What’s more, the German government treated Henschel as an all-purpose manufacturer and often directed it to build aircraft for other firms. By the time the Germans realized that they needed a dedicated tank-busting aircraft such as the Hs 129, the die had already been cast.” “For example, prior to Operation Barbarossa, the German Abwehr had estimated that the Soviets had only about 10,000 main battle tanks. The high command “underestimated the need for a dedicated ground-attack aircraft - and particularly a dedicated tank-killer - until it was far too late,” he said. That strategy called for special aircraft that could support German ground forces.īut design difficulties, intelligence failures and poor decision-making in the Luftwaffe high command plagued the manufacture and deployment of the Hs 129, Little said. He wanted rapid movement that swept away Germany’s adversaries. Photo via Wikipediaīut Hitler didn’t want to fight a war like World War I. There was nothing revolutionary about the idea of a dedicated attack aircraft - the first planes for that purpose were developed during World War I. German pilots who flew ground-attack missions as members of the Kondor Legion during the Spanish Civil War learned that low-level attacks could demoralize the Republicans with strafing runs, destroy installations with more accurate bombing, disrupt communications and pinpoint enemy artillery. With that said, the Hs 129 was rugged and popular with its pilots - that’s about all that it has in common with the A-10.”īy the late 1930s, German military planners decided the Luftwaffe needed a dedicated ground-attack aircraft. “Unfortunately for the Luftwaffe, the need for the Hs 129 was so great that it had to enter service even though it was far from combat-ready. “The Hs 129 was a dog of an airplane that should have been completely redesigned to incorporate more powerful engines, more reliable engines, lower stick forces, better maneuverability and better visibility,” Little continued. “Though slow, the A-10 is extremely maneuverable, pleasant to fly and does everything extremely well from plinking tanks to bringing its pilots home alive.” “The Hs 129 was intended to be the A-10 Warthog of its time, but never came close to achieving that exalted status,” John Little, assistant curator and research team leader at The Museum of Flight, Seattle, told War Is Boring. It’s an aeronautical also-ran that reminds us that despite their reputation for Teutonic technical superiority that included producing jet fighters and ballistic missiles, the Nazis could screw up, too. Using the trusty Mk1 eyeball and shaky camera technique, I offered up the gun and mounting to the, the aircraft occupies an interesting niche in aviation history. After a short while on the Inter-web searching, I found this image and line drawing of the gun and loading mechanism.Īirfix Hs 129 build 6 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Problem is, the way Airfix has the barrel moulded, it just looks way too long.
The B-3 model had the 75mm cannon and there's a picture of it on this page.
The glorious Airfix box art has a pair of Henschel's over some battlefield, most likely Eastern Front, going all 'Brrrrrt' on a Russian Convoy in true 1970's comic book style.Īirfix Hs 129 Box art by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr
Some more done.internal ribs for the u/c bays which won't really be seen when it's finished.Īirfix Hs 129 build 5 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr
0 kommentar(er)
