Heinkel He 45D

[stephen f. polyak]

Can anyone offer history on Heinkel He 45D, W.Nr. 596.

Thank you,
Steve

[Seaplanes]

He 45D W.Nr. 596 was taken over by the Luftwaffe in November 1934 with reg. D-IJEK. The aircraft was to be used as flying test aircraft for the DB 4B engine. My info ends here.

[Mikael Olrog]

Its recorded at Rechlin in november 1936

[stephen f. polyak]

Thank you for the information gentlemen. Here is the reason for my interest. Perhaps 596 remained a test airplane throughout its service career?

[JoMe]

Hi

The plane is also recorded in Rechlin at June 1938.

joMe

[bavgan]

Hello Steve,

This is a very different plate, especially with its design and fonts. Do you know if this is the same design used in the very early Fw190s? From your plates at Bookie's webpage, I know that the A-4 and A-5 had a hexagonal design, but it seems that the early A versions (A-1, A-2) had a smaller data plate. They were also located little bit further up and front (over the balkenkreuz). I attach a photo of a Fw190A-1 where I marked the data plate on the balkenkreuz with a circle.

Have a good day,

Batur

[stephen f. polyak]

Hi Batur,

Thank you for your comment/question; you have a keen eye for detail.

The Fw factory-built He 45 plate is unlike any I have ever seen. As you note, Fw main plates were typically hexagonal in shape. To my knowledge the six-sided shape was unique to Focke-Wulf. I have main plates from several types of Fw aircraft (my earliest Fw 190 is an A-3), including some built under license by other companies, and all have the hexagonal shape. Later in the war both hexagonal and more typical rectangular main plates were used on Fw aircraft (or at least rectangular plates that included the airframe main W.Nr.). There were at least two sizes of hexagonal plates produced also.

As the German aviation industry grew and mass-produced increasing numbers of planes leading up to and during the first half of the war, the design of many styles of aircraft data and identification plates (e.g., shape, size, dimensions, text and numerical entries, layouts, fonts, etc.) were defined in great detail by government and company specifications; the former were called out in numbered Lg N, DIN, and RLM standards. Parallel company specifications were founded on these standards, but also incorporated company specific logos to include enameled badges such as used on engines.

My suspicion is that the Fw/He 45 plate here is an example of a Fw style from the period prior to the standardization that came into effect later in the 1930s (preceding the war, during the period of systematic militarization and fielding of quantities of war materiel) and thereafter. It may well be a style used by Fw as far back as the 1920s. (Plate blanks were likely procured long before use.) I would welcome further information. Perhaps examples of main plates on surviving Fw 44 or 56, or even earlier types (warbirds, museums?), could provide some clues?

I have not studied photos of Fw 190 A-1, A-2 models, but if that’s a main plate in your picture (it appears to be), then its location is different (slightly) than seen on later A, F and G models. Independent of the manufacturer, I find it interesting that main plates (and others outside the airframe) were overwhelmingly not over-painted on new build aircraft; they may often be seen in period photos (again with a keen eye).

Best regards,
Steve

[bavgan]

Thanks for the reply Steve. Yes it is interesting to see that the plates were not over painted. This is strange because I know that in many factories the plates were riveted on the a/c before the final paint was applied on the assembly line. This means that the factory workers had to spend extra time to mask these plates during painting.

And as far as I see, some of the Fw190 plates were painted in black (as in the Bf 109 plates) while others not. I attach a photo of a 190A-2 where the recessed parts of the data plate were clearly painted in black. Is your A-3 plate painted in black too?

Have a good day,

Batur

[stephen f. polyak]

Hi again Batur,

Thank you for the lovely photo of the Fw 190 showing its main plate! Do you have more?

Specialist manufactured (acid etched) hexagonal main plates had a black background. You can see examples at Bookie's Fw 190 Page site. Alternatively, field or shop made plates, more common as the war wore on and materiel was repaired/swapped/reused, were simply cut pieces of unpainted aluminum sheet with hand-stamped entries.

As an exhibit to my earlier message, I show here a Lg N specification for an airplane recognition plate. This type of plate, fitted at the rear of the airplane, was made of steel sheet. It was designed to survive in even a severe crash in order to allow aircraft identification by airframe main W.Nr. On a 190 it was riveted to the main spar inside the vertical stabilizer. I believe this type of plate was widely if not uniformly used on all major warplanes; I have examples from Fw 190s, Me 109s, and Ju 88s.

Regards,
Steve

[bavgan]

Hi Steve,

I have moved to Switzerland a few months ago and left almost all of my books back home. Nevertheless, I still have several Fw190 photos where the data plates are seen. And, I also have a blueprint of MeN 16612 which was one of the data plates used in late Fw190s, Bf109s etc. I will send them to you via mail.

Blue skies,

Batur