While the fuselage and flotation gear of the He 114 were completely conventional, its wing arrangement was highly unusual. The upper set of wings was attached to the fuselage with a set of cabane struts, as in a parasol wingmonoplane, whereas the lower set was of much lesser span while having approximately the same chord. (Note that this general layout isn't especially unusual, and is known as a "Sesquiplane", or a biplane which has a smaller lower wing. Typically, the lower wing is about 3/4 of the span of the upper wing, and has a smaller chord as well. The He 114 has a much shorter lower wing than usual, but has the same chord as the upper wing, which keeps the wing area ratio similar.)
Operational history
The German battleship Gneisenau with a He 114 on its catapult in 1939
The He 114 was never a great success, was not built in large numbers, and served with the Luftwaffe for only a short time. While the He 60 had handled very well on the water but been sluggish in the air, the He 114's handling while afloat was poor and its performance in the air scarcely better than the aircraft it replaced.
A total of 24 aircraft were exported to Romania, where the last 8 remained in service until 1 May 1960. In July 1943 Spain acquired a total number of 12 aircraft of the A and C variants, they were retired in 1954.
On 1 November 1939 Sweden ordered 12 aircraft of the B-1 variant, the aircraft were planned to be delivered in December the same year but was soon rescheduled to Spring the following year. In April 1940 Sweden increased the order by 24 aircraft, Heinkel responded by informing that the original order would not be delivered as the German government had enacted a ban on military materiel export to Sweden. When the ban was lifted the 12 aircraft originally intended for Sweden had already been taken into service of the Luftwaffe. By the end of 1940 Germany gave notice that it could deliver 12 aircraft, Sweden accepted but Germany soon cancelled the order. The purchase could however be realized in 1941 and 12 used He 114 arrived to Sweden dismantled in boxes in spring the same year. The airplanes were assembled and given a complete overhaul before entering service at Roslagens flygflottilj (F2) in Hägernäs under the designation S 12 (S being an abbreviation for 'reconnaissance aircraft' in Sweden).
The hilfskreuzerAtlantis, Pinguin and Widder were equipped with two He 114 each. They made extensive use of these aircraft during their raiding careers in 1940-41, until the aircraft were lost or worn out. Some were replaced by Arado's brought by supply ships whilst they were still at large.[1]
Axworthy, Mark (September–October 1999). "Flank Guard: Romania's Advance on Stalingrad, Part Two". Air Enthusiast (65): 72–75. ISSN0143-5450.
Cortet, Pierre (March 2000). "Rétros du Mois" [Retros of the Month]. Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire (in French) (84): 7. ISSN1243-8650.
Donald, David, ed. Warplanes of the Luftwaffe. London: Aerospace, 1994. ISBN1-874023-56-5.
Muggenthaler, August K. (1977). Das waren Die Deutschen Hilfskreuzer 1939-1945. Bewaffnete Handelsschiffe im Einsatz (in German). Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN3-87943-261-9.
Smith J. R. and Kay, Anthony. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam & Company, 1972. ISBN0-370-00024-2.
