A German fighter plane that began as a harmless passenger plane but then became one of the feared bombers of World War II. In the end, it was used for a completely unexpected mission. Imagine you want to build a weapon, but you’re not allowed to. The whole world is watching you. Treaties prohibit drone control, but you still need it. So what do you do? You hide it in plain sight and give it a new coat of paint. A false label turns a deadly bomber into an officially harmless passenger plane. The perfect camouflage.
And that’s how the Heinkel 111 was born. An aircraft that pretended to transport letters and businessmen but in reality became one of the most destructive machines of World War II. In 1935, it took off for the first time. Elegantly aerodynamically fast, much too fast for a normal passenger plane. German newspapers celebrated it as a masterpiece of engineering. Lufthansa took over a few examples to keep up appearances, but behind the scenes, everyone knew it was a bomber. The engineers at Heinkel had everything.
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It incorporated everything a deadly machine needed: elliptical wings for top speed, a glass nose through which bombardiers could aim their target with razor-sharp precision, and a metal fuselage robust enough to withstand a hail of bullets and explosions. When the Spanish Civil War broke out in 1937, the camouflage finally fell away. The HE111 was no longer just an idea; it was a war machine. Its bombs reduced cities to rubble. It was fast and accurate but not invulnerable. Enemy fighters made short work of the first models. There was too little defensive armament. But instead of dismissing them as a design flaw, Heinkel came up with an answer: more armor, more firepower, more bombs.
And when World War II began, the HE111 was not just an aircraft; it was the backbone of the German bomber fleet. No matter how iconic an aircraft may be, in the end, what really counts is what’s under the hood. So what made the Heinkel HE111 one of the most feared aircraft of World War II? Let’s start with the heart of the engine. The first prototypes ran on BMWs. 6 engines, 6 l displacement, 750 hp. Nice for a newspaper ad, but far too weak for a bomber. This was quickly recognized and they switched to more powerful engines. The later versions received Junkers Yumo 211s or Daimler-Benz DB601s, now with up to 1350 hp per engine. This allowed the HE111 to reach speeds of between 390 and 440 km/h, depending on the version. Sounds solid, but here lies the problem.
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It was initially fast, but not fast enough to outrun enemy fighters. However, it was extremely stable in the air. The elliptical wings, a technology also used by the British Spitfire, made the aircraft more efficient and easier to control. Pilots praised its steady flight, especially during bombing missions. It could be reliably taken off and landed, even on improvised airfields. But what about the armament? This is where things got complicated. The first versions had exactly 3 MG15 machine guns. One at the front, one at the top, and one at the bottom. Sounds good, but no, that was far too few, as it turned out. If a squadron of British Spitfires is hurtling towards you, then three machine guns are about as useful as an umbrella in a hurricane.
This also became clear in the Battle of Britain when HE111 squadrons were shot down as if they were flying targets. The solution: more firepower. Later versions were given up to seven machine guns distributed across the fuselage, in the nose, top, bottom, and sides. Some variants were even equipped with 20 mm cannons for better defense. But here, too, was the problem: the HE111 was a bomber, not a fighter. Even with more machine guns, it was never truly safe from modern fighters. But now to the really important part: bombs. That’s what it was built for. In the early versions, it could carry around 1500 kg of bombs, which was decent, but nothing earth-shattering. Later models carried up to 4000 kg in their bays, which was enough to reduce entire city districts to rubble.
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And because the HE111 was so modular, it could carry all sorts of things: aerial torpedoes for use against ships, even sea mines. FI103, better known as the V1 flying bomb, had a lot to offer technologically. The glazed nose allowed for more precise bombing targets, a real advance at the time. Later models even had automatic bomb-aiming devices built in, which helped with accurate targeting even from great altitudes. However, all this technology didn’t make it invulnerable. While the HE111 was considered superior at the beginning of the war, things looked very different later on. Why? Because its greatest strength slowly became its greatest weakness. But before we look at that, a quick request: if you like this video so far, subscribe to our channel. Over 95%.
