| He 116 | |
|---|---|
 An He 116B-0 in service with the Luftwaffe | |
| General information | |
| Type | Mail plane /Reconnaissance aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Heinkel |
| Designer | |
| Primary users | Deutsche Lufthansa |
| Number built | 14[1] |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1937–1938 |
| First flight | 9 December 1936 |
TheHeinkel He 116 was an extremely long-rangemail plane designed and produced by theGerman aircraft manufacturerHeinkel.
It was designed during the latter half of the 1930s to fulfil a request by the Germanflag carrierDeutsche Luft Hansa for a suitable aircraft to carry long distanceairmail between Germany andJapan. Derived from theHe 70, furnished with an all-newsemi-monocoqueduralumin fuselage and powered by a total of four newly-developedHirth HM 508CV8 inverted piston engines, the He 116 was designed specifically for this role, specifically the airline's route over thePamir Mountains inAfghanistan. On 9 December 1936, the prototype performed itsmaiden flight; further aircraft were produced over the following two years.
A total of eight He 116As were produced for the mail plane role, however, the type was not only used in a civilian capacity. At the behest of theReichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM), a pair of He 116Bs, which were specially adapted for long-rangereconnaissance andbomber missions (including the use of a fully glazed nose similar to theHeinkel He 111) were created. Additionally, a single He 116R, featuring an enlarged wing, increased fuel tankage in the fuselage, and fourHirth HM 508H engines that provided superior fuel economy at lowerrpms, was built for a successful record-setting flight, covering an unrefueled distance of 10,000 km (6,200 mi; 5,400 nmi) at an average speed of 214 km/h (133 mph; 116 kn), conducted on 30 June 1938.
Work on what would become the He 116 commenced in response to a request made in 1936 by the Germanflag carrierDeutsche Luft Hansa for a new long-distancemail plane. At that time, the airline was planning several long distance routes, in both theSouth Atlantic and theFar East;[2] for the latter, it envisioned a route over thePamir Mountains ofAfghanistan. This was the primary difficulty in producing an aircraft able to meet the range requirements, because the aircraft would have to lift its large fuel load to an altitude of at least 7,600 m (24,900 ft) to clear the mountains. At the time, there were simply no engines available with that sort of altitude performance, althoughHirth was working on one in the 370 kW (500 hp) class. TheGünter brothers proposed to adapt their basicHe 70Blitz airframe to carry four of these engines to provide enough power for the massive fuel load.
The He 116 adopted a modified version of the He 70's twin-sparelliptical planform.[2] Both the structure and exterior covering of the wing were wooden. The tail unit was another element drawn from He 70.[2] The fuselage was entirely original, making use ofsemi-monocoque construction and being composed ofduralumin. The internal volume of the fuselage was divided by a series of watertightbulkheads that would have slowed in ingress of water in the event of the aircraft being forced down over water.[2] A retractableundercarriage was fitted.[2]
Construction proceeded relatively quickly, by the summer of 1937, the first prototypeHe 116 V1 had been completed.[2] However, due to the new engines were not ready at this point, the prototype was instead fitted with the much smallerHirth HM 508C, which was only capable of providing up to 180 kW (240 hp). This prototype was never assigned as civil registration nor did it apparently ever conduct any regular services.[2] A total of eight He 116As, including the prototype, would be constructed for the air mail role.[2]
While the majority of the He 116As were operated by Deutsche Luft Hansa, two aircraft were purchased byManchukuo (apuppet state of theEmpire of Japan) for the long distance air mail services ran byManchurian Air Transport; delivered during April 1938, these were typically flown on theTokyo-Hsinking route.[2]
The long range capabilities of the He 116 drew the attention of some officials within theReichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) for a potential conversion into a military aircraft.[1]This led to the production of six He 116Bs, a militarised variant that could be most easily distinguished from the civil-oriented He 116A by its fully-glazed nose; the conventional crew cabin was also dispensed with. The type was evaluated in two roles: long rangeaerial reconnaissance andbomber.[3] No service use of the type by theLuftwaffe is believed to have ever taken place.[1]
The third aircraft, which reportedly received the designation He 116R, was modified so that it could establish a new long distance record.[1] The most visually apparent change was the fitting of a different wing that had a considerably greater wingspan; other changes included increased fuel tankage within the fuselage, and the use of fourHirth HM 508H engines. On 30 June 1938, this unique aircraft successfully covered an unrefueled distance of 10,000 km (6,200 mi; 5,400 nmi) at an average speed of 214 km/h (133 mph; 116 kn), setting a new international record in the process.[1]
Data fromGerman aircraft of the Second World War,[4]Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1938[5]
General characteristics
Performance
Related lists
