Īmong the designers seeking to benefit from German re-armament was Ernst Heinkel. Early development work on bombers was disguised as a development program for civilian transport aircraft. German re-armament began earnestly in the 1930s and was initially kept secret because the project violated the treaty.
These remained in service until 1973.Įrnst Heinkel (right) with Siegfried Günter Design conception Īfter its defeat in World War I, Germany was banned from operating an air force by the Treaty of Versailles. The design differed significantly only in the powerplant used, eventually being equipped with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. Its airframe was produced in Spain under licence by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA.
Spain received a batch of He 111H-16s in 1943 along with an agreement to licence-build Spanish versions. Production of the Heinkel continued after the war as the Spanish-built CASA 2.111. With the German bomber force virtually defunct, the He 111 was used for logistics. Manufacture of the He 111 ceased in September 1944, at which point piston-engine bomber production was largely halted in favour of fighter aircraft. 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. The He 111 was constantly upgraded and modified, but had nonetheless become obsolete by the latter part of the war. 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. As the war progressed, the He 111 was used in a wide variety of roles on every front in the European theatre. It fared well until it met serious fighter opposition during the Battle of Britain, when its defensive armament was found to be inadequate. Perhaps the best-recognised German bomber of World War II 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. 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. Through development, it was described as a " wolf in sheep's clothing". The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934.
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