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The Heinkel He 60 was a German single-engined biplane reconnaissance seaplane designed to be catapulted from Kriegsmarine (German navy) warships of the 1930s.
Development and design
The Heinkel He 60 was designed by Heinkel engineer Reinhold Mewes, the designer of the He 59. The resulting design was a single-engined biplane of mixed wood and metal construction with fabric covering. Its single bay wings were of equal-span and had significant stagger.
The first prototype flew early in 1933 and proved to be underpowered with its 492 kW (660 hp) BMW VI engine. The second prototype had a more powerful version of the BMW engine, but this only marginally improved its performance and was unreliable, so production aircraft reverted to the original engine. Of conventional configuration, the He 60 was a sturdy aircraft, designed (as the specification required) to be capable of operating on the open sea. As a result, it was always somewhat underpowered for its weight, which made handling sluggish and the aircraft vulnerable to enemy fire. Attempts were made to solve its lack of power by fitting one aircraft with a Daimler-Benz DB 600 engine, but engines were not available for production. About 200 He 60Cs and Ds were built by Arado and Weser.
Operational history
thumb|right|A Heinkel He 60 flies above the [[German cruiser Köln|German light cruiser Köln ]]
Initial deliveries of the He 60 were to Kriegsmarine training units in June 1933. It had been withdrawn from front-line service by 1940, but returned to use following Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, being used by various SAGr (Seeaufklarungsgruppe/Maritime reconnaissance group) for coastal patrols in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas. All He 60s were removed from service by October 1943.
|prime units?=met
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General characteristics
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|crew=2
|length m=11.5
|length note=
|span m=13.5
|span note=
|height m=5.3
|height note=
|wing area sqm=56
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|airfoil=
|empty weight kg=2735
|empty weight note=
|gross weight kg=3407
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight kg=
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|fuel capacity=
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Powerplant
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|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=BMW VI 6.0
|eng1 type=V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine
|eng1 kw=492
|eng1 note=
|prop blade number=2
|prop name=fixed-pitch propeller
|prop dia m=<!-- propeller aircraft -->
|prop dia note=
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Performance
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|max speed kmh=240
|max speed note=at sea level
|cruise speed kmh=216
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed kmh=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed kmh=
|never exceed speed note=
|minimum control speed kmh=
|minimum control speed note=
|range km=826
|range note=at
|combat range km=
|combat range note=
|ferry range km=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=<!-- if range unknown -->
|ceiling m=5000
|ceiling note=
|g limits=<!-- aerobatic -->
|roll rate=<!-- aerobatic -->
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude= in 3 minutes 12 seconds
|wing loading kg/m2=
|wing loading note=
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Armament
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|guns= 1 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 15 machine gun in flexible mount for observer
|avionics=
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
- Donald, David (editor). Warplanes of the Luftwaffe. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1994. .
- Gerdessen, Frederik. "Estonian Air Power 1918 – 1945". Air Enthusiast, No. 18, April – July 1982. pp. 61–76. .
- Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Six Floatplanes. London: Macdonald 1962.
- Lang, Gerhard. The Heinkel HE 60 (Luftwaffe Profile). Schiffer Publishing, 2004.
- Smith, J.R. and Kay, Antony L. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam, 1972. .