Experience Report of Obergefreiter Wilhelm Majce, 4.schwere Kompanie, Panzer Grenadier Regiment 304, 5-23 August 1942

This experience report was located in the National Archives
by Tom Jentz and translated by Bob Thompson.

After an eleven-day rest, the word came down to “Mount up… March!” On the evening of 3 August 1942, at 2100 hours, we once again started on an operation about which nobody knew any details. We only knew we were headed for combat, and that was sufficient. After a year’s fighting in Russia we knew what would happen, for we had already experienced it countless times and found nothing unusual or interesting.

We drove through the entire night and in the morning came into a village and camouflaged our vehicles against aircraft. The night march had been only exhausting for the drivers, but in spite of this we stretched ourselves out in the grass and slept on through the day, for sleep had not been possible on the shaking, heaving vehicles, where on every bump you hit your head. But now we slept as every Landser wished. On the evening of 4 August, about 2200, we again sat neatly on our vehicles and steered off into a raven-black night.

The day before, to our annoyance, we had learned that we knew this area very well; we had spent a quarter of a year last winter in this region on the main front lines. However, we had no time for further ruminations, for just as we were heading through Karminova the Russians bombarded the place with all friendliness. After taking cover from the planes for a while, we advanced until we finally halted in some small villages. During this time we had enjoyed a lunch of white beans, and began to hear talk that the Russians had succeeded in penetrating the main front lines in this area and that they were bumming around with tanks, death, and the devil. We were the group that was to seal them off.

Hardly had we eaten lunch when the order came “Prepare for action!” Short minutes of intense preparation, then we mounted, and away we went. Four vehicles, each mounting a light infantry gun… that’s the way we went forward on the dusty road. A few vehicles came at us at break-neck speed. We suspected more than knew that up ahead was more than one enemy tank. It wasn’t especially encouraging to know this, as an infantry cannoneer, for among our infantry guns there was, unfortunately, no armor-piercing weapon. Against such monsters there was little prospect of success.

But as we still saw no tanks, we kept on going.

Suddenly from ahead came a dust cloud. We thought at the moment that it was one of our own vehicles, but at a hundred meters we realized it was a T-34. Then its machine gun rattled away. Never in my life have I dismounted a vehicle so swiftly, and my comrades followed. I sneaked off away from the street-ditch as far as I could, for the Russians had the habit of frequently driving up the ditches and I had no wish to let myself be flattened. My goal was a puddle about twenty meters from the road, into which I plopped. The still exposed areas of my body I hid behind an overturned tree trunk. Just in time to see the way the T-34 drive by, wildly firing in all directions. Behind the turret of the tank sat Russian soldiers. They didn’t have the pleasure of riding for long, for we shot them off with our carbines.

The tank drove crazily on for a few hundred meters, turned and then came back. In driving by it smashed against our “Klara,” reducing her to various and sundry parts. “Klara” was our oldest and most trusted gun, which had already been rammed last winter by a tank, but after extensive repairs had again been made serviceable. Now our “Klara” was finally “kaput.” As I watched this, rage bubbled in my belly and I could only regret that I had no mine or shaped charge at hand. Like a spook, the monster disappeared again. We couldn’t hang around long, for we had to get to the nearest village, where our comrades of the Schützenkompanien were in action.

We went ahead in a line and had hardly gone three hundred meters when suddenly low-flying aircraft were over us. We had barely made it to the side of the road and they were gone. Nothing had happened. This was a very eventful day.

A half-hour later we reached the edge of the village. There, all hell was breaking loose. Machine gun fire was hissing through the air and the tanks were shooting one house after another into flames. Munitions were blowing up in the houses, and the heat given off robbed one’s breath. In spite of it all, we came through to the other end of the village in good shape. From here we could see four T-34s, about four hundred meters away. Seconds later the first shots screeched out of our barrels. We could see hits, but what good is a hit from such light infantry guns on such a monster? Once we had been spotted, the devil really went to work. After ten minutes of the hottest fire fight, two of our guns were knocked out by direct hits. We all had our hands full trying to bind up our wounded. During this, the third gun kept firing until it had no more ammunition.

Without ammunition we couldn’t do anything, so we took the remaining gun and dragged it back to the entrance of the village, under heavy fire. When we once looked around, we saw that the tanks were moving up behind us accompanied by two or three companies of enemy infantry. In the village behind us our infantry had set up a defense line. We, the infantry gun section, were now employed as infantry since we had only one gun left and it was hardly combat-effective. This is just what had happened the previous winter.

Hardly had we arrived at our posts when there came the four monsters, slowly driving towards us. As I had received an order to immediately bring up a 50 mm anti-tank gun, I left my group. Even on the way to the anti-tank gun, several tank shells burst uncomfortably near. After delivering the order to send over the gun, I went behind a barn and made myself small. So I lay there for a bit, when suddenly there was a crash that threw dirt around my ears… there the tank had knocked a corner off the barn I was lying behind! I carefully got back to the road.

Having reached the road, I caught sight of a comrade from our platoon who had received an eye injury and was now sitting there helpless. We bedded him on a sidecar of a motorcycle that was going by, when we suddenly saw the four tanks coming at us through the gardens. What could we do but make sure that we weren’t run over by the tanks.

Everything went well. We breathed more easily, for finally our anti-tank guns were in position, and several tanks were knocked out in the next hour.

The 6th through the 22nd were hard days for us. The Russians attacked almost without interruption. Days of violent fighting in the forests, during which we often lay twenty meters from each other. In these battles we suffered greatly from mortar fire which was especially dangerous due to tree-bursts. There were rainy days in which we stood in our foxholes, soaked to the skin. The water was up to our knees. In spite of all this, the Russians could not do anything.

Our Luftwaffe and artillery helped to inflict great losses on the enemy. For tactical reasons, we withdrew from the enemy in the forest and went back to the open flat ground. Here we built a bunker line, from which there is an open area and a swamp in front of the forest in which the Russians remained. The Bolshevists haven’t attacked here yet. Sometimes we have seen tanks driving around over there, but our artillery knocked them out right sway.

Otherwise, there’s not much going on here, and we’re just waiting until they come. That’ll be a big pleasure for us, to give them a nice juicy one on the head!

 

Henschel Hs 129: German Ground Attack Aircraft

Often claimed to have been captured by the British at El Aouina in Tunisia, this Hs 129B-2 displays the elaborate upper surface camouflage worn by some Henschels during the closing stages of the war in North Africa. Note bent propellers from a landing accident.

The Henschel Hs 129 was a ground-attack aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Henschel Flugzeugwerke AG. Fielded by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War, it saw combat in Tunisia and on the Eastern Front.

During the latter half of 1930s, influenced by the experiences of German Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM; "Reich Aviation Ministry") sought a new ground-attack aircraft. The specification required protection from ground-based small arms fire, for which Henschel's design (which was initially designated at the P 46) incorporated a steel "bathtub" with angled fuselage sides and a compact canopy that was fitted with tiny windows. A further requirement of the specification was that the aircraft be powered by engines that were not in demand for other types; accordingly, the Hs 129 was designed to be equipped with low-power German Argus As 410 engines, which were only capable of 465 PS (459 hp; 342 kW).

On 29 May 1939, the prototype Hs 129 performed its maiden flight. Early flight testing was largely unsatisfactory, the aircraft proving to be both underpowered and overweight as well as offering poor visibility to the pilot. These criticisms were addressed via the adoption of a revised canopy with greater glazing along with a more powerful replacement engine in the form of the French Gnome-Rhône 14M engine, which was capable of producing up to 700 PS (690 hp; 515 kW). As such, the Hs 129 A-0 was promptly succeeded by the Hs 129 A-1 and Hs 129 B-1. While Henschel faced competition to fulfill the requirement in the form of the Focke-Wulf Fw 189, the Hs 129 was both smaller and cheaper, and thus continued to hold the RLM's favor. Quantity production of the type was achieved during early 1942.

Introduced to Luftwaffe service in April 1942, the Hs 129 was relatively effective during its early years. It saw service on the Eastern Front in a variety of frontline roles. As the conflict progressed, an increased emphasis on anti-tank support led to the aircraft being continually up-gunned, eventually mounting a 75 mm anti-tank cannon. Only a small number of thus-armed Hs 129 B-3 aircraft were produced and saw action relatively late in the war. Production of the type peaked in 1943 and was terminated entirely in September 1944 in response to Nazi Germany's declining military position, although use of the HS 129 continued into the closing months of the conflict.

By the mid-1930s, the German military, as well as its counterparts in other countries, had identified the importance of ground-attack aircraft for the interdiction of logistics and materiel, a task in which targets were often poorly protected and less likely to have strong or well-coordinated defenses. For high-value, well-protected tactical targets, the dive bomber was becoming the conventional solution.

The experience of the German Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) refuted this concept. Even though it was equipped with types unsuited to the role, such as the Henschel Hs 123 and cannon-armed versions of the Heinkel He 112, the Condor Legion proved that ground-attack aircraft were effective in actual combat. This determination led to support within the Luftwaffe for the creation of an aircraft dedicated to this role, and the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM; "Reich Aviation Ministry") through its Technisches Amt (Technical office) formulated a specification for a Schlachtflugzeug (ground-attack aircraft, specifically intended for the direct support of ground forces.

It was anticipated that the main source of damage to such an aircraft would be small arms fire from the ground, meaning that the aircraft ought to be well-armored around key areas, such as its cockpit and engines. Similar protection was also desirable for the canopy, in the form of 75 mm (2.95 in) thick armored glass. The aircraft was expected to be attacking in low-level, head-on strafing runs, so the cockpit had to be located as close as possible to the nose, in order to maximize the visibility of its targets. Another, non-operational, requirement severely hampered the designs: the RLM insisted that the new design be powered by engines that were not being used in existing aircraft, so that the type would not interfere with the production of established types deemed essential to the war effort.

During April 1937, the newly-formulated specification was issued to four companies, Hamburger Flugzeugbau GmbH (later renamed Blohm und Voss), Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau GmbH, Gothaer Waggonfabrik AG and the Henschel Flugzeug-Werke AG. Of these, Gotha opted to not respond at all while the Hamburger Flugzeugbau offered their P-40 project, a development of their two seat Ha 141, however, the ground attack version was considered to be too unconventional and was eliminated. On 1 October 1937, the RLM issued a pair of development contracts for the two other submissions, which had been determined to superior: one was derived from an existing Focke-Wulf reconnaissance type, the Fw 189, while the other was produced by Henschel. Originally designated the P 46, Henschel’s aircraft was later given the official designation of Hs 129 from the RLM in April 1938.

The Hs 129 was designed by Henschel's chief designer, Dipl.-Ing. Friedrich Nicolaus; the detailed design work was completed by mid 1938. The basic configuration was of a compact low-wing monoplane with a triangular-section fuselage. It was designed around a single large "bathtub" of steel sheeting that made up the entire nose area of the aircraft, completely enclosing the pilot up to head level. Even the canopy was steel, with only tiny windows on the side to see out of and two angled blocks of glass for the windscreen. To improve the armor's ability to deflect bullets, the fuselage sides were angled in, forming a triangular shape, resulting in almost no room to move at shoulder level. There was so little room in the cockpit that the instrument panel ended up under the nose below the windscreen, where it was almost invisible; some of the engine instruments were moved outside onto the engine nacelles' inboard-facing surfaces and the gunsight was mounted outside on the nose.

During 29 May 1939, the first prototype, designated Hs 129 V1, performed its maiden flight. It was promptly joined by two more prototypes, the Hs 129 V2 and Hs 129 V3. These early aircraft participated in competitive evaluations against the Fw 189.

Henschel's aircraft came in 12 percent overweight while the engines produced eight percent less power than had been anticipated; accordingly, it flew poorly. A further complication was the poor external visibility available to the pilot from the cramped cockpit. The controls proved to be almost inoperable as speed increased and in testing, the V2 prototype flew into the ground from a short dive on 5 January 1940 because the stick forces were too high for the pilot to pull out. The Focke-Wulf design proved to be no better. Both aircraft were underpowered as a result of their air-cooled, inverted-V12 Argus As 410 engines as well as being relatively difficult to fly.

Nevertheless, the RLM felt they should continue with the concept. The only real deciding factor between the two designs was that the Henschel was smaller and cheaper, thus a further development contract was issued to Henschel for eight HS 129 A-0 pre-production aircraft while the FW 189 was positioned on low priority as a backup while testing continued with the Hs 129 A-0.

Various improvements were developed by Henschel which resulted in the Hs 129 A-1 series. This model was armed with a pair of 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons and two 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns, along with the ability to carry four 50 kg (110 lb) bombs along the fuselage centerline. During late 1940, the A-1 was evaluated by Luftwaffe pilots, the notable conclusion of which was that the service refused to accept the aircraft in its current configuration.

Even prior to the delivery of the first A-1s, the aircraft already being redesigned in response to an instruction from the RLM to adopt French Gnome-Rhône 14M radial engines, which were captured in some number when France fell and continued to be produced under German occupation. This engine supplied 700 PS (690 hp; 515 kW) for takeoff, compared with the Argus at 465 PS (459 hp; 342 kW). The Gnome-Rhone radials were also made in versions with opposite rotation for the propeller, and were installed on the Hs 129 with the port engine rotating clockwise and the starboard rotating counterclockwise, as seen from nose-on, thus eliminating engine torque problems.

Hs 129B-1

During early 1941, a pair of HS 129 A-1s were refitted with the Gnome-Rhône radials and quickly demonstrated that they possessed more satisfactory performance. Although reviewing pilots were more satisfied with the aircraft's performance, complaints continued to be files about the high stick forces as well as the poor visibility from the canopy. Accordingly, new electronically-actuated trim tabs and a redesign canopy with more extensive glazing was installed on the HS 129 B-0, along with a special Revi V12/C sight that was mounted externally just forward of the windscreen. As a result, the aircraft possessed noticeably superior vision. It is believed that all of the A-1s were converted into B-'s (although it has been claimed that some A-1s were sold to Romania).

During December 1941, the first of ten HS 129 B-0s was developed; in March 1942, the production standard Hs 129 B-1 commenced manufacture. Initially, the two models were quite similar, although some difference were apparent in terms of the positioning of the radio apparatus and the presence of exposed blast troughs for the guns on the B-1. Furthermore, the aircraft would receive adaptations to permit the carriage of a wide variety of armaments.

In preparation for the arrival of the B-1, I./SchlG 1 had been formed in January 1942 with Bf 109 E/Bs (fighter-bomber version of Bf 109 E) and Hs 123s and they delivered B-0s and every B-1 that was completed. During April 1942, the first 12 B-1s were delivered, enabling the 4th Staffel (squadron) to achieve operational readiness. They were promptly assigned to the Eastern Front (to Crimea) in the middle of May 1942 and in June they received a new weapon, the 30 mm (1.2 in) MK 101 cannon with armor-piercing ammunition in a centerline pod. This would be the B1/R2 Rüstsätze kit, the B1/R3 had the MK 101 replaced with a ventral tray of four 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns. The B1/R4 had a larger bomb load and the B1/R5 reconnaissance version had a camera.

Hs 129B-2

During May 1942, deliveries of the new Hs 129 B-2 model commenced, side by side with the B-1 (of which just 50 aircraft had been delivered at that point). By July 1943, (prior to the launch of Operation Citadel, these were a total of five units of the Luftwaffe equipped with HS 129s.

Initially, the only difference between the B-1 and B-2 models were changes to the fuel system – a host of other minor changes could be found almost at random on either model. These changes accumulated in the B-2 production line until they could eventually be told apart at a glance; the main differences being the removal of the mast for the radio antenna, the addition of a direction-finding radio antenna loop, and shorter exhaust stacks on the engines. In the field, the differences became more pronounced. The Rüstsatz field refit kits were renumbered and some were dropped, and in general, the Hs 129B-2/R2 aircraft in service with 4./Schlachtgeschwader 1 received the upgraded cannon pack using a 30 mm MK 103 cannon instead of the earlier MK 101. The MK 103 was effectively an upgraded MK 101 that was capable of increased muzzle velocity.

By late 1942, reports were coming in about the ineffectiveness of the MK 101 against newer versions of the Soviet T-34 tanks. One obvious solution would be to use the larger 3.7 cm (1.46 in) BK 3,7 (Bordkanone 3,7), recently adapted from the ground-based 3.7 cm Flak 18. These guns had already been converted into underwing pod-mounted weapons for the Junkers Ju 87G and found to be an effective weapon, despite the fact that only 12 shells per pod could be accommodated. When mounted on the Hs 129, the empty area behind the cockpit could be used for ammunition storage, greatly increasing the supply compared to the Ju. The B-2/R3 package introduced the BK 3.7 cm (1.46 in) automatic cannon, but relatively few aircraft were converted in favor of the B-2/R4 and B-3, mounting the BK 7.5.

Hs 129B-3

It was decided that the 7.5 cm (2.95 in) semi-automatic Rheinmetall PaK 40 anti-tank gun, which had already been adapted for use in the Junkers Ju 88 P-1, would be further modified for use in the Hs 129. This resulted in the BK 7,5 (Bordkanone 7,5), which, even though it weighed 1,200 kg (2,600 lb), was lighter than the PaK 40. Fully automatic, it featured a new, hydraulic recoil-dampening system and a new, more aerodynamic muzzle brake. An autoloader system, with 12 rounds in a rotary magazine, was fitted in the empty space behind the cockpit, within the rear half of the wing root area. The gun and its recoil mechanism occupied a substantial gun pod under the fuselage, and a circular port at the rear of the pod allowed rearwards ejection of spent cartridges immediately after firing. While this new variant, the Hs 129 B-3, was theoretically capable of destroying any tank in the world, the added weight worsened the aircraft's general performance and it was inferior to previous variants.

The Bordkanone 7,5 was the heaviest and most powerful forward-firing weapon fitted to a production military aircraft during the Second World War. The only other ground-attack aircraft to be factory-equipped with similar-caliber guns were the 1,420 examples of the North American B-25G and B-25H Mitchell, which mounted either a 75 mm (2.95 in) M4 cannon, or lightweight T13E1 or M5 versions of the same gun, both of which required a crew member to manually reload after each shot. The Japanese Mitsubishi Ki-109 Army Heavy Fighter Interceptor also carried a 75mm gun, but only 24 were produced.

In May 1944, a Hs 129B-2, Werknummer 141258, was fitted with a mock-up of the BK 7.5 and underwent aerodynamic testing at Travemünde. The gun fired a 12 kg shell and in an emergency the entire installation could be jettisoned. During August of that year, the first three HS 129 B-3s commenced trials. While deliveries commenced to actual frontline units, around 25 B-3s are believed to have been completed prior to the production line being permanently shut down in September (a small number were reportedly also created by converting B-2 aircraft). In the field, the B-3 proved to be effective even against members of the IS tank family, however, its small numbers meant that it had little effect on the war effort.

Hs 129C

To address the poor performance of the aircraft, plans had been under way for some time to fit the aircraft with newer versions of the Italian Isotta-Fraschini Delta air-cooled inverted V12 inline engine that delivered 850 hp (625 kW) and weighed some 510 kg (1,120 lb) apiece, providing more power than the Argus As 411 engine of similar configuration and lighter (385 kg) weight. The engine installation ran into a number of delays and was still not ready for production when Henschel's plant was overrun by the Allies in 1945.

Hs 129D

Planned version of the Hs 129. Powered by either two 809 kW (1,085 hp; 1,100 PS) Junkers Jumo 211 or two 1,148 kW (1,539 hp; 1,561 PS) BMW 801 to improve its performance. No prototypes were made.

Bibliography

"Henschel Hs 129...der geflügelte Büchsenöffner". Air International (in German). 19 (6): 277–283, 303–304. December 1980.

Griehl, Manfred (2012). X-Planes: German Luftwaffe Prototypes 1930-1945. Pen and Sword.

Munson, Kenneth (1978). German Aircraft Of World War 2 in colour. Poole, Dorset, UK: Blandford Press.

Pegg, Martin (2019). Henschel Hs 129 Panzerjäger. Hull, East Yorkshire, UK: Chandos.

Smith, J. Richard; Kay, Anthony (1972). German Aircraft of the Second World War (third impression 1978 ed.). London, UK: Putnam & Company Ltd.

Further Reading

Chorążykiewicz, Przemysław (2008). Henschel Hs 129. Sandomierz, Poland/Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications.

Green, William (1970). Warplanes of the Third Reich (fourth impression 1979 ed.). London, UK: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd.

Bernád, Dénes (2001). Henschel Hs 129 in Action (Aircraft Number 176). Carrollton, US: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc.

Bernád, Dénes (2006). Henschel Hs 129 (Military Aircraft in Detail). Hinckley, UK: Midland Publishing Ltd.

Kempski, Benedykt (2004). Samolot szturmowy Henschel Hs 129 (Typy Broni i Uzbrojenia No.214) (in Polish). Warszawa, Poland.

Smith, J. Richard (1966). The Henschel Hs 129 (Aircraft in Profile No.69). Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications Ltd.

Pegg, Martin; Creek, Eddie; Tullis, Thomas A. (1997). Hs 129: Panzerjäger! (Classic series, No. 2). West Sussex, UK: Classic Publications.

Stachura, Petr; Bernád, Dénes; Haladej, Dan (1993). Henschel Hs 129 (in Czech) (second edition 1996 bilingual Czech/English ed.). Prague, Czech Republic: MBI.

Wood, Tony; Gunston, Bill (1977). Hitler's Luftwaffe: A pictorial history and technical encyclopedia of Hitler's air power in World War II. London, UK: Salamander Books Ltd.

 

Hs 129B-2 ‘Red J’ served on the Russian Front with 8.(Pz)/SchG 1, during May 1943. It wore eight tank ‘kill’ markings on its rudder, and its Werk Nummer (WNr, factory serial number), 0364, on its lower fin.

An Hs 129B-1 with early round intakes/filters beneath its engine cowlings displays the lower fuselage gun pod fairing for the Mk 101 30mm cannon, which could be swung down for maintenance/re-arming. The ammunition box sat inside the fuselage.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129A-0.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129.

The much photographed ‘White K’ of 10.(Pz)/SG 9 during early 1944 on the Eastern Front. It was often flown by Lt Walter Krause and featured one of the unique color schemes employed by that unit’s Henschels.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129 of 11./SG 9, March 1944.

Henschel Hs 129 cockpit.

The BK 7,5 75mm gun and its associated fairing was mounted beneath the fuselage of the Hs 129B-3 in such a way that it could be jettisoned in an emergency, its fitment being shown in this drawing from the official manual on the Hs 129B-3.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129Bs.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129.

Henschel Hs 129.

Captured Henschel Hs 129 being examined by American soldiers.

1946:  A captured German Henschel Hs 129B wearing USAAF FE (Foreign Evaluation FE-4600) markings at Freeman Field, Indiana.

 Henschel Hs 129B.

A captured German Henschel Hs 129B-2 (Wk.Nr. 0385) at Freeman Army Airfield, Indiana, in 1946. It was allotted for storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona but had to be force-landed at Gallatin, Tennessee, on 24 July 1946 while being ferried to Davis-Monthan. The aircraft ran out of fuel due to suspected tank leakage and was slightly damaged during the subsequent forced landing. It was taken to No. 803 Special Depot (Orchard Place) on 5 August 1946. When the storage depot was required for other purposes during the Korean War, FE-4600 was put up for disposal as scrap. Only the nose section was saved from a scrap yard.
This Hs 129 tankbuster was G blue with 8.(Pz.)/Schl.G.2. It was hit by AA fire and crash-landed at Toubakeur in Tunisia on 7 April 1943. With its outer wings removed it was brought to El Aouina where it was captured by the Allies. It was transported to the USA where it was repaired in a lengthy process. It is seen here with the Foreign Aircraft Evaluation Center at Freeman Army Airfield. On 24 July 1946 it crash-landed in a field at Gallatin, Tennessee, due to fuel leakage. Its front fuselage went to the Victory Air Museum at Mundelein, Illinois in 1951 and in 1986 to Martin Mednis of Sydney, Australia. Note the triangular fuselage and the tiny cockpit. FE-4600 is the Foreign Evaluation serial and EB105 its previous Evaluation Branch serial.

Another view of Hs 129B-2 (Wk.Nr. 0385) Foreign Evaluation identification number FE-4600.

Another view of Hs 129B-2 (Wk.Nr. 0385) Foreign Evaluation identification number FE-4600.

 Wrecks of a German planes at El Aouiana airport, Tunis, Tunisia, May 1943. In front lies a propeller of a BMW 132 radial engine of a Junkers Ju 52. Behind it lies a water-cooled engine (probably DB 601 or Jumo 211), and the wings of a Messerschmitt Bf 109. A damaged Henschel Hs 129B is visible in the center, just before the burned out center section of a Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant transport plane. In the right background is the fuselage of a Ju 52.

Damaged German Henschel Hs 129B of 5.(Pz)/Schlachtgeschwader 1 at El Aouiana airport, Tunis, Tunisia, in May 1943. In the background is a wreck of an Messerschmitt Me 323D-1/-2 Gigant transport. ‘Red K’ was one of the Hs 129B-2s left behind by 8.(Pz)/SchG 2 at Tunis-El Aouina during the final phase of the fighting in North Africa – and duly captured by the Allies. Here it is being examined by curious US personnel. El Aouina and its satellite strips were an eventual graveyard of different Luftwaffe types.

 Henschel Hs 129 with wings removed outboard of engine nacelles, being towed by an Opel Blitz truck, circa 1939.

 Destroyed German aircraft at El Aouina airfield at Tunis, Tunisia, in May 1943. A Henschel Hs 129B of 5.(Pz)/Schlachtgeschwader 1 is visible in the foreground.

A damaged Henschel Hs 129B of of 5.(Pz)/Schlachtgeschwader 1 at El Aouiana airport, Tunis, Tunisia, May 1943, behind the tail unit of an unknown German plane.

 Two damaged Henschel Hs 129B of of 5.(Pz)/Schlachtgeschwader 1 behind a pile of aircraft wheels at El Aouiana airport, Tunis, Tunisia, May 1943. In the left background is a damaged Junkers Ju 52, to the right are the remains of a Messerschmitt Me 323.

 A damaged Henschel Hs 129B of of 5.(Pz)/Schlachtgeschwader 1 at El Aouiana airport, Tunis, Tunisia, May 1943.

The muzzle break of the MK 103 30mm cannon was rectangular, compared with the circular muzzle of the Mk 101. This MK 103 has been swung down from the lower fuselage of an Hs 129B-2 of 10.(Pz)/SG 9 on the Eastern Front, for re-arming.

Henschel Hs 129B-2.

A Soviet officer congratulates the commander of the anti-aircraft battery that shot down a German-made Romanian Hs 129B-2 attack aircraft No. 327 (W. No. 141263) piloted by Lieutenant Munteanu. In front of the "Mihai Cross" on the fuselage is the phrase "HAI FETITO" ("Come on, girl"). And below the tail number is probably Munteanu's personal emblem, a skull and a tilted bone.

An Hs 129B-1 with early round intakes/filters beneath its engine cowlings displays the lower fuselage gun pod fairing for the Mk 101 30mm cannon, which could be swung down for maintenance/re-arming. The ammunition box sat inside the fuselage.

Several Luftwaffe officers stand beside their Argus-powered Hs 129A-0, believed to have been assigned to Schlachtgeschwader 101. The very angular nose of these early Henschels encouraged the painting of the ‘Pike’s Head’ insignia.

The extraordinary cockpit area of the Hs 129A-series aircraft, with the small, heavily armored vision panels including the V-shaped windscreen, which proved totally inadequate. The external structure ahead of the cockpit was intended to house the weapons sight.

The Henschels of 10.(Pz)/SG 9 on the Eastern Front wore distinctive camouflage and this unit was often in front of propaganda photographers’ lenses during March 1944, when this image of the taxiing ‘White O’ was taken.

RAF technicians work on damaged Hs 129B-2 WNr 0297, which was captured in North Africa having been ‘Blue C’ of 4.(Pz)/SchG 2. Transported to Britain, the aircraft was eventually made airworthy again.

The Hs 129B-3 was armed with the BK 7,5 75mm gun (often also referred to as a cannon), but only 20 examples are recorded in official records as having been completed. This aircraft is believed to be a B-2 converted as a prototype/development airframe for the intended installation.

The ZFR 3A weapons sight used in conjunction with the BK 7,5 75mm gun fitted to the Hs 129B-3, illustrated by a drawing from a company technical manual.

The Rheinmetall-Borsig SG 113A Förstersonde comprised a battery of six downwards-firing anti-tank mortars housed in the Hs 129B mid-fuselage area, fired when the aircraft’s nose-mounted sensor detected a tank below. It was not used operationally.

Hs 129s of the Romanian air force.

Hs 129B-2 WkNr 140508 of 8.(Pz)/SchG 1.

Hs 129B-2 of 4.(Pz)/SchG 2, Africa.

Hs 129 wreck, 1945.

Hs 129 in winter on the Russian Front.

Hs 129 with MK 101.

Hs 129 wreck examined by American personnel, Africa.

Another Hs 129 wreck, Africa.

Henschel Hs 129 WkNr 141859 “Red D” of SchG 1.

December 1942: One of the first five 8.(Pz)/Schl.G. 2 Hs 129B-1s being towed to Tunis el-Aouina airfield from where they operated until late April 1943.