Its career as a dive bomber was cut short when the unit received its first Ju 87A the next year.
The aircraft entered service at StG 162 in autumn 1936. Two 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns were mounted in the nose synchronized to fire through the propeller arc.
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The usual configuration was to install an auxiliary fuel "drop" tank at this station that was jettisoned in emergencies. The main weapon load of four SC50 50 kg (110 lb) bombs could be carried in lower wing racks along with an additional SC250 250 kg (550 lb) bomb mounted on a "crutch" beneath the fuselage. The service aircraft flew with an armoured headrest and fairing in place (a canopy was tested in the Hs 123V6) as well as removable main wheel spats and a faired tailwheel. This initial group was followed by the slightly modified Hs 123A-1 series, the first production examples. Operational history Prior to World War II Ī squadron of Luftwaffe Henschel Hs 123As in flight before the Second World WarĪ small pre-production batch of Hs 123A-0s was completed in 1936 for service evaluation by the Luftwaffe. Some were exported to China, and 14 were transferred to the Spain Nationalist Air Arm.
A prototype Hs 123B and a prototype Hs 123C were produced just before production of the Hs 123A ended. Production of the Hs 123A ended in Autumn 1938. The first production Hs 123 were delivered in 1936. The Hs 123 was manufactured at Henschel's Schönefeld and Johannistal factories. The V6 prototype fitted with a similar powerplant and featuring a sliding cockpit hood was intended to serve as the Hs 123C prototype. A proposal to fit the aircraft with a more powerful 716 kW (960 hp) "K"-variant of its BMW 132 engine did not proceed beyond the prototype stage, the Hs 123 V5. As such, production was limited and no upgrades were considered, although an improved version, the Hs 123B, was developed by Henschel in 1938. The Hs 123 was intended to replace the Heinkel He 50 biplane reconnaissance and dive bomber as well as acting as a "stop-gap" measure until the Junkers Ju 87 became available. After it had been successfully tested, the Hs 123 was ordered into production with a 656 kW (880 hp) BMW 132Dc engine. The fourth prototype incorporated improvements to cure these problems principally, stronger centre-section struts were fitted. During testing, the Hs 123 proved capable of pulling out of "near-vertical" dives however, two prototypes subsequently crashed due to structural failures in the wings that occurred when the aircraft were tested in high-speed dives. The overall performance of the Hs 123 V1 prototype prematurely eliminated any chance for the more conventional Fi 98, which was cancelled after a sole prototype had been constructed. Its biplane wings were of a "sesquiplane" configuration, whereby the lower wings were significantly smaller than the top wings. The Henschel prototypes did away with bracing wires and although they looked slightly outdated with their single faired interplane struts and cantilever main landing gear legs attached to smaller (stub) lower wings, the Hs 123 featured an all-metal construction, clean lines and superior maneuverability. Only the first prototype had "smooth" cowlings from that point on, all aircraft had a tightly fitting cowling that included 18 fairings covering the engine valves. The first three Henschel prototypes, with the first and third powered by 485 kW (650 hp) BMW 132A-3 engines and the second by a 574 kW (770 hp) Wright Cyclone, were tested at Rechlin in August 1936. The first prototype, the Hs 123V1, was cleared for its maiden flight on 1 April 1935 General Ernst Udet, a World War I ace, flew it on its first public demonstration flight on. Both Henschel and rival Fieseler (with the Fi 98) competed for the production contract requirement, which specified a single-seat biplane dive bomber. The aircraft was designed to meet the 1933 dive bomber requirements for the reborn Luftwaffe. Soon after Hitler's rise to power, Henschel decided to start designing aircraft, one of the first being the Hs 123. Henschel was a German locomotive manufacturer. 2.4 World War II (service from Poland to Greece).