Kingdom of Hungary (1938)
Fighter Aircraft – 4 aircraft operated

Despite being not adopted for service by the German Luftwaffe, the He 112 had great potential as an export aircraft. Spain, Romania, and Japan were some of the countries that got their hands on fighter aircraft. Hungary, with its close ties to Germany, also wanted this fighter in its inventory, though it was not to be. Unfortunately for them, despite their efforts, only a few of these aircraft would ever see service with their Air Force. This was mainly due to the reluctance of Germany to provide the necessary parts and licenses, and the start of the Second World War. The few aircraft that did reach Hungary were mainly used for crew training and even saw limited combat use.

A brief He 112 history

Prior to the Second World War, the Luftwaffe was in need of a new and modern fighter to replace the older biplanes that were in service, such as the  Arado Ar 68 and Heinkel He 51.  For this reason, in May 1934, the RLM issued a competition for a new, modern fighter plane. While four companies responded to this request, only the designs from Heinkel and Messerschmitt were deemed sufficient. The Heinkel He 112 was a good design that offered generally acceptable flight characteristics and possessed a good foundation for further improvements. The Bf 109 on the other hand, had slightly better overall flight performance and was much simpler and cheaper to build. Given the fact that the Germans were attempting to accelerate the production of the new fighter, that alone was seen as a huge advantage over the He 112. Ultimately it would not be accepted for service, and only 100 or so aircraft would be built. These would be mainly sold abroad, with those remaining in Germany being used for various testing and evaluation purposes.

While the He 112 project was canceled by the RLM, to compensate for the huge investment in resources, Heinkel was permitted to export this aircraft.  A number of countries such as Austria, Japan, Romania, and Finland showed interest, but only a few actually managed to procure this aircraft, and even then, only in limited numbers.

Hungarian Interest in the He 112

Being that it was on the losing side of the First World War, the Hungarians were in a similar situation to Germany in regard to military restrictions under the Treaty of Versailles. Crucially, it prohibited the Hungarians from developing their air forces. In time though, the Allies became less and less involved in maintaining the Treaty, and the Hungarians began slowly rebuilding their air force.  By 1938 the  Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő MKHL (English: Royal Hungarian Home Defence Air Force) was openly presented to the world. At that time, the Hungarians undertook steps to rebuild their armed forces in the hope of reclaiming some of their lost territories. For a modern air force, they needed better fighter designs, as their aged biplanes would not be sufficient. By 1938, they had improved their relations with Germany, and it was then possible to acquire new equipment from them.

The Hungarian military delegation that was in Spain during the civil war observed the relatively new Heinkel He 112 fighter in action and immediately became interested in it. In June 1938, a military group disguised as a civilian delegation visited Heinkel’s company. Three Hungarian pilots had the chance to flight test the He 112V9 aircraft. They were highly impressed and urged the Hungarian Army officials to adopt this aircraft. Unsurprisingly, based on the glowing report, the Hadügyminisztérium (Ministry of War Affairs) asked Heinkel for 36 such aircraft.

Unfortunately for them, Heinkel never actually put the He 112 into mass production, given the fact that it was not adopted for service with the German Air Force. It did, however, build a small series that was intended for Spain and Japan. The Hungarian offer was not considered as important, and thus no aircraft would be delivered to them. The Reichsluftfahrtministerium RLM (English: German Ministry of Aviation) also intentionally delayed the delivery of weapons to Hungary. This was done to politically and economically pressure the Hungarians and Romanians who were on the brink of war at that time, in an attempt to reduce tensions.

Still, the Hungarians persisted, and at the start of 1939, they requested again for the 36 aircraft, and once again, the Germans denied this request. However, a single He 112 V9 was given to Hungary and was used for flight testing near Budapest. On the 5th of February 1939, it crashed during a test flight against a CR-32 biplane fighter.  In March 1939, another aircraft was sent to Hungary, this one being a He 112 B-1. It was extensively tested by the Hungarians who generally liked its design.

As the Romanians acquired a batch of 24 He 112 In 1939, the Hungarians were concerned over their neighbor’s growing military strength. Realizing that the Germans would not deliver the promised aircraft, they decided to ask for a production license instead. This was granted, and Heinkel also delivered two more He 112 B-1 with the Jumo 210E engine. When the license document arrived in Hungary in May 1939, a production order for the 12 first aircraft was given to the Weiss Manfréd aircraft manufacturer. Several changes were made, including the installation of 8 mm 39.M machine guns and the addition of bombing racks. In addition, the original 2 cm cannons were to be replaced by the Hungarian, domestically built, Danuvla 39, though it is unclear if any were actually installed. As the preparation for the production was underway the three available He 112 were adopted to service. This received coded designation V.301 to 303 where the V stands for Vadász (English: Fighter).

Despite the best Hungarian attempts to put the He 112 in production, the situation was made impossible by the coming war between Poland and Germany. The RLM would officially prohibit the export of any German aircraft engines and equipment at the start of the war. This meant that the vital delivery of the Jumo 210 and DB 601 engines could not be made. Based on this fact, all work on the Hungarian He 112 was canceled. Instead,  Weiss Manfréd investigated to see if it could reuse most of the He 112 production line to produce a new domestic design named WM–23 Ezüst Nyíl (English: Silver arrow). While one prototype was built it was lost in an accident which ended the project.

In Combat

In the Summer of 1940, the rising tension between Romania and Hungary over Transylvania reached a critical point. Transylvania was once part of Hungary but was lost after the First World War when it was given to Romania. By 1940, the Hungarian Army began preparing for a possible war with Romania over the territory. As neither side was willing to enter a hastily prepared war, negotiations began to find a possible solution. But despite this, there were some minor skirmishes, and Hungarian aircraft made several reconnaissance flights over Romania. The three Hungarian He 112 were stationed near the border, and the Romanians also had some He 112 in their inventory. While the Hungarian He 112’s did take up to the sky, no combat action by them was reported. Ultimately, at the end of August, Romania asked Germany to arbitrate the issue regarding the disputed territory, With Hungary being given the northern part of Transylvania in the settlement.

During the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1940, Hungary once again mobilized its He 112s. These were stationed near the border with Yugoslavia but they were not used in any combat operations.

By the time the Axis attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941 all three He 112 were used as training aircraft, with their secondary role being to protect the Weiss Manfréd factory. Due to a lack of spare parts, there was no point in sending this aircraft to the frontline. Two aircraft were involved in a landing accident where they were damaged. While their final fate is not completely clear, they may have been destroyed in 1944 when the Allies intensified their bombing campaign against Hungary. It is unlikely that the He 112s were operational at this point.

Technical Characteristics

The He 112 was an all-metal, single-engine fighter. The monocoque fuselage consisted of a metal base covered by riveted stress metal sheets. The wing was slightly gulled, with the wingtips bending upward, but otherwise had a conventional construction.

During its development life, a great number of different engines were tested on the He 112. For the main production version, the He 112 B-2, it carried a 700 hp Jumo 210G liquid-cooled engine, with some others being equipped with the  680 hp Jumo 210E engine. The He 112 had a fuel capacity of 101 liters in two wing-mounted tanks, with a third 115-liter tank placed under the pilot’s seat.

The landing gear was more or less standard in design. It consisted of two larger landing wheels that retracted into the wings and one semi-retractable tail wheel. The He 112 landing gear was wide enough to provide good ground handling and stability during take-off or landing.

The cockpit received a number of modifications. Initially, it was open with a simple windshield placed in front of the pilot, with Later models having a sliding canopy.

The armament was changed throughout the He 112’s production, and the last series was equipped with two 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns and two 2 cm MG FF cannons. The ammunition load for each machine gun was 500, with 60 rounds for each of the cannons. If needed, two bomb racks could be placed under the wings.

Conclusion

The He 112, although few in number, provided the Hungarian Air Force with one of its first modern fighter aircraft. Despite the Hungarian attempts to acquire over 30 aircraft from Germany, this was never achieved. In the end, the Hungarians only had three operational He 112, and one  was lost in an accident during testing. While these were stationed on the front line on two occasions they never saw actual combat action. By 1941 due to a lack of spare parts, they were allocated for training purposes. The Hungarians eventually got a production license for the Messerschmitt Bf 109G making the few available He 112 unnecessary.

 

He 112B-1 Specifications
Wingspans	29  ft 10  in / 9.1 m
Length	30  ft 2 in / 9.22 m
Height	12 ft 7 in  / 3.82  m
Wing Area	180  ft² / 17 m²
Engine	One r 680 hp Jumo 210E  liquid-cooled engine
Empty Weight	3,570  lbs / 1,620 kg
Maximum Take-off Weight	4,960 lbs / 2,250 kg
Climb Rate to 6 km	In 10 minutes
Maximum Speed	317 mph / 510 km/h
Cruising speed	300 mph / 484 km/h
Range	715 miles / 1,150 km
Maximum Service Ceiling	31,170 ft / 9,500 m
Crew	1 pilot
Armament	Two 20 mm (1.8 in) cannons and two machine guns 8 mm (0.31 in) machine guns and 60 kg bombs

Credits

• Article written by Marko P.
• Edited by  Henry H.
• Ported by Marko P.
• Illustrated By Godzilla

Illustrations

Source:

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