Henschel Hs 129

The Henschel Hs 129 is a plane of support designed and carried out during the Second world war by Henschel and used primarily on the Russian Front by the Luftwaffe. It is one of the rare planes of this conflict which one really derived and engaged of the versions especially designed for the destruction of the tanks (the others are the Ju 87G and Hurricane IID).

Hs 129 was a small designed light twin-engine as an apparatus of attack on the ground rather comparable with French Bre-693 but, contrary to this last, very strongly armor-plated to resist the unfavourable DCA. It results from it an apparatus with cut appearance with blow from bill hook, with a plunging reduced nose with an aim of releasing to the maximum the visibility of the pilot towards the ground and a cockpit so skimped because of its imposing shielding that certain instruments were placed directly outside this one. If its design intended it above all for hunting for the tanks, it was used largely in any type of ground attack mission against any type as target (troops, convoys road and railway, artillery concentrations, etc). Its scale was of 14,20 m, and its length of 9,75 Mr. His maximum speed was of 408 km/h for a passable distance of 880 km, and a ceiling practices 9 000 Mr. His armament was composed of 6 Mitrailleuse S of 7,92 mm and 2 anti-tank guns of 20 Misters.

Hs 129A had too weak Argus engines judged to be powerful. Consequently, after some specimens of series, it was replaced by the version B which used a more powerful motorization, of French origin: 2 engines Gnome and the Rhone 14M 04/05 of 690 ch each one.

Hs 129B was used with the face as from 1942. This apparatus knew 3 under-versions which took part in a true inflation of the embarked armament.

Indeed, if the armament of edge of the first versions Hs 129B-1 were sufficient only to bore the shielding of light tanks, this armament was largely judged insufficient to fight effectively against the average and heavy tanks Russian such as T-34, KV-1 and other SU-85, insufficiently compensated by an external armament composed of bombs.

The Hs129B-2 version thus accepted a a whole external range of armament composed of light bombs, of pods containing 4 machine-guns of 7,9mm and pods containing a gun MK101 of 30 Misters. This version was used as a basis for integral Hs 129B-2/Wa in its armament of edge a gun BK3,7 of 37 Misters Because of a even greater exiguity of the cockpit, the sighting device of this gun was placed on the nose of the plane, outside the apparatus!

This gun of 37 mm remaining still insufficient with the destruction of the heaviest tanks and requiring a shooting of high degree of accuracy in the part most slightly armor-plated (driving block) to be effective, it was decided to create the version Hs 129B-3/Wa. On this version, the part of 37 mm yielded its place to a part of 75 mm (BK7,5) derived from the anti-tank gun PaK40 which few Soviet tanks could resist.

There was never but one number limited of Hs 129 available: the production remained modest (less 1 000 specimens) whereas the losses were high because of very great dangerosity of the missions reserved for these apparatuses. In the same way, the engines Gnome and the Rhone French 14M, although more powerful than Argus than they replaced, were never enough powerful to follow the higher bid of armament, and thus of weight, this apparatus which remained a rather slow and vulnerable apparatus; they were also known for their unreliability and their brittleness. From the end 1943, Hs 129B were gradually replaced in unit by Focke-Wulf FW 190 except for the versions B-2/Wa and B-3/Wa which were probably used until the end of the conflict.

Units of Hs 129

Combat units

They are very few. At the end of 1941, Luftwaffe has only 2 groups of attack (the support on the ground is mainly the work of the bombers in piqué), the II (S) /LG 2 and III/ZG 1 , each one with 3 escadrilles of Bf 109. To that the autonomous flotilla 10 is added (S) /LG 2 on biplane Hs 123.

At the beginning of January 1942, the II (S) /LG 2 becomes I/SchG 1 which, recovering the unit of Hs 123, passes to 4 escadrilles; enough curiously, this flotilla is numbered 8/SchG 1 . Indeed, an entirely new unit was made up, the II/SchG 1 , with 4 escadrilles (numbered 4-5-6-7), the 4 , 5 and 6 out of Hs 129 and the 7 out of Hs 123. These 2 groups are engaged in Russia. In August 1942 appears a new flotilla on Hs 129, attached to a squadron of hunting in Russia, the PzJägSt/JG 51 . During 1942 also, another flotilla on Hs 129 is created, the S&PzFlSt Afrika Hs 129 , engaged in Africa as its name indicates it. There are thus then 5 escadrilles of Hs 129 (4 in Russia + 1 in Africa) and there will be never again.

In December 1942, a new reorganization takes place, consistent makes some in the creation of a new squadron of attack, the SchG 2 , gathering like the SchG 1 2 groups with 4 escadrilles; whereas the major part of Luftwaffe is organized around groups with 3 escadrilles, the groups of attack, indeed, have 4 of them. But this reorganization gives place to another change: the II/SchG 1 , which hitherto gathered the near total of Hs 129, sees its escadrilles distributed between the 4 groups of attack, of which each one will thus include/understand from now on 3 escadrilles single-engined aircrafts FW 190 and 1 of twin-engines Hs 129. With this intention, the 4/SchG 1 passes to the I/SchG 1 (as a 4 (Pz) /SchG 1 ) whose 8/SchG 1 becomes 6/SchG 1 converted out of FW 190 and attached to the II/SchG 1 , the 5/SchG 1 becomes 8 (Pz) /SchG 2 and the 6/SchG 1 becomes 8 (Pz) /SchG 1 ; as for the S&PzFlSt Afrika Hs 129 , it becomes 4 (Pz) /SchG 2 . Maintaining classifications internal are correct, groups I having the escadrilles 1-2-3-4 and groups II the escadrilles 5-6-7-8. Only irregularity, the 7/SchG 1 is out of Hs 123, of which it is the last flotilla. Except for the 8 (Pz) /SchG 2 , the II/SchG 2 is an entirely new formation.

The great reorganization of the aviation of support in October 1943 gathers all Hs 129 in a IV (Pz) /SG 9 by the following redésignations: the 10 (Pz) /SG 9 is the ex- 4 (Pz) /SchG 1 , the 11 (Pz) /SG 9 is the ex- 8 (Pz) /SchG 1 , the 12 (Pz) /SG 9 is the ex- 4 (Pz) /SchG 2 , the 13 (Pz) /SG 9 is the ex- 8 (Pz) /SchG 2 and the 14 (Pz) /SG 9 is the ex- PzJägSt/JG 51 .

At the beginning of January 1944, the 11 (Pz) /SG 9 becomes EKdo 26 and is withdrawn from the face to study new armaments. In July 1944, a StzPu IV (Pz) /SG 9 exists during a fifteen or so days. In November, the 12 (Pz) /SG 9 passes out of FW 190 to become 1 (Pz) /SG 9 in January 1945. In December 1944, the 10 (Pz) /SG 9 received some FW 190 qu ' it returned before the end of the month. At the time of décenchement of the Russian offensive of January 13rd, 1945, the IV (Pz) /SG 9 thus has nothing any more but 3 escadrilles of Hs 129 (10+13+14). But a few days later, it is surprised on the ground by the Russian armoured tanks and almost all Hs 129 (of which all those with gun of 75mm) are lost. April 3rd, 1945, new a 11 (Pz) /SG 9 is created (ex- 13/SG 151 ) but on FW 190 it seems T, while on April 23rd the 14 (Pz) /SG 9 is dissolved. At the end of April 1945, the IV (Pz) /SG 9 thus has always 3 escadrilles as in January (10+11+13) with the last Hs 129 but its principal equipment is the FW 190, unchanged situation until the capitulation.

Non-combatant units

Very a small number of Hs 129 was used with tests or the drive. In January 1944, the 11 (Pz) /SG 9 became EKdo 26 as one saw higher. This experimental formation was redésignée ErgSt/SG 151 in February 1945. This SG 151 , unit of drive, had received some Hs 129 in its group III during a few days of February 1944. III/SG 151 absorbed in April 1944 the 4 besides (Pz) /SG 152 which was to have some Hs 129. In May 1944 one created the PzSt/SG 151 out of Hs 129 by taking those of III/SG 151 . This PzSt/SG 151 became in July 1944 14 (Pz) /SG 151 . Perhaps in October 1944, II/SG 151 accepted some Hs 129, perhaps those of the 14 (Pz) /SG 151 which then is déséquipé and dissolved. But in February 1945 appears a ErgSt/SG 151 out of Hs 129 which is not other than the ex- EKdo 26 (the existence of a unit Erganzung proves that of Hs 129 were still in first line). As of November 1943, one had constituted the 3 (Pz) /SG 152 out of Hs 129 and Ju 87G but this flotilla was absorbed by SG 151 in August 1944.

The maintenance of the summer 1942 in spring 1945 of a maximum of 5 escadrilles of combat of ten planes absorbed the 800 produced specimens, that is to say an average consumption of 160 apparatuses per flotilla! It would be advisable to take account of a small batch delivered to Romania to equip its 8th Group with Attack ( Escadrilles 41 + 42 + 60 and perhaps the 43 ).

Retrospectively, one can say that the formula of Hs 129, namely a light twin-engine with the performances appreciably lower than those of the contemporary hunters but strongly armoured and armed with a powerful anti-tank gun, knew a modern descendant: the Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II American…

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