He 51 A-1

He 51 A-1

He 51 B-1

He 51 A-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 A-1. For other uses, see He 51 (Family).

Description

The He 51 A-1 is a rank I German 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the He 51 was slated to replace, unfortunately by the time the He 51 A rolled off the production lines, it was already outdated, however, it wasn’t until after 150 were built that important modifications were made which resulted in the upgraded He 51 B. Of the 450 B variants built, 46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 A-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 A-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
291	282	7700	13.8	14.7	10.4	10.4	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
316	305	7700	13.6	13.7	16.7	13	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	~11	~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 A-1 is armed with:

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

Usage in battles

As a bi-plane, the cockpit view offers only a restricted panorama and it is difficult to anticipate targets with a wing in your face. As with all bi-planes, this characteristic tends to dissuade its use in SB. That said the He 51 has a singularly good rate of climb in comparison to most other equivalent battle rating aircraft allowing it to play the energy tactic well. This is good because the He 51 is a slow bird and has trouble catching virtually any other plane in level flight. However, given its slow speed, it also sports an exceptional turn radius allowing it to turn a death-spiral into a turkey shoot.

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
III	Wings repair	Engine	Airframe	New 7 mm MGs
IV			Cover

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great turn radius
• Exceptional rate of climb

Cons:

• Fragile wings both to damage and high-G manoeuvres.
• No artificial horizon in the cockpit which can result in extreme disorientation in low-visibility conditions

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 === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

In-game description

A single-seat biplane of composite structure with fixed landing gear. This aircraft was designed by Heinkel Flugzeugwerke AG under the guidance of the brothers Siegfried and Walter Günter. The He 51 fighter was a serious upgrade of the single-seat He 49 fighter, which had flown for the first time in November 1932.

The He 49 was a single-strut biplane of composite structure with a BMW liquid-cooled engine. Among German planes of that period, it was set apart by its fuselage, which had extremely clean aerodynamic contours and a retractable radiator.

The designers themselves were not very satisfied with their creation, believing that its characteristics could be significantly improved. A fourth prototype was built, with a new designation: He 51a.

The dimensions and the design of the aircraft remained almost unchanged, but the He 51a was noticeably different from its predecessor in various details. The vertical empennage was completely redesigned. The retractable radiator was replaced with a ducted one. The new ailerons had balance and trim tabs, and the wing pylon's parallel struts were replaced with N-type struts. The pyramidal landing gear with a common axle was replaced with individual V struts featuring hydromechanical shock-absorbers. The struts and the wheels now had fairings, and a tail skid was used instead of a tail wheel. As a whole, the He 51 turned out to be noticeably more elegant, which significantly improved its flight characteristics.

The plane's power unit was a 500 hp Bayerische Motoren Werke BMW VI twelve-cylinder liquid-cooled engine that could provide a power of up to 750 hp during short-term uprating.

The He 51 was armed with two fuselage-mounted synchronous 7.92 mm Rheinmetall-Borsig MG 17 machine guns with 500 rounds each.

The leadership of the German Ministry of Aviation saw the He 51 as an aircraft of extreme importance for the reviving Luftwaffe. In April 1935, the production of He 51 A-1 fighters began. The production aircraft differed from the prototype: it had a cut-down fuselage spine fairing behind the cockpit, a slightly changed tail skid design, and extended engine exhaust pipes.

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.