The "Superplane" That Didn't Exist: Heinkel He 113

In this video, we talk about the Heinkel He 113, a World War 2-era fighter aircraft from Nazi Germany pushed and promoted as an incredible fighter - a "superfighter" of sorts - better than anything the Allied forces had in their arsenals. We first talk about the He 113's two predecessors, the He 112, built as a competitor to the iconic Messerschmitt Bf 109, and the He 100, built to be far better than the Bf 109 (possibly also built out of spite). We talk about the design history of each of these aircraft and their eventual failure to be adopted, with the He 112 being sold in small numbers to other countries and the He 100 being relegated to doing nothing, despite setting speed records.
We then talk about the evolution from the He 100 to the He 113, with the He 100 planes being repurposed for propaganda to make countries like Britain think they existed. We talk about how this propaganda campaign worked, how the story got out, how effective the campaign was, and how Allied countries reacted. We end by pondering the reason for the propaganda stunt.
Link to HistoryNet Article: www.historynet.com/100-heinke...
Link to some archive copies of The Aeroplane Spotter: archive.org/details/aeroplane...
archive.org/details/aeroplane...
archive.org/details/aeroplane...

[@wolfganggugelweith8760]

The Heinkel 100 for me is one of the most beautiful airplanes! Greetings from Linz Austria 🇦🇹 Europe!

[@lookythat2]

Look at the He 100 in profile. Hang a radiator under it and voila! It's a Ki-61 Tony! Wing planform differed, but the resemblance in profile is unmistakable.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

The British Miles M.52 is another excellent example, it is often mentioned in discussions about the first supersonic aircraft however it is a lie since the M.52 never actually existed.

[@SP3NTT]

Thank you for this awesome content!

[@lotuselansteve]

What's with the drawing in Japanese with 2 engines? :-) Also, at 12:19 they are Spitfires but I guess that is just to illustrate clipped wings.

[@MisterOcclusion]

I cannot believe that anyone thought an evaporative cooling system was a good idea in something destined to get holes shot in it. Yes, let’s just increase the vulnerability of the engine by an order of magnitude or so…

[@greenslider]

I think Ernst just wanted the speed record back from the 109/209 or whatever it was

[@edrosenquist6541]

Great video amigo!!@

[@mabpt]

I think the He 100 is the ancestor of the Ki 61. If so, it did eventually turn into a spectacular fighter.

[@scootergeorge7089]

The Ki 61 used a license build copy of the Db 601. May as well say it was ancestor of the Bf 109. By the way, the "Tony" was a maintenance nightmare for the Japanese AAF. It ended up as the radial powered Ki 100.

[@jameswebb4593]

The Americans had their own propaganda mythical weapon , the Norden Bombsight. It never achieved what was written on the tin , though some , not all in the USAAF high command refused to believe it was just a bombsight. If it was as good as claimed then why send out 600 bombers when 60 could do the job. The reasons obvious , it required all of those bombs for 10% to hit the mission target . An example was on the 5th April 1943 a fairly soft target a aircraft repair factory at Mortsel Belgium . A force comprising of 79 B-17's , 25 B-24's . Of the 600 bombs dropped only 4 at most 5 actually hit the factory . The rest plastered the town killing 963 , injuring 1342 and destroying 3424 houses of Belgium citizens.

[@edwardscott3262]

We couldn't use the Norden bombsight in formations. Every bombsight flew the plane. If every plane flying in close formation with each other tried to aim at the same target. The planes would have flown into each other in the process. Only the lead plane used their bombsights for this reason. With all these problems the US still had a much better accuracy standard than the British. Within 1,000 yards of the target was the US standard for a "hit". The British standard was just bombing the right city. Ironically with the much higher accuracy standard than the British we still edged them out a little bit in the accuracy department. That's how good the Norden bombsight was. It was totally revolutionary in it's day. Sure you weren't dropping bombs in pickle barrels but it still did what other countries couldn't.

[@jameswebb4593]

@@edwardscott3262 Your point about collisions is a valid one , but i do not agree with the rest of the claims. Arguably , but only if you are biased . The greatest feat of bombing in WW2 from altitude was the RAF raid on the Gnome et Rhone Aeroengine factory at Limoges France on the night of the 8th February 1944 . 617 sq under the leadership of Leonard Cheshire were offered the task of conducting the mission , with the provisio that not ONE French civilian must be harmed. Taking into consideration that the factory was sited in the middle of the town , was some tall order. To cut to the quick , Cheshire marked the aiming point with flares , after parachute flares had been dropped from 5000ft . The rest of the squadron came in singularly at 16,000 ft releasing their bombs , not a single bomb fell outside of the factories perimeter , All done without the Norden Bombsite. I doubt if that mission is known among Americans , still believing in their magical box. Which incidentally the Germans knew its "Secrets " from the start , and dismissed it as being too complicated and inferior to their own design.

[@coreyandnathanielchartier3749]

The British average bomber formation had trouble often times, in hitting a CITY. Only specialized, highly trained crews were able to hit with any precision, because Bomber Harris killed most average Limey crews before they could get good at their jobs. However you are correct that half frozen, hypoxic, frightened crews, being savaged by fighters and flack, exhausted from months of stressful flying, did have trouble using a delicate device that was accurate, but tested mostly in clear weather in the US.

[@jameswebb4593]

@@coreyandnathanielchartier3749 What a load of garbage , written by someone who hasn't a clue. Its a recognized fact that 1941 to late 42 RAF Bomber command had great difficulty in navigating at night . That is were the boffins came in to design electronic aids . The first 1000 bomber raid took place 30/1 May 1942 . Let me remind your minute American brain that the 8th AF didn't fly its first B-17 mission over France with 18 a/c with 12 actually bombing in August 1942 . It was planned for the 8th to partake in the bombing of Hamburg a total of 300 bombers in July 1943 . Only one group of 90 a/c actually managed to reach the Hamburg area . They couldn't find the mission target of the Blom and Voss shipyards but bombed anyway. But where you are so ignorant and stupid as to suggest that the RAF bombed at night in formation , they used a bomber stream . One of the most important raids of the war which the Americans were not capable of taking part was the raid on Peenemunde 18th August 1943 , to stop and hinder the German rocket development . You can bullshit yourselves , but the rest of the world can see through you like lace curtains .

[@salvagedb2470]

Still a Good looking Aircraft but if you look hard enough its the Kawasaki Hien " Tony " ..Good vid .

[@mikezola1701]

Actually the other way round... the Ki-61 design was influenced by the He-100, which came first...😊

[@Rom3_29]

Japanese bought one He-112 or -100, DB-602 engine, building licenses and used them to build KI-61.

[@oxcart4172]

10:03. Is that replica? It doesnt look like a wartime photograph

[@KyleClarke-pj4dp]

It's a replica of The Heinkel He-100D. Which was literally the He-113. I believe it's the only one and it's in the US somewhere

[@oxcart4172]

@@KyleClarke-pj4dp Thanks very much, Kyle!

[@wolfganggugelweith8760]

This replica was made by a teacher in the USA made of wood and only for static display. It’s now in a museum there. Greetings from Linz Austria 🇦🇹 Europe!

[@oxcart4172]

@wolfganggugelweith8760 Thanks for the information, Wolfgang! He's done a very good job. It looks great! Greetings from England!

[@luvr381]

463.92 mph sounds an awful lot like the record speed set by the Me-209R.

[@bensonfitch6697]

Was the 209 ever called the 209R? I've heard that it was called the 109R for propaganda purposes (trying to trick people the 109 and 109R are the same), but I'm curious if it was ever called the 209R.

[@luvr381]

@@bensonfitch6697 I may be mistaken on that.

[@Vickzq]

​​@@bensonfitch6697 Yes, it's a Bf209V (H was army version planned), named 109R for propaganda. Not to be confused with Me209 II in competition with FW190 Dora for high altitude.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

​@@bensonfitch6697Much like the Gloster Meteor setting the world speed record, the plane that set the record was not an actual Meteor but a specially build plane converted into a Meteor after the record was set.

[@phhdvm]

What was the crazy twin prop Japanese plane shown around 9:45?

[@blackjack5324]

This was the Kawasaki Ki. 64 experimental fighter. One was built. It was no success, because during a test flight the rear engine cought fire.

[@janmale7767]

Yes the Heinkel 100 was one impressive bird for that time 39/40 defnitly a more attractive looking aircraft than the rather ugly 109 and one can just wonder what it would have been able to achieve once tweeked and improved on as the 109 was during years of service life! It had some advantages over the 109 the wide landing gear being the most obvious and aerodynamically advanced for it's time,but the evaporative cooling system was a no go for a fighter,and once drag inducing radiators were added,the speed advantage seemed to fall back substantially! I still say all factors considered the 109 was argubly the greatest fighter of WW- 2,cost of production , ease of maintenance, servicibility, combat record, amount produced,there is not one plane allied or axis that can beat those statistics, it was not without faults (narrow landing gear) but weighed up against the advantages that arrangement offered it wasn't bad not nearly as bad as allied propagandists tried to make the landing gear to be, they also had narrow landing geared aircraft (Spitfire,Wildcat) Germany shot down 70000 allied aircraft and the 109 was responsible for a large proportion of that figure JG-52 alone (the experten Jagdflieger wing who exclusively flew the 109 in all it's variants) was responsible for between 10-15000 aerial victories ,no allied or other non German axis aircraft comes anywhere close to that!

[@DIREWOLFx75]

The 113 contributed to make especially UK and USA try to produce even better fighters, far beyond what was actually needed. Instead of causing loss of morale for the allies, it caused them to become stronger. One of the most common ways that the peacock strategy of propaganda tends to fail longterm no matter how well it works or not shortterm. Similar to how USSR without even trying to, caused the F-15 to be developed due to the MiG-25, a plane not even remotely close to what the west assumed and guessed about it. And about the only thing they got right, high speed, they instead managed to underestimate.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

The British supersonic Miles M.52 is another excellent example, the M.52 in fact never existed

[@ShockeWulf190]

Very good!

[@RemusKingOfRome]

LOL ! Compare the He 113 with the Defiant ! LOL ! ummmmm , one had a house on it's back, the other didn't .. :D

[@Riccardo_Silva]

It seems to me that Willy Messerschmitt had some kind of influence, either political and/or personal, on Hitler, a bit like Yakovlev's on Stalin. Could it be a thing or it's just an impression on my part?

[@womble321]

He paid the biggest bribes read Albert Speers book. The Nazi Government ran on Bribes.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

it was "designed" that way. Did it work...Mnnnah 😛 (Try again, other dictators in waiting?)

[@DIREWOLFx75]

"It seems to me that Willy Messerschmitt had some kind of influence, either political and/or personal, on Hitler" Massively. "a bit like Yakovlev's on Stalin" Waaay more than that. The Soviet system was out of necessity a lot about personal connections, often causing indirect corruption, but the German system was essentially outright built on being totally and utterly corrupt.

[@briancavanagh7048]

Was it decided in the Reich air ministry that Heinkel to concentrate on bomber aircraft.

[@Vickzq]

No. There were actually higher ups against him... but the heinkel model had wing located fluid engine cooling... ingenious for a record flight... unusable for combat, one hit on wings and the engine overheats.

[@GoD_Quake]

One could argue that this propaganda about the 113 being a super plane that the allies should be fearful of probably backfired on them because it helped drive the urgency of the advancement of more and more superior allied aircraft to counter this imaginary threat.

[@loddude5706]

'Nobody bats a thousand', is a new one on these UK ears; baseball, or Homer on a golf course?

[@graememceachren1118]

Baseball

[@38dragoon38]

I would describe the HE 113 being used as a "phyop" rather than for "propaganda."

[@jesperlykkeberg7438]

You mean PsyOp presumably. Short for psychological operations.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

He 100 was a SUPERPLANE until some-one/thing shoots holes in ya' very important COOL wings... 100km course and you show us mph! Klaphat!

[@SoloRenegade]

exactly, the hype was justified, just not as a combat airplane.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

@@SoloRenegade YUP! I would've ruled every war allover thé Globe - if NO one shot at me in my Superflyingmachine 😛

[@kiereluurs1243]

COOLING.

[@paintnamer6403]

It reminds me of the Ki 61 Hein but that was a battle worthy aircraft.

[@jeffapplewhite5981]

It's a good looking airplane

[@kidmohair8151]

the thing about propaganda is that it *almost always* takes a while to find out if it is real, or fake. (in this day and age we call such things conspiracy theories)

[@chrisbflory]

How are people so concerned about the minutiae of aircraft performance so stifled by arithmetic? The below are close enough. 1 kg = 2.2 lb 1 mph = 1.6 kph 1 m = 3.3 ft 1 degF = uhh. Ok, maybe list both temps.

[@puppetguy8726]

Speaking of deception: The Siegfried line was one of the most succesful propaganda operations of ww2

[@peregrinemccauley5010]

America doesn't need or use propaganda, 'cause they're the greatest country in the world, and they won all the wars single handed. Super Heroes.

[@waltergolston6187]

you still have to suit up just incase you get called in.

[@patrickgriffitt6551]

I had always heard it referred to as the He100 not the 113. Of course using propaganda it could be referred to by any number att any time.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

The Miles M.52 is an excellent example, never in history has so much been written and discussed regarding an aircraft that never existed.

[@InsoundHbyJayWorthey]

This looks like the Japanese Kawasaki Hein?

[@PORRRIDGE_GUN]

Does anyone know what happened to the aircraft sold to the USSR?

[@greenslider]

The RLM didn't rate the soviets highly enough to reverse engineer or be able to reciprocate the quality of the machines they were sold. The vanity...🤣

[@jaanikaapa6925]

So, the SU-57 of its time.

[@alan6832]

You don't have to look half way around the world for lies when we have W's weapons of mass destruction and the Gulf of Tonkin Incident.

[@jaanikaapa6925]

@@alan6832 and yet my point is still valid and even more so than yours.

[@alan6832]

@@jaanikaapa6925bull

[@puppetguy8726]

Please use imperial and metric side by side when discussing speed

[@DIREWOLFx75]

That would absolutely be appreciated yes.

[@salvagedb2470]

Oh yes please forget Centimetres , just give us Milimeters n Inches you know where you are..

[@kieranh2005]

No... mix it up a bit! I want to see furlongs and fathoms beside km and mm. Really get people scratching their heads.

[@klaus-peterborn1370]

Why, only the US are using this ancient system worldwide.

[@stephenmeier4658]

​@@klaus-peterborn1370respect our traditional ignorance 🇺🇸 U!S!A! U!S!A!

[@bullettube9863]

America had the original speedster in the P-40 which was the first fighter to achieve 300 miles per hour in level flight. This instigated a race to build a better, faster plane which of course resulted in the Japanese Zero, the British Spitfire and German ME-109. Howard Hughes had already demonstrated that a plane with a radial engine, a stressed skin and flush rivets could achieve 400 mph, so everyone knew it was possible to go really fast. If Germany had a 400mph fighter then everyone else went back to the drawing board and came up with their own 400+mph fighters. Germany's propaganda thus backfired and caused their eventual defeat!

[@WilhelmKarsten]

Germany was years ahead of everyone in aerospace technology in the 1940s... and all that technology would be transferred to America after the war with absolutely spectacular results.

[@stephenwhelan2515]

It was still fooling people 40+ years later. I have distinct memories of the Sunday Times (of the UK) including the He-100 in a list of luftwaffe aircraft that participated in the battle of Britain during a special feature to celebrate the 40 or 45th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

[@davidpaiva7422]

1939 2700 HP ⚡⚡

[@SoloRenegade]

the He100 was a great and fascinating airplane. But its design did not lend itself well to combat application, which is a big factor in why it never got used. The US also sent a B-29 to UK in WW2 to scare Germany too. Doesn't mean the B-29 was a lie. The Do 335 was a "superplane" that didn't live up to the hype either. It was built, it was fast (but still not fast enough), but overhyped and never actually saw combat. And it consumed far more resources than Germany could afford to sink into a single "fighter" (2 engines, more fuel, more aluminum....).

[@dallesamllhals9161]

The Do 335's a Fail..hmm okay ..and NOT mayhaps 'cause being the last GASP of the 2x piston engined (heavy)fighter vs something NEW?

[@SoloRenegade]

@@dallesamllhals9161 Last gasp of a 2 engined fighter? The DeHavilland Mosquito and F7F want a word with you.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

@@SoloRenegade Don't! You know what I mean! PS. ..de Havilland Hornet > Mosquito ANY F'ing Day!

[@SoloRenegade]

@@dallesamllhals9161 yes, the hornet is great too. But the Do335 was a fail. it never accomplished anything, and it was the wrong solution to Germany's problems.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

@@SoloRenegade OK Expert!

[@SoloRenegade]

the P-51A could reach 415mph at 5000ft on only 1400HP. But the engine was capable of at least 1800HP at 70" MAP in 1942.

[@dallesamllhals9161]

OK 'Murica

[@WilhelmKarsten]

There is a difference between Military Power and War Emergency Power settings, WEP was limited to just 5 minutes per flight and required the aircraft to be grounded for engine internal inspections and repairs before it could be returned to service. The pilot had to force the throttle lever beyond the full throttle stop detent, breaking the metal lock strip and override the boost pressure regulator. The crew cheif was required to check to see if the lock was broken after each flight and take the aircraft out of service for inspection and repairs. Using WEP damages the engines and shortens the service life requiring overhauls in as little as just one use of WEP.

[@SoloRenegade]

@@WilhelmKarsten Allison themselves tested the the engines at their facilities at 70" MAP for 20min straight at 1750HP and proved no damage nor excessive wear resulted. Later in the war they could sustain 70" MAP at 2200HP without damage. No inspection nor teardown required after sustaining those power settings. The Allison was built TOUGH. Post war Allison V1710 was pushing 3300HP for more than 5min in racing and still holding up.

[@SoloRenegade]

@@dallesamllhals9161 I have the documents from 1942 to prove it. Both flight test reports and the Allison engine tests at 70" MAP.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

@@SoloRenegade Official USAAF test report #43-6007 Wright Field April 2, 1943. P-51 A Top speed w/WEP 415mph at 10,500 ft. Engine V-1710-81 Power 1,480hp at 3,000 rpm 5 min. MAP 52 in.hg wide open throttle.

[@jeffapplewhite5981]

Calculations are on your phone! Try CNC with metric system! It absolutely has a imperial/US terminology Equivalent!

[@kiereluurs1243]

Forget about backward unscientific unpractical imperialistic units. Grow up.

[@wbertie2604]

Mincemeat: Sardinia not Greece

[@davidpaiva7422]

Venderam 6 aos sovietes😵!🎱

[@tomislavpavic7697]

Dislike is for repeating the myth of He100D actually existing, and that He100 ever gotten the normal cooling. Repeating what English-language Wikipedia says is a great way to make ill-informed videos about anything that is not English or American.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

True, Wikipedia does the same with the British Miles M.52... another aircraft that never existed

[@kiereluurs1243]

Planes don't 'sit'. Chairs are the problem. Sit epidemic.

[@DaveSCameron]

I'm astonished by the amount of young people who believe that the definition of Propaganda is solely dishonest information! I blame the parents! 😂😂, thanks again for the upload Sir ☘️👍#OurHistory

[@dallesamllhals9161]

2023...right?

[@DaveSCameron]

@@dallesamllhals9161 Indeed yes and I hope things improve for everyone in 2024. 🙏

[@dallesamllhals9161]

@@DaveSCameron Heh! ..erh, i mean Metoo. We're all humans what could go wrong in 2024+ (sigh)

[@DaveSCameron]

@@dallesamllhals9161 You just posted "2023 right?" and I responded respectfully, what's your question?

[@dallesamllhals9161]

@@DaveSCameron No questions! just a faint hope for the future... ^Not really! We're actually pretty FUCKED right now. YAHOOO 😛

[@bmobert]

Neet!

[@kiereluurs1243]

Neat?

[@bmobert]

@@kiereluurs1243 This history is fascinating. But, more to the point, a single, mostly innocuous reply for the sake of the algorithm.

[@bouldersoundguy]

It's "bald faced lie." That is, it is a lie without any serious attempt to disguise it (as with a beard).

[@fredmyers120]

Mr Fat Luffwaffe was getting kickbacks from Messerschnidt

[@brentdykgraaf184]

Folks....hire me dirt cheap to narrate this. Content good ..if this is a human...no offense. Bad.

[@carloantoniomartinelli5418]

Why, at minutes 12.14, are you showing two Spitfires? Got caught in the bullshit syndrome ?

[@DdDd-ss3ms]

that artificial voice destroys the whole video

[@kiereluurs1243]

It's not artificial.