Henschel Hs 126

Infobox Aircraft
name=Henschel Hs 126


caption=
type=Reconnaissance
manufacturer=Henschel
designer=
first flight= August 1936
introduced= 1937
retired=1942
variants with their own articles= Hs 126A-0, Hs 126A-1, Hs 126B-1
primary user=Luftwaffe
more users = Bulgaria
Greece
Croatia
Spain
produced=1937 – 1942
number built
unit cost= The Henschel Hs 126 was a German two seater reconnaissance and observation aircraft of World War II that 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. The prototype aircraft frame was that of a Hs 122A fitted with a Junkers engine. The Hs 126 was well received for its good short takeoff and slow-flying characteristics which were needed at the time. It was put into service for a few years but was soon superseded by the general purpose, STOL Fieseler Fi 156 "Storch" and the medium range Focke-Wulf Fw 189 "flying eye".

Prototype

The first prototype was not entirely up to Luftwaffe standards; it was followed by two more development planes equipped with different engines. Following the third prototype, ten pre-production planes were built in 1937. The Hs 126 entered service in 1938 after operational evaluation with the German Condor Legion contingent to the Spanish Civil War.

ervice

By the time the Hs 126A-1 joined the Luftwaffe, the re-equipping of reconnaissance formations was already well advanced, and by the start of the Second World War in September 1939, Germany already had several good short range observation and long range recon aircraft. Late in the war, it was used in glider tug and night ground attack roles, but production of the Hs 126 ended in 1941 and the type was retired from the front line in 1942.

pecifications (Hs 126B-1)

aircraft specifications/switch
plane or copter?= plane
jet or prop?= prop
crew=Two (pilot and observer/gunner)
length main=35 ft 7 in
length alt=10.9 m
span main=47 ft 7 in
span alt=14.5 m
height main=12 ft 4 in
height alt=3.8 m
area main=340 ft²
area alt=31.6 m²
empty weight main=4,480 lb
empty weight alt=2,030 kg
loaded weight main=3,090 kg
loaded weight alt=6,820 lb
engine (prop)=Bramo 323
type of prop=9-cylinder radial engine
number of props=1
power main=850 hp
power alt=634 kW
max speed main=221 mph at 9,850 ft
max speed alt=356 km/h at 3,000 m
combat radius main=620 mi
combat radius alt=998 km
ceiling main=28,000 ft
ceiling alt=8,530 m
climb rate main= 1,800 ft/min
climb rate alt= 550 m/min
loading main=20.1 lb/ft²
loading alt=97.8 kg/m²
power/mass main=0.13 hp/lb
power/mass alt=0.21 kW/kg
armament=
* 1 × forward-firing 7.92 mm MG 17 machine gun
* 1 × flexible 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun in the observer/gunner
* Up to 150 kg of bombs

ee also

aircontent
related=
similar aircraft=
*LWS-3 Mewa
*Westland Lysander
lists=
*List of World War II military aircraft of Germany
*List of military aircraft of Germany
see also=

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Green, William. "Warplanes of the Third Reich". London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 (fourth impression 1979). ISBN 0-356-02382-6.
* Luranc, Zbigniew. "Henschel Hs 126 - Skrzydła w Miniaturze" (in Polish). Gdańsk, Poland: Wydawnictwo Avia-Press, 1995. ISBN 83-902964-0-3.
* Nowarra, Heinz J. "Nahaufklärer, 1910-1945: Die Augen des Heeres" (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag, 1981. ISBN 3-87943-808-0.
* Pęczkowski, Robert and Panek, Robert. "Henschel Hs 126". Sandomierz, Poland/Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications, 2008. ISBN 83-89450-40-1.
* 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.
* 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.