The Heinkel He 118 was a German dive bomber design that competed with the Junkers Ju 87 for production, but was never ordered for the Luftwaffe. Designed by the Günter brothers, it was a conventional cantilever monoplane with an inverted gull wing of elliptical planform mounted mid-way up the fuselage. It was considerably more streamlined than Junkers' competitor, with retractable undercarriage and an internal bay for its bombs.

In trials, however, it was discovered that its maximum dive angle was only 50 degrees, and after Ernst Udet destroyed one of the prototypes in the air by flying it outside its design limits it was judged unsuitable and dropped from the competition.

Only 15 were built and two of these were given to Japan, where it provided the inspiration for the Yokosuka D4Y naval dive bomber. One of the other examples was used by the Heinkel company as a flying testbed for the Heinkel HeS.3 turbojet.

Specifications (He 118)

General Characteristics

• Crew: two
• Length: 11.80 m (38 ft 8 in)
• Wingspan: 15.00 m (49 ft 4 in)
• Height: m ( ft in)
• Wing area: 37.7 m² (406 ft²)
• Empty: 2,450 kg (5,390 lb)
• Loaded: 3,775 kg (8,305 lb)
• Maximum takeoff: kg ( lb)
• Powerplant: 1x Daimler-Benz DB 600 C, 656 kW (880 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 395 km/h (250 mph)
• Range: 1,250 km (780 miles)
• Service ceiling: m ( ft)
• Rate of climb: m/min ( ft/min)
• Wing loading: 100 kg/m² (20 lb/ft²)
• Power/Mass: 0.17 kW/kg (0.11 hp/lb)

Armament

• 2x fixed forward-firing 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns
• 1x flexible rearward-firing 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun
• up to 500 kg (1,100 lb) of bombs

Related content

Related development: Yokosuka D4Y

Comparable aircraft:

Designation sequence: He 115 - He 116 - Hs 117 - He 118 - He 119 - He 120 - Hs 121