Heinkel He 72


The Heinkel He 72 Kadett was a German single-engine biplane trainer of the 1930s.

Development

The Kadett was designed in 1933 to meet an official requirement for a basic trainer. It was a single-bay biplane of fabric-covered, metal construction with open cockpits, a staggered wing, a strut-braced tail unit, and fixed tailskid undercarriage. The prototype was powered by a 104 kW Argus As 8B air-cooled inline engine.
The first production model, the He 72A retained the As 8B engine in early batches, but later production aircraft had a 112 kW As 8R. The He 72A was superseded by the He 72B, which was the major production version. This was powered by a 120 kW Siemens-Halske Sh 14A radial.
The He 72B was produced as the He 72B-1 landplane and He 72BW Seekadett twin-float seaplane. The civil development was the He 72B-3 Edelkadett.

Operational history

The Kadett entered service with National Socialist Flyers Corps before the formation of the Luftwaffe. Later, it became a standard basic trainer with the Luftwaffe. Slovak forces used it in the attack role.

Variants