CASA 2.111

The CASA 2.111 was a medium bomber derived from the Heinkel He 111 and produced in Spain under licence by Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). The 2.111 models differed significantly in details from Heinkel's wartime He 111H design while using essentially the same exact airframe in appearance, featuring heavier armament and eventually Rolls-Royce Merlin engines.[2]

CASA 2.111
CASA 2.111B
Role Medium bomber
Manufacturer CASA
First flight 23 May 1945
Retired 1973
Primary user Spanish Air Force
Produced 1945–1956[1]
Number built 236
Developed from Heinkel He 111

Design and development

In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, the Spanish Nationalist Air Force received a number of He 111Bs from Germany, which had begun to receive the improved He 111D model, receiving He 111Es following the end of the war. There was a need for more modern aircraft, however, so in 1940, CASA negotiated a contract with Heinkel to produce 200 examples of the newer He 111 H-16 in Seville.[2] Setting up production was slow, with relatively little support received from Germany as World War II continued. Spain managed to locate a store of Jumo 211F-2 engines in France, and this allowed completion of 130 Jumo powered examples (although only 117 were delivered owing to the need to cannibalise engines).[3] These were in three versions: the 2.111A, a medium bomber; the 2.111C, a reconnaissance bomber; and the 2.111F, a dual-control trainer.[4]

Operational history

The first Spanish-built aircraft flew on 23 May 1945.[5] Following the end of the war, access to the German-built Junkers engines became an issue, and CASA found an alternative with the Rolls-Royce Merlin 500. In April 1956, 173 Merlin engines were ordered and installed on the aircraft[6] in a "power plant" nacelle of a type originally developed by Rolls-Royce for the Beaufighter II and later used on the Avro Lancaster.[7] The newly Merlin-powered bombers and reconnaissance bombers became the 2.111B and 2.111D, respectively; some were re-engined, while others were built new. A nine-passenger transport, the 2.111T8, was also developed and produced.[4] Spanish 2.111s served into the late 1960s and, in the case of the transports, early 1970s. Many of the aircraft retired in the 1960s.

The CASA 2.111 was used in combat in the close air support role during the Ifni War in 1957–1958.[8]

In film

Due to their resemblance to He-111s, 2.111s were sometimes used as He-111 doubles in films. They were used in this way in films such as Battle of Britain and Patton. The Spanish-built version of a German fighter, the Hispano Aviación HA-1112 fighter (Messerschmitt Bf 109), often appeared alongside it in film.

Variants
2.111A
Licensed He 111H-16 with Junkers Jumo 211 engines
2.111B
Engines replaced by Rolls-Royce Merlin Series 500-29 engines
2.111C
Reconnaissance variant
2.111D
Reconnaissance variant with Merlin engines
2.111E
Transport variant
2.111F
Trainer aircraft

Accidents and incidents

One modified Spanish 2.111D served as a transport for Spanish VIPs, including General Francisco Franco, before being purchased in England by the Commemorative Air Force in 1977. It remained the last He 111 in flyable condition until 10 July 2003, when it was destroyed in a fatal crash landing. The aircraft was attempting a landing at the Cheyenne Municipal Airport, near Cheyenne, Wyoming, while en route from Midland, Texas to an air show in Missoula, Montana. Eyewitness reports indicate the aircraft lost power to one engine on final approach and ploughed through a chain link fence before colliding with a building under construction. Killed were CAF pilot Neil R. Stamp and co-pilot Charles S. Bates.[9]

Surviving aircraft
CASA 2.111B Cockpit at the Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim
CASA 2.111B at the Technik Museum Sinsheim

Specifications (2.111B)

General characteristics

  • Crew: 5
  • Length: 16.4 m (53 ft 10 in)
  • Wingspan: 22.5 m (73 ft 10 in)
  • Height: 3.9 m (12 ft 10 in)
  • Wing area: 86.5 m2 (931 sq ft)
  • Max takeoff weight: 14,000 kg (30,865 lb)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Merlin 500-29 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engines, 1,176 kW (1,577 hp) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 440 km/h (270 mph, 240 kn)
  • Range: 1,950 km (1,210 mi, 1,050 nmi)
  • Service ceiling: 7,800 m (25,600 ft)

Armament

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

Notes
  1. "He 111." Deutsches Museum. Retrieved: 13 January 2007.
  2. "Heinkel He 111." EADS N.V. Retrieved: 17 January 2007.
  3. Cruz 2000, pp. 49–50.
  4. Wilson, Randy. "It's a Heinkel: the Luftwaffe's workhorse Heinkel 111 bomber." The Dispatch, Volume 12, Number 4, Winter 1996. Retrieved: 25 February 2007.
  5. Cruz 2000, pp. 48–49.
  6. Wilson, Randy. It's a Heinkel: the Luftwaffe's workhorse Heinkel 111 bomber rwebs.net, The Dispatch. Volume 12, Number 4, Winter 1996. Retrieved: 6 September 2009
  8. Domínguez, Ismael López (January 2016). "Guerra y armas en Ifni-Sáhara (1957-1958)" (PDF). Descubrir la Historia. No. 4. pp. 32–33.
  9. "Two Killed in Cheyenne, Wyo. Crash of Vintage World War II Bomber." Associated Press via ''stelzriede.com, 10 July 2003. Retrieved: 12 April 2012.
  10. "Aircraft". Cavanaugh Flight Museum. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  11. "CASA 2.111H (Spanish HE-111H)". National Museum of the United States Air Force. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  12. Goodall, Geoffrey (26 June 2017). "HEINKEL" (PDF). Geoff Goodall's Aviation History Site. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  13. "FAA REGISTRY [N11105]". Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  14. "Heinkel He 111 H-16 (CASA 2.111 B)". Deutsches Museum. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  15. "History of the aircraft Casa 2.111B". Deutsches Museum. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  16. "Heinkel He-111". Technik Museum Sinsheim. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  17. "Hangar 1 del Museo de Aeronáutica y Astronáutica". Ejército del Aire (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  18. "The Heinkel Project". Kent Battle of Britain Museum Trust. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  19. "'Pedro' and replica Whirlwind for Hawkinge". PressReader. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  20. "Casa C-2.111B – a large-scale object of the Museum of Military History (MHM) in Berlin-Gatow as part of the "De Aanval, May 1940" exhibition in Rotterdam". Militärhistorisches Museum Flugplatz Berlin-Gatow. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  21. "[Homepage]". Flugausstellung (in German). Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  22. "Casa C-2.111D BR.21 Pedro Heinkel He 111H-16". Musée Air + Espace (in French). Retrieved 20 May 2020.

Bibliography
  • Cruz, Gonzalo Avila. "Homegrown 'Pedros': Spanish-Built Heinkel He 111s: Part One-Jumo Variants". Air Enthusiast, No. 90, November/December 2000, pp. 48–53. Stamford, UK:Key Publishing. ISSN 0143-5450.
  • Cruz, Gonzalo Avila. "Homegrown 'Pedros': Spanish-Built Heinkel He 111s: Part Two-Merlin Variants". Air Enthusiast, No. 91, January/February 2001, pp. 8–18. Stamford, UK:Key Publishing. ISSN 0143-5450.
  • Lambert, C.M. "Handling the Spanish Heinkel 111". Flight, 17 August 1956, pp. 247–248.
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