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He51

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Manufacturer : Heinkel
Number Built : 746
Production Began : 1933
Retired :
Type : Fighter

The Heinkel He51 was a development from the He49 whicc was designed by Walter and Siegfried Gunter for Heinkel. This was their first aircraft designed for Heinkel and the first prototype flew in November 1932. The He49 although designed as an advanced trainer soon became a fighter. The Fist He51 was produced in secret for the Luftwaffe and the first prototype flew in May 1933 with the aircraft reaching the Luftwaffe in July. The He 51 was a conventional single-bay biplane, with all-metal construction and fabric covering. The He51 was powered by a BMW VI engine, with an armament of two 7.92 mm (.312 in) machine guns mounted above the engine. On 6 August 1936, six of the He51s were sent to Spain and fought during the Spanish Civil War The He51 gained some initial success when faced against the older biplanes of the opposition. The successes were two Nieuport Ni-52, a Potez 54 and a Breguet 19. All of these successes came on the first day of operations for the He51 on 18 August 1936. But soon the arrival of modern Russian aircraft made it impossible for the He51 to be effective so they were used for night duties and even in this role they did not do well. The He51 was therefore withdrawn from fighter duty and relegated to the ground-attack role by both the Legion Kondor and the Spanish Nationalists. When the He51 came into servcie it was soon evident that it was going be be obsolete very quickly. A total of 150 He51 were built, followed by 450 of the modified He51B and 46 of the floatplane version, the He51B-2, and a ground attack version He51C, of which a total of 100 were built.

He51