The Heinkel HE 3 was a sports aircraft built in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in the early 1920s. It was a conventional, low-wing

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

with seating for three people in two tandem cockpits. The wing was a

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

design, an unusual and advanced feature for the day. The fixed undercarriage was designed to be quickly changed from wheeled tailskid type to twin pontoons for operation as a

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...

. A HE 3 won first prize in its class at the 1923 aero meet at Gothenburg, and was subsequently selected as a trainer by the Swedish Navy, which bought two examples. In

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

service, the aircraft gained the nickname ''Paddan'' ("Toad"). The HE 3 had fabric-covered wooden wings, and a plywood-covered wooden

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraf ...

Operators

; * Swedish Navy * Swedish Air Force

Specifications (HE 3)

References

* * {{Heinkel aircraft 1920s German sport aircraft HE 003 Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1923