Category Archives: Trainer

Trainer

Arado Ar 199A (Frank-Airmodel, Resin)

TYPE: Ship-board trainer

ACCOMMODATION: Crew of three

POWER PLANT: One Argus As 410C inverted V-12 air-cooled inline engine, rated at 450 hp

PERFORMANCE: 162 mph at 9,843 ft

COMMENT: The Arado Ar 199 was a floatplane trainer aircraft built by Arado Flugzeugwerke. It was a low-wing monoplane designed in 1938 to be launched from a catapult and operated over water. The enclosed cockpit had two side-by-side seats for instructor and student, and a third rear seat for a trainee navigator or radio operator. Only a few aircraft were built, because the Luftwaffe found that many elder aircraft are suitable for training duties (Ref.: 24).

Heinkel He 51B-2 (Hasegawa)

TYPE: Reconnaissance floatplane, trainer

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One BMW VI 7,3 Z liquid-cooled engine, rated at 750 hp

PERFORMANCE: 205 mph

COMMENT: The Heinkel He 51 was a single-seat biplane which was produced in a number of different versions. It was initially developed as a fighter, it was also developed as a ground-attack aircraft and a floatplane.
In 1931, Heinkel Aircraft Company developed the Heinkel He 49, officially an advanced trainer in fact it was a fighter. The first prototype flew in November 1932, and was followed by two further prototypes with a longer fuselage, and a revised engine. The type was ordered into production for the still secret Luftwaffe as Heinkel He 51, the first pre-production aircraft flying in May 1933. Deliveries started in July of the next year.
The He 51 was a conventional single-bay biplane, with all-metal construction and fabric covering. It was powered by a BMW VI engine, with an armament of two machine guns mounted above the engine. The He 51 was intended to replace the earlier Arado Ar 65, but served side-by-side with the slightly later Arado Ar 68. The He 51 was outdated the day it entered service, and after an initial run of 150 production fighters, the design was switched into the modified He 51B, with approximately 450 built, including about 46 He 51B-2 floatplanes. With begin of WW II the Heinkel He 51B-2 was only used in a role as trainer (Ref.: 24).

Heinkel He 60C (Airmodel, Vacu)

TYPE: Reconnaissance floatplane

ACCOMMODATION: Pilot and observer

POWER PLANT: One BMW VI 6.0 liquid-cooled engine, rated at 660 hp

PERFORMANCE: 150 mph at sea level

COMMENT: The Heinkel He 60 was a reconnaissance floatplane designed for the German Kriegsmarine (German Navy) to be catapulted from warships of the 1930s.
The Heinkel He 60 was designed as a single-engined biplane of mixed wood and metal construction with fabric covering. Its single bay wings were of equal-span and had significant stagger.
The first prototype flew early in 1933 and proved to be underpowered with its 660 hp BMW VI engine. The second prototype had a more powerful version of the BMW engine, but this only marginally improved its performance and was unreliable, so production aircraft reverted to the original engine. Of conventional configuration, the He 60 was a sturdy aircraft, designed  to be capable of operating on the open sea. As a result, it was always somewhat underpowered for its weight, which made handling sluggish and the aircraft vulnerable to enemy fire. Attempts were made to solve its lack of power by fitting one aircraft with a Daimler-Benz DB 600 engine, but engines were not available for production.
Initial deliveries of the He 60 were to Kriegsmarine training units in June 1933. From 1934, the major production version, the He 60C began to be delivered to the shipboard floatplane units of the Kriegsmarine, operating from the catapults of all German cruisers. It also saw action with Spanish Nationalist forces during the Civil War.
In 1939 it was replaced as a shipboard aircraft first by the Heinkel he 114 in service, then soon after by the Arado Ar 196, but it remained in service with several coast reconnaissance Staffeln (squadrons) when WW II began. It had been withdrawn from front-line service by 1940, but returned to use following Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, being used for coastal patrol work in the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas. All He 60s were removed from service by October 1943 (Ref.: 24).