Book Heinkel He 115 Developmental and Operational History 1937-1952 - CHANDOS PUBLICATIONS.The Heinkel He 115 has been misrepresented in the literature over the years to a far greater extent than almost any other type of aircraft built in similarly small numbers. It was an excellent and solid design, but its history is full of irony. Before World War II, the almost universal introduction of retractable aircraft undercarriages placed seaplanes at an insurmountable disadvantage compared to land-based airplanes. This inherent handicap made the He 115 semi-obsolete even though it entered service late in 1939. Göring's decision to give the Luftwaffe responsibility for the aerial minelayer, and then the vast majority of the torpedo attack role, meant that by the second half of 1941 the surviving He 115s were segregated into a handful of Lufttorpedo Staffeln, with the last of the design, for lack of a better alternative, serving on the front lines until early 1944. Perhaps the most remarkable part of its history is this, obsolete anachronism notwithstanding, the He 115 was unique in that it was the only twin-engine seaplane that ever launched aerial torpedoes in anger during World War II, and it did so in quantity.With an extremely detailed history of production and service (including service with other nations and postwar service), as well as specially commissioned drawings, color profiles, photographs from private collections, and accurate casualty lists, this volume draws information from a wide variety of sources in order to eliminate mythologies and present the reality of the He 115's life and service career in greater detail and accuracy than ever before.Layout: 392Size -A4 Images - 700+Color Profiles - 130+Other - Highly accurate scale drawings based on surviving airframes of the aircraft, production and loss lists in addition to examination of Stammkennzeichen, color maps.