Heinkel HD 16

The Heinkel HD 16 was a German‑designed reconnaissance and light‑attack biplane produced in the early 1930s by the aircraft builder Heinkel. Developed as a naval variant of the earlier HD series, the HD 16 first flew in 1932 and was quickly ordered by the Luftwaffe for coastal patrol duties. Its airframe combined a sturdy wooden‑metal hybrid construction with equal‑span wings and a conventional tailplane, while the powerplant was a 750 hp Armstrong Siddeley Panther radial engine mounted in a streamlined nose. The aircraft could reach a top speed of 210 km/h, had a service ceiling of 6,500 m and a range of roughly 650 km, allowing extended surveillance over the Baltic Sea. Armament consisted of a forward‑firing 7.5 mm machine gun for the pilot, a rear‑mounted flexible gun for the observer, and up to 200 kg of light bombs under the wings. Although only a small batch of twenty‑four units was built, the HD 16 demonstrated Heinkel’s ability to adapt land‑plane designs for naval use and contributed valuable experience in twin‑role reconnaissance‑attack aircraft that informed later designs such as the Heinkel He 111. Its brief service highlighted the transition from biplane to monoplane concepts in the pre‑World‑War II era.

Heinkel

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