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Henschel Hs 129
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Hs 129
Henschel Hs 129 B-1
Role Ground attack
Manufacturer Henschel
First flight 25 May 1939
Introduction April 1942
Retired 1945
Primary users Luftwaffe
Hungarian Air Force
Romanian Air Force
Produced June 1940 - September
1944
Number built 865
The Henschel Hs 129 was a World War II ground-attack aircraft fielded by the German
Luftwaffe. Its nickname, the Panzerknacker (tank cracker), is a deliberate pun—in
German, it also means "safe cracker".[citation needed]
In combat service the Hs 129 lacked a
sufficient chance to prove itself; the aircraft was produced in relatively small numbers
and deployed during a time when the Luftwaffe was unable to protect them from attack.
Contents
[hide]
1 Design and development
o 1.1 Prototypes
o 1.2 Hs 129 B-1
o 1.3 Hs 129 B-2
o 1.4 Hs 129 B-3
o 1.5 Hs 129 C
o 1.6 Hs 129 D
2 Operators
3 Specifications (Hs 129 B-2)
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
Design and development[edit]
By the mid-1930s, the German military, as well as its counterparts in other countries,
had come to see the main role of ground attack aircraft as the interdiction of logistics
and materiel, a task in which targets were often poorly protected, less likely to offer
strong, well-coordinated resistance. For high-value, well-protected tactical targets, dive
bombers had become the conventional solution. However, the experience of the German
Kondor Legion, during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) turned this idea on its head.
Even though it was equipped with types unsuited to the role, such as the Henschel Hs
123 and cannon-armed versions of the Heinkel He 112, the Kondor Legion proved that
ground attack aircraft were a very effective weapon. This led to support within the
Luftwaffe for the creation of an aircraft dedicated to this role, and the
Reichsluftministerium (RLM; "Reich Air Ministry") requested tenders for a specialized
ground attack aircraft.
It was anticipated that the main source of damage to such an aircraft would be small
arms fire from the ground, meaning that the plane had to be well-armored around its
cockpit and engines. Similar protection was also needed in the canopy, in the form of
75 mm (2.95 in) thick armored glass. The aircraft was expected to be attacking in low-
level, head-on strafing runs, so the cockpit had to be located as close as possible to the
nose, in order to maximize the visibility of its targets. Another, non-technical
requirement, severely hampered the designs: the RLM insisted that the new design be
powered by engines that were not being used in other designs, so that the type would
not interfere with production of established types deemed essential to the war effort.
Only four companies were asked to submit tenders, three submissions followed and
only two of these were considered worthy of consideration: one derived from an
existing Focke-Wulf reconnaissance type, the Fw 189, and Henschel's all-new Hs 129.
Prototypes[edit]
The Hs 129 was designed around a single large "bathtub" of steel sheeting that made up
the entire nose area of the plane, completely enclosing the pilot up to head level. Even
the canopy was steel, with only tiny windows on the side to see out of and two angled
blocks of glass for the windscreen. In order to improve the armor's ability to stop
bullets, the fuselage sides were angled in forming a triangular shape, resulting in almost
no room to move at shoulder level. There was so little room in the cockpit that the
instrument panel ended up under the nose below the windscreen where it was almost
invisible; some of the engine instruments were moved outside onto the engine nacelles,
as on some models of Messerschmitt's Bf 110 heavy fighter, and the gunsight was
mounted outside on the nose.
Henschel's plane came in 12% overweight with the engines 8% underpowered, and
understandably, it flew poorly. The controls proved to be almost inoperable as speed
increased, and in testing, one plane flew into the ground from a short dive because the
joystick forces were too high for the pilot to pull out. The Focke-Wulf design proved to
be no better. Both planes were underpowered with their Argus As 410 engines, and very
difficult to fly.
The RLM nevertheless felt they should continue with the basic concept. The only real
deciding factor between the two designs was that the Henschel was smaller and cheaper.
The Focke-Wulf was put on low priority as a backup, and testing continued with the Hs
129 A-0. A series of improvements resulted in the Hs 129 A-1 series, armed with two
20 mm MG 151/20 cannons and two 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns, along
with the ability to carry four 50 kg (110 lb) bombs under the fuselage centreline.
Hs 129 B-1[edit]
Even before the A-1s were delivered, the plane was redesigned with the Gnome-Rhône
14M radial engine, which were captured in some number when France fell and
produced under German occupation. This engine supplied 522 kW (700 hp) for takeoff
compared to the Argus at 347 kW (465 hp). The Gnome-Rhone radials were also made
in versions with opposite rotation for the propeller, and were installed on the Hs 129
with the port engine rotating clockwise and the starboard rotating counterclockwise—as
seen from nose-on—thus eliminating engine torque problems. The A-1 planes were
converted into Hs 129 B-0s for testing (although it has been claimed that some As were
sold to Romania) and the pilots were reportedly much happier. Their main complaint
was the view from the canopy, so a single larger windscreen and a new canopy with
much better vision were added, resulting in the production model Hs 129 B-1.
B-1s started rolling off the lines in December 1941, but they were delivered at a trickle.
In preparation for the new plane, I./SchlG 1 had been formed up in January with Bf 109
E/Bs (fighter-bomber version of Bf 109 E) and Hs 123s, and they were delivered B-0s
and every B-1 that was completed. Still, it wasn't until April that 12 B-1s were delivered
and the 4th staffel (squadron) became ready for action. They moved to the Eastern Front
(to the Crimea) in the middle of May 1942, and in June they received a new weapon, the
30 mm (1.2 in) MK 101 cannon with armor-piercing ammunition in a centerline pod.
Hs 129 B-2[edit]
Deliveries of the new Hs 129 B-2 model began in May 1942, side-by-side with the B-1
(of which just 50 planes had been delivered at that point). The only difference between
the two were changes to the fuel system – a host of other minor changes could be found
almost at random on either model. These changes accumulated in the B-2 production
line until they could eventually be told apart at a glance; the main differences being the
removal of the mast for the radio antenna, the addition of a direction-finding radio
antenna loop, and shorter exhaust stacks on the engines.
In the field, the differences seemed to be more pronounced. The Rüstsatz field refit kits
were renumbered and some were dropped, and in general, the B-2 planes received the
upgraded cannon pack using a 30 mm MK 103 cannon instead of the earlier MK 101.
These guns both fired the same ammunition, but the 103 did so at almost twice the rate.
Hs 129 B-3[edit]
A close up of the Bordkanone BK 7,5 75 mm cannon.
By late 1942 reports were coming in about the ineffectiveness of the MK 103 against
newer versions of the Soviet T-34 tanks. One obvious solution would be to use the
larger Bordkanone BK 3,7 37 mm gun, recently adapted from the ground-based Flak 18.
These guns had already been converted into underwing pod-mounted weapons for the
Ju 87 and found to be a fearsome weapon, despite the fact that only 12 shells per pod
could be accommodated. When mounted on the Hs 129, the empty area behind the
cockpit could be used for ammunition storage, which would address the only problem
with the Ju 87's mounting: the limited ammunition supply. Few Hs 129s were actually
fitted with the 37mm cannon, however.
It was also decided that the semi-automatic Rheinmetall PAK 40 75 mm anti-tank gun,
which had already been adapted for use in the Junkers Ju 88P-1, would be further
modified for use in the Hs 129. This resulted in the Bordkanone BK 7,5, which, even
though it weighed 1,200 kg (2,645 lb), was: lighter than the PAK 40 75 mm; fully
automatic; featured a new, hydraulic recoil-dampening system and a new, more
aerodynamic muzzle brake. An autoloader system, with 12 rounds in a rotary magazine,
was fitted in the empty space behind the cockpit, within the rear half of the wing-root
area. The gun and its recoil mechanism occupied a substantial gun pod under the
fuselage, and a circular port at the rear of the pod allowed spent cartridges to be
jettisoned immediately after firing. While this new variant, the Hs 129 B-3, was
theoretically capable of destroying any tank in the world, the added weight worsened
the general performance of the aircraft, relative inferior to previous variants.[1]
The Bordkanone 7,5 was the heaviest and most powerful forward-firing weapon fitted
to a production military aircraft during World War II. The only other aircraft to be
factory-equipped with similar guns were the 1,420 examples of the North American B-
25G and B-25H Mitchell, which mounted either a M4 cannon, or light-weight T13E1 or
M5 versions of the same gun. These weapons, however, were hand-loaded, had shorter
barrels and/or a lower muzzle velocity than the BK 7,5 and, therefore, poorer stopping
power, accuracy and rate of fire. (The BK 7,5 was unsurpassed as an aircraft-fitted gun
until 1971, when the four-engine Lockheed AC-130E Spectre – equipped with a 105
mm M102 howitzer – entered service with the US Air Force.)
Only 25 examples of the B-3 arrived at front-line units, from June 1944, before the
production line was shut down in September. (A small number were reportedly also
created by converting B-2 aircraft.) In the field the B-3 proved deadly, but its small
numbers had little effect on the war effort.
Hs 129 C[edit]
In order to address the poor performance of the aircraft, plans had been underway for
some time to fit the plane with newer versions of the Italian Isotta-Fraschini Delta
engine that delivered 630 kW (850 hp). The engine installation ran into a number of
delays however, and was still not ready for production when the plant was overrun by
the Allies in 1945.
Hs 129 D[edit]
Planned version of the Hs 129. Powered by either two 1085 hp Junkers Jumo 211 or two
1539 hp BMW 801 to improve its performance. No prototypes were made.
Operators[edit]
Germany
Luftwaffe
Hungary
Hungarian Air Force
Romania
Royal Romanian Air Force
Specifications (Hs 129 B-2)[edit]
Data from Henschel Hs 129...der geflügelte Büchsenöffner[2]
General characteristics
Crew: one, pilot
Length: 9.75 m (31 ft 11¾ in)
Wingspan: 14.20 m (46 ft 7 in)
Height: 3.25 m (10 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 29.0 m² (312.15 ft²)
Empty weight: 4,020 kg (8,860 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 5,250 kg (11,574 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Gnome-Rhône 14M 4/5 14-cylinder radial engines, 522 kW
(700 hp) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 407 km/h (220 knots, 253 mph) at 3,830 m (12,570 ft) (clean)
Range: 690 km (372 nmi, 428 mi)
Service ceiling: 9,000 m (29,530 ft)
Rate of climb: 8.1 m/s (1,595 ft/min)
Armament
2 x 7.92 mm (0.31 in) MG-17 MG 17 machine guns, later models from 1943 to
1944 replaced the MG-17s with 2 x 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns
2 x 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons
4 x 50 kg (110 lb) fragmentation bombs on belly racks or a 30 mm (1.2 in) MK
101 armor-piercing gun in a conformally mounted gun pod. Later models could
also carry a MK-103 gun pod, or a BK-3.7 gun pod.
2 x 50 kg bombs on underwing mounts
See also[edit]
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
Ilyushin Il-2
Related lists
List of aircraft of World War II
List of military aircraft of Germany
References[edit]
Notes
1. Jump up ^ [1][not in citation given]
2. Jump up ^ Air International December 1980, p. 281.
Bibliography
Bernád, Dénes. Henschel Hs 129 in Action (Aircraft Number 176). Carrollton, TX:
Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 2001. ISBN 0-89747-428-7.
Bernád, Dénes. Henschel Hs 129 (Military Aircraft in Detail). Hinckley, UK: Midland
publishing Ltd., 2006. ISBN 1-85780-238-1.
Chorążykiewicz, Przemysław. Henschel Hs 129. Sandomierz, Poland/Redbourn, UK:
Mushroom Model Publications, 2008. ISBN 9788389450463.
Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's
Publishers Ltd., 1970 (fourth impression 1979). ISBN 0-356-02382-6.
"Henschel Hs 129...der geflügelte Büchsenöffner". Air International, December 1980,
Vol 19 No 6. pp. 277–283, 303–304. ISSN 0306-5634.
Kempski, Benedykt. Samolot szturmowy Henschel Hs 129 (Typy Broni i Uzbrojenia
No.214) (in Polish). Warszawa, Poland: 2004. ISBN 83-11-10010-1.
Pegg, Martin; Creek, Eddie; Tullis, Thomas A. and Bentley: Hs 129: Panzerjäger!
(Classic series, No. 2) West Sussex, UK: Classic Publications, 1997. ISBN 0-9526867-
1-6.
Smith, J.Richard. The Henschel Hs 129 (Aircraft in Profile No.69). Leatherhead,
Surrey, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1966.
Smith, J.Richard and Kay, Anthony. German Aircraft of the Second World War.
London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1972 (third impression 1978). ISBN 0-370-00024-2.
Stachura, Petr; Bernád, Dénes and Haladej, Dan. Henschel Hs 129 (in Czech). Prague,
Czech Republic: MBI, 1993 (second edition 1996 bilingual Czech/English). ISBN 80-
901263-4-0.
Wood, Tony and Gunston, Bill. Hitler's Luftwaffe: A pictorial history and technical
encyclopedia of Hitler's air power in World War II. London: Salamander Books Ltd.,
1977. ISBN 0-86101-005-1.
External links[edit]
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