Heinkel HE 8

The Heinkel HE 8 was a reconnaissance floatplane built in Germany in the late 1920s. It was developed at the request of the Danish Navy, which had noted the success of the HE 5 in Swedish service, and wished to purchase a similar aircraft as well as licensed production as the Orlogsvaerftet HM.II.^{[citation needed]} Apart from its new Armstrong Siddeley engine, the HE 8 also differed from the HE 5 and previous members of the HE 1 family in having a conventional empennage. 22 aircraft were operated until the German invasion in 1940, after which one example was impressed into Luftwaffe service and the remainder placed in storage.^{[citation needed]}

HE 8, HE 31 and HM.II
Orlogsvaerftet HM.II of the Royal Danish Navy
Role	Reconnaissance floatplane
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Heinkel
First flight	1927
Primary user	Danish Navy
Number built	22

A single HE 8 was built with a Packard 3A-2500 engine and designated HE 31.

Operators

 Denmark

• Royal Danish Navy

 Yugoslavia

• Royal Yugoslav Navy (One)

Specifications (HM.II)

Data from Jane's all the World's Aircraft 1931 ^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 3
• Length: 11.65 m (38 ft 3 in)
• Wingspan: 16.8 m (55 ft 1 in)
• Height: 4.4 m (14 ft 5 in)
• Wing area: 45 m² (480 sq ft)
• Empty weight: 1,675 kg (3,693 lb)
• Gross weight: 2,650 kg (5,842 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar 14-cylinder two-row air-cooled geared radial piston engine, 320 kW (430 hp)
• Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch metal propeller

Performance

• Maximum speed: 212 km/h (132 mph, 114 kn)
• Range: 1,290 km (800 mi, 700 nmi)
• Service ceiling: 5,600 m (18,400 ft)
• Rate of climb: 2.8 m/s (550 ft/min)
• Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 3 minutes 12 seconds: 5,000 m (16,000 ft) in 28 minutes'
• Wing loading: 61.8 kg/m² (12.7 lb/sq ft)
• Power/mass: 14.2 lb/hp (8.6 kg/kW)

Armament

• Guns: 1 × fixed, forward-firing 8 mm (0.315 in) Madsen machine gun, 1 × trainable, rearward-firing 8 mm (0.315 in) Madsen machine gun
• Bombs: 8 × 12.5 kg (28 lb) bombs

See also

Related lists

• List of aircraft of World War II