The Heinkel He 111 was one of the most numerous German bombers of the Second World War. Designed in the mid-1930s, the type persevered until 1945. In Spain, variants of the design saw service until 1973.

Second Sino-Japanese War

The first bomber version of the Heinkel He 111 to enter production was the He 111A-0, with a pre-production batch of 10 aircraft being ordered for service evaluation late in 1935. Performance of these aircraft, powered by two BMW VI engines, was disappointing, and the aircraft were rejected by the Luftwaffe. The government of the Chinese state of Canton was less picky and purchased six He 111A-0s, (also known as He 111Ks), taking delivery in mid-1936, the aircraft entering service with the Nationalist Chinese Air Force (which had taken over the Cantonese air force) in October–November 1936.Air International August 1987, p. 80.

Chinese use of the He 111 in the Sino-Japanese War-WWII that began on 7 July 1937 with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident was limited, operational use being at first delayed by a lack of suitable bombs. On the Chinese Heinkels first operational mission, a raid by five He 111s and six Martin 139 against Japanese forces near Shanghai, the inexperienced crews left the retractable ventral "dustbin" turrets extended, so the Heinkels could not keep up with the Martin bombers and their escorting fighters, and three of the five aircraft were shot down by Japanese fighters. On 25 August 1937, five Chinese Nationalist Air Force bombers of the 8th BG, 19th and 30th Squadrons consisting of three Heinkel He 111As and two Martin B-10s (Martin 139) respectively, flying from their base in Nanjing to Shanghai, successfully dropped their bombs on Japanese landing forces at Liuhe, Taicang northwest of Shanghai, however Japanese fighters pursued the bombers and shot up two of the Heinkels, forcing them to crash land; two crew members were killed on the ground by Japanese aircraft strafing at them. One He 111 was taken out of storage in December 1943, fitted with Wright Cyclone radial engines and converted to a transport aircraft.

Spanish Civil War The initial bomber force of the Condor Legion, the German volunteer force supporting Franco's Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War, was composed of Junkers Ju 52/3m bomber/transport aircraft. These proved vulnerable to Soviet supplied Polikarpov I-15 and I-16 fighters, with the Germans suffering heavy losses, and on 6 January 1937 it was decided to send some of Germany's latest bombers to Spain, both to allow evaluation of the new aircraft in operational conditions and to allow effective use against the Republicans. Four He 111Bs, together with four Dornier Do 17s and four Junkers Ju 86s arrived in Spain in February 1937, equipping a Staffel of Kampfgruppe 88.Hooton 1994, pp. 125–128.Air International August 1987, p. 81.

The Heinkels made their combat debut on 9 March 1937, when they attacked Republican held airfields in support of the Battle of Guadalajara.Hooton 1994, p. 128. The Heinkel proved superior to the two other German medium bombers, being both faster and carrying a heavier bombload. Initial losses in combat were low, and more deliveries from Germany allowed full re-equipment of Kampfgruppe 88 with the Heinkel by October 1937.Air International September 1987, p. 128. Further deliveries of the improved He 111E allowed some of the older He 111Bs to be passed to the Spanish Nationalists, who formed Grupo 10-G-25 in August 1938. In total, 94 Heinkels were delivered to the Condor Legion during the war. By the time the Spanish Civil War ended on 1 April 1939, 21 Heinkels had been lost to enemy action, with a further 15 lost in accidents and one destroyed by sabotage. The 58 remaining Heinkels were left behind and formed the backbone of the bombing force of the new Spanish State.Air International September 1987, pp. 129–130, 132.

The 25 He 111B and 33 He 111Es were supplemented late in 1939 with three He 111Js, which were used to fly weather reconnaissance flights, with three H models later being received from Germany for the same role, and a fourth aircraft received as a pattern aircraft for planned licence production. As World War II intensified in Europe, the Spanish Air Force suffered from fuel shortages, while the supply of spare parts for the He 111E's Jumo engines dried up, which resulted in most of the He 111Es being grounded from February 1942, placing a greater burden on the underpowered He 111Bs. The problems with the Jumo engines were solved by February 1946, however, allowing the He 111Es to return to regular service.

While CASA 2.111s (licence-built He 111H-16s) started to enter service in early 1950, the German-built aircraft continued in use as bombers, as the CASA-built aircraft's Jumo 211F engines (which had been found in a depot in France in 1949Cruz Air Enthusiast November/December 2000, p. 50.) proved to be unreliable.The He 111Bs were phased out by 1952, with the He 111Es remaining in use as a bomber until 1956. Another use for the elderly Heinkels was as a multi-engined trainer, with the last two German-built Heinkels, a He 111E and a He 111H remaining in use until 1958, with the final flight carried out at the Multi-engined Aircraft School at Jerez de la Frontera on 28 November 1958.

Five CASA 2.111 bombers (Spanish-built variants of the Heinkel He-111), bombed enemy positions during the Ifni War, while an equal number of CASA 352 transports (Spanish-built versions of the Junkers Ju 52/3m) dropped a force of 75 paratroopers into the outpost.

Second World War

Invasion of Poland and the Phoney war Five He 111 Geschwader were committed to the German invasion of Poland. Kampfgeschwader 1 (KG 1), Kampfgeschwader 4 (KG 4), Kampfgeschwader 26 (KG 26), Kampfgeschwader 27 (KG 27) and Kampfgeschwader 53 (KG 53). All, with the exception of KG 4 were committed to Luftflotte 1 under the command of Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring. operated under Luftflotte 4. The He 111 provided medium-high altitude interdiction and ground support missions for the German Army. The He 111 participated in the Battle of the Bzura when the Polish Army Poznań and Army Pomorze were virtually destroyed by aerial assault. It also participated extensively in the Siege of Warsaw. During the campaign the Luftwaffe had anticipated that its bombers would be able to defend themselves adequately. PZL P.11s "for all their limited firepower and aerodynamic limitations, were capable of handing out severe punishment when able to engage the bombers without interference".

During the period of the phoney war the He 111 was tasked with strategic bombing attacks over the North Sea and naval bases in the United Kingdom as a means of attacking the Royal Navy. On 9 November 1939, Adolf Hitler issued directive No. 9 which emphasised the target with most importance as the British navy. Mindful of the damaging blockade that hurt the German war effort in the First World War, the directive selected British port storage depots with particular reference to oil and grain facilities, mining British sea lanes and direct attacks on British merchant shipping. In October 1939 several sorties had been made to bomb the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow and the Firth of Forth. HMS Hood was a particular target. Interceptions were made by RAF Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane squadrons and suffered the odd losses. One significant incident took place on 22 February 1940. Kampfgeschwader 26 were ordered to attack fishing boats in the Dogger Bank region. The Kriegsmarine suspected they were being used as early warning vessels to report German warship movements in the North Sea, who at this time had made sorties to sink Allied merchant shipping. At the same time a German naval flotilla 1. Zerstörerflottille was sent into the area to disrupt Allied shipping. Lying between the German ships and the open sea was a massive minefield to prevent the Royal Navy from reaching the Heligoland Bight. Within the field lay a 6-mile (10-km) gap for the Germans to slip through. The liaison between the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe broke down. had not been told of the German destroyers' presence. Attacking from the He 111s sank the Leberecht Maas and the Max Schultz, with the loss of 600 German sailors.

Invasion of Norway The Heinkel formed the backbone of the Kampfwaffe in Operation Weserübung, the invasions of Denmark and Norway. , KG26 and KGr 100 were committed. The occupation of Denmark took less than 24 hours with minimal casualties and no aerial losses. The He 111s first task along with the Luftwaffe in general was to offset British Naval superiority in the North Sea. He 111s of KG 26 were to support the German Naval Task Force, composed of the heavy cruisers and Lützow, light cruiser , three E-Boats and eight minesweepers with 2,000 men to Oslo. were unable to prevent the sinking of Blücher at the Battle of Drøbak Sound by the Oscarsborg Fortress. focused on Drøbak since the other strong points were taken. Showered with SC 250 250 kg (550 lb) bombs, the Norwegians capitulated. Heinkel He 111s of KG 26 helped Junkers Ju 88s of KG 30 damage the battleship and sink the destroyer on 9 April.Hooton 2007, p. 34. With most of the country secure the He 111s participated in the Battles of Narvik and anti-shipping missions against Allied reinforcements being brought to Norway by sea in May–June 1940.

Invasion of France and the Low Countries The French Campaign opened on 10 May 1940. The He 111 Geschwader encountered scattered and uncoordinated Allied fighter resistance over the Netherlands and Belgium. On 14 May 1940, He 111s of KG 54 undertook the Rotterdam Blitz in which large portions of the city were destroyed after the 111s had dropped some 91 tonnes (100 tons) of bombs. The Dutch surrendered early the following morning, ending the Battle of the Netherlands. Most units suffered light to moderate losses in the early stages. The exception was KG 27, which suffered the heaviest losses of the He 111 Geschwader over the French sectors. By the end of the first day, seven He 111s were missing, two were written off and five damaged. The He 111s supported the dash to the English Channel and helped defeat the French forces at Sedan, the Allied counter-offensive at the Battle of Arras and assisted German siege forces during the Battle of Dunkirk. During the Sedan breakthrough, 3,940 sorties were flown against French positions by German bomber formations, the bulk of which were equipped with the He 111. The result was a French collapse that made the pincer move of Fall Gelb possible.Hooton Vol 1 2007, p. 65. The He 111 – with its heavier bomb load – was also tasked with the destruction of the French rail network in the Reims and Amiens regions. Their attacks were instrumental in preventing French reinforcements and retreats. Any French counter against the German forces left flank was impossible as a result. With the conclusion of Fall Gelb the He 111 units prepared for Fall Rot. Some 600 He 111s and Do 17s took part in Operation Paula which was aimed at the final destruction of French air power in and around Paris. The resulting combats and bombing failed to destroy what remained of the Armée de l'Air.Hooton 2007, pp. 83–84. From that point He 111 losses were light, with occasional exceptions. The He 111 had performed well, though losses were substantially higher than in any campaign before it. This was mainly due to its light defensive armament. This would be exposed during the Battle of Britain, the first major test of the He 111s poor defensive armament.

Battle of Britain