5 Facts About Germany’s Discount Tank Destroyer
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Here are some facts about the Henschel Hs 129, which is a WWII German ground attack aircraft that attempted to utilize more unwanted parts in its construction:
5. It was chosen as the winner by the German Air Ministry by being slightly less awful
The Hs 129 was chosen by Germany’s Air Ministry for two reasons – One, dimensionally, it was smaller, making it a smaller target in some sense.
Two, it had a more conventional-looking design, and was far cheaper to produce.
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4. It was remarkably small for a twin-engine plane
They only measured 9.75 meters long, 14.2 meters wide, and 3.25 meters tall.
This was remarkably smaller than a more standard twin-engine plane like the P-38 Lightning. The P-38 was 1.75 meters longer and 1.6 meters wider.
3. Surprisingly, it performed decently against Soviet vehicles, particularly in the Battle of Kursk
It would team up with the Ju 87 and other planes where it would eventually take out thousands of Russian tanks, artillery pieces, and armored vehicles.
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2. It had several variants
The Hs 129 had gone through many iterations with a number of unique design features and challenges. The B-1 variant has an MK 101 cannon, providing an effective tank-busting capability.
However, it was the B-2 that was the most well-known. Despite the upgrades, it still experiences issues in performance and visibility. The only difference between the two variants was the modifications in the fuel system.
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1. It didn’t have much of an impact on the outcome of the war
By the end of WWII, only several Hs 129 were operational because many were already lost to enemy fire, mechanical failures, or abandoned because of lack of maintenance or spare parts.
