturer. Soon after Hitler's rise to power , Henschel decided to start designing aircraft, one of the first being the Hs 123. The aircraft was designed to meet the 1933 dive bomber requirements for the reborn Luftwaffe. Both Henschel and rival Fieseler (with the Fi 98) competed for the production contract requirement, which specified a single-seat biplane dive bomber. 

The first prototype Hs 123, the Hs 123V1 was cleared for its maiden flight on 1 April 1935, and General Ernst Udet, a World War I ace, flew the first prototype on its first public demonstration flight on 8 May 1935. 

The first three Henschel prototypes, with the first and third powered by 485 kW (650 hp) BMW 132A-3 engines and the second by a 574 kW (770 hp) Wright Cyclone, were tested at Rechlin in August 1936. 
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General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 8.33 m 
Wingspan: 10.50 m
Height: 3.20 m 
Wing area: 24.85 m² 
Empty weight: 1,500 kg 
Loaded weight: 2,215 kg 
Powerplant: 1 × BMW 132Dc 9-cylinder radial engine, 880 hp / 656 kW
Maximum speed: 341 km/h at 1,200 m 
Range: 860 km with drop tank, 480 km with 200 kg of bomb load
Service ceiling: 9,000 m 
Rate of climb: 15 m/s  at sea level
Armament: 2× 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns, 400 rpg 
Field modification of 2× 20 mm MG FF cannon
Up to 450 kg of bombs 
(1 x SC250 bomb under fuselage and 4 x SC50 bombs under wings)

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Only the first prototype had "smooth" cowlings ; from that point on, all aircraft had a tightly-fitting cowling that included 18 fairings covering the engine valves. The Henschel prototypes did away with bracing wires and although they looked slightly outdated with their single faired interplane struts and cantilever main landing gear legs attached to smaller (stub) lower wings, the Hs 123 featured an all-metal construction, clean lines and superior maneuverability. 

Its biplane wings were of a "sesquiplane" configuration, whereby the lower wings were significantly smaller than the top wings.

The overall performance of the Hs 123 V1 prototype prematurely eliminated any chance for the more conventional Fi 98, which was cancelled after a sole prototype had been constructed. During testing, the Hs 123 proved capable of pulling out of "near-vertical" dives; however, two prototypes subsequently crashed due to structural failures in the wings that occurred when the aircraft were tested in high-speed dives. 

The fourth prototype incorporated improvements to cure these problems; principally, stronger centre-section struts were fitted. After it had been successfully tested, the Hs 123 was ordered into production with an 656 kW (880 hp) BMW 132Dc engine.

The Hs 123 was intended to replace the Heinkel He 50 biplane reconnaissance and dive bomber as well as acting as a "stop-gap" measure until the Junkers Ju 87 became available. As such, production was limited and no upgrades were considered, although an improved version, the Hs 123B was developed by Henschel in 1938. 

A proposal to fit the aircraft with a more powerful 716 kW (960 hp) "K"-variant of its BMW 132 engine did not proceed beyond the prototype stage, the Hs 123 V5. The V6 prototype fitted with a similar powerplant and featuring a sliding cockpit hood was intended to serve as the Hs 123C prototype.


Nonetheless, production of the type ended in October 1938 with around 250 aircraft in all series.

A small pre-production batch of Hs 123A-0 s was completed in 1936 for service evaluation by the Luftwaffe. This initial group was followed by the slightly modified Hs 123A-1 series, the first production examples. The service aircraft flew with an armoured headrest and fairing in place (a canopy was tested in the Hs 123V6) as well as removable main wheel spats and a faired tailwheel. 

The main weapon load of four SC50 50 kg (110 lb) bombs could be carried in lower wing racks along with an additional SC250 250 kg (550 lb) bomb mounted on a "crutch" beneath the fuselage . The usual configuration was to install an auxiliary fuel "drop" tank at this station that was jettisoned in emergencies. Two 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns were mounted in the nose synchronized to fire through the propeller arc.

The aircraft entered service at StG 162 in autumn 1936. Its career as a dive bomber was cut short when the unit received its first Ju 87A the next year. Remaining Hs 123s were incorporated into the temporary Fliegergeschwader 100 at the time of the Munich Crisis. The Geschwader (wing) had been created as an emergency measure, equipped with obsolete aircraft and tasked with the ground attack role. 

With the signing of the Munich agreement, the crisis was over and the geschwader was disbanded, the gruppen being transferred to other established units. By 1939, despite its success in Spain, the Luftwaffe considered the Hs 123 obsolete and the schlachtgeschwader (close-support wings) had been disbanded with only one gruppe II.(Schl)/LG2 still equipped with the Hs 123.

During the same time, at the request of Oberst (later Generalfeldmarschall ) Wolfram von Richthofen , chief of staff of the Legion Condor , five aircraft had been deployed to Spain as a part of the Legion Condor, intended to be used as tactical bombers .

In their intended role, the Hs 123s proved to be somewhat of a failure, hampered by their small bomb capacity and short range. Instead, the Hs 123s based in Seville were used for ground support , a role in which their range was not such a detriment, and where the ability to accurately place munitions was more important than carrying a large load. The combat evaluation of the Hs 123 demonstrated a remarkable resiliency in close-support missions, proving able to absorb a great deal of punishment including direct hits on the airframe and engine. 

The Nationalists in Spain were suitably impressed with the Hs 123 under battle conditions, purchasing the entire evaluation flight and ordering an additional 11 aircraft from Germany. The Spanish Hs 123s were known as " Angelito " (dear angel or little angel), and at least one Hs 123 was in service with the Ejército del Aire ( Spanish Air Force ) after 1945.


Twelve Hs 123s were also exported to China , where they were used extensively as dive bombers against Japanese warships along the Yangtze River, especially in 1938. 

Fieseler Fi 98

The Fieseler Fi 98 was a prototype ground-attack aircraft produced by German aircraft manufacturer Fieseler as a rival to the Henschel Hs 123.

Fieseler developed the model in response to the Reich Air Ministry specification of 11 February 1934 calling for a robust biplane for low-level attack and dive bombing.

Three prototypes were ordered, of which one prototype was completed, and the design was rejected in favour of the Hs 123. The design of the model, a braced-wing biplane, was essentially obsolescent.

Specifications Fi 98
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 7.40 m 
Wingspan: 11.50 m 
Height: 3.00 m 
Wing area: 24.51 m² 
Empty weight: 1,453 kg 
Loaded weight: 2,165 kg 
Powerplant: 1 × BMW 132A-2 9-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 485 kw (650 hp)
Maximum speed: 295 km/h  at 2,000 m 
Cruise speed: 270 km/h 
Range: 470 km 
Service ceiling: 9,000 m 
Climb to 1,000 m  1 min 7 s
Armament: 2 x fixed forward-firing 7.92 mm (0 in) MG 17 machine guns
4 x 50 kg (110 lb) bombs

Reggiane Re.2000

Reggiane Re.2000 Falco I on italialaisvalmisteinen torjuntahävittäjä. Konetyyppi kehitettiin hieman ennen toista maailmansotaa, ja sen ensi lento tapahtui vuonna 1938. Sen valmistanut Reggiane oli Caproni-yhtymän tytäryhtiö. 

Caproni ei itse suunnitellut eikä valmistanut hävittäjälentokoneita. Re.2000 oli mäntämoottorihävittäjä, jonka potkuria pyöritti tähtimoottori, ja se oli valmistajansa tuotantomallien (Re.2000-2005) ensimmäinen. Se oli aikailaisiinsa verrattuna sekä lento-ominaisuuksiltaan että suorituskyvyltään erinomainen.

Kone oli huippunopeudeltaan (530 km/h) nopeimpia ennen sodan alkua valmistuneista. Lakikorkeus oli 10 500 metriä ja enimmäistoimintamatka 1 400 kilometriä. Koneessa oli kuitenkin vain kevyehkö aseistus, johon kuului vain kaksi 12,7 millimetrin konekivääriä yläpuolella eturungossa.

Italia ei hyväksynyt tyyppiä laajamittaiseen tuotantoon eikä aluksi Regia Aeronautican lentokalustoksi. Ilmeisesti Piaggio P.XI -moottori ei ollut kovin varmatoiminen, alitehoinen se ei kuitenkaan suinkaan ollut, sillä jo perusversion teho oli 985 hevosvoimaa. 

Sen sijaan sekä Ruotsi että Unkari ostivat sitä omien ilmavoimiensa kokomittoihin suhteutettuna suurin määrin. Unkarissa tyyppi tunnettiin nimellä Heja (suom. 'haukka').

Fiat CR.42 käytti samaa ”Haukka”-nimitystä (italiaksi Falco). Pieni määrä Re.2000-koneita päätyi Italian ilmavoimien käyttöön, ja siitä tehtiin pääasiassa rynnäköintiin soveltuva. Moottorista valmistettiin paranneltu 1 025 hevosvoiman tehon antanut versio P.XI bis, ja sen polttoainetilavuutta kasvatettiin. Siten toimintamatka kasvoi ja rynnäköinnissä voitiin paremmin käyttää pommeja.

Toinen yhtäläisyys liittyy konetyypin muotoprofiiliin, joka on hämmästyttävän samankaltainen kuin amerikkalaisen Seversky P-35:n.

Moottori oli Piaggio P. XI RC.40 -tyypin tähtimoottori. Alkuversio tuotti tehoa 985 hevosvoimaa eli 735 kW. Parannetun XIbis -version tarjoama tehontuotto oli 1 025 hevosvoimaa (764 kW).

Ruotsiin valmistettiin 60 kappaletta, sekä Unkariin 70 lentokonetta. Italiaan valmistui noin 1½ - 2 lentokonelaivueen verran eli 27 koneyksilöä. Lisäksi Unkarissa tuotettiin vajaat 200 hävittäjäkonetta lisenssillä ja ranskalaisella Gnome-Rhône 14K -moottorilla varustettu.

Ruotsi käytti omia Reggiane Re.2000 -hävittäjiään sota-ajan päättymiseen, vuoteen 1945 asti. Chantin mukaan käytön lopettaminen olisi tapahtunut vuonna 1946. Käytöstä poiston syynä lienee ollut varaosien saannin vaikeus Italiasta.

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Seversky P-35

Reggiane Re. 2000

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 7.99 m 

Wingspan: 11.00 m 

Height: 3.20 m

Wing area: 20.40 m² 

Empty weight: 2,090 kg 

Loaded weight: 2,839 kg 

Powerplant: 1 × Piaggio P.XI RC 40 14-cyl. twi-row air-cooler radial engine, 

986 hp / 736 kW at 4,000 m 

Propellers: Piaggion-D'Ascanio P.1001 three-bladed constant speed propeller

Propeller diameter: 3.10 m 

Maximum speed: 530 km/h  at 5,300 m 

Cruise speed: 440 km/h 

Range: 545 km 

Endurance: 1.25 hours

Service ceiling: 11,200 m (practical ceiling) Climb to 4,000 m: 4 min

Armament: 2× 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns

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The Caproni-Reggiane Re.2000 Falco-I was an Italian all metal, low-wing, monoplane with a Curtiss-style retractable undercarriage, used in the first part of World War II. This lightly built and highly maneuverable interceptor/fighter, similar to the Seversky P-35, flew for the first time in 1939. It proved a technically advanced aircraft, well balanced and extremely aerodynamic, but not without its faults.

Although potentially superior to Italian contemporary fighters (Fiat G.50 and Macchi C.200), the Re.2000 was not considered satisfactory by Italian military authorities. Consequently, the manufacturer built it for export and almost all of the first production served with the Swedish Air Force and Hungarian Air Force, rather than in the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force).

The Reggiane Re.2000 was designed by Roberto Longhi and Antonio Alessio in 1938. They took inspiration from the contemporary Seversky P-35 which it superficially resembled. The Re.2000 was the first aircraft designed by Reggiane that employed aluminum stressed skin rather than the wooden or mixed wood and metal structures normally used in contemporary Italian aircraft such as the Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 built by Reggiane under license. 

Reggiane introduced several advanced features: a modern structure, well more advanced than the ones used in Macchi's and other Italian fighters of the time; an elliptical wing, with five spars and integral fuel tanks. Reggiane Re.2000 had no fuselage tanks, but nevertheless, with the entire wing volume devoted to fuel, it had up to 460 kg (640 lt) gasoline, with a 900 1,100 km endurance, far better than Macchis and Fiats. The armament was still two 12.7 mm Breda's (300 rounds each), plus the provision for bomblet-dispensers (spezzoniera).

The Re.2000 prototype's first flight was on 24 May 1939 at Reggio Emilia, flown by Mario De Bernardi. The Re.2000, with 260 kg fuel (the maximum was 460 kg/640 lt, but RA did not needed it) was quite light: 2,059 kg empty, 2,529 kg loaded. It reached 518 km/h at 5,250 m and 506 km/h/6,000 m, climbed to 6,000 m in 6,5 min, and had 11,500 m ceiling. 

During test flights the aircraft gave an excellent performance, and on several occasions, it performed better than other fighters then in production. 

In mock dogfights, it could successfully fight not only the slower Fiat CR.42 biplane, but even the more modern Macchi C.200 and the German Bf 109E.

The Re.2000GA (Grande Autonomia) version, added extra 340 liters fuel tanks. This version should have been used to reach Eastern Africa, but it wasn't ready before the Italian defeat; the only fighter sent to reinforce Regia Aeronautica units were 51 C.R.42s disassembled and transported by the large Savoia-Marchetti SM.82s. Re.2000GAs were heavier and significantly slower than the standard production Re.2000s. At an empty weight was 2,190 kg compared to the Re.2000's 2,080 kg, maximum speed was 520 km/h at 5,300 m. 

Armament was two 12.7 mm SAFAT with 600 rounds, and provisions for a Nardi dispenser with 88 2 kg bomblets (a typical 'special armament' for Re.2000s). The Re.2000GA was never really reliable (even for Re.2000 standards), especially its troublesome engine.

The Re.2000bis equipped with P XI bis engine was built in small numbers with only nine examples delivered when 377a Sq. was born, in August 1941.

In service, the Re.2000's weak point was the engine, a 986 hp (735 kW) Piaggio P.XI RC 40 radial, which was not altogether reliable. Moreover, it was not as rugged as the Macchi and its fuel tanks were vulnerable (they were not self-sealing). 

Consequently, the Regia Aeronautica rejected it.

The Reggiane Re.2000 was much more prominent in the Hungarian 

and Swedish air forces. 

In fact, 80 percent of Re.2000 production went to these two countries, with Hungary ordering 70 and Sweden 60 machines. Other countries also exhibited interest, but did not place orders.

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In December 1939 a British commission, led by Lord Hardwick and Air Ministry representatives, came to Italy to purchase (along with marine engines, armaments and light reconnaissance bombers) 300 Re 2000s. The Director of Aircraft Contracts confirmed the British order in January 1940. 

The German government approved the sale in March of the same year, but withdrew its approval the following month. The Italian and British governments then decided to complete the contract through the Italian Caproni’s Portuguese subsidiary, but the British order was cancelled when Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940.