Heinkel He 51 B-2

Heinkel · Germany · first flew 1933 · fighter

The He 51 B-2 was a floatplane variant of the Heinkel He 51 biplane fighter, adapted for seaplane operations with twin pontoon floats replacing the standard undercarriage.

Recognition (WEFT)

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Spot it by:

• Single-bay sesquiplane biplane fighter
• BMW VI liquid-cooled inline engine
• Floatplane variant of He 51 family

Recognisable as a single-bay sesquiplane biplane with a prominent V-strut undercarriage on the landplane; the B-2 carries twin floats in place of wheels and retains the clean cowled inline engine.

Specifications

• The Heinkel He 51 B-2 has a length of 8.4 m (28 ft).
• It has a wingspan of 11 m (36 ft).
• Its maximum speed is 330 km/h (205 mph).
• Typical crew: 1.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

The He 51 family was developed in the early 1930s as Germany secretly rebuilt its air power under the Versailles constraints, serving as the backbone of the nascent Luftwaffe. The B-2 seaplane variant equipped shore-based naval units and saw limited use. By the time of the Spanish Civil War, the He 51 was already outclassed by more modern monoplane fighters.

Variants

The He 51 family comprised the A-1 landplane, B-1 and B-2 floatplane versions, and the C-1 and C-2 ground-attack variants; production totalled around 700 aircraft across all marks.

Where you'll see it

He 51s served with the Luftwaffe from 1935 and with the Condor Legion in Spain, where their inferiority to Soviet-supplied I-15s and I-16s was quickly exposed; the type was phased out of front-line service by 1938.

Related aircraft

• Heinkel He 51
• Heinkel He 51A
• Heinkel He 51B-1
• Heinkel He 66
• Arado Ar 67
• Avia B-534
• Avia B-534-IV
• Boeing XF6B-1

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