Heinkel HE 12

__NOTOC__ Infobox Aircraft
name=HE 12 and He 58


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type=Mailplane
national origin=Germany
manufacturer=Heinkel
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first flight=avyear|1929
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primary user=Lufthansa
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number built=2
variants with their own articles=The Heinkel HE 12 was a pontoon-equipped mailplane built in Germany in 1929, designed to be launched by catapult from a liner at sea. The concept was hit upon after Norddeutsche Lloyd (NDL) had carried a Junkers F 13 seaplane aboard the SS "Lutzow" during 1927 to provide joyrides for passengers when the liner was in port. NDL officials realised that a seaplane based on a liner could have a more practical commercial application, taking off with the liner's airmail while still a long distance from port, therefore drastically cutting down time taken for the mail to arrive. To this end, the Heinkel firm began to design a catapult, which NDL planned to install on its new liners, the SS "Bremen" and SS "Europa", and an aircraft to carry the mail. Since the crew of the "Lutzow" had trouble providing the necessary maintenance for the F 13, Lufthansa agreed to provide the operational support for the venture, and when the "Bremen" departed on her maiden voyage in 1929, a single HE 12 (registration "D-1717") was carried aboard.

The aircraft itself was a derivative of the military HE 9 design; a conventional, low-wing, strut-braced monoplane. The pilot and radio operator sat in tandem, open cockpits with the mail carried in a compartment behind them. On 22 July while still 400 km (250 miles) out of New York City, "Bremen" successfully launched the HE 12. When the seaplane was unloaded 2½ hours later, mail from Berlin had taken just 6½ days to reach New York. The next day, in front of a crowd of 3,500 people, mayor Jimmy Walker christened the HE 12 with the name of the city. On the return journey, the newly-christened "New York" launched from the "Bremen" near Cherbourg on 1 August, landing in Bremerhaven four hours later, in time for the mail to be transferred to another aircraft and arrive in Berlin the same afternoon, 5½ days after leaving New York. Use of the seaplane saved around 20 hours on the westward trip, and 1-2 days on the eastward journey.

The "New York" continued to fly until severely damaged in an accident on Cobequid Bay on 5 October 1931. The following year, "Europa" was fitted with a more powerful catapult and a seaplane of similar, but slightly heavier, design, the He 58. This aircraft ("D-1919", "Bremen") had a wider fuselage that seated its crew side-by-side, and a cowled engine. It continued in service in this role until Junkers Ju 46 floatplanes were built for both liners.

pecifications (HE 12)

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crew=Two, pilot and radio operator
capacity=200 kg (440 lb) of mail
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gross weight kg=2,800
gross weight lb=6,160
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eng1 number=1
eng1 type=BMW licence-built Pratt & Whitney Hornet
eng1 kw= 336
eng1 hp= 450
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max speed kmh=215
max speed mph=134
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