Heinkel He 70
Encyclopedia
The Heinkel He 70 was a German
mail plane and fast passenger
aircraft of the 1930s, that also saw use in auxiliary bomber
and reconnaissance
roles. It had a relatively brief commercial career before it was replaced by types which could carry more passengers. The He 70 was a leading design for its day, setting no fewer than eight world speed records by the beginning of 1933.
. The He 70 was developed in response to a Deutsche Luft Hansa
request for a faster aircraft than the Lockheed Vega
and Orion (as used by Swissair
) for employment on short routes.
It was a low-wing monoplane
, with the main characteristics of its revolutionary design its elliptical wing
, which the Günther brothers had already used in the Bäumer Sausewind
sports plane before they joined Heinkel, and its small, rounded control surface
s. In order to meet the demanding speed requirements, the design minimised drag, with countersunk rivets giving a smooth surface finish and a retractable undercarriage
, a novel feature for a German aircraft. It was powered by a BMW VI
V-12 engine, cooled by ethylene glycol
rather than water, allowing a smaller radiator
and therefore reducing drag. The pilot and radio operator were seated in tandem, with a cabin
housing four passengers on two double seats facing each other.
The first prototype flew on 1 December 1932, and proved to have excellent performance, setting eight world records for speed over distance, and reaching a maximum speed of 377 km/h (222 mph).
with Frankfurt
, Hamburg
and Cologne
, as well as on the Cologne/Hamburg route.
He 70s were flown abroad from Stuttgart
to Seville
between 1934 and 1936. The route was part of the South America mail service provided by Luft Hansa that continued via Bathurst
, The Gambia
to Natal
, Brazil
, using Junkers Ju 52/3m
and Dornier Wal
flying boats.
Remaining aircraft were transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1937.
, where they were used during the Spanish Civil War
as fast reconnaissance
aircraft. Their high speed gave them the nickname Rayo (lightning).
The He 70K (later He 170), a fast reconnaissance airplane variant was used by the Royal Hungarian Air Force
in early World War II during 1941-42.
The Luftwaffe operated He 70s from 1935, initially as a light bomber
and reconnaissance aircraft. As soon as purpose build designs became available, it was relegated as a liaison and courier aircraft.
The main weakness of the He 70 in military use was that crews considered it a fire risk. Elements of the airframe were made out of so-called "Electron metal", though the majority of the monocoque fuselage was Duralumin. Elektron is a very light, yet strong alloy of magnesium
, which burns readily when ignited, and is difficult to extinguish. Moreover, the wooden-structured, ply-skinned wings contained a 47-gallon fuel tank apiece which may have further added to the aircraft's reputation for being flammable. A single hit from a light machine gun
is reputed to usually set the entire plane ablaze. The Hungarian He 170A (a military version derived from the He-70 with a new WM-K-14 radial engine), fleet was retired for this and other reasons, including poor defensive armament, short range and poor view from the cabin, and replaced with vintage, high-wing He 46
monoplanes until modern Bf 109 fighter-recce and specialized Fw 189 "Uhu" medium altitude observation aircraft could be introduced.
s first Schnellbomber
and served as the antecedent for the majority of bombers involved in both the Battle of Britain
and the attack on Pearl Harbor
.
which used its distinctive oval wings and streamlined fuselage
in a twin-engine configuration. One can also see the close similarity of the designs in the tail section and cockpit of the early He 111. The He 111, which began service with the Luftwaffe in 1936, went on to become the major bomber type in the early years of World War II
.
Heinkel's pioneering design was also a model for the He 112
fighter which competed unsuccessfully against the Messerschmitt Bf 109
to become the Luftwaffes first monoplane fighter. The He 112 was nonetheless built in small numbers and its performance proved once again the strength of the He 70's original design. The fighter was basically a scaled down version of the He 70 and shared its all-metal construction and inverted gull-wings.
("Val") carrier-launched light bomber.This plane too shared the He 70's distinctive low-mounted oval wings and was only one of several collaborations between Heinkel and the Japanese aviation industry.
's elliptical wing planform, not without reason as a He 70G was flying in England as a Rolls-Royce Kestrel
engine test aircraft at the time of the Spitfire's development.
Part of a letter that R J Mitchell wrote to Heinkel after seeing the aircraft perform with the Rolls Royce Kestrel engine fitted:
However, Beverly Shenstone, RJ Mitchell's aerodynamic advisor refuted the idea that the Spitfire wing was copied from the He 70. In Alfred Price's 'Spitfire - A Documentary History' Shenstone is quoted as saying:
Shenstone said that the He 70's influence on the Spitfire design was limited to use as a criterion for aerodynamic smoothness which is to some extent verified by the extract of the letter from Mitchell to Heinkel quoted above.
He 70b
He 70c
He 70d
He 70e
He 70A
He 70D
He 70E
He 70F
He 70F-1
He 70F-2
He 70G
He 70G-1
He 70K (He 170A)
He 270 V1 (W.Nr. 1973, D-OEHF)
Nazi Germany
Empire of Japan
Switzerland
Nazi Germany
Hungary
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
mail plane and fast passenger
Passenger
A passenger is a term broadly used to describe any person who travels in a vehicle, but bears little or no responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination....
aircraft of the 1930s, that also saw use in auxiliary bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
and reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
roles. It had a relatively brief commercial career before it was replaced by types which could carry more passengers. The He 70 was a leading design for its day, setting no fewer than eight world speed records by the beginning of 1933.
Design and development
The Heinkel He 70 Blitz (lightning) was designed in the early 1930s to serve as a fast mailplane for Deutsche Luft HansaDeutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and throughout the Third Reich.-1920s:Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin...
. The He 70 was developed in response to a Deutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and throughout the Third Reich.-1920s:Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin...
request for a faster aircraft than the Lockheed Vega
Lockheed Vega
|-See also:-References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Allen, Richard Sanders. Revolution in the Sky: Those Fabulous Lockheeds, The Pilots Who Flew Them. Brattleboro, Vermont: The Stephen Greene Press, 1964....
and Orion (as used by Swissair
Swissair
Swissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...
) for employment on short routes.
It was a low-wing monoplane
Monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. Since the late 1930s it has been the most common form for a fixed wing aircraft.-Types of monoplane:...
, with the main characteristics of its revolutionary design its elliptical wing
Elliptical wing
An elliptical wing is a wing planform shape that minimizes induced drag. Elliptical taper shortens the chord near the wingtips in such a way that all parts of the wing experience equivalent downwash, and lift at the wing tips is essentially zero, improving aerodynamic efficiency due to a greater...
, which the Günther brothers had already used in the Bäumer Sausewind
Bäumer Sausewind
The Bäumer B II "Sausewind" was an open twin-seated wooden cantilever sport plane built by German aviation company Bäumer Aero GmbH. The plane was the first aircraft of German production.-Specifications:-References:...
sports plane before they joined Heinkel, and its small, rounded control surface
Control surface
In the domain of digital audio, a control surface is a human interface device which allows the user to control a digital audio workstation or other digital audio application. Generally, a control surface will contain one or more controls that can be assigned to parameters in the software,...
s. In order to meet the demanding speed requirements, the design minimised drag, with countersunk rivets giving a smooth surface finish and a retractable undercarriage
Undercarriage
The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...
, a novel feature for a German aircraft. It was powered by a BMW VI
BMW VI
|-See also:- External links :...
V-12 engine, cooled by ethylene glycol
Ethylene glycol
Ethylene glycol is an organic compound widely used as an automotive antifreeze and a precursor to polymers. In its pure form, it is an odorless, colorless, syrupy, sweet-tasting liquid...
rather than water, allowing a smaller radiator
Radiator (engine cooling)
Radiators are used for cooling internal combustion engines, mainly in automobiles but also in piston-engined aircraft, railway locomotives, motorcycles, stationary generating plant or any similar use of such an engine....
and therefore reducing drag. The pilot and radio operator were seated in tandem, with a cabin
Aircraft cabin
An aircraft cabin is the section of an aircraft in which passengers travel. At cruising altitudes of modern commercial aircraft the surrounding atmosphere is too thin to breathe without an oxygen mask, so cabins are pressurized at a higher pressure than ambient pressure at altitude.In commercial...
housing four passengers on two double seats facing each other.
The first prototype flew on 1 December 1932, and proved to have excellent performance, setting eight world records for speed over distance, and reaching a maximum speed of 377 km/h (222 mph).
Operational history
Luft Hansa operated He 70s between 1934 and 1937 for fast flight service which connected BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
with Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, as well as on the Cologne/Hamburg route.
He 70s were flown abroad from Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
to Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
between 1934 and 1936. The route was part of the South America mail service provided by Luft Hansa that continued via Bathurst
Banjul
-Transport:Ferries sail from Banjul to Barra. The city is served by the Banjul International Airport. Banjul is on the Trans–West African Coastal Highway connecting it to Dakar and Bissau, and will eventually provide a paved highway link to 11 other nations of ECOWAS.Banjul International Airport...
, The Gambia
The Gambia
The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambia , is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west....
to Natal
Natal, Rio Grande do Norte
-History:The northeastern tip of South America, Cabo São Roque, to the north of Natal and the closest point to Europe from Latin America, was first visited by European navigators in 1501, in the 1501–1502 Portuguese expedition led by Amerigo Vespucci, who named the spot after the saint of the day...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, using Junkers Ju 52/3m
Junkers Ju 52
The Junkers Ju 52 was a German transport aircraft manufactured from 1932 to 1945. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 air carriers including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa as an airliner and freight hauler...
and Dornier Wal
Dornier Do J
The Dornier Do J Wal was a twin-engine German flying boat of the 1920s designed by Dornier Flugzeugwerke. The Do J was designated the Do 16 by the Reich Air Ministry under its aircraft designation system of 1933....
flying boats.
Remaining aircraft were transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1937.
Military use
Twenty-eight aircraft were sent with the Legion CondorCondor Legion
The Condor Legion was a unit composed of volunteers from the German Air Force and from the German Army which served with the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legion developed methods of terror bombing which were used widely in the Second World War...
, where they were used during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
as fast reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance
Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance that is conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles or reconnaissance aircraft. Their roles are to collect imagery intelligence, signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence...
aircraft. Their high speed gave them the nickname Rayo (lightning).
The He 70K (later He 170), a fast reconnaissance airplane variant was used by the Royal Hungarian Air Force
Hungarian Air Force
The Hungarian Air Force is the air force branch of the Hungarian Army.- 1918 to Pre–World War II :Following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918, a small air arm was established operating surviving aircraft from Hungarian factories and training schools...
in early World War II during 1941-42.
The Luftwaffe operated He 70s from 1935, initially as a light bomber
Light bomber
A light bomber is a relatively small and fast class of military bomber aircraft which were primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance....
and reconnaissance aircraft. As soon as purpose build designs became available, it was relegated as a liaison and courier aircraft.
The main weakness of the He 70 in military use was that crews considered it a fire risk. Elements of the airframe were made out of so-called "Electron metal", though the majority of the monocoque fuselage was Duralumin. Elektron is a very light, yet strong alloy of magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
, which burns readily when ignited, and is difficult to extinguish. Moreover, the wooden-structured, ply-skinned wings contained a 47-gallon fuel tank apiece which may have further added to the aircraft's reputation for being flammable. A single hit from a light machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
is reputed to usually set the entire plane ablaze. The Hungarian He 170A (a military version derived from the He-70 with a new WM-K-14 radial engine), fleet was retired for this and other reasons, including poor defensive armament, short range and poor view from the cabin, and replaced with vintage, high-wing He 46
Heinkel He 46
-See also:-Bibliography:* Kay, A.L. and Smith, J.R. German Aircraft of World War II. Naval Institute Press, 2002....
monoplanes until modern Bf 109 fighter-recce and specialized Fw 189 "Uhu" medium altitude observation aircraft could be introduced.
Influence
While the He 70 saw only limited service in training capacities during World War II, it was the LuftwaffeLuftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
s first Schnellbomber
Schnellbomber
A Schnellbomber is a high-speed bomber. The concept developed in the 1930s when it was believed that a very fast bomber could simply outrun its enemies....
and served as the antecedent for the majority of bombers involved in both the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
and the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
.
Influence on German designs
The He 70 is known mainly as the direct ancestor of the Heinkel He 111Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...
which used its distinctive oval wings and streamlined fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
in a twin-engine configuration. One can also see the close similarity of the designs in the tail section and cockpit of the early He 111. The He 111, which began service with the Luftwaffe in 1936, went on to become the major bomber type in the early years of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Heinkel's pioneering design was also a model for the He 112
Heinkel He 112
The Heinkel He 112 was a fighter aircraft designed by Walter and Siegfried Günter. It was one of four aircraft designed to compete for the Luftwaffes 1933 fighter contract, which was eventually won by the Messerschmitt Bf 109...
fighter which competed unsuccessfully against the Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
to become the Luftwaffes first monoplane fighter. The He 112 was nonetheless built in small numbers and its performance proved once again the strength of the He 70's original design. The fighter was basically a scaled down version of the He 70 and shared its all-metal construction and inverted gull-wings.
Influence on Japanese designs
The He 70 was exported to Japan for study and inspired the Aichi D3AAichi D3A
The , Allied reporting name "Val") was a World War II carrier-borne dive bomber of the Imperial Japanese Navy . It was the primary dive bomber in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and participated in almost all actions, including Pearl Harbor....
("Val") carrier-launched light bomber.This plane too shared the He 70's distinctive low-mounted oval wings and was only one of several collaborations between Heinkel and the Japanese aviation industry.
Influence on British designs
It has been said that the He 70 was an inspiration or influence for the Supermarine SpitfireSupermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
's elliptical wing planform, not without reason as a He 70G was flying in England as a Rolls-Royce Kestrel
Rolls-Royce Kestrel
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Erfurth, Helmut. Junkers Ju 87 . Bonn, Germany: Bernard & Graefe Verlag, 2004. ISBN 1-85780-186-5....
engine test aircraft at the time of the Spitfire's development.
Part of a letter that R J Mitchell wrote to Heinkel after seeing the aircraft perform with the Rolls Royce Kestrel engine fitted:
"We, at Supermarine Aviation, were particularly impressed, since we have been unable to achieve such smooth lines in the aircraft that we entered for the Schneider TrophySchneider TrophyThe Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider was a prize competition for seaplanes. Announced by Jacques Schneider, a financier, balloonist and aircraft enthusiast, in 1911, it offered a prize of roughly £1,000. The race was held eleven times between 1913 and 1931...
Races....
In addition to this, we recently investigated the effect that installing certain new British fighter engines would have on the He 70, We were dismayed to find that your new aircraft, despite its larger measurements, is appreciably faster than our fighters. It is indeed a triumph."
However, Beverly Shenstone, RJ Mitchell's aerodynamic advisor refuted the idea that the Spitfire wing was copied from the He 70. In Alfred Price's 'Spitfire - A Documentary History' Shenstone is quoted as saying:
It has been suggested that we at Supermarine had cribbed the wing shape from that of the He 70 transport. This was not so. The elliptical wing had been used on other aircraft and its advantages were well known. Our wing was much thinner than that of the Heinkel and had a quite different section. In any case it would have been simply asking for trouble to have copied a wing shape from an aircraft designed for an entirely different purpose.
Shenstone said that the He 70's influence on the Spitfire design was limited to use as a criterion for aerodynamic smoothness which is to some extent verified by the extract of the letter from Mitchell to Heinkel quoted above.
Versions
He 70a- First prototype.
He 70b
- Second prototype with the crew of 2 and 4 seats for passengers.
He 70c
- Third prototype armed with machine gun for trials of versions for light bomber, reconnaissance and courier duties.
He 70d
- Fourth prototype built in 1934 for Luft Hansa, powered by BMW VI 7,3 engine.
He 70e
- Fifth prototype built in 1934 for Luftwaffe as light bomber, powered by BMW VI 7,3 engine.
He 70A
- Passenger version for Luft Hansa.
He 70D
- Passenger version for Luft Hansa, 12 examples built.
He 70E
- Light bomber version for Luftwaffe, later converted to F version.
He 70F
- Reconnaissance / courier version for Luftwaffe.
He 70F-1
- Long-range reconnaissance version.
He 70F-2
- Similar to the He 70F-1
He 70G
- Passenger version built for Luft Hansa, after 1937 converted to F version.
He 70G-1
- One aircraft fitted with a 604 kW (810 hp) Rolls-Royce Kestrel piston engine.
He 70K (He 170A)
- License-built HungarianHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
fast reconnaissance variant equipped with a licence-made 746 kW (1,000 hp) WM-K-14Gnome-Rhône Mistral Major|-See also:-References:* Danel, Raymond and Cuny, Jean. L'aviation française de bombardement et de renseignement 1918-1940 Docavia n°12, Editions Larivière...
radial engineRadial engineThe radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central crankshaft like the spokes on a wheel...
.
He 270 V1 (W.Nr. 1973, D-OEHF)
- Prototype with DB-601Daimler-Benz DB 601|-See also:-Bibliography:* Mankau, Heinz and Peter Petrick. Messerschmitt Bf 110, Me 210, Me 410. Raumfahrt, Germany: Aviatic Verlag, 2001. ISBN 3-92550-562-8.* Neil Gregor Daimler-Benz in the Third Reich. Yale University Press, 1998-External links:...
Aa inline engine.
Civil Operators
Nazi Germany
- Deutsche Luft HansaDeutsche Luft HansaDeutsche Luft Hansa A.G. was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and throughout the Third Reich.-1920s:Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin...
received the first two prototypes in 1933 and 1934 as well as three He 70D in 1934 and 10 He 70G in 1935.
Empire of Japan
- Imperial Japanese Navy Air ServiceImperial Japanese Navy Air ServiceThe Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service was the air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, the organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War.It was controlled by the Navy Staff of the Imperial Japanese Navy and...
received one aircraft for test.
- Rolls RoyceRolls-Royce LimitedRolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
acquired one He 70G from the RLM in exchange for 4 Kestrel engines. It was used as an engine test bed.
Switzerland
- SwissairSwissairSwissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...
received a few Heinkel He-70s for express trans-alpine flights between ZurichZürichZurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
and MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
in 1934.
Military Operators
Nazi Germany
- LuftwaffeLuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
Hungary
- Royal Hungarian Air ForceHungarian Air ForceThe Hungarian Air Force is the air force branch of the Hungarian Army.- 1918 to Pre–World War II :Following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918, a small air arm was established operating surviving aircraft from Hungarian factories and training schools...
received 18 domestically license-built He 170A aircraft.
- Ejército del AireSpanish Air Force-The early stages:Hot air balloons had been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of Alfredo Kindelán, Leonardo Torres y Quevedo directed the construction of the first Spanish dirigible in the Army Military Aerostatics Service, created in 1896 and located...
received 11 aircraft of the 30 that had served with Legion CondorCondor LegionThe Condor Legion was a unit composed of volunteers from the German Air Force and from the German Army which served with the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legion developed methods of terror bombing which were used widely in the Second World War...
.
Specifications (He 70F-2)
See also
External links
- Photograph of a Heinkel He 70 Luftwaffe ashtray taken from Halle airfield in May 1945
- Heinkel He 70 EADS. Retrieved 16 February 2008.
- LuftArchiv.de (German-language site)