Heinkel He 51

In 1931, Heinkel recruited the talented aircraft designers Walter and Siegfried Günter. Their first major design for Heinkel was the Heinkel He 49.Green and Swanborough 1994, p. 295. While this was officially an advanced trainer,Mondey 1996, p. 80. in fact it was a fighter.

The type was ordered into production for the still secret Luftwaffe as the He 51, with 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 {{cvt|7.92|mm|3}} machine guns mounted above the engine.{{Cn|date=January 2021}}

The He 51 was intended to replace the earlier Arado Ar 65, and served side-by-side with the slightly later Arado Ar 68. The He 51 was obsolete before it even entered service, and after an initial run of 150 production fighters, production switched to the modified He 51B, of which approximately 450 were built, including about 46 He 51B-2 floatplanes,Green and Swanborough 1988, p. 15. along with a further 100 He 51C light ground-attack aircraft being built.

File: He 51 LC Galland Kopie klein72.jpg in Spanish Civil War]]

On 6 August 1936, six He 51s were delivered to Spain to fight in the Spanish Civil War with the Nationalists.Hooton 1994, pp. 121–122. Initial operations were successful, with the Heinkels defeating older, obsolete Spanish Republican Air Force fighters on 18 August 1936, the first day of operations.Green and Swanborough 1988, p. 20. Deliveries continued, and by November two Nationalist squadrons were equipped with the type, along with three Legion Condor squadrons of 12 aircraft each, manned by German "volunteers".

This time of superiority was short lived, with the arrival of large numbers of more modern aircraft from the Soviet Union, including the Polikarpov I-15 biplane and the new Polikarpov I-16 monoplane,Hooton 1994, p. 125. together with the Tupolev SB bomber, which was {{cvt|110|km/h}} faster.Hooton 1994, p. 127. The He 51 proved unable to protect the Legion Condor{{'}}s bombers, forcing it to switch to night operations,Hooton 1994, p. 126. while also unable to intercept the much faster SBs. The He 51 was soon withdrawn from fighter duty and relegated to the ground-attack role by both the Legion Condor and the Nationalists.Green and Swanborough 1988, p. 21. It was replaced in the fighter role by the Fiat CR.32 in the Fascist Nationalist Air Force, with the Legion Condor receiving Messerschmitt Bf 109s from April 1937.Green and Swanborough 1988, pp. 21–22.

While its success as a fighter was short lived, the Heinkel proved more successful as a ground-attack aircraft, being used by Wolfram von Richthofen to develop the close air support tactics used by the Luftwaffe in World War II.Green and Swanborough 1988, p. 23. It continued in use as such for the remainder of the Civil War, although losses were heavy. After the war, the 46 surviving aircraft would be joined by another 15 newly built airframes, and remain in service in Spain until 1952.{{Cn|date=January 2021}}

The He 51 lasted in front-line service with the Luftwaffe until 1938, when it was relegated to use as an advanced trainer duties with the Jagdfliegerschulen{{Sfn | Munson | 1978 | p = 70}} for the first few years of World War II.Mondey 1996, p. 81.

{{More citations needed section|date=January 2021}}

File:He 51 B-2.jpg

;He 51a

:Prototype, with new vertical tail, revised wings and undercarriage, new radiator compared to the He 49.Green and Swanborough 1988, p.14.

;He 51A-0

:Pre-production aircraft; 9 built.

;He 51A-1

:Initial production version; 150 built.

;He 51B-0

:Strengthened pre-production aircraft; 12 built.

;He 51B-1

:Production version of B-0; 450 built.

;He 51B-2

:Floatplane fighter and reconnaissance version; 46 built.

;He 51B-3

:High-altitude version.

;He 51C-1

:Ground-attack version; 100 built, 79 sent to Spain to equip the Legion Condor and Nationalist air force.

;He 51C-2

:C-1 with revised radio equipment and other improvements; 21 built.

;He 52

:High altitude version; one prototype built.{{Cite web|title=Heinkel He 52|url=http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_heinkel_he_52.html|website=www.historyofwar.org|access-date=2020-06-01}}

;A.1

:Spanish Air Force designation for the He 51B-1.{{Cite web |title=Spanish Military Aircraft Designations |url=https://www.designation-systems.net/non-us/spain.html |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=www.designation-systems.net}}

{{More citations needed section|date=January 2021}}

File:Истребитель Heinkel He-51B.jpg

;{{BUL}}

• Bulgarian Air Force - Acquired 12 He 51s.Green and Swanborough 1988, p. 17.

;{{flag|Germany|Nazi}}

• Luftwaffe

;{{flag|Spanish State|1938}}

• Spanish Air Force

{{Aircraft specs

|ref=Warplanes of the LuftwaffeDonald 1994, p. 96.

|prime units?=met

|crew=One

|length m=8.4|span m=11|height m=3.2

|wing area sqm=27.2

|airfoil=

|empty weight kg=1460|gross weight kg=1900

|gross weight note=

|max takeoff weight kg=

|fuel capacity=

|eng1 number=1|eng1 name=BMW VI 7.3 Z|eng1 type=V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine|eng1 kw=559

|prop blade number=2|prop name=variable-pitch propeller|prop dia m=

|max speed kmh=330|cruise speed kmh=280

|range km=570

|range note=

|endurance=

|ceiling m=7700

|climb rate ms=

|time to altitude={{cvt|1000|m}} in 1 minute 24 secondsGreen and Swanborough 1988, p. 19.

::::{{cvt|6000|m}} in 16 minute 30 seconds

|wing loading kg/m2=69.9

|wing loading note=

|power/mass={{cvt|0.29|kW/kg}}

|guns=2 × {{cvt|7.92|mm|3}} MG 17 machine guns in nose; 500 rpg

|bombs=6 × {{cvt|10|kg}} bombs (on C-1/C-2 ground attack variants only)

}}

{{aircontent

|see also=

|related=

• Heinkel He 49

|similar aircraft=

• Avia B-34
• Berliner-Joyce P-16
• Blériot-SPAD S.510
• Boeing P-12E Model 234
• Fiat CR.30
• Fiat CR.32
• Gloster Gauntlet
• Hawker Fury
• Kawasaki Army Type 92 Fighter
• Polikarpov I-15
• PWS-10

|lists=*List of World War II military aircraft of Germany

• List of military aircraft of Germany

}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• Donald, David, ed. Warplanes of the Luftwaffe. London: Aerospace, 1994. {{ISBN|1-874023-56-5}}.
• Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "The Cadre Creator ... Heinkel's Last Fighting Biplane". Air Enthusiast No. 36, May–August 1988, pp. 11–24. ISSN 0143-5450.
• Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark, 1994. {{ISBN|0-8317-3939-8}}.
• Hooton, E.R. Phoenix Triumphant: The Rise and Rise of the Luftwaffe. London: Arms & Armour Press, 1994. {{ISBN|1854091816}}.
• Mondey, David. The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II. London: Chancellor, 1996. {{ISBN|1-85152-966-7}}.
• {{cite book |last = Munson |first = Kenneth |title = German Aircraft Of World War 2 in colour |location = Poole, Dorsett, UK |publisher = Blandford Press |year = 1978 |isbn = 0-7137-0860-3}}

• Taylor, John W.R. "Heinkel He 51". Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the Present. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. {{ISBN|0-425-03633-2}}.

{{Refend}}

{{commons category|Heinkel He 51}}

• [http://www.cbrnp.com/profiles/quarter2/he51.htm Heinkel He51 – First Fighter of the Reborn Luftwaffe]
• [http://www.pilotfriend.com/photo_albums/timeline/ww2/Heinkel%20He%2049%20He%2051.htm Pilotfriend – Heinkel He 49 He 51]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303203159/http://www.he-51.de/index.html German group rebuilding a Heinkel He 51]

{{Heinkel aircraft}}

{{RLM aircraft designations}}

{{Spanish attack aircraft}}

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Category:Aircraft first flown in 1933

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