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Henschel Hs 126
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Henschel Hs 126
The Henschel Hs 126 was a twin-seat parasol wing reconnaissance and observation aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Henschel.
The Hs 126 that was derived from the Henschel Hs 122. The pilot was seated in a protected cockpit under the parasol wing and the gunner in an open rear cockpit. In the autumn of 1936, the first prototype made its maiden flight; it was soon followed by two more prototypes and a batch of pre-production aircraft. During early 1938, the Hs 126 underwent service evaluation; it was well received for its good short takeoff performance and low-speed flight characteristics, attributes that proved to be frequently useful during its operational history.
The Hs 126 saw combat on numerous fronts, the first occasion being with the Legion Condor contingent that participated in the Spanish Civil War during the late 1930s. It was active on numerous fronts of the Second World War, by which point it had become the principal short-range reconnaissance aircraft of the Luftwaffe. Large numbers of Hs 126s flew during the Invasion of Poland, the Battle of France, and the Invasion of the Soviet Union. On 12 September 1943, a number of Hs 126s were used to tow ten DFS 230 attack gliders from Pratica Di Mare airfield near Rome to the Gran Sasso on a raid to rescue Benito Mussolini. The Royal Hellenic Air Force also operated 16 Hs 126s, which saw action during the Greco-Italian War. It was withdrawn from Luftwaffe service in 1943, by which point the Hs 126 had been superseded by the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch, a general-purpose STOL aircraft, as well as the twin-boom Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu.
The origins of the Hs 126 that was derived from the Henschel Hs 122, which did not advance beyond pre-production after flight testing demonstrated the type to offer no meaningful improvement over the existing Heinkel He 46. During 1936, Heinkel's chief designer, Friedrich Nicolaus, commenced work on a more advanced version of the Hs 122; this was later redesignated as the Hs 126. While it retained the same basic configuration of the Hs 122, however, it differed by its redesigned parasol wing, cantilever undercarriage, and a semi-enclosed cockpit. The Hs 126 also featured all-metal stressed skin construction.
In the autumn of 1936, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight, powered by a single Junkers Jumo 210 V12 engine. The first prototype was not entirely up to Luftwaffe.[citation needed] Early flights were made without the cockpit cover. Both the second and third prototypes were powered by the Bramo 323 radial engine; the former was fitted with a supercharger, an enlarged rudder, and twin tailplane bracing struts.
By the end of 1937, a pre-production batch of HS 126A-0s had been completed; these were broadly similar to the third prototype. The first production standard Hs 126A-1s came of Henschel's production line in early 1938; this model differed from the pre-production aircraft mainly in terms of their fitout, being powered by a BMW 132Dc radial and equipped with a single fixed Zeiss camera in the rear fuselage bay as well as provisions for armaments, including a pair of machine guns and a Hardpoint#Bomb_rack. During early 1938, several Hs 126s were delivered to the reconniassance Lehrgruppe for service evaluation. During these evaluation flight, it was determined that the type possessed favourable flying characteristics and extremely good short-field performance.
During mid 1939, the improved Hs 126B-1 commenced production; this variant was powered by a Bramo 323 radial and accordingly possessed greater performance when flown at high altitudes along with improved short-field performance, as well as VHF radio apparatus. A total of 257 Hs 126s had been delivered to the Luftwaffe by the start of the Second World War. Production of the Hs 126 was terminated during January 1941.
By the time the Hs 126 A-1 was introduced to service with the Luftwaffe in 1938, the re-equipping of reconnaissance formations was already well advanced. The majority of aircraft operated by its short-range reconnaissance units comprised the Heinkel He 45 and Heinkel He 46; in comparison to the Hs 126, both of these aircraft were slower, more vulnerable to ground fire and inclement weather conditions alike, and had limited altitude capability. Accordingly, the Hs 126 had almost entirely replaced both of these aircraft in Luftwaffe service by May 1940.
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Henschel Hs 126
The Henschel Hs 126 was a twin-seat parasol wing reconnaissance and observation aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Henschel.
The Hs 126 that was derived from the Henschel Hs 122. The pilot was seated in a protected cockpit under the parasol wing and the gunner in an open rear cockpit. In the autumn of 1936, the first prototype made its maiden flight; it was soon followed by two more prototypes and a batch of pre-production aircraft. During early 1938, the Hs 126 underwent service evaluation; it was well received for its good short takeoff performance and low-speed flight characteristics, attributes that proved to be frequently useful during its operational history.
The Hs 126 saw combat on numerous fronts, the first occasion being with the Legion Condor contingent that participated in the Spanish Civil War during the late 1930s. It was active on numerous fronts of the Second World War, by which point it had become the principal short-range reconnaissance aircraft of the Luftwaffe. Large numbers of Hs 126s flew during the Invasion of Poland, the Battle of France, and the Invasion of the Soviet Union. On 12 September 1943, a number of Hs 126s were used to tow ten DFS 230 attack gliders from Pratica Di Mare airfield near Rome to the Gran Sasso on a raid to rescue Benito Mussolini. The Royal Hellenic Air Force also operated 16 Hs 126s, which saw action during the Greco-Italian War. It was withdrawn from Luftwaffe service in 1943, by which point the Hs 126 had been superseded by the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch, a general-purpose STOL aircraft, as well as the twin-boom Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu.
The origins of the Hs 126 that was derived from the Henschel Hs 122, which did not advance beyond pre-production after flight testing demonstrated the type to offer no meaningful improvement over the existing Heinkel He 46. During 1936, Heinkel's chief designer, Friedrich Nicolaus, commenced work on a more advanced version of the Hs 122; this was later redesignated as the Hs 126. While it retained the same basic configuration of the Hs 122, however, it differed by its redesigned parasol wing, cantilever undercarriage, and a semi-enclosed cockpit. The Hs 126 also featured all-metal stressed skin construction.
In the autumn of 1936, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight, powered by a single Junkers Jumo 210 V12 engine. The first prototype was not entirely up to Luftwaffe.[citation needed] Early flights were made without the cockpit cover. Both the second and third prototypes were powered by the Bramo 323 radial engine; the former was fitted with a supercharger, an enlarged rudder, and twin tailplane bracing struts.
By the end of 1937, a pre-production batch of HS 126A-0s had been completed; these were broadly similar to the third prototype. The first production standard Hs 126A-1s came of Henschel's production line in early 1938; this model differed from the pre-production aircraft mainly in terms of their fitout, being powered by a BMW 132Dc radial and equipped with a single fixed Zeiss camera in the rear fuselage bay as well as provisions for armaments, including a pair of machine guns and a Hardpoint#Bomb_rack. During early 1938, several Hs 126s were delivered to the reconniassance Lehrgruppe for service evaluation. During these evaluation flight, it was determined that the type possessed favourable flying characteristics and extremely good short-field performance.
During mid 1939, the improved Hs 126B-1 commenced production; this variant was powered by a Bramo 323 radial and accordingly possessed greater performance when flown at high altitudes along with improved short-field performance, as well as VHF radio apparatus. A total of 257 Hs 126s had been delivered to the Luftwaffe by the start of the Second World War. Production of the Hs 126 was terminated during January 1941.
By the time the Hs 126 A-1 was introduced to service with the Luftwaffe in 1938, the re-equipping of reconnaissance formations was already well advanced. The majority of aircraft operated by its short-range reconnaissance units comprised the Heinkel He 45 and Heinkel He 46; in comparison to the Hs 126, both of these aircraft were slower, more vulnerable to ground fire and inclement weather conditions alike, and had limited altitude capability. Accordingly, the Hs 126 had almost entirely replaced both of these aircraft in Luftwaffe service by May 1940.
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