Heinkel HE 12
{{More footnotes|date=July 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
|name=HE 12 and He 58 |image=Bundesarchiv Bild 102-10309, Katapult-Flugzeug des Dampfers "Europa".jpg |caption= He 58 D-1919 Bremen Atlantic being loaded onto the catapult on SS Europa }}{{Infobox aircraft type |type=Mail plane |national origin=Germany |manufacturer=Heinkel |designer= |first flight=1929 |introduced= |retired= |status= |primary user=Deutsche Luft Hansa |more users= |produced= |number built=1x HE 12, 1x He 58 |variants with their own articles= }} |
The Heinkel HE 12 was a pontoon-equipped mail plane built in Germany in 1929, designed to be launched by catapult from a liner at sea.
Development
The concept was hit upon after Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL) had carried a Junkers F.13 seaplane aboard the {{SS|Lutzow||2}} during 1927 to provide joyrides for passengers when the liner was in port. NDL officials realised that a seaplane based on a liner could have a more practical commercial application, taking off with the liner's airmail while still a long distance from port, therefore drastically cutting down time taken for the mail to arrive. Heinkel designed a catapult, which NDL planned to install on its new liners, the {{SS|Bremen|1928|2}} and {{SS|Europa|1930|2}}, and an aircraft to carry the mail. Since the crew of Lutzow had trouble providing the necessary maintenance for the F 13, Deutsche Luft Hansa agreed to provide the operational support for the venture, and when Bremen departed on her maiden voyage in 1929, a single HE 12 (D-1717) was carried aboard.
The HE 12 was a derivative of the military HE 9 design; a conventional, low-wing, strut-braced monoplane. The pilot and radio operator sat in tandem, open cockpits with the mail carried in a compartment behind them.
= He 58 =
A second aircraft, (D-1919, Atlantik), was built for flying from Europa, sister-ship of the Bremen. Designated He 58, the second aircraft was slightly larger overall, with increased payload and accommodation for the crew in a side-by-side open cockpit. Power was supplied by a {{convert|500|hp|kW|abbr=on|order=flip}} BMW Hornet A, initially un-cowled, but later fitted with a full long-chord cowling with cooling slits in the forward face.
Operational history
On 22 July, while still 400 km (250 mi) out of New York City, Bremen successfully launched the HE 12. When the seaplane was unloaded {{frac|2|1|2}} hours later, mail from Berlin had taken just {{frac|6|1|2}} days to reach New York. The next day, in front of a crowd of 3,500 people, mayor Jimmy Walker christened the HE 12 with the name of the city. On the return journey, the newly christened New York launched from {{SS|Bremen|1928|2}} near Cherbourg on 1 August, landing in Bremerhaven four hours later, in time for the mail to be transferred to another aircraft and arrive in Berlin the same afternoon, {{frac|5|1|2}} days after leaving New York. Use of the seaplane saved around 20 hours on the westward trip, and 1–2 days on the eastward journey.
HE 12 (D-1717, New York) flew regularly from {{SS|Bremen|1928|2}} until severely damaged in an accident at Cobequid Bay on 5 October 1931.
The He 58, (D-1919, Atlantik), continued in service on {{SS|Europa|1928|2}} until replaced by Junkers Ju 46 floatplanes.
Variants
;HE 12:The initial floatplane catapult-launched mailplane, with tandem open cockpits, flown from {{SS|Bremen|1928|2}}.
;He 58:A second slightly larger aircraft with side-by-side seats and bigger payload, flown from {{SS|Europa|1930|2}}.
Specifications (HE 12)
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Heinkel:An aircraft album {{cite book|last=St. John Turner|first=P.|title=Heinkel:An aircraft album|year=1970|publisher=Ian Allan|location=Shepperton|isbn=07110-01731|pages=27–30}}
|prime units?=met
|genhide=
|crew=Two, pilot and radio operator
|capacity={{convert|200|kg|lb|abbr=on}} of mail
|length m=
|length ft=37
|length in=11
|length note=
|span m=
|span ft=55
|span in=1.25
|span note=
|height m=
|height ft=15
|height in=1
|height note=
|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft=522
|wing area note=
|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=3483
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=
|gross weight lb=5732
|gross weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Pratt & Whitney Hornet
|eng1 type=9-cyl. air-cooled radial piston engine
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 hp=500
|eng1 shp=
|prop blade number=
|prop name=
|prop dia m=
|prop dia ft=
|prop dia in=
|perfhide=
|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph=134
|max speed kts=
|max speed note=
|max speed mach=
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed mph=119
|cruise speed kts=
|cruise speed note=
|range km=
|range miles=
|range nmi=
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=12500
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=
|more performance=
|avionics=
}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|last= Turner|first=P.St. John|title=Heinkel:An aircraft album|year=1970|publisher=Ian Allan|location=Shepperton|isbn=07110-01731|pages=27–30}}
- {{cite book |last= Taylor |first= Michael J. H. |title=Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation |year=1989 |publisher=Studio Editions |location=London |pages=498 }}
- {{cite journal |last=Cook |first=John C. |title=Shot from Ships: Part One |journal=Air Classics |date=March 2002 }}
External links
{{commons category|Heinkel HE 12}}
- [http://celticowboy.com/Mail%20Service%20From%20German%20Passengerships%20Bremen%20And%20Europa.htm "Shot From Ships"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201192038/http://celticowboy.com/Mail%20Service%20From%20German%20Passengerships%20Bremen%20And%20Europa.htm |date=1 February 2014 }} Air Classics, Mar 2002 by Cook, John C
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=0N8DAAAAMBAJ&dq=Junkers+stratosphere&pg=PA729 "New Catapult Drives Plane From Deck of Liner", November 1929, Popular Mechanics] photo of Heinkel 12 on Bremen catapult
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=deIDAAAAMBAJ&dq=popular+mechanics+1930+aircraft&pg=PA389 "Catapult For Planes Is Engineering Wonder"] Popular Mechanics, September 1930
{{Heinkel aircraft}}
{{RLM aircraft designations}}
Category:1920s German mailplanes