1st February 1937
Heinkel He 51
Postcards depicting Heinkel He 51A-05 (D-IDIE) and He51A-04 (D-IJAY). The first of the pre-production He 51s began to leave the production line in the spring of 1934. This included the aircraft shown here (other aircraft to leave pre-production were: He 51A-01 D-IQEE, He 51A-02 D-IHAO, He 51A-03 D-ITIU, He 51A-06 D-IREI, He 51A-07 D-IMIP, He 51A-08 D-IZER and He 51A-09 D-IROL). Ref: 01.02.1937
Heinkel He 51
The Heinkel He 51 was a German single-seat biplane fighter aircraft. A seaplane variant and a ground-attack version were also developed. It was a development of the earlier He 49.
On 6 August 1936, six He 51s were delivered to Spain to fight in the Spanish Civil War with the Nationalists. Initial operations were successful, with the Heinkels defeating older, obsolete Spanish Republican Air Force fighters on 18th August 1936, the first day of operations. Deliveries continued, and by November two Nationalist squadrons were equipped with the type, along with three Legion Condor squadrons of 12 aircraft each, manned by German 'volunteers'.
This time of superiority was short lived, with the arrival of large numbers of more modern aircraft from the Soviet Union, including the Polikarpov I-15 biplane and the new Polikarpov I-16 monoplane, together with the Tupolev SB bomber, which was 110Â km/h (68Â mph) faster. The He 51 proved unable to protect the Legion Condor's bombers, forcing it to switch to night operations, while also unable to intercept the much faster SBs. The He 51 was soon withdrawn from fighter duty and relegated to the ground-attack role by both the Legion Condor and the Nationalists. It was replaced in the fighter role by the Fiat CR.32 in the Fascist Nationalist Air Force, with the Legion Condor receiving Messerschmitt Bf 109s from April 1937.
While its success as a fighter was short lived, the Heinkel proved more successful as a ground-attack aircraft, being used by Wolfram von Richthofen to develop the close air support tactics used by the Luftwaffe in World War II.
It continued in use as such for the remainder of the Civil War, although losses were heavy. After the war, the 46 surviving aircraft would be joined by another 15 newly built airframes, and remain in service in Spain until 1952.
The He 51 lasted in front-line service with the Luftwaffe until 1938, when it was relegated to use as an advanced trainer duties with the Jagdfliegerschulen for the first few years of World War II.
Source: Wikipedia
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