Germany's Henschel Hs 129 close support1,2,3
Henschel Hs 129 close support:
Henschel Hs 129 close support:
Henschel Hs 129 close support:
Henschel Hs 129 close support:
Design
In 1937 the Technische Amt issued specifications for a close-support, with a cannon, aircraft.1,2 The competing designs were the Focke-Wulf 189 and the Henschel Hs 129.1 Both didn't perform well and the Hs 129 won mostly due to the fact it was 2/3s the cost of the Fw 189.1 Friedrich Nicolaus was the designer of the Henschel Hs 129.2
The Henschel Hs 129 was designed from the start to destroy tanks.1
Cockpit
The Hs 129 was designed to have a small cross section and this resulted in the cockpit being very small and cramped.1 Some pilots couldn't fit into the small cockpit.1
The cockpit had 0.5" / 12 mm armored plating on the floor and the front.1 There was 0.25" / 6 mm armor on the sides.1
The gun sight was mounted in front of the canopy.1
The engine controls were mounted on the engine nacelles.1
Undercarriage
The undercarriage retracted rearwards into the engine nacelles with a little bit of the wheel left exposed to help minimize damage in the case of a wheels up landing.1
Fuselage
The fuselage was light metal with a stressed skin.1 This was joined to the armored cockpit.1
Engines
The Hs 129 would have been a great close support aircraft except for its engine problems.3 The initial Argus engine was underpowered, and the Ghome-Rhônes were vulnerable to ground fire and prone to fail.3
Prototype
Henschel received an order to build three prototypes in mid-1938.1
The very first one flew in March 1938.1
The first prototype flew in the spring of 1939.3
The Hs 129V1 had two Argus As 410 inline engines (465 HP) and first flew in 1938.2
The Hs 129A-0 had French Gnome-Rhône 14M radial engines (700 HP) installed.2
The Hs 129A-0 had Argus As 410A-1 engines that proved to be under-powered.1
The Hs 129B had the Gnome-Rhône installed.1 The cockpit was modified with larger areas of armored glass.1
Production
Production ended in September 1944.1
- Prototypes: 33
- Hs 129A-0: 83
- Hs 129B-0: 163
- Hs 129B: 8433
- Total: 8703, 8711
Variants
- Hs 129V: Fitted with Argus As 410A-1 inverted V 12 engines (495 HP).3
- Hs 129A-0: Fitted with Argus engines.1 These were underpowered and were assigned to a training unit.1
- Hs 129B-0: Had a larger cockpit and electrically operated trim tabs.2 Delivered in December 1941.2
- Hs 129B-1: Delivered in 1942.2
- Hs 129B-1/R2: 30 mm MK 101 cannon under the nose with 30 rounds.2
- Hs 129B-1/R3: Had four 7.9 mm MGs in a ventral pack.3
- Hs 129B-1/R4: Had up to 551 lb / 250 kg of bombs.3
- Hs 129B-1/R5: Had a ventral camera.3
- Hs 129B-2/R2: 30 mm cannon under the fuselage.3
- Hs 129B-2/R3: 37 mm cannon under the fuselage.3
- Hs 129B-2/R4: 75 mm cannon under the fuselage.3
- Hs 129B-3/Wa: Had 75 mm PaK 40 gun installed with 12 rounds.1,2,3 There were no guns in the wings.3 25 Hs 129B-2s were converted.3
- Hs 129??: Tested with SG 113A installed which fired tubes of explosives that were triggered by light-sensitive cells.1
Usage
Germany, Hungary, and Romania used the Hs 129.3
North Africa
At the end of 1942, Hs 129s were sent to North Africa.1 The engines were prone to seizures and the Hs 129 was withdrawn to Tripoli for overhauls.1
Romania
Romania was supplied with the Hs 129 and in 1944, after Romania switched sides, they were used against the German army.1
| Henschel Hs 1293 | Henschel Hs 129B3 | Henschel Hs 129B-1/R13 | Henschel Hs 129B-1/R22 | Henschel Hs 129B-21,3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Ground attack3 Close support3 Anti-tank3 |
Anti-tank2 Ground support2 |
Close support1 Anti-tank1 |
||
| Crew | 13 | 12 | 11 | ||
| Engine (Type) | 2: Gnome-Rhône 14M 04/053 | 2: Gnome-Rhône 14M piston2 | 2: Gnome-Rhône 14M 4/51 | ||
| Cylinders | Radial 143 | Radial2 | Radial 141 | ||
| Cooling | Air1 | ||||
| HP | 700 each3 | 700 each2 | 700 each1 | ||
| Propeller blades | 3 each3 | 3 each1 | |||
| Fuel capacity | |||||
| Dimensions | |||||
| Span | 46' 7"3 14.2 m3 |
46' 7"2 14.2 m2 |
46' 7"1 14.2 m1 |
||
| Length | 31' 11.75"3 9.75 m3 |
31' 11.75"2 9.75 m2 |
13' 1"1 9.75 m1 |
||
| Height | 10' 8"3 3.25 m3 |
10' 8"2 3.25 m2 |
10' 8"1 3.25 m1 |
||
| Wing area | 312.16 ft2 2 29 m2 2 |
312 ft2 1 29 m2 1 |
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| Weight | |||||
| Empty | 8,783 lb2 3,984 kg2 |
8,382 lb1, 8,400 lb3 3,810 kg1,3 |
|||
| Loaded | 11,263 lb2 5,109 kg2 |
11,550 lb1, 11,574 lb3 5,250 kg1,3 |
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| Performance | |||||
| Speed | 252 mph1 407 kph1 |
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| Speed @ 12,750' / 3,830 m |
253 mph2 407 kph2 |
253 mph3 407 kph3 |
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| Cruising speed | 195 mph1, 196 mph3 315 kph1,3 |
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| Climb | 1,594'/minute1, 1,595'/minute3 486 m/minute1,3 |
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| Climb to 9,845' / 3,000 m |
7 minutes2 | ||||
| Service ceiling | 29,530'2 9,000 m2 |
29,500'1, 29,530'3 9,000 m1,3 |
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| Range | 348 miles2 560 km2 |
425 miles1, 429 miles3 688 km1, 690 km3 |
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| Armament | |||||
| Nose | 2: 20 mm3 | 2: 20 mm MG 151/202 2: 7.92 MG 172 |
2: 7.9 mm MG 171 2: 20 mm MG 1511 |
||
| Ventral pack | 30 mm3 | ||||
| Bombs | 772 lb2 350 kg2 |
||||
| Under fuselage | 1: 30 mm MK 1012 30 rounds2 |
1: 30 mm1 | |||
| OR | 4: 110 lb bombs1 4: 50 kg bombs1 |
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| OR | 1:550 lb bomb1 1: 250 kg bomb1 |
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| Wings | 2: 7.9 mm MG3 | ||||
| Wing racks | 2: 110 lb bombs1 2: 50 kg bombs1 |
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| OR | 48: 4 lb anti-personnel bombs1 48: 2 kg anti-personnel bombs1 |
Sources:
- Aircraft of WWII, General Editor: Jim Winchester, 2004
- Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Editor: Karen Leverington, 1995
- Aircraft of WWII, Stewart Wilson, 1998
