https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_50
The Heinkel He 50 was a German World War II-era dive bomber originally designed
for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Serving in Luftwaffe pre-war dive-bombing units,
the He 50 served almost until the end of World War II as a night harassment
bomber.
A prototype, the Heinkel He 50aW, was completed in the summer of 1931. It was a
biplane of mixed construction. The aircraft had twin-floats for an undercarriage
and was powered by a Junkers L5 inline engine. The engine was found to be
underpowered. A second prototype, the He 50aL, was built, which was powered by a
Siemens Jupiter VI radial engine and had a wheeled undercarriage. A second He
50aL was built and re-designated He 50b. Based on the He 50b, a third prototype
designated Heinkel He 66 was completed for the Japanese Navy, and used as the
basis of the Aichi D1A.
The He 50 was an equal-span biplane based on a rectangular-section fuselage with
a primary structure of welded steel tube construction, faired out to an oval
shape by wooden formers and stringers and covered with fabric except in the
extreme nose, which was skinned in light alloy. The wings were fabric-covered
wooden construction with a marginal stagger and very slight sweep, carrying
ailerons on all four panels.
Role
Dive bomber
Manufacturer
Heinkel
First flight
1931
Introduction
1935
Retired
1944
Primary user
Luftwaffe
Number built
78
The He 50aL was re-designated He 50 V1 and demonstrated to the German Defence
Ministry in 1932. This resulted in an order for three development aircraft, and
a production batch of 60 He 50A-1 aircraft, which were built during the summer
of 1933. China placed an order for 12 He 50As, but modified with an engine
cowling added and designated He 66b. These aircraft were commandeered by the
Luftwaffe and re-designated He 50B. In 1935, the He 50 was delivered to the
Luftwaffe's first dive bomber unit, and later partially equipped nine other
dive-bombing units. The He 50, however, was steadily replaced by the Henschel Hs
123 and Junkers Ju 87, after which He 50s were transferred to dive bomber
training units.
In spring 1943, following the success of the Soviet VVS's Night Witches units
against the Wehrmacht Heer's frontline encampments while flying their Polikarpov
Po-2 biplanes on nocturnal harassment raids, surviving He 50s were rounded up
from training schools and delivered to night ground attack units operating on
the Eastern Front. The He 50 was used to conduct night harassment sorties on the
Eastern Front until September 1944, when the units were disbanded.
Specifications (He 50A)
General characteristics
Crew: 2 (pilot, observer/gunner)
Length: 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in)
Empty weight: 1,600 kg (3,528 lb)
Loaded weight: 2,620 kg (5,778 lb)
Performance
Maximum speed: 235 km/h (127 kn, 146 mph)
Cruise speed: 190 km/h (103 kn, 118 mph)
Range: 1,000 km (621 mi)
Service ceiling: 6,400 m (20,998 ft)
Rate of climb: 250 m/min (820 ft/min)
Armament
Up to 250 kg (551 lb) bomb load.
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