Heinkel HE 7

Heinkel HE 7
Type:	Torpedo plane
Design country:	German Empire
Manufacturer:	Heinkel
First flight:	September 1927
Commissioning:	-
Production time:	1927
Number of pieces:	1

The Heinkel HE 7 is a German floatplane developed in the 1920s . It was the first twin-engine low-wing aircraft of the Heinkel aircraft factory in Warnemünde . The abbreviation HE stands for "Heinkel monoplane".

development

The order to build a so-called "three-purpose aircraft" ( reconnaissance aircraft , submarine hunter and torpedo carrier ) was awarded to Heinkel-Werke by their front company Severa (seaplane research department) as part of a secret armament program of the Reichsmarine . In the summer of 1927, construction began on the aircraft designated as the HE 7, which was given the serial number 266. Construction was completed in September and the first flight was completed in the second half of the month. Not much is known about the further history of the HE 7. What is certain is that it was approved in June 1929 with the registration number D-1552 for the RDL test center (Reich Association of the German Aviation Industry) in Travemünde. An almost loss is documented for December 13, 1928, when the aircraft was floating towards the pier of Warnemünde's east bay in strong seas and easterly winds and could only be saved from destruction by using two smaller ships. In Warnemünde and at the torpedo research institute in Eckernförde , extensive torpedo drop tests were carried out with her over the next few years. For this purpose, the HE 7 was equipped several times with more powerful versions of the Jupiter motors used, for example in August 1928 or April 1931, when the German license version from Siemens & Halske was used. The bow stand, which was initially closed, was also rebuilt and glazed on the front for the navigator / torpedo shooter and the two-bladed propellers were replaced by four-bladed ones. Originally the armaments program mentioned at the beginning provided for the construction of 228 HE 7s in 1929 and 1930, but this project was not carried out because the naval management commissioned Heinkel in 1930 to build a more powerful seaplane, which ultimately led to the development of the HD 59 led. The only HE 7 built was finally cannibalized in April 1937.

construction

The HE 7 is a semi- cantilever low-wing aircraft in composite construction . The fuselage and tail unit consist of a fabric-covered tubular steel frame , the former is covered in places with duralumin sheets . The wings, which are also covered with fabric, consist of a wooden frame with two spars and tubular steel struts. They are supported by two I-posts on each side towards the floats. The two wooden floats are not connected to each other and are attached to the hull by I and N struts. They are single-tier and keeled .

Technical specifications

Parameter	Data
crew	3
span	24.0 m
length	16.0 m
height	4.24 m
Wing area	93.42 m²
Empty mass	2800 kg
Payload	2200 kg
Takeoff mass	6000 kg
drive	an air-cooled Neunzylinder- four-stroke - radial engine
Type	Gnôme-Rhône Jupiter VI 9 AK
Starting power Nominal power on the ground Continuous power	520 hp (382 kW) at 2080 rpm 475 hp (349 kW) at 2020 rpm 444 hp (327 kW) at 1917 rpm
Top speed	200 km / h near the ground
Cruising speed	175 km / h
Landing speed	89 km / h
Rate of climb	2.8 m / s
Rise time	5.54 min at 1000 m
Summit height	2300 m

literature

• Volker Koos: Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke 1922–1932 . Heel, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-502-6 , p. 28/29 .
• Volker Koos: Aviation between the Baltic Sea and Breitling . Warnemünde sea and land airfield 1914–1945. Transpress, Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-344-00480-8 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Karl Ries: Research on the German aviation role. Part 1: 1919-1934 . Dieter Hoffmann, Mainz 1977, ISBN 3-87341-022-2 , p. 115 .
2. ^ Helmut Stützer: The German military aircraft 1919–1934 . E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Herford 1984, ISBN 3-8132-0184-8 , p. 191 .