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#Post#: 10145--------------------------------------------------
Plane of the Week: the Heinkel He 51
By: vonofterdingen Date: March 2, 2020, 4:35 pm
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HTML https://i.postimg.cc/d1KfqCfj/Screen-Hunter-175.png
I am working on a Spanish Civil War campaign right now and
there has been some recent SCW discussion on this site, so I
thought this week I would take us back in time a bit to the war
that allowed Italy, Germany, and Russia to try out some of their
new aircraft in anticipation of the coming conflict. The Heinkel
He-51 was the German frontline fighter initially, but it was
soon to be replaced, and outclassed, by the far superior Bf-109.
From Wikipedia:
The Heinkel He 51 was a German single-seat biplane which was
produced in a number of different versions. It was initially
developed as a fighter; a seaplane variant and a ground-attack
version were also developed. It was a development of the earlier
He 49.
In 1931, Heinkel recruited the talented aircraft designers
Walter and Siegfried Günter. Their first major design for
Heinkel was the Heinkel He 49. While this was officially an
advanced trainer, in fact it was a fighter. The first prototype,
the He 49a, flew in November 1932, and was followed by two
further prototypes, the He 49b, with a longer fuselage, and the
He 49c, with a revised engine.
The type was ordered into production for the still secret
Luftwaffe as the He 51, the first pre-production aircraft flying
in May 1933. Deliveries started in July of the next year.
The He 51 was a conventional single-bay biplane, with
all-metal construction and fabric covering. It was powered by a
glycol-cooled BMW VI engine, with an armament of two 7,92 mm
(.323 in) machine guns mounted above the engine.
The He 51 was intended to replace the earlier Arado Ar 65,
but served side-by-side with the slightly later Ar 68. The He 51
was outdated the day it entered service, and after an initial
run of 150 production fighters, the design was switched into the
modified He 51B, with approximately 450 built, including about
46 He 51B-2 floatplanes, and then finally a further 100 He 51C
light ground-attack plane.
On 6 August 1936, six of the He 51s were delivered to Spain
to fight in the Spanish Civil War along with the Nationalists.
Initial operations were successful, with the Heinkels meeting
and defeating a number of older biplanes of the Spanish
Republican Air Force, with two Nieuport Ni-52 fighters, a
Breguet 19 and a Potez 54 destroyed on 18 August 1936, the first
day of operations by Spanish-flown He 51s. Deliveries continued
as the hostilities increased, with two Nationalist squadrons
equipped by November, and the Legion Condor forming three
squadrons of 12 aircraft each manned by German "volunteers".
HTML https://i.postimg.cc/g0h5Fsg0/Screen-Hunter-176.png
This time of superiority was short lived, with the arrival of
large numbers of modern aircraft from the Soviet Union,
including the Polikarpov I-15 biplane and new Polikarpov I-16
monoplane, together with the Tupolev SB bomber, which was 110
km/h (70 mph) faster. The He 51 proved unable to protect the
Legion Condor's bombers, forcing it to switch to night
operations, while also unable to intercept the much faster SB.
The He 51 was therefore withdrawn from fighter duty and
relegated to the ground-attack role by both the Legion Condor
and the Nationalists. It was replaced in the fighter role by the
Fiat CR.32 in the rebel Nationalist Air Force, with the Legion
Condor receiving Messerschmitt Bf 109s from April 1937 to allow
it to operate successfully in fighter operations.
While a failure as a fighter, the Heinkel proved successful as
a ground-attack aircraft, being used by Wolfram von Richthofen
to develop the close support tactics which were used by the
Luftwaffe in World War II. It continued in use as a ground
attack aircraft for the remainder of the Civil War, although
losses were heavy. After the war the 46 surviving aircraft would
be joined by another 15 new builds, and serve in the utility
role in Spain until 1952.
The He 51 continued in front-line service with the Luftwaffe
until 1938, with it remaining in service as an advanced trainer
for the first few years of World War II.
[img width=1024
height=713]
HTML https://i.postimg.cc/bJHBdJcc/Screen-Hunter-174.png[/img]
In game…
This is a good fighter to fly, and a good ground support
bomber…but watch out for the Russians! The I-15 and I-16
fighters are quicker, more maneuverable, and better armed. I
felt comfortable flying against French Detwoitine 510s, but felt
outmatched against the I-16. Nonetheless, it is a treat to have
this plane in game, particularly for those of us who enjoy SCW
missions and campaigns. It still sort of shocks me when I read a
post over at M4T by someone who "does not mod the game." I would
hate to miss out on planes like this, and so many others.
#Post#: 10146--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: the Heinkel He 51
By: JG51_Ruski Date: March 2, 2020, 4:37 pm
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Wow Von that's sure a beauty another good post Thank you
#Post#: 10147--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: the Heinkel He 51
By: Beowolff Date: March 2, 2020, 5:00 pm
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Great post again! 8)
#Post#: 10159--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: the Heinkel He 51
By: vonofterdingen Date: March 3, 2020, 12:22 am
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Thanks guys. I should have mentioned that the last screen shot
uses Herbarnold's skin which is available in the skins section
of this site.
#Post#: 10161--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: the Heinkel He 51
By: MADMICK71 Date: March 3, 2020, 3:00 am
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Great Screen Shots!
Thanks for the article.
#Post#: 10184--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: the Heinkel He 51
By: cafs Date: March 3, 2020, 3:45 pm
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Great article, Von, but, sinceraly, I never flew this
plane.😯😯🤯
#Post#: 10185--------------------------------------------------
Re: Plane of the Week: the Heinkel He 51
By: vonofterdingen Date: March 3, 2020, 3:47 pm
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All you need is a SCW Battle over Brunete campaign. Oh wait...I
think we might have one of those soon...
Thanks for the straight line.
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