Heinkel H.E. 8

[TISO]

As with previous posting about Caproni Ca-111 this is a result of me buying BroPlan kit. 

Copypasted and translated from few sources and a couple serbian modelling forum so again not my original work. Tired of reading same 2 sentances in every source so i collected some of it and put it togetjer to expand on this rather exotic plane. Any additions and corrections are welcome.

 

Sources:

Magazine - Avions No.109

Books  - Air War for Yugoslavia Greece and Crete 1940-41 by Christopher Shores & Brian Cull

 

Internet sites:

http://histaviation.com/he_8.html  - on danish planes

http://www.paluba.info/smf/index.php/topic,9597.0.html - on Yugoslav plane

https://www.maketarskikutak.com/index.php/topic,23676.0.html - on Yugoslav plane

http://www.samolotypolskie.pl/samoloty/1212/126/Heinkel-HE-82 - On Polish part

http://airwar.ru/enc/other1/he8.html

 

Quote

History of the type:

The Heinkel H.E. 8 was a reconnaissance floatplane built in Germany in the late 1920s. It was developed at the request of the Danish Navy, which had noted the success of the H.E. 5 in Swedish service, and wished to purchase a similar aircraft as well as licensed production as the Orlogsvaerftet HM.II. Apart from its new Armstrong Siddeley engine, the H.E. 8also differed from the H.E. 8 and previous members of the He-1 family in having a conventional empennage. A single H.E. 8 was built with a Packard 3A-2500 engine and designated HE 31.

 

In 1929 polish company PWS (Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów) ofered to produce aircraft for Heinkel under the license of the Swedish company Svenska Aero Aktiebolag (SAAB) in Stockholm. As the construction offer was not accepted, PWS developed its own seaplane design. In October 1930, Eng. Zbysław Ciołkosz developed the PWS-61 project. It was probably modeled on the Heinkel H.E. 8 seaplane. However, both planes differed in dimensions, weights, engine and construction details.

 

In the years 1929–1930, the Swedish company Svenska Aero Aktiebolag (SAAB) submitted to the Poland Management of Aeronautics Supply an offer of ready-made Heinkel He-8 communicattion seaplanes for the Polish Morskiego Dywizjonu Lotniczego (Marine Aviation Squadron). This offer was also not accepted.

 

Operators:

 

Danemark:

Danemark operated 22 aircraft in total until the German invasion in 1940.

 

Danemark ordered 6 aircraft which were delivered between 17/8 to 6/12 1928. Aircraft were armed after arrival to Danemark and given Danish designation H.M. II. After this Danemark bought licence and rights to produce 13 more aircraft which were delivered between 27/8 1927 to 31/12 1931. 3 more aircraft were ordered in mid 1938 and were delivered between 28/7 to 30/8 1938.

 

When Germany invaded 13 of the aircraft were still on strenght of 1.Luftflotille.  Germans stored all captured H.E. 8 aircraft in Holmen naval arsenal (Flådestation Holmen) except 1 that was pressed into luftwaffe service (DA+??). After danish crews scuttled their ships on 29/8 1943 during Operation Safari (german operation to disarm Danish armed forces)  germans started to show interest in these aircraft but before they did anything a trainee engeener burned them all on 22/11 1943.

 

Kingdom of Yugoslavia:

Kingdom of Yugoslavia Naval Air Service operated 1 H.E. 8 aircraft from 1931 until april 1941.

In search of replacement for old and outdated Ikarus ŠM trainer of Royal Yugoslav Navy one aircraft was ordered with Heinkel for comparative tests. As Heinkel saw no profit in producing a single aircraft, in early 1930 Ministry of Navy negotiated a licence and rights for 1 aircraft which was entrusted to be built by factory ZMAJ in Zemun. Contract was signed beetween Heinkel and ZMAJ on 17th of March 1930 for 7920 RM. Zmaj built a single aircraft powered by 480hp Gnôme-Rhône 9A Jupiter with 4 bladed wooden propeller.

Plane was tested in the autumn 1931  by the 2. Seaplane Command (Hidroplanska Komanda) at Split. Aircraft was tested against Letov Š-16J (registration 300 and later 191). While not entirely satisfied with flight caracteristics Heinkel was considered better and thus given priority. Purchase of 10 H.E. 8d was planed but economic crisis resulted in postponment and in 1933 abandonment of purchase.

The sole example registred as No.301 soldiered on as did a single Š-16J. First it served as a trainer in Školska Hidroeskadrila (traning hydrosquadron) and then from 1938 as target towing plane (without machine guns) at naval hydroplane base Kumbor. He-8 was slated for retirement 3 times and was reassebled and reactivated each time.
At first aircraft was registered with registration number 301 and from 1937 registration number was  changed to 192 as 300 series of registration numbers has been chosen for new Dornier Do-H (Do-22).

At start of the war on 6th of April 1941 H.E. 8d now registred as No.192 served as part of 11.HE of 1.HG of 3.HK (11. Hidroplanska Eskadrila part of 1. Hidroplanska Grupa of 3. Hidroplanska Komanda). 11.HE was composed of 3x ŠM, 2x IO, 3x big Fizir, 1x H.E. 8 and 2x SIM-XIV-H of which only SIM-XIV was considered a modern aircraft.


After the German attack and capitualtion of Yugoslav armed forces no.192  now part of 11. HE (Hydroplane squadron) was flown to Greece as part of concerted efforts of individual naval fliers to evacuate to the allies and continue fighting. Other planes that made the attempt on 16th of April 1941 were 10x Do-22 and 3x SIM-XIV-H.

On 16 of April 1941 (one day before unconditional capitulation of Yugoslav armed forces) H.E. 8d no.192 with crew sgt.pilot Šimun Pišpek (11.HE), sgt pilot Mihajlo Omišalj (11.HE)j and sgt. mechanic III class Ivan Mičetić (20.HE) started from Boka Kotorska (Bay of Kotor) for Corfu with one SIM-XIV-H in very bad flying conditions as last planes that took off. SIM had engine fire and had to perform emergency landing on sea. No. 192 then returned to base to raise alarm and SIM crew was saved. Aircraft then continued to Corfu.  Next day (17/4) they continued to Patras no.192 with another SIM-XIV which had to turn back. On the same  day they took off together with other RYN refugee aircraft that came this far (8x Do-22 and 1x SIM-XIV) from Patras to Salamina naval base where they refueled and on 20th of April took off to Suda bay on island of Crete. Since german invasion of the island was imminent, british ordered them to fly to Alexandria in Egypt. Group took off on 22nd of April 1941 for Alexandria.

Aicraft H.E. 8d no.192 was destroyed by its own crew and left on Crete as it lacked necessary range to reach Egypt. Last known information on fate of No.192 is a photo of this aircraft in partialy sunk condition next to a shore pier in Suda bay Crete after german conquest of the island in may 1941. Story of escape of Yugoslav naval aircraft is narrated in more detail in the book »Air War for Yugoslavia Greece and Crete 1940-41« (Christopher Shores, Brian Cull) page 229.

 

Technical information of H.E. 8:

 

Type:

2 - 3 seat reconnaissance floatplane

Dimensions:

Length 11.65 m, height 4,40 m, span 16,77 m, wing area 47,0 m2

Weight:

Empty 1675 kg, loaded 2650 kg

 

Engine type:

a 1x  Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IV

b 1x  Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar VI C 320 kW (430hp)

d 1x  Gnôme-Rhône Jupiter 9A (480hp)

 

Performance:

Max. speed 212 km/h (114 kts)

Cruise speed 170 km/h

Landing speed 86km/h

Range 1290km,

Service ceiling 5600m,

Rate of climb 2,8 m/sec

Time to altitude:

1,000m in 3 min 12 sec

5,000m in 28 min

 

Armament:

1 fixed sychronised forward firing 7,92mm Madsen machine gun, 1 rearward firing 7,92 mm Madsen machinegun, 8 cassetes each with 12 x 0,5 kg bombs (50kg total). YU version used 7,7mm Darne machine guns

 

 

Production of H.E. 8:

 

Built in Germany for Danish navy:

Type (engine):   Werk.No. Registration:  History:

a                         311         99                  Delivered 17/8 1928 to 1.Luftflotille. Withdrawn 22/11 1933 after crashlanding near Gothenburg

a                         312         98                  Delivered 10/9 1928 to 1.Luftflotille. Withdrawn 9/4 1940, stored . Destroyed 23/11 1943

a                         313         97                  Delivered  24/9 1928 to 1.Luftflotille. Withdrawn 28/1 1939. Scrapped

a                         314         --                   Crashed 27/9 1928 during advanced flying. Pilot Stephan von Prondzynski (Chief test pilot at Heinkel) was killed

a                         315         96                  Delivered 22/10 1928 to 1.Luftflotille. Crashed 22/4 1930 at Warnemünde

a                         316         95                  Delivered 30/10 1928 to 1.Luftflotille. Crashed 1/10 1935 at Lynetten

a                         323         94                  Delivered 6/12 1928 to 1.Luftflotille.  Crashed 25/11 1935 at Öresund

 

Built in Danemark by Orlogsværftet, Copenhagen:

Type (engine):  Werk.No.  Registration:  History:

b                      O.V.62       93                  Delivered 7/8 1929 to 1.Luftflotille. Withdrawn 10/10 1938, scrapped

b                      O.V.63       92                  Delivered 3/9 1929 to 1.Luftflotille. Crashed 18/10 1929 at Falsterbo

b                      O.V.64       91                  Delivered 13/9 1929 to 1.Luftflotille. Crashed 22/11 1933 at Gothenburg

b                      O.V.65       90                  Delivered 30/11 1929 to 1.Luftflotille. Withdrawn 9/4 1940, stored. Destroyed 23/11 1943

b                      O.V.66       89                  Delivered 30/11 1929 to 1.Luftflotille. Withdrawn 9/4 1940, stored. Destroyed 23/11 1943

b                      O.V.67       88                  Delivered  1/10 1930 to 1.Luftflotille. Withdrawn 9/4 1940, stored. Destroyed 23/11 1943

b                      O.V.68       87                  Delivered 29/11 1930 to 1.Luftflotille. Withdeawn 9/4 1940, stored. Destroyed 23/11 1943

b                      O.V.69       86                  Delivered 20/1 1931 to 1.Luftflotille. Withdrawn 9/4 1940, stored. Destroyed 23/11 1943

b                      O.V.70       85                  Delivered 21/12 1929 to 1.Luftflotille. Crashed 4/7 at Gilleleje

b                      O.V.71       84                  Delivered 9/4 1931 to 1.Luftflotille. Withdrawn 9/4 1940, stored. Destroyed 23/11 1943

b                      O.V.72       83                  Delivered 12/11 1931 to 1.Luftflotille. Withdrawn 9/4 1940, stored. Destroyed 23/11 1943

b                      O.V.73       82                  Delivered 15/12 1931 to 1.Luftflotille. Withdrawn 9/4 1940, stored. Destroyed 23/11 1943

b                      O.V.74       81                  Delivered 30/12 1931 to 1.Luftflotille. Withdrawn 9/4 1940, stored. Destroyed 23/11 1943

b                      O.V.90       80                  Delivered 28/6 1938 to 1.Luftflotille. Withdrawn 9/4 1940, stored. Destroyed 23/11 1943

b                      O.V.91       79                  Delivered 9/8 1938 to 1.Luftflotille. Withdrawn 9/4 1940, stored. Destroyed 23/11 1943

b                      O.V.92       78                  Delivered 30/8 1938 to 1.Luftflotille. Withdrawn 9/4 1940, stored. Destroyed 23/11 1943

 

Built in Kingdom of Yugoslavia by ZMAJ

Type (engine):  Werk.No.  Registration:  History:

d                        unk.        301, 192         Tested 1931  by the 2. Seaplane Command at Split. Then in trainig squadron and from 1938

                                                               used for target towing (no guns) at Kumbor.

                                                               After the German attack it was flown to Greece. Destroyed in late april 1941 at Suda Bay, Crete

 

Edited April 24, 2020 by TISO

[JWM]

I have not noticed your Caproni 111 thread, but this one is very interesting. I have both this Broplan kits (I think vacu still is kit) and they are not far from top of my stash.

The Caproni is OK, but He-8 has one strange flaw. The wing profile is made with concave lower part whereas He 8 has covex  bottom of wing: (heve a lok here 

 

I do not know why Broplan made such mistake, since it involved much work to do that in vacu model.On the other hand it is not that much difficult to correct, still some work is needed.

I was intersting if some Dannish He-8 was not used in 1940 (and later) on Greenland, from your data it looks that not. Such photos suggests that they were from time to time there

 

regards

J-W

 

[KRK4m]

On 4/22/2020 at 2:02 PM, TISO said:

The Heinkel He-8 was a reconnaissance floatplane built in Germany in the late 1920s. It was developed at the request of the Danish Navy, which had noted the success of the He-5 in Swedish service, and wished to purchase a similar aircraft as well as licensed production as the Orlogsvaerftet HM.II. Apart from its new Armstrong Siddeley engine, the He-8 also differed from the He-5 and previous members of the He-1 family in having a conventional empennage. A single HE 8 was built with a Packard 3A-2500 engine and designated HE 31.
 

Mind the nomenclature - this aircraft has been never called "He-8". The "He" abbreviation for Heinkel aircraft was introduced by RLM in 1931. And first Heinkel aircraft using this new abbreviation were the He-42, He-45 and He-46 used in WW2. All earlier planes built by Ernst Heinkel were called H.D.-14...60  or H.E.-1...58 where HD means "Heinkel Doppeldecker" (i.e. biplane) and HE stands for "Heinkel Eindecker" (monoplane).

1 hour ago, JWM said:

I do not know why Broplan made such mistake, since it involved much work to do that in vacu model. On the other hand it is not that much difficult to correct, still some work is needed.
 

It's even more strange, as Broplan is located at Gdansk, almost exactly mid-way between the only two H.E.s preserved till today in the world. One of them is kept in Swedish Flygvapenmuseum in Linkoping (470 km from Gdansk) and another in Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow (480 km from Gdansk). Visiting one of them would be enough to cancel this design failure.

Cheers

Michael

[TISO]

Thank you for pointing out the wing issue.

RE danish use i just copy pasted the histaviation info with correction for dates when they were burned.

RE naming from what i gather in Danish navy it was always known as H.M. II and from what i gather the only other user i.e. Royal Yugoslav Navy marked it as He-8.

My intention was always to rework (new engine, new prop some work on the nose and floats) it into Royal Yugoslav Navy No.192 if not for enything else for valiant attempt of it's crew to fight on with this rather tired plane (retired and slated for destruction twice but reactivated each time).

 

No.192 Suda bay Crete may 1941

Edited April 23, 2020 by TISO

[TISO]

OK i edited the name of the plane to H.E. 8. KRK4m is correct.

Some our danish friend coul expand a bit on their use