Heinkel He 70 Blitz

Last updated
He 70
Heinkel He 70.jpg
Role Mail plane, Passenger
National origin Germany
Manufacturer Heinkel Flugzeugwerke
First flight1 December 1932
Introduction1933
Retired1954 Spanish Air Force [1]
Primary users Deutsche Luft Hansa
Luftwaffe
Royal Hungarian Air Force
Number built324

The Heinkel He 70 Blitz ("lightning") was a German mail plane and fast passenger monoplane aircraft of the 1930s designed by Heinkel Flugzeugwerke, which was later used as a bomber and for aerial reconnaissance. It had a brief commercial career before it was replaced by larger types. The He 70 had set eight world speed records by the beginning of 1933.

Contents

Design and development

The Heinkel He 70 Blitz (Lightning) was designed in the early 1930s as a mailplane for Deutsche Lufthansa in response to a request for an aircraft faster than the Lockheed Model 9 Orion (used by Swissair) to service short routes.

It was a cantilever low-wing monoplane, with an aerodynamically efficient elliptical wing and retractable undercarriage, and a single, nose-mounted engine.

To meet the demanding speed requirements, care was taken to minimize drag, with flush rivets giving a smooth surface, and fully retractable main landing gear. The tail wheel was not retractable. It was powered by a 470 kW (630 hp) BMW VI V-12 engine cooled with ethylene glycol rather than water. This allowed a smaller radiator to be used, which also retracted at high speed to further reduce drag. The pilot and radio operator were seated in tandem, followed by a cabin seating four passengers in pairs facing each other. [2]

The first prototype flew on 1 December 1932, [3] and proved to have excellent performance, setting eight world records for speed over distance, and reaching a maximum speed of 377 km/h (234 mph). [4]

Operational history

Luft Hansa operated He 70s between 1934 and 1937 for a fast service which connected Berlin with Frankfurt, Hamburg and Cologne, as well as between Cologne and Hamburg.

He 70s were flown internationally from Stuttgart to Seville between 1934 and 1936. The route was part of the South America mail service provided by Luft Hansa which continued via Bathurst, The Gambia to Natal, Brazil, using Junkers Ju 52/3m and Dornier Wal flying boats. [5]

Remaining aircraft were transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1937.

Military use

Royal Hungarian Air Force He 70Ks Heinkel He-70K tipusu tavolfelderito repulogep. Fortepan 26468.jpg
Royal Hungarian Air Force He 70Ks

The Luftwaffe operated He 70s from 1935, initially as a light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. As soon as purpose built designs became available, it was relegated to use as a liaison and courier aircraft.

Twenty-eight aircraft were sent in the late 1930s to Spain with the German-manned Legion Condor , where they were used during the Spanish Civil War as fast reconnaissance aircraft. There they were known as the Rayo, Spanish for "lightning".

A single example was bought by rolls-Royce for use as an engine testbed: it continued in use until 1944.

He 170

The He 70K (later given the RLM number: He 170) was a fast reconnaissance airplane export variant used by the Hungarian air force. Powered by a Gnome-Rhône Mistral Major radial engine, the engines were built under license in Hungary as the WM-K-14, but the airframe manufacture and final assembly took placein Germany. [6] The new engines raised the top speed of the aircraft from 360 to 435 km/h (224 to 270 mph). [7] 18 were used by the Royal Hungarian Air Force from 1937 to 1942.

Weaknesses

A major weakness of the He 70 in military use was the fire risk. Parts of the airframe were made out of an extremely flammable magnesium alloy called "Elektron", though the majority of the monocoque fuselage was Duralumin. Elektron is very light yet strong, but burns readily when ignited and is difficult to extinguish. Moreover, each wing contained a non-self-sealing 210-litre (47-imperial-gallon) fuel tank, which may have further added to the aircraft's reputation for catching fire. Other problems included poor defensive armament, short range and poor view from the cabin, all of which led to the Hungarian He 170A fleet being prematurely retired and replaced with obsolescent Heinkel He 46 parasol-wing monoplanes, until Focke-Wulf Fw 189 "Uhu" medium altitude observation aircraft could be introduced.

Influence

While the He 70 saw only limited service in training capacities during World War II, it was the Luftwaffe's first Schnellbomber and served as the antecedent for some of the bombers involved in the Battle of Britain.

German designs

The He 70 is known mainly as the ancestor to the Heinkel He 111, which had similar elliptical wings and streamlined fuselage in a twin-engined configuration. The He 111, which began service with the Luftwaffe in 1936, went on to become the most numerous bomber type of the Luftwaffe – with just over 5,600 examples produced during the war in total [8] – in the early years of World War II.

The He 70 was essentially scaled down to produce the He 112 fighter which lost out on competition against the Messerschmitt Bf 109, but was nonetheless built in small numbers.

Japanese designs

An He 70 was exported to Japan for study and inspired the Aichi D3A ("Val") carrier-launched light bomber. [9] This aircraft shared the He 70's distinctive, low-mounted elliptical wing.

British designs

Beverley Shenstone, R.J. Mitchell's aerodynamic advisor denied that the Spitfire wing was copied from the He 70. Shenstone said:

It has been suggested that we at Supermarine had cribbed the wing shape from that of the He 70 transport. This was not so. The elliptical wing had been used on other aircraft and its advantages were well known. Our wing was much thinner than that of the Heinkel and had a quite different section. In any case, it would have been simply asking for trouble to have copied a wing shape from an aircraft designed for an entirely different purpose. [10]

The Günther brothers had already used an elliptical wing for the Bäumer Sausewind sports aircraft[ citation needed ] before they joined Heinkel.

Shenstone said that the He 70's influence on the Spitfire design was limited to use as a benchmark for aerodynamic smoothness.

Variants

He 70a
First prototype. [11]
He 70b
Second prototype with the crew of 2 and 4 seats for passengers.
He 70c
Third prototype armed with machine gun for trials of versions for light bomber, reconnaissance and courier duties.
He 70d
Fourth prototype built in 1934 for Luft Hansa, powered by BMW VI 7,3 engine.
He 70e
Fifth prototype built in 1934 for Luftwaffe as light bomber, powered by BMW VI 7,3 engine.
He 70A
Passenger version for Luft Hansa.
He 70D
Passenger version for Luft Hansa, 12 examples built.
He 70E
Light bomber version for Luftwaffe, later converted to F version.
He 70F
Reconnaissance / courier version for Luftwaffe.
He 70F-1
Long-range reconnaissance version.
He 70F-2
Similar to the He 70F-1
He 70G
Passenger version built for Luft Hansa, after 1937 converted to F version.
He 70G-1
One aircraft fitted with a 810 hp (600 kW) Rolls-Royce Kestrel piston engine.
He 70K (He 170A)
Military variant equipped with a licence-built 746 kW (1,000 hp) WM-K-14 radial engine.
He 270 V1 (W.Nr. 1973, D-OEHF)
Prototype with DB-601Aa inline engine.

Operators

Civil operators

Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Nazi Germany
Merchant flag of Japan (1870).svg  Japan
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Hungarian pilots with a He 70K Heinkel He-70K tipusu tavolfelderito repulogep. Fortepan 26472.jpg
Hungarian pilots with a He 70K

Military operators

Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Nazi Germany
Flag of Hungary (1915-1918, 1919-1946).svg Hungary
Flag of Spain (1945-1977).svg  Spanish State

Specifications (He 70F-2)

Heinkel He 70 3-view drawing from L'Aerophile April 1933 Heinkel He 70 3-view L'Aerophile April 1933.jpg
Heinkel He 70 3-view drawing from L'Aerophile April 1933

Data fromThe Beautiful Blitz [12]

General characteristics

Performance

  • 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 2 minutes 30 seconds
  • 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in 15 minutes

Armament

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinkel He 111</span> World War II German heavy bomber

The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after the First World War prohibiting bombers, it was presented solely as a civil airliner, although from conception the design was intended to provide the nascent Luftwaffe with a heavy bomber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dornier Do 17</span> World War II German light bomber

The Dornier Do 17 is a twin-engined light bomber produced by Dornier Flugzeugwerke for the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Designed in the early 1930s as a Schnellbomber intended to be fast enough to outrun opposing aircraft, the lightly built craft had a twin tail and "shoulder wing". Sometimes referred to as the Fliegender Bleistift, it was popular among its crews due to its handling, especially at low altitude, which made the Do 17 harder to hit than other German bombers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinkel He 112</span> Fighter aircraft family

The Heinkel He 112 is a German fighter aircraft designed by Walter and Siegfried Günter. It was one of four aircraft designed to compete for the 1933 fighter contract of the Luftwaffe, in which it came second behind the Messerschmitt Bf 109. Small numbers were used for a short time by the Luftwaffe and some were built for other countries, with around 100 being completed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arado Ar 234</span> 1943 German jet bomber by Arado

The Arado Ar 234 Blitz is a jet-powered bomber designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Arado. It was the world's first operational turbojet-powered bomber, seeing service during the final years of the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dornier Do 335</span> Fighter aircraft family by Dornier

The Dornier Do 335Pfeil ("Arrow") is a heavy fighter built by Dornier for Germany during World War II. The Pfeil's performance was predicted to be better than other twin-engine designs due to its unique push-pull configuration and the lower aerodynamic drag of the in-line alignment of the two engines. It was Nazi Germany's fastest piston-engined aircraft of World War II. The Luftwaffe was desperate to get the design into operational use, but delays in engine deliveries meant that only a handful were delivered before the war ended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinkel</span> German aircraft manufacturing company (1922–1965)

Heinkel Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight, with the pioneering examples of a successful liquid-fueled rocket and a turbojet-powered aircraft in aviation history, with both Heinkel designs' first flights occurring shortly before the outbreak of World War II in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Focke-Wulf Fw 58 Weihe</span> 1935 military aircraft family by Focke-Wulf

The Focke-Wulf Fw 58 Weihe (Harrier) was a German aircraft, built to fill a request by the Luftwaffe for a multi-role aircraft, to be used as an advanced trainer for pilots, gunners and radio operators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messerschmitt Me 264</span> German strategic bomber prototype

The Messerschmitt Me 264 was a long-range strategic bomber developed during World War II for the German Luftwaffe as its main strategic bomber. The design was later selected as Messerschmitt's competitor in the Reichsluftfahrtministerium's Amerikabomber programme, for a strategic bomber capable of attacking New York City from bases in France or the Azores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junkers Ju 90</span> Type of aircraft

The Junkers Ju 90 was a 40-seat, four-engine airliner developed for and used by Deutsche Luft Hansa shortly before World War II. It was based on the rejected Ju 89 bomber. During the war, the Luftwaffe pressed them into service as military transports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dornier Do 18</span> 1935 multi-role flying boat family by Dornier

The Dornier Do 18 was a development of the Do 16 flying boat. It was developed for the Luftwaffe, but Luft Hansa received five aircraft and used these for tests between the Azores and the North American continent in 1936 and on their mail route over the South Atlantic from 1937 to 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junkers Ju 86</span> Airliner and medium bomber aircraft

The Junkers Ju 86 was a German monoplane bomber and civilian airliner designed in the early 1930s, and employed by various air forces on both sides during World War II. The civilian model Ju 86B could carry ten passengers. Two were delivered to Swissair and five to Deutsche Luft Hansa. In addition a single civilian Ju 86Z was delivered to Sweden's AB Aerotransport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinkel He 116</span> Type of aircraft

The Heinkel He 116 was an extremely long-range mail plane designed to deliver airmail between Germany and Japan. Several examples were built for this role, as well as a small batch to be used in the long-range reconnaissance role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinkel He 118</span> German dive bomber

The Heinkel He 118 was a prototype German monoplane dive bomber design that lost out to the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka in the 1930s, and was never ordered by the Luftwaffe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinkel He 45</span> Light bomber

The Heinkel He 45 was a light bomber produced in Germany in the early 1930s, one of the first aircraft adopted by the newly formed Luftwaffe. Its appearance was that of a conventional biplane and included seating for pilot and gunner in tandem, open cockpits. Developed in parallel with the He 46, it appeared in 1931 as a general-purpose biplane and was employed mainly as a trainer, but was also used by the Luftwaffe for reconnaissance and light bombing duties. Production of this plane totalled 512 aircraft, including those built under licence by Gotha, Focke-Wulf, and BFW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinkel He 46</span> Type of aircraft

The Heinkel He 46 was a German World War II-era monoplane designed in 1931 for the close reconnaissance and army co-operation roles. While it served with the Luftwaffe's front-line units only briefly at the start of World War II, the He 46 served as late as 1943 as a nighttime nuisance bomber and with the Hungarian Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinkel He 50</span> German World War II-era dive bomber

The Heinkel He 50 was a German World War II-era dive bomber, originally designed for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Serving in Luftwaffe prewar dive-bombing units, the He 50 served until almost the end of World War II as a night harassment bomber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Focke-Wulf Fw 56 Stösser</span> 1933 military training aircraft family

The Focke-Wulf Fw 56 Stösser was a single-engine, parasol monoplane advanced trainer, built in the 1930s in Germany.

The Junkers Ju 60 was a single engine airliner built in prototype form in Germany in the early 1930s. It was designed to meet a requirement issued by the Reichsverkehrsministerium for a German-built equivalent to the Lockheed Vega with which to equip Deutsche Luft Hansa. The result was a sleek, cantilever monoplane of conventional configuration, with wings skinned in the corrugated duralumin that had been a hallmark of Junkers designs up to this time, although this would be the last Junkers aircraft to have this feature. The main units of the tailwheel undercarriage were retractable.

References

Notes

  1. "Historical Listings: Spain, (SPN) Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine ." World Air Forces. Retrieved: 10 June 2011.
  2. Smith and Kay 1972, p.232
  3. Smith and Kay 1972, p.234
  4. Donald 1999, p.494.
  5. "Transatlantic". Flight. 1934-12-10. pp. 1349–1350. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
  6. Leo W.G. Niehorster. "The Royal Hungarian Army 1920 - 1945". World War II Armed Forces. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  7. Rickard, J. (November 23, 2009). "Heinkel He 170". historyofwar.org. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  8. Regnat, Karl-Heinz (2004). Black Cross Volume 4: Heinkel He 111. Hersham, Surrey, UK: Midland Publishers. p. 74. ISBN   978-1-85780-184-2.
  9. Mark Peattie, Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power, 1909–1941, p. 94
  10. Price 1977, pp. 33–34.
  11. "Landing Wheels Vanish Into Wings During Take Off" Popular Science, June 1933
  12. Green and Swanborough Air International January 1991, p. 28.

Bibliography