Anyone have info/idea whether the He 100 actually could have been any better than the Bf 109? --------- In another HE 100 Hans Dieterle took the world speed record to 463.92 mph on March 30th 1939. For political and personal reasons and the fact that the aircraft industry was committed to 109 and 110s, the HE 100 didn’t go into production. ( several sites claim this...)
The Luftwaffe's evaluation process which resulted in the choice of the Bf109 was clouded by politics, personal animosity and controversy. Ironically, the Heinkel 100-series with its more conservative design was initially favoured over the Messerschmitt. But ultimately, the choice was correct - the 109 was much more manoueverable and less complex to build ( although the Heinkel's broad undercarriage would probably have saved many lives lost in landing accidents )and in combat, could out-turn and out-dive the Heinkel.. Pre-war German propaganda ( as for instance in the photo posted by Kai ) was brilliantly effective - many, many claims for 'He 100s' appear in RAF BofB pilots logbooks, although not a single one ever flew over England.....
Good point about the landing gear!! No telling how many 109's were lost and damaged due to the narrow landing gear. The FW-190 faired much better.
First some basics: ...........He 100D.........Me 109E-1 Speed @....416@16,400......342@13120 Range......553mi...........410mi Climb......13,120 in 5min..16,400 in 6.2min Ceiling....36,090..........34,450 Fuel.........90 imp gal.......88 imp gal loaded Wt...5511 lbs.......5523 lbs wing loadig..35.6 lbs/ft^2..31.4 lbs/ft^2 As you can see, the Henkel has about 25% greater speed on equal horsepower, 25% more range on about the same fuel, equal climb, equal loaded weight and, only a slight disadvantage in wing loading. Additionally, Henkel went out of his way to make the He 100 easy to build. It would have taken about two thirds the time it was taking to build a 109. This also translates into better maintenance with fewer parts to replace or repair. Also, switching production would have been simplified. Cockpit visibility in the Henkel is also much better. The canopy lacks the heavy framing of the 109 and, is not nearly so constricted in rear view. The extra range would have proved immensely useful as would the higher cruising speeds. With development, I can see the Henkel getting successive engine improvements, a blown bubble canopy and, better armament. I would think that 3 MG 151 20mm would be doable (one in each wing root replacing the 7.92 MGs and an engine mounted cannon). This would have given the Henkel far better firepower than the 109 as well. As I see it, it was mostly the RLM and Milch and Udet's virtually open hatred of Henkel that kept it from replacing the 109. Had more reasonable and technically competent officers been in charge of the Luftwaffe's production the He 100D could have been in squadron service in late 1939 and in widespread use by 1940. A good means of switching would have been to force Messerschmitt to switch their 109E engine to the Jumo 211 immediately and then begin to switch the various concerns making the 109 over to the He 100D. The mid-war combo of the He 100D and the Fw 190A would have posed a far greater threat to Germany's enemies than the 109 did. In range alone it might have made all the difference in the BoB. Of course, the British would have started out in that battle at a much greater deficit given the far superior performance of the Henkel compared to the 109. But, as I hinted at, the Luftwaffe was staffed largely by officers incompetent in anything but piloting itself, so things worked out nicely for the Allies in the end.
I was trying Google to see if there were any He-100 survivors left and came across this thread on anouther forum. I guess it should go on a different thread but do you guys have any thoughts as to if it is a real aircraft or a fake picture. I can't make up my mind so far but I have never seen anything like it before. http://p069.ezboard.com/fluftwaffeexperten71774frm15.showMessage?topicID=55.topic
These 'fake/not fake' things give me a headache ! Fun to read through the discussion though....the thought of an H-or-X-24 cylinder engine driving a forward prop a la Airacobra - with no apparent air intake or cooling - is very weird indeed. ( The LEMB forum, BTW, is a very good place although - as with this forum in 2004 - they have recently suffered major computer problems which has slowed things down a bit ).
While I am no expert on photography, the aircraft pictured definitely is not a flying one. As others have pointed out, the lack of a cooling system, the lack of means to retract the landing gear (it is plainly obvious in the top photo that the main gear wheels have no wells to retract into), and other irregularities of that sort make this at best some sort of static test or mock-up of an aircraft....or, a model very skillfully photographed at worst. It does bear more than a minimal resemblance to the projected Me 509. This aircraft was a mid-engined version of the Me 309 and used the same wings and tail surfaces. The tail on the aircraft in the photo clearly does not match that of the 309 or the projected one for the 509. Also, the engine exhaust arrangements don't match any known German aircraft engine. It is certainly not the Jumo 222 nor is it any radial type. As the Germans did not use an engine similar to any of the sleeve valve engines such as the Napier Sabre of the Typhoon it is appears the exhaust stacks are contrived rather than real. Another small point. "White 6" is in a more or less operational camoflauge and marking pattern. This would be wrong for a prototype which would normally still carry a four letter code associated with an aircraft not yet accepted in service by the Luftwaffe or, no code at all. The Germans are nothing if not sticklers about such bureaucratic formalities. Even late war Ta 152 development aircraft held such codes.
Thanks for the information TAG. I would agree it could be a mock up at best. Makes you wonder how we will be able to tell the truth from fiction as computers get more complex. Many people now have the mentality of "If it's on the internet it has to be true!". As the book population gets older and dies off, the younger generation will just use computers for their information on everything.
