#27 Ric's Heinkel He111 P2
Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2018 9:01 am
Captain RicRodrigues reporting for duty!!!
Apologies for the late joining, but better late than never!
For this Bomber clash, I'm bringing the humble Heinkel He111 P2, 1:72 scale from Airfix.
20180530_151151 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on Flickr
I just stole this kit from the "Battle of Britain 75th Anniversary" set from Airfix, and it's a new tooling from 2015.
20180530_151135 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on Flickr
First, some history about the Bomber, by the respectful Aviation History expert, Professor Wikipedia:
"The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after the First World War prohibiting bombers, it masqueraded as a civil airliner, although from conception the design was intended to provide the nascent Luftwaffe with a fast medium bomber.
Perhaps the best-recognised German bomber due to the distinctive, extensively glazed "greenhouse" nose of later versions, the Heinkel He 111 was the most numerous Luftwaffe bomber during the early stages of World War II. The bomber fared well until the Battle of Britain, when its weak defensive armament was exposed. Nevertheless, it proved capable of sustaining heavy damage and remaining airborne. As the war progressed, the He 111 was used in a variety of roles on every front in the European theatre. It was used as a strategic bomber during the Battle of Britain, a torpedo bomber in the Atlantic and Arctic, and a medium bomber and a transport aircraft on the Western, Eastern, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and North African Front theatres.
The He 111 was constantly upgraded and modified, but became obsolete during the latter part of the war. The German Bomber B project was not realised, which forced the Luftwaffe to continue operating the He 111 in combat roles until the end of the war. Manufacture of the He 111 ceased in September 1944, at which point piston-engine bomber production was largely halted in favour of fighter aircraft. With the German bomber force virtually defunct, the He 111 was used for logistics.
Production of the Heinkel continued after the war as the Spanish-built CASA 2.111. Spain received a batch of He 111H-16s in 1943 along with an agreement to licence-build Spanish versions. Its airframe was produced in Spain under licence by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA. The design differed significantly in powerplant only, eventually being equipped with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. The Heinkel's descendant continued in service until 1973.
He 111 P
The He 111P incorporated the updated Daimler-Benz DB 601A-1 liquid-cooled engine and featured a newly designed nose section, including an asymmetric mounting for an MG 15 machine gun that replaced the 'stepped' cockpit with a roomier and more aerodynamic glazed stepless cockpit over the entire front of the aircraft. This smooth glazed nose was first tested on the He 111 V8 in January 1938. These improvements allowed the aircraft to reach 475 km/h (295 mph) at 5,000 m (16,400 ft) and a cruise speed of 370 km/h (230 mph), although a full bomb load reduced this figure to 300 km/h (190 mph).[26] The design was implemented in 1937 because pilot reports indicated problems with visibility.[26] The pilot's seat could actually be elevated, with the pilot's eyes above the level of the upper glazing, complete with a small pivoted windscreen panel, to get the pilot's head above the level of the top of the "glass tunnel" for a better forward view for takeoffs and landings. The rear-facing dorsal gun position, enclosed with a sliding, near-clear view canopy, and for the first time, the ventral Bodenlafette rear-facing gun position, immediately aft of the bomb bay, that replaced the draggy "dustbin" retractable emplacement became standard, having been first flown on the He 111 V23, bearing civil registration D-ACBH.
One of Heinkel's rivals, Junkers, built 40 He 111Ps at Dessau. In October 1938, the Junkers Central Administration commented:
Apparent are the externally poor, less carefully designed components at various locations, especially at the junction between the empennage and the rear fuselage. All parts have an impression of being very weak.... The visible flexing in the wing must also be very high. The left and right powerplants are interchangeable. Each motor has an exhaust-gas heater on one side, but it is not connected to the fuselage since it is probable that ... the warm air in the fuselage is not free of carbon monoxide (CO). The fuselage is not subdivided into individual segments, but is attached over its entire length, after completion, to the wing centre section. Outboard of the powerplants, the wings are attached by universal joints. The latter can in no way be satisfactory and have been the cause of several failures.
The new design was powered by the DB 601 Ba engine with 1,175 PS. The first production aircraft reached Luftwaffe units in Fall 1938. In May 1939, the P-1 and P-2 went into service with improved radio equipment. The P-1 variant was produced with two DB 601Aa powerplants of 1,150 hp (860 kW). It had self-sealing fuel tanks.[41] The P-1 featured a semi-retractable tail wheel to decrease drag.[41] Armament consisted of a MG 15 in the nose, and a sliding hood for the fuselage's dorsal B-Stand position. Installation of upgraded FuG III radio communication devices were also made and a new ESAC-250/III vertical bomb magazine was added. The overall takeoff weight was now 13,300 kg (29,321 lb).
The P-2, like the later P-4, was given stronger armour and two MG 15 machine guns in "waist" mounts on either side of the fuselage and two external bomb racks. Radio communications consisted of FuG IIIaU radios and the DB601 A-1 replaced the 601Aa powerplants. The Lotfernrohr 7 bombsights, which became the standard bombsight for German bombers, were also fitted to the P-2. The P-2 was also given "field equipment sets" to upgrade the weak defensive armament to four or five MG 15 machine guns. The P-2 had its bomb capacity raised to 4 ESA-250/IX vertical magazines. The P-2 thus had an empty weight of 6,202 kg (13,272 lb), a loaded weight increased to 12,570 kg (27,712 lb) and a maximum range of 2,100 km (1,305 mi)."
And of course, the compulsory sprue shots:
A big bag of stuff
20180530_151110 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on Flickr
Wings, stabilizers and wheels
20180530_151449 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on Flickr
Interior Bulkheads and Walls, Bomb Racks and Fuselage Halves
20180530_151505 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on Flickr
Control Surfaces and part of the underside fuselage
20180530_151526 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on Flickr
The rest of all the stuff, landing gears, interior bits and bobs, propellers, everything..
20180530_151540 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on Flickr
Engine nacelles
20180530_151552 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on Flickr
Clear parts for windows, underside and glazed greenhouse nose
20180530_151627 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on Flickr
(No way i'm going to mask all that nose by myself!!!
So, I got this little extra!)
20180530_151653 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on Flickr
Decals (Bottom Right)
20180530_151706 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on Flickr
Instructions, as usual from Airfix
20180530_151312 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on Flickr
And Painting Instructions
20180530_151238 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on Flickr
Being a new tool, I expect this to be a good build, with no big issues and good fitment.
I'll start straight away with the build and will try to keep regular updates.
As always, opinions and suggestions are welcome, feel free to comment!!!
Cheers!!!
Apologies for the late joining, but better late than never!
For this Bomber clash, I'm bringing the humble Heinkel He111 P2, 1:72 scale from Airfix.
20180530_151151 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on FlickrI just stole this kit from the "Battle of Britain 75th Anniversary" set from Airfix, and it's a new tooling from 2015.
20180530_151135 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on FlickrFirst, some history about the Bomber, by the respectful Aviation History expert, Professor Wikipedia:
"The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after the First World War prohibiting bombers, it masqueraded as a civil airliner, although from conception the design was intended to provide the nascent Luftwaffe with a fast medium bomber.
Perhaps the best-recognised German bomber due to the distinctive, extensively glazed "greenhouse" nose of later versions, the Heinkel He 111 was the most numerous Luftwaffe bomber during the early stages of World War II. The bomber fared well until the Battle of Britain, when its weak defensive armament was exposed. Nevertheless, it proved capable of sustaining heavy damage and remaining airborne. As the war progressed, the He 111 was used in a variety of roles on every front in the European theatre. It was used as a strategic bomber during the Battle of Britain, a torpedo bomber in the Atlantic and Arctic, and a medium bomber and a transport aircraft on the Western, Eastern, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and North African Front theatres.
The He 111 was constantly upgraded and modified, but became obsolete during the latter part of the war. The German Bomber B project was not realised, which forced the Luftwaffe to continue operating the He 111 in combat roles until the end of the war. Manufacture of the He 111 ceased in September 1944, at which point piston-engine bomber production was largely halted in favour of fighter aircraft. With the German bomber force virtually defunct, the He 111 was used for logistics.
Production of the Heinkel continued after the war as the Spanish-built CASA 2.111. Spain received a batch of He 111H-16s in 1943 along with an agreement to licence-build Spanish versions. Its airframe was produced in Spain under licence by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA. The design differed significantly in powerplant only, eventually being equipped with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. The Heinkel's descendant continued in service until 1973.
He 111 P
The He 111P incorporated the updated Daimler-Benz DB 601A-1 liquid-cooled engine and featured a newly designed nose section, including an asymmetric mounting for an MG 15 machine gun that replaced the 'stepped' cockpit with a roomier and more aerodynamic glazed stepless cockpit over the entire front of the aircraft. This smooth glazed nose was first tested on the He 111 V8 in January 1938. These improvements allowed the aircraft to reach 475 km/h (295 mph) at 5,000 m (16,400 ft) and a cruise speed of 370 km/h (230 mph), although a full bomb load reduced this figure to 300 km/h (190 mph).[26] The design was implemented in 1937 because pilot reports indicated problems with visibility.[26] The pilot's seat could actually be elevated, with the pilot's eyes above the level of the upper glazing, complete with a small pivoted windscreen panel, to get the pilot's head above the level of the top of the "glass tunnel" for a better forward view for takeoffs and landings. The rear-facing dorsal gun position, enclosed with a sliding, near-clear view canopy, and for the first time, the ventral Bodenlafette rear-facing gun position, immediately aft of the bomb bay, that replaced the draggy "dustbin" retractable emplacement became standard, having been first flown on the He 111 V23, bearing civil registration D-ACBH.
One of Heinkel's rivals, Junkers, built 40 He 111Ps at Dessau. In October 1938, the Junkers Central Administration commented:
Apparent are the externally poor, less carefully designed components at various locations, especially at the junction between the empennage and the rear fuselage. All parts have an impression of being very weak.... The visible flexing in the wing must also be very high. The left and right powerplants are interchangeable. Each motor has an exhaust-gas heater on one side, but it is not connected to the fuselage since it is probable that ... the warm air in the fuselage is not free of carbon monoxide (CO). The fuselage is not subdivided into individual segments, but is attached over its entire length, after completion, to the wing centre section. Outboard of the powerplants, the wings are attached by universal joints. The latter can in no way be satisfactory and have been the cause of several failures.
The new design was powered by the DB 601 Ba engine with 1,175 PS. The first production aircraft reached Luftwaffe units in Fall 1938. In May 1939, the P-1 and P-2 went into service with improved radio equipment. The P-1 variant was produced with two DB 601Aa powerplants of 1,150 hp (860 kW). It had self-sealing fuel tanks.[41] The P-1 featured a semi-retractable tail wheel to decrease drag.[41] Armament consisted of a MG 15 in the nose, and a sliding hood for the fuselage's dorsal B-Stand position. Installation of upgraded FuG III radio communication devices were also made and a new ESAC-250/III vertical bomb magazine was added. The overall takeoff weight was now 13,300 kg (29,321 lb).
The P-2, like the later P-4, was given stronger armour and two MG 15 machine guns in "waist" mounts on either side of the fuselage and two external bomb racks. Radio communications consisted of FuG IIIaU radios and the DB601 A-1 replaced the 601Aa powerplants. The Lotfernrohr 7 bombsights, which became the standard bombsight for German bombers, were also fitted to the P-2. The P-2 was also given "field equipment sets" to upgrade the weak defensive armament to four or five MG 15 machine guns. The P-2 had its bomb capacity raised to 4 ESA-250/IX vertical magazines. The P-2 thus had an empty weight of 6,202 kg (13,272 lb), a loaded weight increased to 12,570 kg (27,712 lb) and a maximum range of 2,100 km (1,305 mi)."
And of course, the compulsory sprue shots:
A big bag of stuff
20180530_151110 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on FlickrWings, stabilizers and wheels
20180530_151449 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on FlickrInterior Bulkheads and Walls, Bomb Racks and Fuselage Halves
20180530_151505 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on FlickrControl Surfaces and part of the underside fuselage
20180530_151526 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on FlickrThe rest of all the stuff, landing gears, interior bits and bobs, propellers, everything..
20180530_151540 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on FlickrEngine nacelles
20180530_151552 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on FlickrClear parts for windows, underside and glazed greenhouse nose
20180530_151627 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on Flickr(No way i'm going to mask all that nose by myself!!!
So, I got this little extra!)20180530_151653 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on FlickrDecals (Bottom Right)
20180530_151706 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on FlickrInstructions, as usual from Airfix
20180530_151312 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on FlickrAnd Painting Instructions
20180530_151238 by Ricardo Rodrigues, on FlickrBeing a new tool, I expect this to be a good build, with no big issues and good fitment.
I'll start straight away with the build and will try to keep regular updates.
As always, opinions and suggestions are welcome, feel free to comment!!!
Cheers!!!
lol
)
