×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Infantry Arms Warships & Submarines Military Pay Chart (2023) Military Ranks
Advertisements
HOME
AIRCRAFT / AVIATION
MODERN AIR FORCES
COUNTRIES
MANUFACTURERS
COMPARE
BY CONFLICT
BY TYPE
BY DECADE
GOLDEN AGE
SPANISH CIVIL WAR
WORLD WAR 2
Aviation / Aerospace

Henschel Hs 123


Dive Bomber / Close-Support Biplane Aircraft [ 1936 ]



The Henschel Hs 123 was quite successful during its limited service run, eventually being supplanted by the highly-effective Junkers Ju 87 Stuka series of monoplane dive bombers.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 09/15/2021 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]
Advertisements
The Henschel-produced Hs 123 aircraft became the last operational biplane adopted by the German Luftwaffe heading into World War 2 (1939-1945). Born from a 1933 German requirement for a dive-bomber, several Henschel Hs 123 test aircraft would fly by 1935 (two would be lost to dive accidents in the process). Five such aircraft were then "tested" by the Condor Legion of Germany during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) which produced refinements in the design. the biplane aircraft would eventually see combat during the German invasions of Poland, Belgium, France, and the Soviet Union under the banner of the Luftwaffe.

Like many of the single-seat military aircraft appearing in the early-to-middle part of the 1930s, the Henschel Hs 123 showcased some of the traditional design characteristics of World War 1 aircraft - fixed undercarriage, biplane wing arrangement, open-air cockpit. The series was initially fielded through the pre-production Hs 123A-0 designation and these were used by the Luftwaffe to evaluate the design. Initial production models became the Hs 123A-1 and these arrived with 2 x forward-fixed 7.92mm machine guns while being driven by a BMW 132Dc radial piston engine. The dive bomber also was given provision for an under-fuselage external fuel tank or conventional drop bomb and four additional hardpoints were had to each wing element (two per wing).

Performance-wise, the aircraft could manage a top speed of 211 miles per hour and range out to 533 miles with the drop tank installed. Its service ceiling reached 29,530 feet and rate-of-climb was 2,950 feet per minute.

The success of the Hs 123 with the Condor Legion in Spain eventually offered up some minor modifications to the base design. The proposed Hs 123B mark was canceled in favor of the developing Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive-bomber detailed elsewhere on this site. With the Hs 123 making its appearance in 1936, the impressive Stuka followed in 1937 and snuffed out any remaining future the Hs 123 may have had in Luftwaffe service.

Additional combat actions were had by the Chinese who purchased a stock of twelve biplanes and used these against Japanese naval targets during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

The series saw action up until 1944 before being fully withdrawn from frontline roles but continued into 1945 playing important secondary roles, particularly over the Eastern Front. Amazingly, the Spanish Air Force stock soldiered on into 1953.©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.
Advertisements

Specifications



Service Year
1936

Origin
Nazi Germany national flag graphic
Nazi Germany

Status
RETIRED
Not in Service.
Crew
1

Production
250
UNITS


Henschel Flugzeugwerke A.G. - Germany
(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)
National flag of China National flag of modern Germany National flag of Nazi Germany National flag of Spain China; Nazi Germany; Spain
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
Ground Attack (Bombing, Strafing)
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.
Close-Air Support (CAS)
Developed to operate in close proximity to active ground elements by way of a broad array of air-to-ground ordnance and munitions options.


Length
27.3 ft
(8.33 m)
Width/Span
34.4 ft
(10.50 m)
Height
10.5 ft
(3.20 m)
Empty Wgt
3,307 lb
(1,500 kg)
MTOW
4,883 lb
(2,215 kg)
Wgt Diff
+1,576 lb
(+715 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the Henschel Hs 123a-1 production variant)
Installed: 1 x BMW 132Dc radial piston engine developing 880 horsepower and driving a two-bladed propeller at the nose.
Max Speed
211 mph
(340 kph | 184 kts)
Ceiling
29,528 ft
(9,000 m | 6 mi)
Range
531 mi
(855 km | 1,583 nm)
Rate-of-Climb
2,950 ft/min
(899 m/min)


♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)
Sub
Trans
Super
Hyper
HiHyper
ReEntry
RANGES (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hi-Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: >19030


(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the Henschel Hs 123a-1 production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)
STANDARD:
2 x 7.92mm machine guns in fixed, forward-firing mounts synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller blades.

OPTIONAL:
Maximum bomb load of 992 lb across five total hardpoints (four underwing and a single centerline).


Supported Types


Graphical image of an aircraft medium machine gun
Graphical image of an aircraft conventional drop bomb munition


(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
Hardpoint Mountings: 5


Hs 123A-1 - Initial Production Model
Hs 123B - Prototype Models intended as successor to Hs 123A series, though cancelled with the arrival of the effective Ju 87 "Stuka"; fitted with BMW 132K 960hp engine; Two such prototypes produced; second with 4 x 7.92mm machine guns and an all-enclosed cockpit.
Hs 123C - Variant armed with 20mm cannon.


Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force
Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway
Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift
Military lapel ribbon for the Chaco War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War
Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars
Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War
Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor
Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War
Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War
Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War
Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era
Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2
Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War
Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft


Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.

Images Gallery



1 / 1
Image of the Henschel Hs 123


Advertisements




Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies


2023 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons.

View day-by-day actions of the American Civil War with CivilWarTimeline.net. View day-by-day actions of World War II with SecondWorldWarHistory.com.


©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)