Henschel Hs 130

The Henschel Hs 130 was a high-altitude reconnaissance and bomber aircraft developed by Germany in World War II, but never used operationally due to various mechanical faults.

Development of the Hs 130 began with two Hs 128 prototypes, which first flew in 1939. Both prototypes were research aircraft, used for testing pressurized cabins, engine superchargers, and cantilever wings. Different engines powered the two prototypes; the V1 by DB601s and the V2 by Jumo210s, but both had a fixed landing gear. While trials of the two prototypes were not successful, the potential of a high altitude aircraft caught the attention of Theodor Rowehl, commander of the Luftwaffe’s special reconnaissance unit. Rowehl convinced of the Hs 128’s potential for high altitude reconnaissance missions led Reich Air Ministry to instruct Henschel to continue development of the Hs 128 under the designation Hs 130A.

Five pre-production Hs 130A-0s were built and delivered in early 1941, and featured DB601R engines, a single stage supercharger, retractable land gear, and a bay in the rear to house two Rb75/30 cameras for reconnaissance. The five Hs 130A-0s subsequently underwent trails and testing, which revealed serious problems with the aircrafts performance. One of the five pre-production Hs 130A-0’s was modified under the designation Hs 130A-0/U6 and featured a longer wing span, DB605B engines, Hirth superchargers, GM-1 nitrous oxide power boosting, and under-wing drop tanks. The Hs 130A-0/U6 variant as well as the other Hs 130A-0’s proved unsatisfactory and were never flown operationally. Further development of the Hs 130 led to bomber variants. The Hs 130B was almost the same as the Hs 130A, but with a bomb bay in place of the camera bay, the Hs 130B was never built. The Hs 130C was built as a competitor for the ‘Bomber-B’ project, and was very different from the Hs 130A. Three prototype, the V1, V2, and V3 were built, and featured a shorter wing span, defensive armament, extensively glazed cabin (but still pressurized), the V1 and V2 were powered by BMW801 radials, and the V3 by DB603A engines. Further development of the Hs 130 as a reconnaissance aircraft continued with the Hs 130D, which was planned to have DB605 engines and a complex two-stage supercharger, but was never built. Work on the Hs 130 reconnaissance aircraft continued still with the Hs 130E, a re-working of the Hs 130A. The Hs 130E was largely similar to the Hs 130A, but featured Höhen Zentrale (HZ)-Anlage system. HZ-Anlage tried to over come the problems with the engine superchargers by installing a third, DB605T, engine in the fuselage, which blow air to the wing mounted DB603B engines. Another difference from the Hs 130A was the nose was extended forward to offset the weight of the HZ-Anlage engine in the fuselage. Also under wing fuel tanks were fitted to provide fuel for three engines, and air scoops were fitted under the fuselage. Three prototype Hs 130E’s were built; Hs 130E V1 first flew in September 1942, and could reach 12,500 metres when HZ-Anlage was employed. Hs 130E V2 was lost due to an engine fire; V3 was built to replace it. Seven pre-production Hs 130E-0’s were build and first flew in May 1943. A production order was placed for Hs 130E-1’s which were to have a defensive armament and provisions for under wing bombs. The order was cancelled due to problems, practically from the usually propulsion system, suffered by the Hs 130E-0’s. An Hs 130F was planned, which was hoped to solve the problems with HZ-Anlage, by using four supercharged BMW801 engines, but was never built.

• Donald, D.(ed). Warplanes of the Luftwaffe. Grange Books, 2001