Heinkel He 59

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Heinkel He 59
He 59 B-3 of the sea emergency flight command 2 on Sylt, 1940
Heinkel He 59B-3 , 1940
Type: Seaplane
Design country:

German EmpireGerman Empire German Empire

Manufacturer:

Heinkel

First flight:

September 1931

Commissioning:

1935

Production time:

1934 to April 1939

Number of pieces:

166

The Heinkel He 59 was the first twin-engine biplane - combat aircraft with floats from German production, after the First World War was built.

development

Designed as a seaworthy reconnaissance aircraft and bomber , the development under the leadership of Reinhold Mewes and Victor Maugsch was carried out in 1930 under the designation HD 59 (for Heinkel double-decker) before the designation He 59 was assigned to the model when the RLM type list was introduced. The first flight took place in September 1931. In order to circumvent the Versailles Treaty , the test took place in Lipetsk , Russia , whereby the model was equipped with a wheeled chassis. In January 1932 the first flight as a seaplane with double floats followed. In this form, the aircraft went into series production as the He 59 B-1. It was followed by the He 59 B-2 with a metal bow, a glazed cockpit for the bombardier and a weapon stand with a MG 15 mounted under the fuselage . The version B-3 dispensed with armament in order to achieve a greater range through additional fuel tanks. The version C-1 was designed as a long-range reconnaissance aircraft, the version C-2 as a sea rescue aircraft. A number of training aircraft followed: the He 59 D-1 was produced for training aircraft crews, the E-1 was used for training torpedo missions and the N-1 for navigation training.

The He 59 was built in small numbers per month from 1934 to April 1939. Heinkel in Rostock delivered 41, Arado in Warnemünde 122 series aircraft. A total of 166 He 59s were produced with the three prototypes.

commitment

From 1935 the introduction was with the troops, so that on September 19, 1938 37 machines were available.

The He 59 had very good flight characteristics, but was not suitable for single-engine flight. The range, payload and armament were sufficient for the conditions at the time, but overall the He 59 was too slow.

He 59 B-2 of the Finnish Air Force , 1943/44

As it did many other German aircraft, the He was 59 (Spanish nickname "Zapatones") during the Spanish Civil War in the Seefliegerstaffel 88 of the Condor Legion used the planes were among others in Cádiz -Puntales, Melilla -El Atalayón and Port de Pollença stationed in Mallorca and were armed with a 20 mm automatic cannon in the bow.

In the first months of the Second World War it was used as a torpedo and mine plane . Aircraft of this type sank the Polish mine- layer ORP Gryf . In 1940, 84 operational He 59s served as transporters for attack troops and equipment in the combat group zbV 108 for the Weser Exercise company for the invasion of Norway . On May 10, 1940, twelve He 59s of the 3rd squadron of KGrz.bV 108 flew into the port of Rotterdam to invade the Netherlands and occupied it. The planes were then used up for distress tasks until 1943. Then the Do 18 and the Do 24 took their place.

construction

The He 59 was a two-legged tensioned double-decker in composite construction, the supporting structure was a two-spar wooden frame with a plywood nose and fabric covering. The box-shaped fuselage was rectangular and consisted of a welded tubular steel and light metal frame with fabric covering. The tail unit was also a metal frame covered with fabric, braced and braced. The two single-stage , keeled light metal floats contained fuel tanks with a capacity of 900 liters each, the He 59 could carry 2700 liters of fuel in total, and even 3200 liters for long-range reconnaissance missions (two additional tanks in the bomb bay ). The propellers were two rigid four- bladed wood propellers.

Technical specifications

Parameter He 59a He 59 B-1 He 59 B-2, B-3 He 59 D
crew 3 4th
Wingspan 23.66 m 23.70
length 17.35 17.40 m 17.35
height k. A. 7.2 7.10 m
Wing area 153.4 m²
Empty mass 5000 kg
Payload 2275 kg 3950 kg
Takeoff mass 7275 kg 8950 kg
Engines two liquid-cooled twelve-cylinder - four stroke - V engines
Type BMW VI 6ZU BMW VI 6.0ZU
power 660 PS (485 kW) each
Top speed 245 km / h near the ground 240 km / h near the ground 240 km / h near the ground
230 km / h at 1000 m altitude
215 km / h at 2000 m altitude
Cruising speed k. A. 205 km / h 205 km / h near the ground
200 km / h at 1000 m altitude
190 km / h at 2000 m altitude
Landing speed k. A. 88 km / h
Rise time k. A. 4.42 min at 1000 m
11.12 min at 2000 m
26 min at 3000 m
4.7 min at 1000 m
11.2 min at 2000 m
18.6 min at 3000 m
Summit height 3800 m 3500 m
Range k. A. 940 km 940 km
1528 with two 500 l additional tanks
875 km
Take-off run k. A. 580 m
Armament
Initially three movable 7.92 mm MG 15 , from 1937 a 20 mm MG FF in the front command post . During the war, the armament was further strengthened: up to two 20 mm MK and two twin MG 81 Z , plus a 675 kg torpedo, four 250 kg bombs or two fog machines with 375 kg each, as mine-layers four 500 -kg mines

See also

literature

  • Peter W. Cohausz: Heinkel He 59. Robust sea double-decker . In: Flugzeug Classic . No. 3/2018 , p. 44-47 .
  • Volker Koos: Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke 1922–1932 . Heel, Königswinter 2006, ISBN 3-89880-502-6 , p. 124/125 .
  • Volker Koos: Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke 1933–1945 . Heel, Königswinter 2003, ISBN 3-89880-217-5 , p. 26/27 .
  • Michael Sharpe: biplanes, triple decks & seaplanes . Gondrom, Bindlach 2001, ISBN 3-8112-1872-7 .

Web links

Commons : Heinkel He 59  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Michael Sharpe: Doppeldecker, Dreifachdecker & Wasserflugzeuge , Gondrom Verlag, Bindlach 2001, ISBN 3-8112-1872-7 , p. 235
  2. ^ Production documents, Federal Archives / Military Archives Freiburg, RL 3
  3. According to Olaf Groehler : History of the Air War 1910 to 1980 , Military Publishing House of the German Democratic Republic, Berlin 1981, p. 192 there was a He 59 with the first contingent, which was put on the march on July 31, 1936
  4. ^ Historical naval archive : Heinkel ( Memento from March 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  5. Loss documents, Federal Archives / Military Archives Freiburg, RL 2III
  6. a b c Helmut Stützer: The German military aircraft 1919–1934 . E. S. Mittler & Sohn, Herford 1984, ISBN 3-8132-0184-8 , p. 213 and 218 .
  7. Heinkel. Chronicle and data sheets from Heinkel-Flugzeugbau . Aviatic, Oberhaching 1989, ISBN 3-925505-08-3 , pp. 42 .