Hs 123V2 Hs 123V2 is equipped with a shorter and narrower fairing, and 18 (convex) fairing is used to hide the piston in the fairing.
Hs 123V3 Hs 123V3 and Hs 123V2 are very similar. The only difference is that she changed the Shuang Ye variable-pitch propeller (which can only be adjusted at several fixed values) into a three-blade variable-pitch propeller (which can be adjusted to any value as needed).
Three models before Hs 123V4 were sent to Rechlin for test flight, during which two of them crashed within three weeks (both of them had their upper wings torn off during dive). Therefore, the designer immediately installed the central stress strut for Hs 123V4, which has not been tested. The improved Hs 123V4 has good performance, and can even dive at a right angle and pull up safely.
Hs 123A- 1 This is the first mass-produced model of Hs 123, which was first delivered in the summer of 1936. They were handed over to the 1 62nd bomber wing ("ingram micro Man" wing) and the1dive bomber brigade (Stukagruppe 1. /162' Immelmann'). Hs 123A- 1 is equipped with 880 HP BMW 132Dc 9-cylinder star engine, and the weaponry includes two 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns (located at the upper part of the fuselage) from Rheinmetall. 1 250kg bomb was hung on the central pylon, and four 50kg bombs were hung under the wing. Five HS 123 a- 1 were sent to Spain for operation evaluation. However, these planes first appeared at the beginning of 1937, and were indeed used for ground attack missions (rather than dive bombing). However, in this campaign, they achieved great success and performed well in close support (tactical support) on the battlefield (despite the lack of communication between air and ground). The Spanish government bought all five Hs 123A- 1 and ordered another 1 1. This type of aircraft served in the German army until 1944. In fact, this kind of plane was not eliminated, but was completely consumed in the cruel war.
Compared with Type A, Type B of Hs 123B(V5 prototype) is equipped with 960 horsepower BMW 123K engine, but it has never been put into production.
On the basis of hs 123 b, Hs 123B(V6 prototype) is equipped with two 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns from Reinmetal Company and a sliding hatch cover with armored headrest. This model was never put into production, but her sliding hatch cover design was absorbed into the improved production of Hs 123A- 1.
Battle of Poland
In the attack on Poland, the second brigade of Major Spielvogel's second flight training wing was ordered to take off from Art Gidel. The Hs 123 planes of this brigade are like a group of murderous wasps, making a terrible buzz and hovering over the border rivers. Captain Otto Weiss, the first squadron leader, chose the crossing target-Burtzstein, which the Polish army adhered to. Weiss waved to the comrades in the squadron, so they entered the attack position.
Not far from the front of the tenth army in the south, they dropped the first batch of small bombs with trigger fuses. The bomb exploded on the ground with a dull explosion. The area around Panji village was immediately swallowed up by the fire. The attack can be clearly seen from the battle headquarters of richthofen (Major General wolfram Freih von richthofen, cousin of a "Red Baron" von richthofen, head of the "Vulture Corps" in the late Spanish Civil War and later "Commander of the Extraordinary Air Force"). Subsequently, Captain Adolf Garland, a famous fighter pilot of the second squadron, repeatedly entered the attack route of the first squadron to take turns to attack. Then, they flew in groups of three planes at low altitude, grazed the treetops and strafed Bojun positions with machine guns.
The enemy began to fight back, and there was a dry sound of light anti-aircraft guns in the explosion, and then the infantry firearms also opened fire. The fighting was fierce. The attack plane came again and again, and kept attacking.
At the dawn of September 1 Sunday, this air raid on Panji village was the first direct support provided by the German Air Force to the ground forces during World War II. That evening, the German high command added the following sentence to the victory of the Air Force: "... several fighter aviation wings effectively supported the army's attack."
If it is "several fighters", then there should be hundreds. Because an aviation regiment of the Air Force consists of three brigades, at the beginning of the war, the General Aviation Corps had 90 to 100 aircraft. But in fact, only 36 biplanes led by Major Spiegel Vogel, the second brigade of the second flight training group, participated in the Polish campaign.
Needless to say, they run around like a bunch of evil spirits. 10 days, they followed the 16 th army advancing towards Warsaw and the Vistula River, and followed each other. Whenever tanks and mechanized troops encounter stubborn resistance, they immediately attack. Later, in the siege of Radom and Buzura River, they attacked as many as ten times a day.
In September, at the temporary airport next to Vorbe Rimachang, the second attack aircraft brigade of the second flight training regiment began to dispatch. They were ordered to attack the enemy forces in Piantek and Belavi on the south bank of the Buzura River at low altitude, and must do everything possible to repel the Polish army's attack. This time, the attack plane is easier to find the enemy, because there is a whole group army going south.
The captains lowered their heads to lower their altitude. According to the ten-day combat experience, they clearly know what the main weapons of the Hs 123 biplane are. It's not two 50 kg bombs hanging under the wing, nor two 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns installed on the hood, but the terrible sound effect from the propeller that exceeds a certain revolution.
If you see that the tachometer indicates 1800 revolutions per minute, well, sound waves will be generated in front of the engine, and the propeller will suddenly scream like a heavy machine gun.
The attack plane roared and flew ten meters above the enemy's head, scaring the enemy to flee everywhere and the cars scattered. No matter what team hears the sound of this low-altitude attack, it will be scared.
To achieve this revolution, it is very dangerous to shoot with a gun, because the bullets of two machine guns are shot from the gap of the propeller. When the speed is fast, it is easy to break your propeller.
A brigade composed of this old single-seat plane without a canopy has achieved more amazing results with sound waves than with bombs. However, not only the second brigade of the second flight training wing, but also several brigades taking off from the new field airport near Radom attacked the targets around Kutno. The railway bridge over the Buzura River was blown up and the road was full of craters. Polish vehicles, mainly tanks, were hit hard.
Due to the excellent performance of Hs 123 in Polish Blitzkrieg, the 2nd Brigade's dressing plan was cancelled soon.
Attack the western front
This unit (2nd Brigade) was used to support the 6th Army under the command of General von Reichenau in the next Belgian campaign (belonging to the B Army Group of General von Burke, which was later destroyed by the Red Army in Stalingrad, when he was just reorganized and put into battle). Their first task is to prevent Belgian engineers from destroying the bridge on the Albert Canal. As the Germans swept through Belgium and Ardennes, the Hs 123 fleet soon appeared in France. When they arrived in Cambre on May 2 1, they were all the frontline troops of the German Air Force in this battle. With the victory in the French war, the 2nd Brigade {II(Schlacht)} was sent back to Germany to rest and replaced with Bf- 109E fighters, but the legendary reputation gained by Hs 123 in the battle (very reliable and practical in the battle ...) made the United United Wing only partially replace with Bf- 109E fighters (quite reserved)
On the morning of May 22nd, 1940, Lieutenant Colonel Hans Cederman, Chief of Staff of the Eighth Air Force, flew to Cambre by Fiscel Crane contact plane. Two battalions were the first to invade France to support ground operations. One is the second attack aircraft brigade of Captain Otto Weiss's second flight training regiment, which is the only unit in the German Air Force still equipped with the old henschel Hs 123 aircraft; The other is Captain Werner Urqiu's 2 1 Brigade of Combat Aviation Corps.
This fighter brigade is the "guard" of the attack aircraft. Because this clumsy biplane attracts enemy fighters like magnets.
Cederman, Weiss and Urchin are standing at the airport, discussing their next move. The situation is really bad: German tanks have broken through, but infantry can't keep up; In arras, 35 kilometers northwest of them, there is a British defense, and the British and French Coalition forces in the north are waiting for an opportunity to break through south. The reconnaissance plane found a large number of enemy tanks in Amiens, which may be attacking the rear of the German armored division that broke through the defense line. The situation is very critical, and the bold "sickle action" plan is crucial to success or failure.
"Underwater bombers must be used against enemy tanks in Amiens." Cederman said to the attack captain, "Wes, it seems that you have to clean up these enemy tanks."
Just then, there was a roar in the air. The three men looked up, and it turned out to be the army's He 46 reconnaissance plane. I saw its right wing drooping and its tail was punched several times. Are you going to land? No, the scouts leaned out, dropped the chimney and reported. This report was written in pencil;
"There are about 40 enemy tanks and about 150 vehicles full of infantry, which are advancing from the north to Cambre."
Lieutenant Colonel Cederman said incredulously, "Really? Maybe it is our army. "
However, if we are really enemies, we will be seriously harassed by them. Not only that, because Cambre is the main supply channel for the German invasion of France, and only equipped with anti-aircraft guns to defend the airport, it is indeed a serious threat to the Germans fighting in France.
Captain Weiss commanded a formation of four planes to conduct reconnaissance first. He gave the order and immediately ran to his plane. Four Henkel planes began to taxi. Two minutes after take-off, tanks were found ahead. Yes, the French army. They are only six kilometers away from Cambre.
"Every four or six enemy tanks trooped into Cambre, south of the Drasanze Canal." Captain Weiss later said, "On the north side of the canal, there is a long line of very crowded motorcades ..."
A formation of four planes immediately attacked with bombs and machine guns. But the firepower of the four planes was negligible, and they immediately returned to the airport. On the way home, the captains were immediately attacked by radio orders. Squadron after squadron launched a sustained attack on the superior enemy. As long as the 50 kg bomb dropped by the attack plane falls in front of the tank, it can at least destroy its track. Coupled with the fierce shooting of the fighter's 20 mm cannon, in a short time, more than half of the enemy's cars caught fire. The infantry dispersed and were stunned by this sudden change.
Who wins or loses the plane or the tank?
Five or six "iron giants" were surrounded by artillery fire, and more than half a dozen tanks could not move. In spite of this, the rest of the tanks are still speeding towards Cambre.
For Cambre, they seem unstoppable.
Suddenly, only 150 meters away from the target, the sound of 88 mm anti-aircraft guns sounded. It turns out that two companies of the 33rd anti-aircraft artillery regiment 1 battalion have already set up their positions at the edge of the city and have been waiting here for a long time. It took only two or three minutes to hit five tanks equipped with "Haqikesi" heavy machine guns. With a genial smile, the tank behind turned around and fled back.
In the afternoon, the crisis in Cambre ended. So, the dive bombers who came to support attacked another enemy assault force near Arras.
Attack aircraft, fighter planes and anti-aircraft gun units jointly eliminated the threat from the north. The air force not only opened the way for armored troops, but also defended a long and weak side of the German attack on the Anglo-French Strait until the infantry broke through the color. These two tasks have special significance in this movement. Two or three days later, the only way for the Allies to escape from Flanders was Dunkirk.
Excerpted from the attack altitude of 4000 meters.
Eastern front operations
After completing the combat duty in the Balkans on April 194 1, the whole brigade was transferred to the south of the Soviet Union to participate in the fight against the Soviet Red Army. There, they were ordered to form a new combat wing (1 ground attack aviation wing schlachtgeshwader 1). And in the battle, it once again demonstrated the excellent ability of Hs 123 in close support (tactical support) tasks.
Hs 123 mounts four 50kg anti-personnel explosive bombs or two 20mm MGFF cannons or two cluster anti-personnel explosive bombs (including 92 2kg bullets, the famous "butterfly bombs") under the wing, and mounts the auxiliary fuel tank on the centerline of the fuselage. This combination makes Hs 123 a very effective and reliable aircraft. Because of these advantages, even in 1943, the Air Force requested to reopen her production line. As we all know, the climate and natural conditions in the eastern front are very bad. Often, the wet and muddy airstrip on the front line will prevent many planes from taking off normally, but Hs 123 can cope (just remove the deflector on the main landing gear). On the eastern front, many training troops' Hs 123 were sent to the front to meet the needs of close support (tactical support) troops (Hs 123 to supplement the losses).
Because there was no new plane to replace the lost plane, a lot of losses brought an end to Hs 123 squadron, and finally came in the middle of 1944.
Here, tell an interesting story:
194 1 In the summer of, an incredible thing happened near Vitebsk. Although incredible, it is true, which was personally confirmed by Marshal Kesselring, commander of the 2nd Air Force at that time. The story goes like this: several Hs 123 planes completed their combat mission, and on the way, they found that more than 50 Soviet tanks were fighting with German tanks. Captain Bruno Maya was the squadron leader of Hs 123 at that time, and was promoted to the commander of tank attack aircraft two years later. He immediately turned his nose and led his squadron to attack enemy tanks at low altitude. But by this time, the bombs on their plane had been used up. How do we fight this war? It's no use relying on two machine guns. At best, they can only scare the enemy by flying at low altitude. If the engine throttle is turned to the maximum, the propeller of the plane will make as loud a sound as a squadron's concentrated shooting. So they did it again (in Poland). As a result, the enemy chickened out and the tank fled. Because the enemy tanks were too flustered, they were driven into a swamp by the so-called attack planes that took turns to attack. Tanks sank into the swamp one after another, but they couldn't get out. As a last resort, the driver had to blow them up. Kesselring observed this wonderful battlefield, and he confirmed that these T-34s and KV- 1 tanks were indeed destroyed by the 47th HS123rd Squadron.
Despite this rare success, the anti-tank effect of light attack aircraft has not been paid attention to. 1 In the spring of 942, the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Flight Training Regiment was easily expanded to1Attack Aviation Wing. In the Crimean Battle of 1942, this brigade used the new Hs 129 aircraft for the first time. The cockpit of this aircraft is equipped with armor as hard as the Soviet Il -2 aircraft. This special attack aircraft is very safe when attacking at low altitude. In addition to small-caliber machine guns, two 20mm MG 15 1 machine guns are also equipped. But using such weapons and equipment to fight tanks can only be expected to hit occasionally. Therefore, the number of Soviet tanks is increasing. This has to be said to be a big mistake of the German Air Force (because dive bombers focused on development are more difficult to deal with tanks), although the tactical air force required to equip airborne anti-tank weapons after 194 1 year. But when this proposal was adopted in China, a whole year had passed.
Part of the quote "attack height 4000 meters"
Appendix:
Cluster killing blasting bomb (including 92 2 kg bullets)
The bomb mentioned here is a spherical bomb nicknamed "Butterfly Bomb". This bomb was kept secret until it was first used in large quantities in the "Barbarossa" operation. It's called SD2 bomb, weighs two kilograms, and has a small controller, which is specially developed for the attack plane to bomb the enemy. This kind of bomb can explode as soon as it touches the ground, or at a height of several meters above the ground, with a killing radius of 12 meter, and can remove 50 large fragments and 250 small fragments. This kind of bomb won't have much effect unless it hits the ground target directly. If it hits directly, its power is equivalent to the lethality of a medium-caliber anti-aircraft gun. Due to a lot of throwing, many of them hit the plane directly. It caused great losses to the Soviet air force, and often after the bombing, the airport became a sea of fire.
However, this "butterfly bomb" is also very dangerous to the falling plane. Bombs sometimes get stuck in the coin box, and then the fuse has already started to work. A slight vibration will explode on the plane, which can blow a hole the size of an anti-aircraft gun.
The fighter pilots also cursed the SD2 bomb. 96 SD2 bombs can be hung on the frame of the aircraft Me 109 of the 27th Combat Aviation Wing. Because of the wind pressure, sometimes the first row of bombs gets stuck in it and can't be dropped, and the pilot doesn't know it yet. When the plane returned to the base and landed, all the bombs were destroyed. The plane taxied forward and the bomb exploded and blossomed behind the plane. This kind of accident has happened many times. Others have become dangerous time bombs. Because of this, ordnance officers need to constantly patrol the runway and find such small bombs, which must be carefully and quickly eliminated. Otherwise it will explode like soap bubbles.
With regard to the "Butterfly Bomb", Marquardt, the engineer in charge of bomb development in the Technical Bureau of the German Air Force, once expressed the opinion that "SD2 bomb had an effect in the early days of the war against the Soviet Union, but it was short-lived. Because Soviet anti-aircraft guns are very effective for low-altitude aircraft, our aircraft will soon be able to fight at high altitude, and there is no special magazine for horizontal bombers. "
Hs 123, an ugly and backward plane once called "Old Crow" by Marshal Richthofen, has achieved a record that seems to be incompatible with its appearance and performance, but it turns out that if the same weapon is used properly, the result will be ideal.