Heinkel He-45 ( German: Heinkel He 45 ) is a German close reconnaissance and light bomber during World War II . It was a single - engine biplane of mixed design with a fixed gear .
| He 45 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type of | close scout light bomber |
| Developer | Heinkel |
| Manufacturer | Heinkel (factory in Warnemunde ), Gothaer Waggonfabrik , Focke-Wulf , Bfw |
| The first flight | spring of 1932 |
| Start of operation | summer of 1933 |
| End of operation | summer of 1943 |
| Status | decommissioned |
| Operators |  Luftwaffe  Air Force of the Republic of China  Spanish Air Force  Military Air Force in Bulgaria |
| Years of production | summer 1933-1936 |
| Units produced | 512 |
Content
- 1 History
- 2 Options and modifications
- 3 Flight performance
- 4 Operating countries
- 5 notes
- 6 References
History
Designed in the design bureau of Ernst Heinkel flygsoigverke. The prototype made its first flight in the spring of 1932. Serial production began in the summer of 1933 at the Heinkel factory in Warnemünde . It was also licensed at the plants of Gothaer Waggonfabrik , Focke-Wulf and BFW . He 45 was discontinued in 1936 and at that time was the most massive Luftwaffe aircraft [1] .
The aircraft was used during the Spanish Civil War [2] as a reconnaissance, bomber and attack aircraft. Since 1938, the aircraft began to be withdrawn from the arsenal of the Luftwaffe, however, by September 1939 there was still one squadron armed with them that could take part in the Polish Wehrmacht campaign .
After the war in Poland in the autumn of 1939, the He-45 was withdrawn from service [3] .
Since the end of 1939, He 45 has remained only in training units [4] .
In accordance with the Luftwaffe order of October 7, 1942, in the autumn of 1942, the creation of air squadrons ( Störkampfstaffel ) and air groups ( Störkampfgruppe ) of light night bombers began, to the service of which transferred decommissioned aircraft equipment, including He-45 [5] . Since the fall of 1942, He-45 was used on the Eastern Front as night bombers who fought near Kharkov , Donbass , Leningrad [1] .
They were finally withdrawn from combat units in the spring of 1943 .
Options and Modifications
- He 45A - had a BMW VI 6.0 engine (660 hp). Aircraft were delivered to the German school of air communications, but under the skin of the rear cockpit there was a turret for installing a 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun ; also provided for the installation of a radio station and aerial camera [6] .
- He 45B - had two 7.92 mm machine guns (synchronous MG 17 and turret MG 15), it is possible to install cartridges for 10 kg. Produced since the end of 1933.
- He 45С - was produced by the Gothaer Waggonfabrik enterprise, had a BMW VI 7.3 engine (750 hp). The shape of the elevator was changed, the crutch was strengthened, a number of other changes were made.
- He 45D is an analogue of He 45C with a changed composition of equipment.
- He 45G - had a DB 600 900 l engine. from. - in 1935-1936 only two prototypes were tested, not commercially available.
- He 61 - reconnaissance aircraft for the Air Force of the Republic of China, export version of He-45C
Flight performance
| Modification | He 45 |
| Wing span, m | 11.50 |
| Length m | 10.60 |
| Height, m | 3.60 |
| Wing area, m2 | 34.60 |
| Weight kg | |
| empty plane | 2100 |
| normal takeoff | 2750 |
| engine's type | 1 PD BMW VI -7.3 |
| Power, l from. | 1 x 750 |
| Maximum speed, km / h | |
| near the ground | 290 |
| on high | 270 |
| Cruising speed, km / h | |
| near the ground | 220 |
| on high | 210 |
| Practical range, km | 1200 |
| Maximum rate of climb, m / min | 420 |
| Practical ceiling, m | 5500 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Armament: | one synchronous 7.9-mm machine gun MG-17 and one MG-15 |
Operator countries
- Third Reich - adopted by the Luftwaffe in the summer of 1933
- Republic of China - Chinese Air Force since 1934
- Bulgaria - in 1936 12 pcs. Heinkel He.45B donated to the Bulgarian Air Force [7]
- Franco-Spain has been in service with the Air Force since March 1937 .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Andrey Kharuk. All Luftwaffe aircraft. - Moscow: Yauza, EKSMO, 2013 .-- S. 136-137. - 336 p.
- ↑ V.V. Malai. Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 and Europe: international aspects of the conflict. M., "Science", 2011. p. 131
- ↑ History of the Second World War 1939-1945 (in 12 volumes) / redkoll., Ch. ed. A.A. Grechko. volume 3. M., Military Publishing, 1974. p. 289
- ↑ Corner of the sky .
- ↑ M.F. Zefirov. Luftwaffe attack aircraft. M., AST Publishing House, 2001. p. 39
- ↑ Heinkel He-45 .
- ↑ Ferenc A. Vajda, Peter G. Dancey. German Aircraft Industry and Production 1933-1945. Society of Automotive Engineers Inc., 1998. page 254