Heinkel HE - 111

Wallpaper Description:

The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.
Often described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, though its actual purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium bomber.

Perhaps the best-recognised German bomber due to the distinctive, extensively glazed, bullet-shaped "greenhouse" nose of later versions, the Heinkel was the most numerous and the primary Luftwaffe bomber during the early stages of World War II.

It fared well until the Battle of Britain, when its weak defensive armament, relatively low speed, and poor manoeuvrability were exposed.

Nevertheless, it proved capable of sustaining heavy damage and remaining airborne.

As the war progressed, the He 111 was used in a 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 during the Battle of the Atlantic, and a medium bomber and a transport aircraft on the Western, Eastern, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and North African Fronts.

General characteristics

* Crew: 5 (pilot, navigator/bombardier/nose gunner, ventral gunner, dorsal gunner/radio operator, side gunner)
* Length: 16.4 m (53 ft 9½ in)
* Wingspan: 22.60 m (74 ft 2 in)
* Height: 4.00 m (13 ft 1½ in)
* Wing area: 87.60 m² (942.92 ft²)
* Empty weight: 8,680 kg (19,136lb lb)
* Loaded weight: 12,030 kg (26,500 lb)
* Max. takeoff weight: 14,000 kg (30,864 lb)
* Powerplant: 2 × Jumo 211F-1 or 211F-2 liquid-cooled inverted V-12, 986 kW (1,300 hp (F-1) or 1,340 (F-2)) each

Performance

* Maximum speed: 440 km/h (273 mph)
* Range: 2,300 km (1,429 mi) with maximum fuel
* Service ceiling: 6,500 m (21,330 ft)
* Rate of climb: 20 minutes to 5,185 m (17,000 ft)
* Wing loading: 137 kg/m² (28.1 lb/ft²)
* Power/mass: .082 kW/kg (.049 hp/lb)

Armament

* Guns:
* up to 7 × 7.92 mm MG 15 or MG 81 machine guns, (2 in the nose, 1 in the dorsal, 2 in the side, 2 in the ventral) some of them replaced or augmented by
* 1 × 20 mm MG FF cannon (central nose mount or forward ventral position)
* 1 × 13 mm MG 131 machine gun (mounted dorsal and/or ventral rear positions)
* Bombs:
* 2,000 kilograms (4,400 lb) in the main internal bomb bay.
* Up to 3,600 kilograms (7,900 lb) could be carried externally. External bomb racks blocked the internal bomb bay. Carrying bombs externally increased weight and drag and impaired the aircraft's performance significantly. Carrying the maximum load usually required rocket-assisted take-off.