The Heinkel He 70 Blitz (lightning) was designed in the early 1930s to serve as a mail plane for Deutsche Lufthansa in response to a request for an aircraft faster than the Lockheed Vega and Orion used by Swissair for on short routes.

It was a low-wing monoplane, with the main characteristic of its design being its elliptical wing and its small, rounded control surfaces. In order to meet the demanding speed requirements, the design minimised drag with smooth plywood flying surfaces, flush rivets in metal areas, and a retractable undercarriage. It was powered by a liquid cooled BMW VI V12, cooled by ethylene glycol rather than water, allowing a smaller radiator to be used, and therefore reduce drag. The pilot and radio operator were seated in tandem, with a cabin housing four passengers on two double seats facing each other.

The first prototype flew on 1 December 1932, and proved to have excellent performance, setting eight world records for speed over distance, and reaching a maximum speed of 377 km/h (222 mph).

Lufthansa operated He 70s between 1934 and 1937 for a fast flight service which connected Berlin with Frankfurt, Hamburg and Cologne. He 70s were flown abroad from Stuttgart to Seville between 1934 and 1936. The route was part of the South America mail service provided by Lufthansa that continued using Junkers Ju 52/3m and Dornier Wal flying boats. Remaining aircraft were transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1937.

Twenty-eight aircraft were sent with the Legion Condor, where they were used during the Spanish Civil War as fast reconnaissance aircraft. The Luftwaffe operated He 70s from 1935, initially as a light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. As soon as purpose build designs became available, it was relegated as a liaison and courier aircraft.

The He 70K was a Hungarian license-built reconnaissance variant powered by a WM-K-14 radial engine, and later named He 170. It was used between 1941-42, then retired from operational service due to its propensity to catch fire when atcaked, poor defensive armament, short range, and poor view from the cockpit. It was and replaced in Hungarian service by the obsolete He 46, until Bf 109 and Fw 189 aircraft were available to take over the reconnaissance role.

Scale: 1:72
Number of parts: 75
SKU 4009803890821
Shipping Weight 0.2000kg
Shipping Width 0.160m
Shipping Height 0.040m
Shipping Length 0.250m
Shipping Cubic 0.001600000m3
Type HOBBIES-MODELS

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