Heinkel He 59

Template:Infobox Aircraft The Heinkel He 59 was a German military aircraft designed in 1930 resulting from a requirement for a torpedo bomber and reconnaissance warplane able to operate with equal facility on wheeled landing gear or twin-floats.

Development

In 1930, Ernst Heinkel began developing an aircraft for the German Navy. To conceal the true military intentions, the aircraft was officially a civil aircraft. The He 59B landplane prototype was the first to fly, an event that took place in September 1931, but it was the He 59A floatplane prototype that paved the way for the He 59B initial production model, of which 142 were delivered in three variants. The Heinkel He 59 was a pleasant aircraft to fly; deficiencies noted were the weak engine the limited range, the small load capability and insufficient armament.

The aircraft was of a mixed-material construction. The wings were made of a two-beam wooden frame, where the front was covered with plywood and the rest of the wing was covered with fabric. The box-shaped fuselage had a fabric covered steel frame. The tail section was covered with lightweight metal sheets.

The keels of the floats were used as fuel tanks - each one holding 900 liters of fuel. Together with the internal fuel tank the aircraft could hold a total of 2,700 liters of fuel. Two extra fuel tanks could also be placed in the bomb bay, bringing the total fuel capacity up to 3,200 liters. The propeller was fixed-pitch with four blades.

Operations

During the first months of World War II, the He 59 was used as a torpedo- and minelaying aircraft. Between 1940 and 1941 the aircraft was used as a reconnaissance aircraft, and in 1941-42 as a transport, SAR, and training aircraft. The trainer models survived slightly longer in service than operational models, but all had been retired or destroyed by 1944. Some aircraft were operated by the Condor Legion in Spain during the Spanish Civil War in 1936 as coastal reconnaissance and torpedo floatplanes.

The Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force) rented four aircraft from Germany in August 1943. These were used to ferry long range reconnaissance patrols behind the enemy lines. They were returned to Germany four months later.

Variants

• He 59C-1 : unarmed trainer
• He 59C-2 : air/sea rescue model
• He 59D-1 : combined trainer and air sea rescue model
• H59E-1 : torpedo bomber trainer
• He 59E-2 : reconnaissance trainer
• He 59N : navigation trainer produced as He 59D-1 conversions

Specifications (He 59)

General characteristics

• Crew: Three
• Length: 17.40 m (57 ft 3/4 in)
• Wingspan: 23.70 m (77 ft 9 in)
• Height: 7.10 m (23 ft 3 1/2 in)
• Wing area: 153.2 m² (1648.4 ft²)
• Empty weight: 5,630 kg (12,386 lb)
• Loaded weight: 9,400 kg (20,680 lb)
• Powerplant: 2× BMW VI 6.0 ZU water-cooled V12 engines, 492 kW (660 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 235 km/h (146 mph)
• Service ceiling: 5,000 m (16,400 ft)
• Rate of climb: 200 m/min (656 ft/min)
  
• Combat range: 750 km (466 mi)
• Ferry range: 1,880 km (1,175 mi)

Armament

• Two 2 or three MG 15 machine guns
• 4 × 250 kg (550 lb) bombs or 1 × 800 kg (1,760 lb) torpedo or 4 × 500 kg (1,100 lb) mines

Sources

• Kalevi Keskinen, Kari Stenman, Klaus Niska: Meritoimintakoneet - Suomen ilmavoimien historia 15, Apali Oy, Tampere 1995, ISBN 952-5026-03-5

See also

Related lists List of World War II military aircraft of Germany - List of military aircraft of Germany