The Heinkel He 45 was a
light bomber produced 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 1930s, one of the first aircraft adopted by the newly formed ''
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
''. Its appearance was that of a conventional
biplane and included seating for pilot and gunner in tandem, open
cockpits. Developed in parallel with the
He 46, it appeared in 1931 as a general-purpose biplane and was employed mainly as a
trainer, but was also used by the ''Luftwaffe'' for
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
and light bombing duties. Production of this plane totalled 512 aircraft, including those built under licence by
Gotha
Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the Gotha (district), district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine House of Wet ...
,
Focke-Wulf, and
BFW.
Variants
;He 45a
:First
prototype, powered by a
BMW VI 7,3Z piston engine.
;He 45b
:Second prototype, fitted with four-blade propeller.
;He 45c
:Third prototype, armed with one 7.92 mm (.312 in) forward-firing
MG 17 machine gun, and one 7.92 mm
MG 15 machine gun
The MG 15 was a German 7.92 mm machine gun designed specifically as a hand-manipulated defensive gun for combat aircraft during the early 1930s. By 1941 it was replaced by other types and found new uses with ground troops.
History
The MG 1 ...
in the rear cockpit.
;He 45A
:Initial production version.
;;He 45A-1
::Training version.
;;He 45A-2
::Reconnaissance version.
;He 45B
:Improved production version.
;;He 45B-1
::Reconnaissance version, armed with a 7.92 mm (0.312 in)
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...
.
;;He 45B-2
::Able to carry a 100 kg (220 lb) bombload.
;He 45C
:Production version of the He 45c.
;He 45D
:Slightly improved version. Similar to the He 45C.
;HD 61a
:Reconnaissance export version of He 45B intended for
China, powered by a 492 kW (660 hp) BMW VI piston engine.
[Andersson, Lennart (2008). ''A History of Chinese Aviation - Encyclopedia of Aircraft and Aviation in China until 1949''. AHS. , p. 269]
Operators
;
*
Bulgarian Air Force
;
*One HD 61a tested and crashed during a demonstration on 22 August 1931.
[
;
*]Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
;
*Royal Hungarian Air Force
The Hungarian Air Force ( hu, Magyar Légierő), is the air force branch of the Hungarian Defence Forces.
The task of the current Hungarian Air Force is primarily defensive purposes. The flying units of the air force are organised into a single ...
operated a single He 45C.[Green 1972, p. 261.]
;
* Spanish Air Force
Specifications (He 45C)
See also
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
*
*
*
{{RLM aircraft designations
Biplanes
Heinkel He 045
He 045
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1931