HENSCHEL Hs 129 37
Henschel Hs 129B-2
Type: Ground attack/anti-tank
Crew: One
Dimensions:
Length: 32ft (9.75m)
Wingspan: 46ft 7in (14.20m)
Height: 10ft 8in (3.25m)
Weights:
Empty: 8,860lb (4,020kg)
Max T/O: 11,574lb (5,250kg)
Performance:
Max Speed: 220mph (407km/h)
Range: 428 miles (690km)
Powerplant: Two Gnôme-Rhone
twin-row radial engines
Armament: Two 20mm cannon and
two MG 17 machine gunsLeft: The Hs 129’s cockpit was a very cramped
operating space owing to the triangular shape
of the forward fuselage. In fact it was so compact
that the gunsight had to be mounted externally
ahead of the cockpit’s front screen. As can be
seen here, the Hs 129 possessed an impressive
internal gun armament of two 20mm cannon in
the upper fuselage sides and two 7.9mm machine
guns mounted in the wingroots.which incorporated two 20mm cannons and
two 13mm machine guns. The lethal capability
of the Hs129 was amply demonstrated on the
Eastern Front in the summer of 1943 when
the Luftwaffe claimed the destruction of 1,100
tanks, many of which had fallen to the guns of
the Henschel.
The Hs 129B-3 was the last version of the
aircraft to enter production, and was armed
with a massive 7.5cm anti-tank gun that
projected 3ft ahead of the nose. An autoloader
system was fitted in the empty space behind
the cockpit, within the rear half of the wing-root
area. The gun and its recoil mechanism occupied
a substantial gun pod under the fuselage. While
this new variant was capable of destroying any
tank in the world, the cannon was too powerful
for the aircraft. Quite apart from the severe
muzzle blast and recoil, the sheer weight of the
gun made the aircraft almost unmanageable.
Only 25 examples of the Hs 129B-3 arrived at
front-line units before the production line was
shut down in August 1944 when the Allies
captured the factories producing components
for the machine. Total production had
amounted to only 879, including prototypes.