Heinkel He 70

Heinkel He 70 Blitz
Type:	Express airliner
Design country:	German Empire
Manufacturer:	Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke
First flight:	December 1, 1932
Number of pieces:	> 300

Cabin and cockpit door in the hull of the He 70

Model of the He 70

The Heinkel He 70 Blitz was a single-engine German express airliner designed by Siegfried Günter and built by Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in Rostock on behalf of Lufthansa from 1932 onwards. The low-wing aircraft was at times the fastest transport machine in the world (top speed 362 km / h). Its first flight was on December 1, 1932, just five months after the draft.

history

The He 70 arose from a request by Lufthansa and Swissair for a faster aircraft to compete with the US Lockheed Vega on short routes . The machine represented a milestone in aviation history in many ways . Its aerodynamic line was way ahead of its time. It was also the first European airplane or the first commercial airplane in the world with retractable landing gear . The He 70 set a total of eight records and was at times the fastest traffic machine in the world, which earned it the nickname "Blitz".

The aircraft could carry up to five passengers and only had one pilot as a crew. A passenger seat was just behind the pilot's seat; the other four seats were “across the direction of flight” (two each on the left and right).

Lufthansa received in 1933 and 1934, the first two prototypes, and in 1934 three He 70D and 1935 ten He 70 G. Thus the teaching Lufthansa the flight flash service one, of Berlin with the cities of Frankfurt , Hamburg and Cologne Association, as well as the route Cologne / Hamburg. The He 70 was used in European flight service from 1933 to 1937. The aircraft that still existed were handed over to the Air Force in late 1937 / early 1938 . In the non-European flight service to South America, the He 70 was flown on the Stuttgart - Seville section from 1933 to 1936.

Some examples were also exported (Hungary: 18 planes in 1937/38, Spain: six planes in 1937, Great Britain: one plane in 1936, Japan: one plane in 1935). One machine was bought by the British company Rolls-Royce and studied intensively. In 1938 the He 70 (powered by a Rolls-Royce Peregrine I engine) reached a top speed of 481 km / h. It provided results that were incorporated into the design of the Supermarine Spitfire (including the wing and tail fin shape). The machine was also the model for the development of the twin-engine Heinkel He 111 , initially called the "Doppelblitz" based on the He 70. Results from the development of the He 70 were also incorporated into the Heinkel He 112 .

In addition to the civilian version, military versions were also developed. In the German Air Force , the He 70 was used as a makeshift reconnaissance aircraft , later as a travel, air service and liaison aircraft until the end of the Second World War . 28 machines were sent to the Spanish Civil War with the Condor Legion , where they were called "Rayo" ("Blitz"). In Spain, she was used as a fast scout with Reconnaissance Group 88 from La Sénia .

Originally the He 70 was intended as a makeshift combat aircraft ( 44 units), auxiliary reconnaissance aircraft (196 units) and touring aircraft (33 units). However, the versions F-1 and G-2 were all converted into the military version F-2. In total, the Luftwaffe received 296 He 70 F-2s, which were built in series from January 1935 to July 1937. Other military versions than the F-2 were not delivered. Walther Wever , Chief of the General Staff of the Air Force, crashed on June 3, 1936 at the controls of a He 70 F-2 (W.-No. 907) when taking off from Dresden-Klotzsche.

The He 70 K was built under license for the Hungarian Air Force , an armed reconnaissance aircraft with the Gnôme-Rhône 14K radial engine manufactured under license . This version had a higher output of 670 kW. The He 270 V1 (W.-Nr. 1973, D-OEHF) was a prototype with the DB 601 Aa .

construction

The aircraft was a single-engine high-speed airliner and designed as a cantilever low- wing aircraft . The wings were two-spar, had plywood planking and an oval floor plan as well as landing flaps. The spindle-shaped, all-metal fuselage was constructed in a shell construction and provided aerodynamically clean with plates that were riveted butt-jointed. The oval tail units were self-supporting and made entirely of wood. The main wheels of the tail wheel landing gear drove into the wings, the grinding spur or tail wheel was pulled into the fuselage. For the first time in Germany, an engine was equipped with hot cooling, in which the cooler could be pulled into the fuselage as required. The retractable glycol cooler, together with the retractable landing gear, increased the maximum flight speed by 40 km / h.

Versions

A Heinkel He 70 as a stamp motif

He 70a

The first prototype of the He 70, the He 70a, took off on December 1, 1932. The retractable landing gear installed on a German passenger aircraft for the first time was not yet disguised and was therefore exposed in the wings. A liquid-cooled BMW VI 6.0 Z with 637 hp takeoff power was used as the drive . When it was approved by the German Research Institute for Aviation in 1933, a maximum speed of 377 km / h was measured for the aircraft.

He 70b

The second prototype of the He 70, the He 70b, was the model machine for Lufthansa and flew under the registration number D-3. She had a crew of two and space for four passengers. The retractable landing gear had flaps which closed the landing gear bay in flight. A liquid-cooled BMW VI 6.0 Z with 637 hp take-off power was again used as the drive.

He 70c

The He 70c was the first sample machine for military use. She flew under the civil registration D-UHYS. In this version, the pilot's seat cover could be pushed back in the rear part and could be armed as a B-stand.

He 70d

The He 70d was an improved sample machine for Lufthansa and was marked D-UBIN. The most important difference to the He 70b was the more powerful drive with a BMW VI 7.3 Z with 750 hp takeoff power.

He 70e

The He 70e was the second military model machine and corresponded to the He 70c, but had the more powerful drive with the BMW VI 7.3 Z with 750 hp take-off power.

He 70F

This was the military series version as a multi-purpose aircraft. The crew consisted of two men. 296 units were built, some for Hungary as He 170

He 70G

The He 70G was the civil series version as an express transport and mail plane. 28 machines were built, one of which was sold to Great Britain in 1936 (registration G-ADZF) and equipped there with a more powerful Rolls-Royce Kestrel V engine.

Technical specifications

Three-sided view

Parameter	He 70F	He 70G	He 70G, export
Usage	multi-role military aircraft	Express airliner
crew	2-5	1
Passengers		5
length	11.7 m	12 m	11.55 m
span	14.8 m
height	3.1 m
Wing area	36.5 m²
Wing extension	6.0
Preparation mass	2360 kg	2530 kg	2300 kg
Takeoff mass	3500 kg	3460 kg	3360 kg
Engine	a BMW VI 7.3 Z		a Rolls Royce Kestrel V
Rated power at sea level	750 PS (approx. 550 kW) at 1700 rpm		470 kW (640 hp) at 2900 rpm
Starting power	750 PS (approx. 550 kW) at 1700 rpm		510 kW (695 hp) at 2240 rpm
Continuous output	500 PS (approx. 370 kW) at 1600 rpm		440 kW (600 hp) at 2500 rpm
Power load		4.75 kg / hp	4.85 kg / hp
Maximum speed at sea level	360 km / h		410 km / h
Top speed in 1000 m		355 km / h	410 km / h
Top speed in 2000 m		345 km / h	400 km / h
Cruising speed	280 km / h
Cruising speed at sea level		305 km / h	380 km / h
Cruising speed in 1000 m		300 km / h	370 km / h
Cruising speed in 2000 m		295 km / h	365 km / h
Landing speed	105 km / h		110 km / h
Climbing time to 1000 m		2.5 min	2.2 min
Climbing time to 2000 m		5.5 min	4.9 min
Climbing time to 4000 m	15.0 min		11.8 min
Service ceiling	6000 m
Range	1820 km
optimal range		1250 km	1000 km
Range (full throttle, sea level)		650 km	730 km
Range (full throttle, 1000 m)		700 km	770 km
Range (full throttle, 2000 m)		775 km	820 km
Range (travel gas, sea level)		800 km	780 km
Range (travel gas, 1000 m)		890 km	840 km
Range (travel gas, 2000 m)		1000 km	920 km
Taxiway at the start		350 m	340 m
Taxiway on landing		260 m	265 m
Armament	1 × MG 15	-

swell

Documents from the Federal Archives / Military Archives Freiburg
Documents from the Lufthansa archive, Cologne
Aero, Verlag Marshall Cavendish International Ltd., 1985 London England issue 93, page 2602f
Heinz J. Nowarra : The German Air Armament 1933-1945. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz 1993, ISBN 3-7637-5464-4 (complete work), ISBN 3-7637-5466-0 (volume 2).
Heinkel - Chronicle and data sheets of the Heinkel-Flugzeugbau company. Reprint, Aviatic Verlag, 2nd edition, ISBN 3-925505-08-3 .

Web links

Commons : Heinkel He 70 - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

photos