Heinkel He 111

The Heinkel He 111 was originally developed due to an announcement by the German Lufthansa for a fast commercial aircraft. Already during the construction phase, it was being used for military service, thus, it had to be pre-programmed from being used as a fast commercial airplane to being utilized as a war aircraft.

On February 24,1935, the first prototype took off powered by two BMW VI 6.0 Z engines (660 PS performance each). The He 111 was the first passenger aircraft separated by smoking and non-smoking compartments. The aircraft was proven to be accommodating, fast and reliable, even if the flight guests were somewhat cramped for space. Twelve copies followed, three prototypes as well as an assembly production of C-0, G-0 and G-3 which were used by Lufthansa.

The first military further development, the He 111 A-1, was shipped in small quantities to China, however, the transporting fees were more exorbitant than the cost of the airplane itself. The models of the B-Series (B-0, B-1 and B-2) were used by the German Luftwaffe in 1936, then from 1937 on, they were put to use in Spain.

In the second half of 1936, construction of the He 111 D series (D-0, D-1) began, which was powered by two DB 600 G engines (950 PS performance) and of the E-series (E-1, E-3, E-4 and E-5) which was powered by two Jumo 211 A-1 engines (1,100 PS performance each). The next series, which was completed in small volume, was F (F-0 and F-4) which differed by the manufacture of a simplified wing with straightened front edge, which was retained for all successive versions.

The aircrafts were regarded as fast and reliable in Spain, however not regarded as a modern equipped rival aircraft.

Few copies of the models He 111 J-0 and J-1 were purchased; they were predominantly used by Hansa for aerial pictures.

The overall well-known appearance of the He 111, delivered from series P, was maintained until early 1939 when various improvements were introduced such as the alteration of the typical asymmetrical cockpit. From the beginning, two DB 601 Aa engines were used (1,175 PS performance power each (P-0, P-1, P-2), which were soon changed to two DB 601 A-1 engines for (P-3, P-4, P-5), and finally, the last constructed model, the P-6, was equipped with highly optimized DB 601 N engines (1,175 PS performance each). The He 111 P constituted a large portion of the bombing units at the beginning of the war.

In the summer of 1939, production of the He 111 H-assembly line was initiated. It was not only produced in the most quantities and variations, but also was utilized with many modifications in air battles until the end of the war. The outstanding characteristic of the H-series was the Jumo 211 engines of the different models. The first in the series H-0 to H-2 were equipped with two Jumo 211 A-1 engines (1,100 PS performance each). The successive model in this large series, H-3, of which approximately 350 copies were produced, possessed two Jumo 211 D, or rather H engines (1,200 PS performance each. The He 111, also used in Spain, was often operated without a fighter cover and endured alarming and irresponsible purchasing losses which could not even be alleviated by stronger armament and improved armoring. Therefore, it was used during the night hours and in less dangerous operations such as for mine laying or in transporting torpedos.

By 1941, series construction was essentially improved and 1,800 copies of the H-6 were manufactuered with Jumo 211 F-1 engines (1,340 PS performance each) which remained in production until the middle of 1943. By the second half of 1940, this aircraft was being used in a majority of air battles. With the beginning of clashes in the East, a majority of the He 111 units were forced to manage a wider spectrum of tasks. Thus, the He 111 was often used as a major attack plane, in particular against railway trains, and increasingly it was being put to use as a transporter.

In comparison to the H-6, versions H-7 and H-10 had diverse modifications made to them concerning the engine, its operational range and occasionally to its armament, however, these were completed in smaller quantities.

Although the He 111 was becoming regarded as antiquated, a large series production was transitioned to constructing version H-11 by the end of 1942 since there was no other successor model in sight. The defensive armament was improved during this produciton. Until the summer of 1943, approximately 510 aircrafts left the factories completed.

The models H-12, H-14 and H-15 were manufactured in small quantities and were actually modifications of the H-6 and H-11 assembly lines.

Production began of the fourth series version, the H-16, during 1942. In particular, the defense armament was significantly improved. More than 1,100 machines left the factories. Most of the orders of the He 111 were for air transport in the East because the aircrafts could be easily operated and managed.

The assembly for H-18, a night bomber, was only available for delivery in small quantities.

As the last in the series, 600 copies of the He 111 H-20 were constructed in the beginning of 1940 which could be modified to act as bombers, supply or transport aircrafts. Few copies of the version H-21, a high bomber, and H-23, a special transporter of paratroopers, were constructed.

In this series production, model H-22 was developed as the last version and was used especially in conjunction with the flight bomb Fi 103. Countless aircrafts of the assembly line series H-16 and H-20 were modified after H-22, however by the second half of 1944, production of this series finally had to cease.

The designers of the time portrayed the He 111 Z with genuine curiosity and an impressionable testimony for the improvisation and pragmatism of the aircraft. In order to finally give this machine the engine performance of the great Messerschmitt Me 321, two He 111 were attached over the central wing unit which possessed three engines to an aircraft with dual fuselage. Though the He 111 Z-1 was difficult to operate, the eleven copies that were constructed proved to do well.

The exact quantity of He 111 aircrafts that were produced in Germany is no longer available; approximately 7,000 aircrafts were permitted to be constructed, from which by the end of the war, there were not even 20 copies left in use.

In 1940, the Spanish company Construcciones Aeronáuticas S.A. (CASA) acquired a contract concerning the licensed construction of 200 He 111 under the name CASA 2.111 in a Seville factory. As for powering the aircrafts, which mostly concerned the H-16 in this case, Jumo 211 F-1 was desired as well as stronger armament, however, by the end of the war, this was not possible. Though by 1953, Jumo-engines were available to CASA but the lack of replacement parts made it necessary to use other engine types. The choice was to use Rolls-Royce Merlin 500-20 and 500-20 engines (1,200 PS performance each). Until 1956, a total of 236 CASA 2.111 aircrafts were produced, the last copies were in service until 1973 and accessible to the Spanish Armed Forces.

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