The Hs 126 was a development of the Hs 122. With a parasol wing and thin, fixed landing gear, the plane looked fragile but proved to be durable in survice. A handful of planes were used in the late stages of the Spanish Civil War and several were sent to Greece in 1940, where they were destroyed by the Italians when they invaded.
The Hs 126 was primarily used on the Eastern Front, where it's vulnerability to modern fighters was less of an issue, although it also saw service in the Balkans and North Africa. Although replaced by the Fw 189, the Hs 126 continued to serve several roles, including recon, ground support and glider towing. In the late stages of the war, those still left (some 200) were used for night boming. Some 800 (most of them B-1's) were built from 1936 to 1941.
The Hs 126 burns 28.5 gallons of fuel per hour at routine usage.
Henschel Hs 126B-1
Subassemblies: Medium Fighter chassis +3, Heavy Fighter Wings
with STOL option +2, three fixed wheels +0.
Powertrain: 634-kW aerial HP gas engine with 634-kW prop and
120-gallon self-sealing tank [Body]
Occupancy: 2 CS. Cargo: 2.2 Body
| Armor | F | R/L | B | T | U |
| All | 2/4 | 2/4 | 2/4 | 2/4 | 2/4 |
| Pilot | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/+20 | 0/0 | 0/+15 |
| Observer | 0/+20 | 0/0 | 0/+10 | 0/0 | 0/+15 |
Weaponry
Aircraft LMG/MG 17 [Body:F] (500 rounds)
Aircraft LMG/MG 15 [Body:R] (975 rounds)
Equipment
Body: Medium range radio transmitter and receiver, navigation
instruments, autopilot, 110-lb bomb bay, 110-lb hardpoint.
Statistics
| Size: 36'x48'x12' | Payload : 0.7 tons | Lwt: 2.84 tons |
| Volume: 224 | Maint.: 51 hours | Price: $15,600 |
HT: 9
HP: 120 [body], 120 [each wing], 12 [each wheel]
| aSpeed: 221 | aAccel: 7 | aDecel: 35 | aMR: 8.75 | aSR: 1 |
Design Notes
Design aSpeed is 239 mph; the historical speed, as well as actual wing
area (341 sf), has been used. 1,500 rounds of ammo were purchased but the
historical amounts were used instead.
The bomb bay was located behind the observer and could hold either ten 22-lb bombs or a recon camera.
One armored crew station was split between the two crewmen. The rear armor for the pilot also serves as the forward armor for the observer.
Variants
The A-1 was generally similar, but mounted a 657-kW engine.
Some B-1's mounted 672-kW engines.