The Heinkel He-112 was a fighter aircraft designed by Walter and Siegfried Gunther. It was a competitor of the Luftwaffe's 1933 fighter contract which the He-112 got the second position and was won by the Bf-109. However as the Bf-109 won by a nose the designers decided to keep improving the design to make it better than the Bf-109.
It was used by the Luftwaffe in small numbers but also by other countries like Romania, Hungary or Spain (which was the most important user of this airplane).
Based partially on the Heinkel He-70, it could be said that the He-112 was a scaled down version of the He-70. Two series were made of this airplane being them almost completely different airplanes: The A series (V1, V2, V3 and its variants, V4, V5, V6, V8, the A-0 and the unbuilt carrier version C-1) and the B series (V7, V9, V10 and B)
As a historical curiosity it's worth mentioning that this airplane was responsible for the first American-Spanish dogfight in all history when an american P-38F of the 14th Fighter Group entered in Spanish Morocco airspace and was intercepted and shot down by a Heinkel He-112V9 flown by the Lieutenant Miguel Entrena Klett (a veteran pilot of the Spanish Civil War) on 3rd March 1943 forcing the P-38 to land on the Mulluya river. It was also the first American-Spanish fight since the war of 1898.
It had many versions:
- V1: The first prototype, equipped with a Rolls Royce Kestrell MkIIS engine.
V2: Second prototype fitted with a Junkers Jumo 210C and slightly shorter wings
V3: The first armed airplane. Featuring gun breech fairings, exhaust collector, a redesigned radiator, a redesigned tail spine and a slightly enlarged tail surface.
V3 with an enclosed canopy: Modified version the regular V3 with a modified spine to fit the enclosed canopy.
V3R: Testbed for a mixed propeller/rocket engine.
V4: Powered by a Junkers Jumo 210D engine and had also slightly reduced tail surfaces.
V5: Light close air support version featuring Mg17 machine guns.
V6: Featuring a Junkers Jumo 210C engine and a revised, more aerodinamical radiator housing.
V7: The very first prototype for the B series. Featuring a completely redesigned fuselage with an enclosed cockpit, an improved fin and rudder and powered by a Daimler-Benz 600Aa engine.
V8: A regular A series airplane fitted with a Daimler-Benz 600Aa engine.
V9: An almost definitve version of the B series. Featuring a Jumo 210Ea engine and a semi-retractable radiator
V10: A V9 version powered by a Daimler Benz 601Aa engine.
A-0: The definitve version of the A series, it was powered by a Junkers Jumo 210c engine and featured 7,9mm machine gun .
B-0: The definitive version of the B series and the best version of them all. It was powered by a Junkers Jumo 210G liquid-cooled engine.
In retrospective it can be said that it wasn't a bad fighter at all. It's performance could be comparable to another successful fighter of the era like the Curtiss P-40, Hawker Hurricane or even with its most direct rival, the Bf-109 or true legends like the Supermarine Spitfire, at least with the earliest versions of this one.
Thanks to eswube for his help reviewing this airplane.
Germany, Hungary, Romania, Japan, Spain – Heinkel He-112:
Also don't miss the never built version of this airplane as well as the never-were users here:
http://www.shipbucket.com/forums/viewto ... 94#p139394
And don't forget to check the AU variants and paint schemes!:
http://www.shipbucket.com/forums/viewto ... 93#p139393