BWPicHe-111

Built by Heinkel Flugzeugwerke, the He-111 medium bomber first flew
in 1935. Like many other early German aircraft the He-111 was
officially designed for more pedestrian purposes in order to comply
with the Treaty of Versailles. Notwithstanding the aircrafts' purported
peaceful role, it was always meant to be a medium bomber; though it
would serve the Luftwaffe in a multitude of roles throughout the
Second World War with over 7,000 built by the end of 1944.

The He-111 was instantly recognizable by virtue of its glass encased
nose; providing excellent visibility though also creating a point of
vulnerability exploited by enemy fighters. Produced in several different
models the most common when the Second World War began was the
He-111H version (with several variants of the "H" as well). The
Luftwaffe had some 700 He-111 bombers of all models combat ready
on September 2, 1939. In its traditional bombing role the He-111H
came equipped with as many as seven machine guns for defensive
firepower and could carry well over 4,000 pounds of bombs. Capable
of inflicting substantial punishment the He-111 still was not a "true"
strategic bomber; a fact proven most tellingly during the Battle of
Britain.

Picture Courtesy of Deutsches Bundesarchiv (German Federal
Archive), Bild 101I-385-0586-16