Heinkel He 116
Heinkel He 116 | |
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Type: | Long-haul courier plane |
Design country: | |
Manufacturer: | |
First flight: |
December 9, 1936 |
Production time: |
1936 to 1940 |
Number of pieces: |
3 test aircraft, 12 production aircraft |
The Heinkel He 116 from Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke was a four-engine low- wing aircraft that was to be used for mail flights over long distances, possibly also to China and Japan. This required overcoming the Pamir Mountains and a corresponding altitude performance. A later area of application was the mapping and surveying of the German area.
construction and development
The development began in 1936 at the request of Lufthansa , which at that time still considered a connection to China via Persia and Afghanistan possible. Therefore, the machine should not only have the greatest possible range, but also an altitude of 7600 m with a high fuel load. Suitable engines for this were not available in Germany, but Hirth Motoren GmbH was planning a high-altitude engine with around 500 hp. The Günter brothers proposed modified wings of their Heinkel He 70 Blitz with four motors, which - like the He 70 - were planked with plywood. The new hull made of duralumin was riveted tightly and received tight bulkheads so that it could swim for a while in the event of a water landing. The designers were certainly thinking of Lufthansa's only long-haul mail line to South America.
When the first prototype He 116 V1 was completed in 1937, the planned altitude engines were not yet ready and the prototype received eight-cylinder V-engines Hirth HM 508 C with only 270 hp each. Despite this low performance, the machine appeared suitable and in 1938 Lufthansa began testing the V2 (D-AJIE, Lübeck ex Silesia ) and V4 (D-ATIO, Hamburg ). The Hamburg crashed on May 27, 1938 on the beach at Langeoog during a reckless maneuver by the pilot. Among the three dead was head radio machinist Karl Kirchhoff, one of Lufthansa's most experienced Atlantic and long-haul pilots. The Lübeck was used from October 21 to January 1, 1939 at least four times on the post line to South America between Frankfurt am Main and Las Palmas.
The Japanese had also shown interest in the machine and one of the pre-production machines had been used on the Sahara flight in 1938 with a Japanese crew. V5 (J-BAKD, Nogi ) and V6 (J-EAKF, Tojo ) were transferred to Japan in six days in April 1934. They covered the 15,251 km in 54 hours and 17 minutes of flight time. They were then used in Manchukuo .
He 116 V3
The third prototype V3 was converted into a long-distance record machine. The conversion also extended to larger wings with an area of 75.6 m² and a span of 25 meters as well as considerably more fuel tanks in the fuselage. Since no high-altitude performance was required for the record, HM-508H motors with only 240 hp each - but with lower consumption values - were installed. Since the low take-off power and the high fuel load made the start considerably more difficult, the He 116 V3, renamed D-ARFD Rostock WNR . 1969 , was provided with four launchable rockets . On the first attempt, one of the missiles broke loose prematurely and severely damaged a wing. After the repair, the second record attempt took place on June 30, 1938. 10,000 km were covered on a closed course between Karlshagen and Leba in a record time of 46 hours and 18 minutes (216 km / h).
He 116 A
The development of the military variant began in December 1938. The He 116 A was to have a fully glazed pulpit. The inspection of the dummy of the He 116 A for special purposes took place on February 3, 1939. Twelve machines were ordered for the "Staffel zbV at the RLM", which were to be used as long-haul aircraft, according to an order from General Aircraft Master Ernst Udet . In April 1940 the first of the series machines took off for the first time. The series machines carried the designation He 116 A , the often used designation He 116 B is incorrect. In 1944 the Luftwaffe only had three He 116s left , two of which were used in flight schools.
Technical specifications
Parameter | Data He 116 A |
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span | 22.00 m |
Length, gr. | 13.70 m |
Height, gr. | 3.80 m |
Wing area | 62.90 m² |
Wing extension | 7.70 |
Contents of the fuel tank | 2650 l |
Contents of the lubricant reservoir | 110 l |
Empty mass | 4220 kg |
Payload | 2826 kg |
Takeoff mass | 7046 kg |
Payload / unladen weight | 0.677 |
Engine | 4 × 8-cylinder V-engine Hirth HM 508 with 240 HP (177 kW) each |
Propeller type | Adjustable propellers |
Propeller diameter | 2.25 m |
Propeller blade number | 2 |
Structure | Timber framework, plywood planked |
Fuselage | All metal |
Tail unit | Timber framework, plywood planked |
Flight time with economy performance (0 m) | 15.6 h |
Range with travel performance (0 m) | 3550 km |
Range with economy performance (0 m) | 4200 km |
Fuel consumption for travel performance (0 m) | 220 l / 100 km |
Fuel consumption with economy performance (0 m) | 165 l / 100 km |
Top speed (0 m) | 325 km / h |
Cruising speed (0 m) | 305 km / h |
Saving speed (0 m) | 270 km / h |
Landing speed | 105 km / h |
Takeoff route | 460 m |
Landing route | 310 m |
Service ceiling | 4700 m |
Climbing time to 1000 m | 5.5 min |
Climbing time to 2000 m | 11.0 min |
Ascent time to 3000 m | 20.0 min |
Wing loading | 113.50 kg / m² |
Power load | 7.34 kg / hp |
Area performance | 15.25 hp / m² |
Helical area performance | 68.00 hp / m² |
literature
- James Graue, John Duggan: Deutsche Lufthansa - South Atlantic Airmail Service 1934–1939. Zeppelin Study Group, 2000.
- Jörg-M. Hörmann: Flugbuch Atlantik, German catapult flights 1927–1939. Delius Klasing Verlag, 2007.
- Heinz J. Nowarra : The German Air Armament 1933-1945. Vol. 2. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz 1993.