Heinkel HD 15

The Heinkel HD 15 was a German prototype seaplane developed in the late 1920s by the aircraft manufacturer Heinkel. Conceived as a carrier‑borne reconnaissance and torpedo‑bomber for the Reichsmarine, the HD 15 first flew in 1929 at the company’s Rostock facility. Its design combined a conventional low‑wing monoplane layout with a single, water‑cooled Maybach Mb.IVa engine mounted in a pusher configuration behind the wing, driving a two‑blade propeller. The aircraft featured a spacious, watertight fuselage that could be fitted with either floats or a short take‑off and landing (STOL) undercarriage, allowing operations from both sea and the emerging German carrier Graf Spee. Although only two prototypes were built, the HD 15 demonstrated several advanced concepts: a fully enclosed cockpit, tricycle landing gear, and a modular payload bay capable of carrying up to 500 kg of ordnance. These innovations influenced later Heinkel models such as the He 115 and the more famous He 111. While the HD 15 never entered mass production, it marked an important step in Germany’s attempt to develop carrier‑capable aircraft after World War I and contributed valuable data on aerodynamic stability and amphibious performance that shaped interwar naval aviation.

Heinkel

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