Henschel & Sohn,
Henschel-Werke Henschel Hs 129
ground-attack aircraft
Henschel Hs 129
ground-attack aircraft
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| A captured Henschel Hs 129 B-1 at Freeman Army Airfield, Indiana, 1946 | |
| Role | Attacker |
|---|---|
| National origin | Nazi Germany |
| Manufacturer | Henschel |
| First flight | 29 May 1939 |
| Introduction | April 1942 |
| Retired | 1945 |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary users |
Luftwaffe
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| Produced | June 1940 – September 1944 |
| Number built | 865 |
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History Henschel & Sohn, Henschel-Werke
Henschel Hs 129 ground-attack aircraft
The Henschel Hs 129 was a World War II ground-attack aircraft fielded by the German Luftwaffe. The aircraft saw combat in Tunisia and on the Eastern Front.
A key requirement of the original specification was that the aircraft be powered by engines that were not in demand for other designs. Prototypes with low-power German Argus As 410 engines of 465 PS (459 hp; 342 kW) failed acceptance test, a more powerful replacement was found with the French Gnome-Rhône 14M engine of 700 PS (690 hp; 515 kW).
The design was relatively effective when it was first introduced, and saw service on the Eastern Front in a variety of front-line roles. As the war continued and anti-tank support became the main goal, the aircraft was continually up-gunned, eventually mounting a 75 mm anti-tank gun. Only a small number of these B-3 models were produced, late in the war. Production ceased in September 1944
By the mid-1930s, the German military, as well as its counterparts in other countries, had come to see the main role of ground-attack aircraft as the interdiction of logistics and materiel, a task in which targets were often poorly protected and less likely to have strong, well-coordinated defences. For high-value, well-protected tactical targets, the dive bomber was becoming the conventional solution.
Hs 129 B-3
It was decided that the 7.5 cm (2.95 in) semi-automatic Rheinmetall PaK 40 anti-tank gun, which had already been adapted for use in the Junkers Ju 88 P-1, would be further modified for use in the Hs 129. This resulted in the BK 7,5 (Bordkanone 7,5), which, even though it weighed 1,200 kg (2,600 lb), was lighter than the PaK 40. Fully automatic, it featured a new, hydraulic recoil-dampening system and a new, more aerodynamic muzzle brake. An autoloader system, with 12 rounds in a rotary magazine, was fitted in the empty space behind the cockpit, within the rear half of the wing root area. The gun and its recoil mechanism occupied a substantial gun pod under the fuselage, and a circular port at the rear of the pod allowed rearwards ejection of spent cartridges immediately after firing. While this new variant, the Hs 129 B-3, was theoretically capable of destroying any tank in the world, the added weight worsened the aircraft's general performance and it was inferior to previous variants
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Henschel & Sohn, Henschel-Werke
Henschel Hs 129 ground-attack aircraft
Henschel & Sohn
Henschel Hs 129 ground-attack aircraft
Info He-111 H-6
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- Crew: 1
- Length: 9.75 m (32 ft 0 in)
- Wingspan: 14.2 m (46 ft 7 in)
- Height: 3.25 m (10 ft 8 in)
- Wing area: 29 m2 (310 sq ft)
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Powerplant
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- Empty weight: 4,020 kg
- Max takeoff weight: 5,250 kg
- Powerplant: 2 × Gnome-Rhône 14M-4/-5 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 515 kW (691 hp)700 PS each for take-off
- Propellers: 3-bladed Ratier constant speed propeller, 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) diameter
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Performance
- Maximum speed: 407 km/h (253 mph, 220 kn) at 3,830 m (12,570 ft)
- Cruise speed: 315 km/h (196 mph, 170 kn) at 3,000 m (9,800 ft)
- Range: 690 km (430 mi, 370 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 9,000 m (30,000 ft)
- Rate of climb: 8.1 m/s (1,590 ft/min)
Armament
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Guns: ** 2 × 7.92 mm (0.323 in) MG 17 machine guns, later models from 1943 to 1944 replaced the MG 17s with 2 × 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns
- 2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon or
- a 30 mm (1.181 in) MK 101 cannon or MK 103 cannon in a conformally mounted gun pod (B-2/R-2).
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Bombs: ** 2 × 50 kg (110 lb) bombs on underwing hardpoints
- 4 × 50 kg (110 lb) fragmentation bombs on belly racks
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Guns: ** 2 × 7.92 mm (0.323 in) MG 17 machine guns, later models from 1943 to 1944 replaced the MG 17s with 2 × 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns
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Links to Youtube & Others
It was anticipated that the main source of damage to such an aircraft would be small arms fire from the ground, meaning that the plane had to be well-armored around its cockpit and engines.
Henschel & Sohn, Henschel Hs 129
Henschel Hs 129 – Anti-Tank Aircraft SAVE an ENTIRE Army (19th July, ‘43)
Read more in
Heinkel Flugzeugwerke AG
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