Heinkel He 51

Heinkel He 51; an airbrush illustration by Les Still

Heinkel He 51

Heinkel He 51

Origin;- Ernst Heinkel AG; production see below.
Type;- A-1 Single seat fighter, B-2 reconnaissance seaplane, C-1 land ground attack.
Engine;- One 750hp BMW V1 7 3Z vee-12 water cooled.
Dimensions;- Span 36'1" (11m), length 27' 7" (8.4m) B-2 about 31', height 10' 6" (3.2m) B-2 about 11'.
Weights;- (A-1) empty 3,223lb (1462kg), loaded 4,198lb (1900kg).
Performance;- Maximum speed (a-1) 205mph (330km/h), initial climb 1969ft (600m) /min, service ceiling 24,601ft (7500m), range 242 miles (390km).
Armament;- Standard, two 7.92mm Rheinmetall MG 17 synchronised above fuselage; B-2 same plus underwing racks for up to six 22lb (10kg) bombs, C-1 same plus underwing racks for four 110lb (50kg) bombs.
History;- First flight (He49A) November 1932, (He49B) February 1933, (He51A-O) May 1933; service delivery of A-1 July 1934.
Users;- Germany, Spain.
Development;- Gradually as the likelihood of Allied legal action receded, Heinkel dared to build aircraft that openly contravened the Versailles Treaty. The most startling was the He37, obviously a prototype fighter, which in 1928 achieved 194mph, or 20mph faster than the RAF Bulldog which was still a year away from service. Land and seaplane versions led to a succession of He 49 fighter prototypes in the 1930s and these in turn provided the basis for the refined He 51. After the Arado 65, this was the first fighter ordered into production for the reborn Luftwaffe. Though the initial order for the He 51A-1s was only75, Heinkel was unused to such an order and many were built under licence by Ago, Erla, Arado and Fieseler - which were also fast tooling for their own designs. In march 1935 the Luftwaffe was publically announced and JG1 'Richthofen' fighter squadron was combat ready at Doberitz with its new Heinkels in November 1936. 36 He 51A-1s went to spain with the Legion Kondor, giving a sufficiently good showing for the Nationalists to buy at least 30 from Heinkel. There followed a total of 50 of various He 51B seaplane versions, the 36 B-2s being for service aboard cruisers. The final batch comprised 79 C-1 ground attack fighters of which 28 served in Spain. The He 51 was still in active service in September 1939, operating in the close support role in Poland, and remained as an advanced trainer until 1943

from Military Aviation Library - World War 2 German Aircraft.