He 112 B-1/U2

Description

The He 112 B-1/U2 is a premium rank Italian fighter with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced in Update "Danger Zone". This He 112 B-1/U2 represents a version serving in the Romanian Air Force.

This nimble little fighter is an excellent aircraft to fly and benefits from forgiving flight characteristics, strong armament and forgiving matchmaking. All in all, it is a very great beginner aircraft to speed up progression in the Italian Aircraft Tree.

General info

Flight performance

The He 112 B-1/U2 benefits from very forgiving flight characteristics. It has an excellent turn rate due to its large control surfaces. However, these same control surfaces suffer from extreme lock-up above speeds of 600 km/h, meaning that steep dives are not recommended at all. The aircraft has excellent energy retention as well, but a weak roll rate. The aircraft's engine provides sufficient power for it to have a great climb rate, but overheats rather quickly.

Details

Survivability and armour

• No armour protection
• Three self-sealing fuel tanks underneath the pilot and inside the wing roots

Modifications and economy

Armaments

Offensive armament

The He 112 B-1/U2 is armed with:

• 2 x 20 mm MG FF cannons, wing-mounted (60 rpg = 120 total)
• 2 x 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns, nose-mounted (500 rpg = 1,000 total)

Usage in battles

The He 112 B-1/U2 is a nimble little fighter and a very fun aircraft to fly. It benefits from a great turn rate, good frontal armament and great overall flying characteristics, making it an excellent air superiority fighter/dogfighter. The aircraft has a great turn rate of 16 seconds spaded, meaning that it can easily outturn most of the enemies it faces. As well, the aircraft has a great climb rate, on par with its most dangerous adversaries, which it can face. However, it also has some noteworthy flaws, which should be addressed before flying.

Firstly, the aircraft's Junkers Jumo 210E engine is quite underpowered, producing just 700 hp at takeoff. As a result, this plane will take longer to accelerate than most monoplanes it will face. In addition, the aircraft suffers from extreme rudder lock-up past 550 km/h, and it becomes a lawn dart past 650 km/h. As a result, extreme caution should be taken in any sort of diving attack, to prevent the aircraft from nosediving into the ground. Finally, the plane has no armour at all, so care should be taken to prevent the plane from getting hit.

The aircraft is armed with a pair of 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns and a pair of 20 mm MG FF cannons. The MG FFs are great at doing damage, but lack Minengeschoss ammunition meaning that it will not do as much damage as the MG 151 or MG FF/M. As well, plane carries a measly 60 rounds of ammunition per cannon, meaning that trigger discipline is a must. However, in the case that its cannons run out, it still has a pair of MG 17s which are more than capable of damaging the enemies it will face in battle.

The He 112 B-1/U2 will face many biplanes and early monoplanes such as the I-153 M-62, F3F-2 and P-36C. These planes, for the most part, have a much greater turning ability than the He 112. As a result, turn fights should be avoided. Instead, utilize the plane's great climb rate to perform Boom & Zoom attacks on the enemy. Typically, a shallow dive at 15-20 degrees will give plenty of time to down a target with the formidable armament. However, care must be taken to avoid high speeds (600+ km/h), as the aircraft's elevator compression will prevent it from pulling out from a dive.

The He 112 B-1/U2 faces a range of formidable enemies including the P-39, MiG-3-15, Hurricanes and early Spitfires. These aircraft are all much faster than the He 112 and perform better in dives. As a result, Boom & Zoom will not work as enemies can simply disengage from you by diving away. Thus, the best strategy is to bait enemies into a turn fight, where the He 112's great turn rate can be utilized to the maximum. The He 112 B-1/U2 has very short wings meaning that you can perform much tighter turns and acrobatic movements to throw the enemy off course. Many early Spitfires and Hurricanes have rather long wings, meaning that you can easily outroll, outturn, and outperform them.

Specific Enemies worth noting:

• I-153 M-62 - The Soviet Chaika is a very formidable foe in downtiers, having a faster turn time and quad ShKAS machine guns that are very capable of dealing damage. When engaging this aircraft, utilize BnZ and dive on it, as it is unable to follow the He 112 out of the BnZ. However, don't engage any I-153s above you, as they are also capable of reaching high speeds (up to 500 km/h) in a dive.
• P-39s - The P-400 and early P-39s are common foes in uptiers, and deadly foes too. They both carry a heavy central weapon (20 mm or 37 mm cannon) that will tear the He 112's airframe apart with a short burst. As well, they are faster than the He 112 by a decent margin. As a result, avoid taking head-ons. Instead, bait the P-400 into a turnfight by simply turning outwards when they attempt to Boom and Zoom.
• Hurricanes and early Spitfires - These enemies are quite dangerous as they all have good turn rates (close to that of the He 112) and high top speeds. When engaging them, the best option is to ensure that they are at a lower altitude or energy level, as the He 112 will perform quite similarly to them at similar altitudes.

Manual Engine Control

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great energy retention and turn rate - can out-turn most planes it faces.
• Hard-hitting frontal armament of two 20 mm MG FF cannons and two 7.92 mm machine guns
• Great cockpit visibility for a plane of its era, having a bubble canopy
• Easy-to-fly aircraft that is ideal for beginner pilots
• Has premium aircraft bonuses making it great for quick progression down the Italian tree

Cons:

• Suffers from extreme rudder lock-up past 550 km/h, and becomes a lawn dart past 650 km/h
• Has just 60 rounds of ammunition per cannon, and the plane only has two machine guns when they run out
• Rather underpowered for a plane of its size, and doesn't accelerate nearly as well as its counterparts such as the Bf 109
• Its MG FFs don't get access to Minengeschoss rounds, unlike the later MG FF/M cannons
• Lacks armour protection; self sealing fuel tanks can often be set alight, resulting in a blazing trip back to the hangar

History

In 1933, the German air ministry (RLM) issued a requirement for a new fighter aircraft to replace their ageing biplanes. The aircraft was to have a Junkers Jumo 210 engine and an armament of two 7.92 mm machine guns. It was also required to be of all-metal construction, monoplane design and have retractable landing gear. Arado, BFW and Heinkel were all awarded contracts to design and build prototypes; the final ones submitted were the Ar 80, Bf 109 and He 112.

During tests, the Ar 80 was almost immediately ruled out due to serious design flaws, while the Bf 109 and He 112 A competed for the final contract. The He 112 was better at turning but had lower top speeds and worse agility than the Bf 109, resulting in the Bf 109 being ordered for full-scale production. However, the RLM still ordered Heinkel to produce 10 prototypes of the He 112 A-0 variant.

In 1936, the RLM amended their requirement, and ordered Heinkel to finish producing current A-0s and then develop an updated design. As a result, the He 112 B was developed, an aircraft that was able to compete with the Bf 109. The plane had many major changes, including a new tail, a bubble canopy and heavier armament of two 7.92 mm machine guns and two 20 mm MG FF/M Cannons.

The aircraft was flown at many airshows during the years of 1937 and 1938, and attracted many potential customers. The first orders came from Japan, which ordered them as fast-climbing interceptors capable of shooting down Soviet Tupolev SBs flying over China. However, they cancelled their orders after finding that the He 112 B was harder to maintain, and had a lower turning ability than their A5M fighters.

Its next customer was the Hungarian Air Force, which wanted to purchase 36 He 112Bs. However, due to a variety of mishaps, only three aircraft got into the country, and the order was promptly cancelled. The final, and only successful, customer was Romania, which ordered a full 30 He 112 B aircraft. By that point, the Second World War had broken out and no other nations were interested in purchasing the outdated design. As a result, the He 112 production line was closed after producing just 98 aircraft, of which 85 were B-series planes.

In use with Romania

In early 1939, the Romanian government signed a contract for 24 He 112Bs, to equip two squadrons of the Romanian Air Force. The first 13 aircraft that the Romanians agreed to take were He 112 B-1/U-2 variants with Jumo 210 Еа engines. These aircraft would be delivered from June to October/September of 1939. Their main theatre of operation in the Romanian airforce would be inside of the soviet union in 1941, attacking Russian infantructure and providing very needed air support to axis ground troops. In the begining they were used as fighters, however as more German aircraft came in to support they would be shifted into ground attackers. The following year in 1942, they would begin to be phased out and be used as trainers, this was mainly due the fact that better aircraft began to show up and maintaing the He 112's wasn't a priority. The Romanian 51st Squadron would be the primary user, its also interesting to note that they were at one point repainted in Soviet markings and used for an Italian-Romanian film known as “The White Squadron”.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the He 112 B-1/U2 from live.warthunder.com.
• Skins and camouflages for the German He 112 B-1/U2 can be used for the He 112 B-1/U2.

See also

• He 112 B-1/U2 (Germany)
• Hawk H-75A-2 (Germany)

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.