A natural twin-engined outgrowth of the He 70, the first Heinkel He 111 was a graceful machine with elliptical wings and tail. In the He 111F the wings became straight-edged. The He 111H was the most prolific series, the most numerous version was the He 111H-6.
The successes in the Spanish Civil War, Poland and the Low Countries misled the Luftwaffe into considering that nothing could withstand the onslaught of their huge fleets of medium bombers ... then came the Battle of Britain and the He 111 and the Do 17 was hacked down with ease.
Coupled with the incessant growth in equipment and armour the result was deteriorating performance, so that the record-breaker of 1936-39 became the lumbering sitting duck of 1942-45.
Merlin engined C.2111 versions continued in production in Spain until 1956.
Source: Aircraft of World War 2.
Published by Octopus Books.
