Heinkel HD 25

HD 25

Heinkel HD 25 of the Imperial Japanese Navy
Role	Reconnaissance seaplane
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Heinkel, Aichi
First flight	1926
Primary user	Imperial Japanese Navy
Number built	ca. 18

The Heinkel HD 25 was a reconnaissance seaplane developed in Germany during the 1920s for production in Japan. It was intended to provide a spotter aircraft for warships, to take off from a short ramp since shipboard catapults had not yet been invented. The HD 25 was a conventional biplane with staggered wings and twin pontoon undercarriage. The pilot and observer sat in tandem, open cockpits.

Two prototypes were built by Heinkel in Germany, with the first flying in 1926.^[1] Following trials, the Navy officially accepted the type in March 1928 and gave it the designation Type 2 Two-seat Reconnaissance Seaplane. 16 were built by Aichi and saw brief service aboard the cruisers of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

A single example of a modified demilitarised version was built by Aichi as the AB-1, and three surplus Type 2 Two-seat Reconnaissance Seaplanes were converted with two seat cabins aft of the open rear cockpit, to seat three passengers, for use by the Kouchi Shimbun newspaper.

Variants

Heinkel HD 25: Heinkel Doppeldekker 25, two prototypes designed and built in Germany.^[1]
Heinkel Large Reconnaissance Seaplane: Unofficial designation for the Heinkel built prototypes^[1]
Heinkel-Type Warship Seaplane: Initial unofficial designation for the Aichi produced aircraft^[1]
Aichi Type 2 Two-seat Reconnaissance Seaplane: Production aircraft built by Aichi in Japan with modifications to allow operations from turret platforms^[1]
Aichi Type 2 Transport: Conversions of three surplus Type 2 Two-seat Reconnaissance Seaplanes with cabins seating three passengers, used by the Kouchi Shimbun newspaper.^[1]
Aichi AB-1: A single aircraft derived from the HD 25 for use as a transport aircraft and entered in the Japanese Aviation Bureau of the Department of Communications competition for a home grown transport aircraft. Modifications included: increaesed dimensions, N-type inter-plane struts, a four seat enclosed cabin forward of the two pen cockpits and a Lorraine W-12 engine.^[1]

Specifications (Aichi-built)

General characteristics

Crew: Two, pilot and observer
Length: 9.70 m (31 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 14.88 m (48 ft 10 in)
Height: 4.27 m (14 ft 0 in)
Empty weight: 1,700 kg (3,750 lb)
Gross weight: 2,570 kg (5,650 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × Napier Lion, 334 kW (450 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 203 km/h (127 mph)
Range: 910 km (570 miles)
Rate of climb: 3.3 m/s (645 ft/min)

Armament

1 × flexible, rearward-firing 7.7 mm (.303 in) machine gun for observer
300 kg (661 lb) of bombs

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heinkel HD 25.

Notes

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mikesh and Abe 1990, p.63.

Bibliography

Mikesh, Robert C.; Abe, Shorzoe (1990). Japanese Aircraft 1910-1941. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-840-2.
Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 499.

Aircraft produced by Heinkel

Company designations pre-1933	HE 1 HE 2 HE 3 HE 4 HE 5 HE 6 HE 7 HE 8 HE 9 HE 10 HE 12 HE 14 HD 15 HD 16 HD 17 HE 18 HD 19 HD 20 HD 21 HD 22 HD 23 HD 24 HD 25 HD 26 HD 27 HD 28 HD 29 HD 30 HE 31 HD 32 HD 33 HD 34 HD 35 HD 36 HD 37 HD 38 HD 39 HD 40 HD 41 HD 42 HD 43 HD 44 HD 45 HD 46 HD 49 HD 50 HD 55 HD 56 HE 57 HE 58 HD 59 HD 60 HD 61 HD 62 HD 63 HE 64 HD 66

RLM designations 1933–1945	He 45 He 46 He 47 He 49 He 50 He 51 He 58 He 59 He 60 He 61 He 62 He 63 He 64 He 65 He 66 He 70 He 71 He 72 He 74 He 100 He 111 He 112 He 113 He 114 He 115 He 116 He 118 He 119 He 120 He 162 He 170 He 172 He 176 He 177 He 178 He 219 He 220 He 270 He 274 He 275 He 277 He 278 He 280 He 319 He 343 He 419 He 519 P.1041 P.1054 P.1060 P.1062 P.1063 P.1064 P.1065 P.1066 P.1068 P.1069 P.1070 P.1071 P.1072 P.1073 P.1074 P.1075 P.1076 P.1077 P.1078 P.1079 P.1080 Strabo 16 Wespe Lerche

Foreign designations or built under license	Svenska S 5 (HE 5) Orlogsvaerftet HM.II. (HE 8) Aichi Type H Carrier Fighter (HD 23) Type 2 Two-seat Reconnaissance Seaplane (HD 25) Type 2 Single-seat Reconnaissance Seaplane (HD 26) Heinkel Three-seat Reconnaissance Seaplane (HD 28) Aichi E3A (HD 56) Aichi AB-5 (HD 62) Hitachi AXHei (He 100) Heinkel A7He (He 112) Yokosuka DXHe (He 118)

Aircraft produced by Aichi Kokuki

Manufacturer designations	AB-1 AB-2 AB-3 AB-4 AB-5 AB-6 AB-7 AB-8 AB-9 AB-10 AB-11 AB-12 AB-13 AB-14 AM-7 AM-10 AM-15 AM-16 AM-17 AM-19 AM-21 AM-22 AM-23 AM-24

Imperial Japanese Navy short designations	B7A C4A D1A D3A E3A E8A E10A E11A E13A E16A F1A H9A M6A S1A

World War II Allied reporting names	Grace Hank Jake Laura Paul Susie Val

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