Heinkel He 70 Blitz
The He 70 Blitz project was started in the early 1930's and the prototype made its first flight on December 1, 1932.It was designed to serve as a fast mail plane for the Deutsche Luft Hansa. Although useful, it had a relatively brief commercial career before it was replaced by types which could carry more passengers. As a combat aircraft it was a not a great success because it rapidly became outdated. Nevertheless, the He 70 was a brilliant design for its day, setting no fewer than eight world speed records by the beginning of 1933. The main characteristics of its revolutionary design were its elliptical wing, which the Günther brothers had already used in the Bäumer Sausewind sports plane before they joined Heinkel, and its small, rounded control surfaces.
The He 70 is known mainly as the direct ancestor of the famous Heinkel He 111 which used its distinctive oval wings and streamlined fuselage in a twin-engine configuration. One can also see the close similarity of the designs in the tail section and cockpit of the early He 111. The He 111, which began service with the Luftwaffe in 1936, went on to become the major bomber type in the early years of World War II.
Heinkel's pioneering design was also a model for the Heinkel He 112 fighter which competed unsuccessfully against the Messerschmitt Bf 109 to become the Luftwaffe's first monoplane fighter. The He 112 was nonetheless built in small numbers and its performance proved once again the strength of the He 70's original design. The fighter was basically a scaled down version of the He 70 and shared its all-metal construction and inverted gull-wings.
The He 70 was imported to Japan for study and inspired the Aichi D3A Val carrier-launched light bomber. This plane too shared the He 70's distinctive low-mounted oval wings and was only one of several collaborations between Heinkel and the Japanese aviation industry.
While the He 70 saw only limited service in training capacities during World War II, it was the Luftwaffe's first Schnellbomber and served as the antecedent for the majority of bombers involved in both the Battle of Britain and the Attack on Pearl Harbor.
Versions
- He 70a : First prototype.
- He 70b : Second prototype with the crew of 2 and 4 seats for passengers.
- He 70c : Third prototype armed with machine-gun for trials of versions for light bomber, reconnaissance and courier duties.
- He 70d : Fourth prototype built in 1934 for Luft Hansa, powered by BMW VI 7,3 engine.
- He 70e : Fifth prototype built in 1934 for Luftwaffe as light bomber, powered by BMW VI 7,3 engine.
- He 70A : Passenger version for Luft Hansa.
- He 70D : Passenger version for Luft Hansa, 12 examples built.
- He 70E : Light bomber version for Luftwaffe, later converted to F version.
- He 70F : Reconnaissance / courier version for Luftwaffe.
- He 70G : Passenger version built for Luft Hansa, after 1937 converted to F version.
- He 70K (He 170A) : License-built Hungarian fast reconnaissance variant equipped with a licence-made 1000bhp WM-K-14 radial engine.
- He 270 V1 : Prototype with DB-601Aa inline engine.
Civil Operators
- Germany : Luft Hansa received the first two prototypes in 1933 and 1934 as well as three He 70D in 1934 and 10 He 70G in 1935.
- Japan : Japan received 1 aircraft for test.
- United Kingdom : Rolls Royce received 1 He 70G powered by Rols-Royce Kestrel V engine.
Military Operators
- Germany : Luftwaffe.
- Hungary : Royal Hungarian Air Force received 18 domestically license-built He 170A aircraft.
- Spanish State : Spanish Air Force received 6 aircraft.
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