Warplanes of Germany: Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111

Deutsche Kampfflugzeuge der Luftwaffe 1939-1945: Heinkel He 111

German Warplanes flown by the Luftwaffe 1939-1945: Heinkel He 111

During and after the end of the Second War a number of German Warplanes were captured and evaluated by the Allied forces.  Most of these aircraft were later scrapped and therefore only a handful have survived.  This is a partial list of He 111 aircraft that were known to have been flown by the Luftwaffe.

Während und nach dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs wurden eine Reihe deutscher Kampfflugzeuge von den Alliierten erbeutet und ausgewertet.  Die meisten dieser Flugzeuge wurden später verschrottet und daher haben nur eine Handvoll überlebt. Dies ist eine unvollständige Liste von He 111 Flugzeugen, von denen bekannt war, dass sie von der Luftwaffe geflogen wurden.

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Heinkel He 111.

The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after the First World War prohibiting bombers, it was presented solely as a civil airliner, although from conception the design was intended to provide the nascent Luftwaffe with a heavy bomber. Perhaps the best-recognised German bomber of the Second World War due to the distinctive, extensively glazed "greenhouse" nose of the later versions, the Heinkel He 111 was the most numerous Luftwaffe bomber during the early stages of the war. It fared well until it met serious fighter opposition during the Battle of Britain, when its defensive armament was found to be inadequate.

As the war progressed, the He 111 was used in a wide variety of roles on every front in the European theatre. It was used as a strategic bomber during the Battle of Britain, a torpedo bomber in the Atlantic and Arctic, and a medium bomber and a transport aircraft on the Western, Eastern, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and North African Front theatres.The He 111 was constantly upgraded and modified, but had nonetheless become obsolete by the latter part of the war. The failure of the German Bomber B project forced the Luftwaffe to continue operating the He 111 in combat roles until the end of the war. Manufacture of the He 111 ceased in September 1944, at which point piston-engine bomber production was largely halted in favour of fighter aircraft. With the German bomber force virtually defunct, the He 111 was used for logistics.

Production of the Heinkel continued after the war as the Spanish-built CASA 2.111. Spain received a batch of He 111H-16s in 1943 along with an agreement to licence-build Spanish versions. Its airframe was produced in Spain under licence by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA. The design differed significantly only in the powerplant used, eventually being equipped with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. These remained in service until 1973. (Wikipedia)

(Fotoalbum des Vaters von 16Exul82, Kurt Gerner)

Heinkel 111 CE+NX 38 in Kastrup, 1944.

(Familien-/family album Renzler)

Heinkel He 111 H-2/H-3, 'A1+EH' (white E and white propspinners), 1st Squadron, 53rd Bomber Wing (KG 53) at Großostheim (Aschaffenburg county, Lower Franconia, Bavaria), May 18 to June 21, 1940. The 1st Bomb Group of KG 53 with 1st, 2nd and 3rd Squadron was based at Gelchsheim, south of Giebelstadt and Würzburg, May 10th to May 18th, 1940. Staff and I. Gruppe/KG 53 were established in Ansbach (Katterbach and Neukirchen) on 1 May 1939. From May to Aug. 1939, and from Sept. 1939 to Feb. 1940, Stab and I./KG 53 were stationed in Ansbach (Katterbach and Neukirchen respectively).

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Heinkel He 111 crew.

(Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-385-0587-07 / Wanderer, W. / CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Heinkel He 111H-Z.

(Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-647-5211-33 / Wilzek / CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Heinkel He 111.

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Heinkel He 111 bomber flying over Wapping and the Isle of Dogs in the East End of London at the start of the Luftwaffe's evening raids of 7 September 1940. Part of an aerial photograph taken from a German aircraft at 1848 hrs German time, 17 September 1940.

(Luftwaffe Photos)

Heinkel He 111.

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Heinkel He 111 waist gunner at his station. Note how he is stood rather precariously over the lower gondola gun position.

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Heinkel He 111H-18 with FuG 200 Hohentwiel radar and torpedoes, 1943.

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Close-up of 35 victory night-fighter ace Oberleutnant Günther Bertram’s regular mount in the Nachtjagd Schwarm of Luftflotte 6, an He 111 night fighter with five forward firing 20mm cannon, three of which were mounted in the cockpit, and two under the right-hand wing root of his aircraft.

(RAF Photo)

(IWM Photo, CH 4446)

Heinkel He 111H, (Wk. Nr. unknown), previously` 5J + CR' of III / KG4, captured in Libya in 1942.  Designated HS-? by the RAF, it was named "Delta Lily" and flown by No. 260 Squadron.  It was reported as being on a scrap dump at Fanara in the Suez Canal Zone, Egypt in April 1947.

(IWM Photo, MH 31314)

Captured Heinkel He 111H-1, RAF (Serial No. AW177, (previousl coded 1H-EN of 5/KG26), RAF Duxford, while being operated by the Air Fighting Development Unit, 1941.

(Hugh Llewelyn Photo)

(Clemens Vasters Photo)

(Dapi89 Photo)

Heinkel He 111H-20, (Wk. Nr. 701152), coded NT+SL.  This aircraft was built in 1944 and modified to drop Fallschirmjäger (paratroops).   Appropriated by USAAF pilots in France at the end of the war, it was left in Britain following the unit's return to the US, and taken on by the RAF. RAF Museum, Hendon, England.

(Clemens Vasters Photo)

Heinkel He 111 P-2 (5J+CN), (Wk. Nr. 1526) 5.Staffel/Kampfgeschwader 54 (KG 54 - Bomber Wing 54), on display at the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNAF) Museum at Gardermoen, part of the Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection.  The 5J Geschwaderkennung code on the aircraft is usually documented as being that of either I. Gruppe/KG 4 or KG 100, with B3 being KG 54's equivalent code throughout the war.

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Heinkel He 111 E-3.

(Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-401-0244-27 / Göricke / CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Heinkel He 111E in Luftwaffe service, 1940. The early variants had a conventional, stepped cockpit.

(Contando Estrelas Photo)

Heinkel He 111 E-3 (25+82), (Wk. Nr. 2940). with the "conventional" cockpit is on display at the Museo del Aire, Madrid, Spain, having served in the Condor Legion.

(Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-317-0043-17A / CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Heinkel He 111P dropping bombs over Poland, September 1939.

(USAAF Photos)

Heinkel He 111H-16, (Wk. Nr. 8433), 2B+DC, "Red 4", surrendered in Italy by a defecting Hungarian pilot in Dec 1944.  This aircraft was shipped to the the USA where it was designated USA FE-1600, later T2-1600.  It was probably scrapped at Freeman Field, Indiana in 1946.

(Valder137 Photo)

CASA 2.111E, painted as a Heinkel He 111H, Cavanaugh Flight Museum, Addison, Texas.

(FaceMePLS Photo)

CASA C-2.111. Licence-built Heinkel He 111H-16, The Hague, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

(Gonzofst Photo)

CASA 2.111 im Museum de L'air, Le Bourget, Paris, France.

(Curimedia Photo)

CASA C-2111F Spanish Air Force T.8B-97, Madrid, Spain.

(Dirk1981 Photos)

CASA 2.111, Luftwaffenmuseum Gatow, Germany.

(Curimedia Photo)

CASA 2.111B "Pedro" Spanish Air Force B.21-77, Oberschleißheim Aviation Museum, Germany.

(Klaus Nahr Photo)

(Clemens Vasters Photo)

CASA B2.111, Flugausstellung Hermeskeil, Germany.

(AlfvanBeem Photo)

CASA-2.111B, coded 5J GN, painted as a Heinkel He-111E-3, Auto & Technic Museum Sinsheim, Germany.

(Dirk1981 Photo)

(C1d2wiki Photo)

CASA-2.111B (Serial No. Bl-2117), flown by the Spanish Air Force until 1972, was renumbered as Luftwaffe G1+AD and flown to Gatow slung under a Sikorsky CH-53 helicopter in 1995.  This aircraft was restored and is now on display in the Luftwaffenmuseum Berlin-Gatow in Germany.

(aeroprints.com Photo)

Heinkel He.111P-1, Luftwaffe coded 5J+CN), Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection, Gardermoen, Norway.

(Steve Fitzgerald Photo)

Ex. Spanish Air Force CASA 2.111B, B.21-57. It was registered to Spitfire Productions in May 1968 and made a flying appearance in the film " Battle of Britain ".

In September 2004, an He 111 H-2 (Stammkennzeichen, coded 6N+NH), and (Wk. Nr. 2320) was salvaged from Jonsvatnet, a Norwegian lake, and has since been moved to Germany for restoration. The aircraft was formerly assigned to 1. Staffel/Kampfgeschwader 100, and was abandoned when the lake's surface ice began to melt, sometime in late 1940.

In 2019, a CASA 2.111B slated for restoration by the Kent Battle of Britain Museum was discovered to be a refitted He 111 H-16.

(Bengt Hermansson Photo)

Heinkel He 111H3 (Wk. Nr. 6830), coded 1H+DN, 5./KG 26, was recovered from Lake Sitasjaure in northern Sweden in August 2008. It is being restored at Falkenberg, Sweden.

Heinkel He 111P2 (Wk. Nr. 5883), under restoration to fly. Recovered in Norway in 1974 by RAF. Joined the RAFM Reserve collection Cardington. Some parts were, the rest were sold. These parts may now be in Austria in a project to reconstruct a complete He 111 with the help of a CASA 2.111 cockpit section.

Heinkel He 111H6 (Wk. Nr. 7115), coded 1H+HKI./KG 26, cockpit section currently under restoration in Sweden for a future museum at Tolga in Norway. Remains from Heinkel He 111H-3 1H+DN from 5./KG 26 and 1H+FH and 1H+CK will be included in crash scenario that will be built in a museum.

He111Z

(Luftwaffe Photo)

‍The He 111Z Zwilling (twin) was a design that mated two He 111s. The design wasoriginally conceived to tow the Messerschmitt Me 321 glider. Initially, four He111 H-6s were modified. This resulted in an aircraft with twin fuselages andfive engines. They were tested at Rechlin in 1941, and the pilots rated themhighly.A batch of ten were produced and five were built from existing H-6s. Themachines were joined by a center wing formed by two sections 6.15 m (20.2 ft)in length. The powerplants were five Junkers Jumo 211F engines producing 1,000kW (1,300 hp) each. The total fuel capacity was 8,570 L (1,890 imp gal; 2,260US gal). This was increased by adding four 600 L (130 imp gal; 160 US gal) droptanks.

The He 111Z could tow a Gotha Go 242 or Messerschmitt Me 321 Gigant gliders for up to 10 hours at cruising speed. It could also remain airborne if the three central powerplants failed. The He 111 Z-2 and Z-3 were also planned as heavy bombers carrying 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) of bombs and having a range of 4,000 km (2,500 mi). The ETC installations allowed for a further four 600 L(130 imp gal; 160 US gal) drop tanks to be installed.

The He 111 Z-2 could carry four Henschel Hs 293 anti-ship missiles, which were guided by the FuG 203b Kehl III missile control system. With this load, the He 111Z had a range of 1,094 km (680 mi) and a speed of 314 km/h (195 mph). The maximum bombload was 7,200 kg (15,900 lb). To increase power, the five Jumo 211F-2 engines were intended to be fitted with Hirth TK 11 superchargers. On board armament was the same as the He 111H-6, with the addition of one 20 mm (0.79 in) MG 151/20 cannon in a rotating gun-mount on the center section.

The layout of the He 111Z had the pilot and his controls in the port fuselage only. The controls themselves and essential equipment were all that remained in the starboard section. The aircraft had a crew of seven; a pilot, first mechanic, radio operator and gunner in the port fuselage, and the observer, second mechanic and gunner in the starboard fuselage.

The Z-3 was to be a reconnaissance version and would have had additional fueltanks, increasing its range to 6,000 km (3,700 mi). Production was due to takeplace in 1944, just as bomber production was being abandoned. The long-range variants failed to come to fruition. The He 111Z was to have been used in an invasion of Malta in 1942 and as part of an airborne assault on the Soviet cities of Astrakhan and Baku in the Caucasus in the same year. During the Battle of Stalingrad their use was cancelled due to insufficient airfield capacity. Later in 1943, He 111Zs helped evacuate German equipment and personnel from the Caucasus region, and during the Allied invasion of Sicily, attempted to deliver reinforcements to the island.

During operations, the He 111Z did not have enough power to lift a fully loaded Me 321. Some He 111s were supplemented by rocket pods for extra takeoff thrust, but this was not a fleet-wide action. Two rockets were mounted beneath each fuselage and one underneath each wing. This added 500 kg (1,100 lb) in weight. The pods were released by parachute after takeoff. The He 111Z's operational history was minimal. One machine was caught by RAFfighter aircraft over France on 14 March 1944. The He 111Z was towing a Gotha Go 242, and was shot down. Eight were shot down or destroyed on the ground in 1944. (Wikipedia)

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Heinkel He 111Z.

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Heinkel He 111Z.

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Heinkel He 111Z.

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Heinkel He 111Z.

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Heinkel He 111Z.