Heinkel HD 43

HD-43
Role	Fighter aircraft
National origin	Germany
Manufacturer	Heinkel
First flight	1931
Status	Prototype
Number built	1

The Heinkel Doppeldecker^[1] 43 was a prototype German fighter aircraft of the 1930s. A single-engined, single-seat biplane, the HD 43 was designed to meet a secret German Reichswehr requirement for a single-seat fighter. It had two-bay wooden wings with a steel-tube fuselage, and was powered by a 750 hp (600 kW) BMW VI engine. The single prototype flew in 1931.^[2]

It was evaluated against the Arado Ar 65, with the Arado being selected and no production of the Heinkel followed.^[2]

Specifications

Data from The Complete Book of Fighters^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 7.10 m (23 ft 3⅓ in)
• Wingspan: 10.00 m (32 ft 9⅔ in)
• Height: 3.30 m (10 ft 9⅞ in)
• Wing area: 26.56 m² (285.9 ft²)
• Empty weight: 1,280 kg (2,822 lb)
• Loaded weight: 1,700 kg (3,748 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × BMW VI 7,3Z liquid-cooled V12 engine, 559 kW (750 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 322 km/h (174 knots, 200 mph)
  
• Climb to 3,000 m (9,800 ft): 4.9 min

References

Notes

1. meaning biplane
2. Green and Swanborough 1994, p.294.

Bibliography

• Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York: Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8.
• www.luftfahrtmuseum.com The Virtual Aviation Museum