Heinkel

Heinkel Flugzeugwerke, commonly referred to simply as Heinkel, was a German aircraft manufacturer established in 1922 by Ernst Heinkel. The company produced a wide range of aircraft for civil and military use from the interwar period through World War II. In the 1920s and 1930s, Heinkel built successful civil aircraft such as the He 60 biplane and the He 70 streamlined mail plane, later developing a family of airliners and trainer aircraft.

For military production, Heinkel contributed a number of designs for the Luftwaffe, including bombers and fighters. Notably, the company built the He 111 medium bomber, which saw widespread use during the war, along with a range of experimental and operational aircraft. Heinkel also played a role in the early jet era, with the He 178 becoming the first jet-powered aircraft to fly in 1939. Later in the war, Heinkel developed the He 162 Volksjäger, a lightweight jet fighter produced under a wartime emergency program.

After World War II, German aircraft production was severely restricted by Allied authorities, and Heinkel’s aviation activities were largely curtailed. The company was dissolved and its assets redistributed; the Heinkel name survived in subsequent aerospace-related ventures through licensing and legacy holdings.

Today, Heinkel is remembered as a major early 20th-century aircraft manufacturer, noted for innovations in aerodynamics and propulsion and for its role in the development of jet aircraft in Germany. Its designs are part of aviation history, with several surviving airframes and museums preserving examples of Heinkel aircraft.