He 51 C-1

He 51 C-1

He 51 B-1

He 51 C-1

He 51 B-1

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

Fighter

Research:Free

Purchase:Free

Show in game

This page is about the German biplane He 51 C-1. For other uses, see He 51 (Family).

Description

The He 51 C-1 is a rank I German biplane fighter with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). This fighter has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27.

The Heinkel H 51 was one of the first aircraft which the German Luftwaffe (still operating in secrecy) tasked to be built. Brothers and talented aircraft designers Walter and Seigfried Günter were working for Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1931 when they developed the design for an advanced trainer biplane which was designated He 49. Though touted as a trainer, the aircraft had been designed as a fighter and with a few minor conversions, could be an operational fighter aircraft. After several iterations, the Luftwaffe ordered this aircraft into production as the He 51 in 1933.

Currently in service with Germany was the older Arado Ar 65 biplane which the He 51 was slated to replace, unfortunately by the time the He 51 A rolled off the production lines, it was already outdated, however, it wasn’t until after 150 were built that important modifications were made which resulted in the upgraded He 51 B. Of the 450 B variants built, 46 of them were modified by replacing the fixed landing gear with floats to allow the fighter to land on water. Later another 100 were built as the He 51 C variant which was configured as a light ground-attack aircraft.

Used initially in the Spanish Civil War, the He 51 showed to dominate over older biplanes, however, the advantage was short-lived as modern Soviet fighters and bombers arrived and the He 51 could no longer keep up with them. Operations for the He 51 converted to night fighting, however not long after that it was designated solely for ground attack operations. Though not seen as a fantastic aircraft, behind the scenes it had set the stage for the Luftwaffe years later when close support tactics were developed by Field Marshal Wolfram von Richthofen while flying a He 51.

When paired up against other reserve fighters in the game, the He 51 can hold its own, though it will not win any speed records, nor will its machine guns out fire some of the early Soviet fighters, however, there is a place for the He 51 C-1. Diving straight into a cluster of fighters rolling around with each other is not the best tactic, it is better to pick a target and go after it, however, if cornered, the slower speed and manoeuvrability of the He 51 can get it out of tight spaces and potentially down a few enemy aircraft in the process. With two 7 mm machine guns, tracer rounds work best against early aircraft, especially those which are fabric covered and have non-sealing fuel tanks. Though the pilot may find themselves up-tiered against mono-wing aircraft of faster speeds, the He 51 C-1 can quickly turn the tables and put the faster enemy fighter on the receiving end of a stream of bullets, and only a few hits are enough to hobble the enemy aircraft allowing the Heinkel to catch up and finish the job.

General info

Flight Performance

Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 4,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
296	284	8000	15.2	16.1	11.8	11.8	294
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 4,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
321	310	8000	14.9	15.0	17.9	14.3	294

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	✓

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flaps (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
		520	~10	~5

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 180	< 300	< 300	> 190

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
0 m	750 hp	N/A

Survivability and armour

Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.

Armaments

Offensive armament

The He 51 C-1 is armed with:

• 2 x 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns, nose-mounted (500 rpg = 1,000 total)

Suspended armament

The He 51 C-1 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 6 x 10 kg SD10C bombs (60 kg total)

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in an aircraft, the features of using vehicles in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Not controllable Not auto controlled	Controllable Not auto controlled	Combined	Not controllable 1 gear	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Radiator		Offensive 7 mm
II		Compressor			ETC 10/VId
III	Wings repair	Engine	Airframe	New 7 mm MGs
IV			Cover

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Can have bombs for ground attack, or perhaps dropping onto enemy bombers

Cons:

• Slow even for a reserve fighter

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === Encyclopedia Info ===, also if applicable).

In-game description

"Heinkel He 51 C-1 single-engine fighter/light ground-attack aircraft

The combat début of the He 51 fighter took place in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. Heinkel fighters were flown both by Spanish Nationalists, including Joaquin Garcia-Morato, the best ace of the Spanish War, and by German fighter pilots of the famous Condor Legion.

In November 1936, General Franco's pilots and German volunteers met in the air for the first time with Polikarpov I-15 fighters supplied to the Republicans by the Soviet government. The appearance of the Soviet planes was a shock for the German pilots, who had believed that their He 51B was superior to foreign fighters in every respect. The superiority of the I-15 over the He 51 in speed, manoeuvrability, and rate of climb was indisputable. Although the Soviet fighter's four PV-1 machine guns had a slower rate of fire, they provided fire superiority over the German's two MG 17s. In addition, the He 51's magazine capacity was three times less.

When the experience of the He 51's combat employment in Spain showed the complete superiority of the Soviet fighters, it was decided to use the plane as a ground-attack aircraft to provide direct air support to ground forces.

The He 51 C-1 variant was launched into full-scale production. These aircraft were notable for their bomb racks, which were able to suspend six 10 kg fragmentation bombs. The bomb racks were mounted under the lower wing panels.

He 51 fighters of early variants were modified by the troops on site, fitted to carry bombs. The experience of combat with the He 51 during strike missions against ground targets had an enormous influence on the future development of the Luftwaffe, particularly on its tactical deployment of the Hs 123 and Ju 87 dive bombers.

A combined total of 725 He 51 fighters were built. 135 aircraft of the ""A"", ""B"", and ""C"" variants were delivered to Spain. When the Civil War was over in April 1939, only 46 He 51s remained in good enough condition for flying.

Spanish He 51s served as light ground-attack aircraft and then as training planes until 1946."

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Fiat CR.32
• Gloster Gladiator
• Polikarpov I-15
• Kawasaki Ki-10

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
• other literature.