Heinkel He 115

Heinkel He 115
Heinkel He 115 of the Finnish Air Force
Type:	Reconnaissance plane and torpedo bomber
Design country:	German Empire
Manufacturer:	Heinkel
First flight:	August 1937
Commissioning:	1938
Production time:	1938 to 1940
Number of pieces:	223

The Heinkel He 115 was a twin-engine seaplane that was developed in Germany in the 1930s and was used in World War II .

history

He 115 towing the launch of the "Monte Pascoal"

He 115 in the loading harness of the "Monte Pascoal"

The development of the Heinkel He 115 began in 1935 after a tender by the RLM for a multi-purpose aircraft as a replacement for the He 59 . In contrast to this, the He 115 was designed as a low-wing monoplane for three crew members. The first flight took place in August 1937 and was carried out by Gerhard Nitschke. After a major renovation, the V1 received the following changes:

• smooth plywood cladding of the front top of the fuselage
• Elimination of the entry ladder from the swimmer to the hull
• No bomb hatch
• Installation of new VDM controllable pitch propellers
• Conversion of the rudder

With the model modified in this way to the He 115 V2, pilot Friedrich Ritz set eight world records (max. 330 km / h) for different ranges and loads for two-engine seaplanes on the route from Laboe via Swinoujscie to Łeba and back on March 20, 1938 . The third prototype with the largely glazed fuselage nose and the elongated cabin (nicknamed "greenhouse") already had the appearance of the later series models; the fourth had swimmers without wire tension.

In order to set a new long-distance record, flight captain Walter Diele took off on March 14, 1939 with a two-man crew from the Ribnitz Bay with the destination Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The aircraft had been equipped with an extended fuel system with a capacity of 4090 liters and was heavily overloaded with a take-off weight of 15 t. The flight led over Heligoland , the English Channel , the Biscay , Cape Finisterre and the Canary Islands to near Cape Verde . A ditching had to be carried out due to engine damage caused by an oil pipe burst (see picture, left engine, propeller in sail position). The aircraft was salvaged by the motor ship Monte Pascoal of Hamburg-Süd and hung on the loading gear.

Series production began in December 1938 and ended in July 1940. With the prototypes, a total of 223 aircraft were built at Heinkel Rostock. There was no license production and no further series production after July 1940. In 1940/41 at least 66 aircraft were converted as long-haul aircraft.

commitment

The planes were used as reconnaissance planes, bombers, torpedo planes and mine layers, but proved to be unsuitable in the last three roles. However, on November 11, 1940, Heinkel He 115 of Coast Aviation Group 706 succeeded in sinking two cargo ships that were in convoy EN 23 off the East Scottish coast. After the corresponding combat tasks had been transferred to land aircraft ( Do 17 , He 111 , Ju 88 ) in the course of the war , the He-115 squadrons were gradually converted. In April 1942, the last two squadrons (1./406, 1./906) were in Norway , where they were used against northern sea convoys . In 1944 only the 1. (F) / 406 existed in Norway as a reconnaissance squadron with around ten He 115s.

A total of 18 aircraft were exported in the second half of 1939 and early 1940: twelve to Sweden and six to Norway. Three of the Norwegian planes escaped during the German invasion to Great Britain , where they were used by the RAF in the Mediterranean and the North Sea, for example to transport agents. One machine fell into the hands of the German Air Force , another escaped to Finland.

The He 115 turned out to be unsuitable for the intended combat mission due to its design as a seaplane and the associated low speed. As a consequence, the aircraft was taken out of the construction program in mid-1940 and subsequently also taken out of combat.

Construction figures

version	number
Prototypes	3
A.	13
B.	122
C.	67
export	18th
total	223

Swell:

technical description

Seaworthy reconnaissance and torpedo aircraft in all-metal construction ; cantilever mid-wing in zweiholmiger shell construction with abgestrebtem Normal leitwerk ; spindle-shaped fuselage with oval cross - section , large fin, horizontal fin with large wingspan ; All - metal float, single-stage and keeled , can be equipped with snow runners .

Versions

• He 115 A-1: ​​first series version (additional MG 15 in the fuselage nose), from January 1939
• He 115 A-2: Export version for Sweden (10) and Norway (6), modified radio equipment and armament (Colt Browning and M / 22)
• He 115 B-1 / R1: Reconnaissance aircraft with two Rb cameras
• He 115 B-1 / R2: an outdoor station for SC or SD 500 bombs
• He 115 B-1 / R3: Equipped with two magnetic air mines LMA III
• He 115 B-2: Version with skis for use on the North Cape
• He 115 C-1: more powerful armament: two 7.92 mm MG 15 and MG 17 as well as a rigid, forward-firing 15 mm MG 151 cannon in the bow
• He 115 C-2: Version with steel skis
• He 115 C-3: Version for marine mine-laying operations off the English coast
• He 115 C-4: Torpedo bomber for the Arctic Ocean, only the rear MG 15 in the cabin
• He 115 D: Prototype with two 1600 HP (1177 kW) BMW 801 A / B star engines, five MG and a crew of four, tested in 1940
• He 115 E: like the C version, but with improved armament and navigation and radio equipment

Whereabouts

On June 2, 2012, a He 115 (serial number 3896) was recovered largely intact in the Hafrsfjord in southwestern Norway. The starboard engine and the two swimmers, which had already been removed by a German rescue team during the war, are missing. The machine with the markings 8L + FH, which was lost on December 28, 1942 in a failed ditching, belonged to the first squadron of Maritime Reconnaissance Group 906 (until February 1941: Coastal Aviation Group 906), which was stationed in Sola . A possible restoration has not yet been decided (June 2012), until then the remains will be kept in a fresh water tank.

Technical specifications

Three-sided view He 115 B-2

Parameter	Heinkel He 115 B-2	Heinkel He 115 C-1
length	17.30 m	17.30 m
span	22.28 m	22.26 m
height	6.60 m	6.57 m
Wing area	86.7 m	85.76 m²
Wing loading	122.4 kg / m²	k. A.
Power load	5.52 kg / hp	k. A.
Empty mass	6,772 kg	6,861 kg
Preparation mass	6,910 kg	k. A.
Takeoff mass	10,605 kg	maximum 10,665 kg
Engine	two 9-cylinder radial engines BMW 132 K , each with 706 kW (960 hp) starting power at 2,550 rpm
Top speed	295 km / h near the ground 305 km / h at an altitude of 1,000 m 295 km / h at an altitude of 2,000 m	288 km / h
Marching speed	275 km / h near the ground 285 km / h at an altitude of 1,000 m 295 km / h at an altitude of 2,000 m	278 km / h
Landing speed	100 km / h	k. A.
Rate of climb	k. A.	255 m / min
Rise time	4.9 min at an altitude of 1,000 m 10.9 min at an altitude of 2,000 m 20.8 min at an altitude of 3,000 m	k. A.
Range	2,800 km	2,785 km
Service ceiling	5,200 m	5,170 m
Armament	One movable 7.92 mm MG 15 each in the bow (525 rounds) and stern (1,500 rounds)	One movable 7.92 mm MG 15 in the bow and one in the stern, a rigid 15 mm MG 151 cannon in the bow, two 7.92 mm MG 17 back-firing possible in the engine cowlings
Bomb load	one torpedo LTF 5 or LTF 6 b one mine LMB III (920 kg) or two mines LMA III (500 kg each) one 500 kg high explosive bomb SC 500 or SD 500	one torpedo LTF 5 or LTF 6 b one mine LMB III (920 kg) or two mines LMA III (500 kg each) three 250 kg high explosive bombs SC 250 internal
crew	3 (pilot, radio operator, observer / gunner)

See also

• List of aircraft types
• Wehrmacht emergency squadrons

literature

• Hans-Jürgen Becker: German aviation - seaplanes, flying boats, amphibians, float planes . ISBN 3-7637-6106-3 .
• Jörg M. Hormann: Flight log Atlantic . ISBN 978-3-7688-1973-2 .
• Kenneth Munson: Bombers, Patrol and Transport Aircraft 1939–45 . 3. Edition. Orell Füssli, Zurich 1977.

Web links

Commons : Heinkel He 115  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

1. ^ According to Kenneth Munson: Bomber, Patrol and Transport Aircraft 1939–45. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich, 3rd edition 1977, p. 113; the first flight of the prototype with the registration D-AEHF took place in 1936
2. ^ According to Kenneth Munson: Bomber, Patrol and Transport Aircraft 1939–45. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich, 3rd edition 1977, p. 114 it was MG 151 caliber 20 mm.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Volker Koos: Heinkel He 115 . In: Aviation Classics . No. 1/2013 , p. 14 .
2. ↑ Jürgen Rohwer , Gerhard Hümmelchen : Chronik des Maritime War 1939–1945, November 1940 , accessed on August 22, 2014.
3. ↑ Archives from the Federal Archives / Military Archives Freiburg, cf. however Kenneth Munson: Bombers, patrol and transport aircraft 1939–45. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich, 3rd edition 1977, p. 113 with widely differing production figures.
4. ^ Sönke Neitzel: The use of the German air force over the Atlantic and the North Sea 1939-1945. Bonn 1995.
5. ↑ cf. Kenneth Munson: Bombers, Patrol and Transport Aircraft 1939–45. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich, 3rd edition 1977, p. 113.
6. ↑ Numbers cf. Kenneth Munson: Bombers, Patrol and Transport Aircraft 1939–45. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich, 3rd edition 1977, p. 114.
7. ^ Heinkel 115 recovered in Norway. In: Airplane Monthly. August 2012, p. 6.
8. ↑ Heinkel . Chronicle and data sheets from Heinkel-Flugzeugbau. Aviatic, Oberhaching 1996, ISBN 3-925505-08-3 , pp. 106 .