The Hs 129 was developed to a 1937 requirement for a twin-engine ground attack aircraft mounting at least two 20mm cannons and with heavy armor for the pilot and engines. The initial prototypes, flown in 1939, were underpowered but Henschel ended up with the contract since their design was cheaper and smaller than the closest competetor (the Fw 189C). The type first saw action in the spring of 1942; most were used on the Eastern Front, but many saw service in North Africa, Italy and, after the Normady landings, France.
The plane was not considered a good plane to fly; the cockpit was extremely cramped (with some instruments outside the cockpit) and the joystick was hard to use. The Hs 129 was also slower and less agile than the Ju 87D. However, the armor and armament helped to make up for this. Despite these problems, the 879 Hs 129s built proved important to Germany on the Eastern Front.
The Hs 129 uses 46.4 gallons of fuel per hour at routine useage.
Subassemblies: Medium Fighter Body with Good streamlining +3,
Light Fighter-Bomber Wings +3, two Small AFV Pods +3, three retractable
wheels +0
Powertrain: two 515-kW aerial HP gasoline engine with two 515-kW
aerial propeller and 135 gallon self-sealing fuel tanks [Wings and Body];
8,000-kWs batteries
Occ: 1 CS
Cargo: 17.8 Body, 4.5 each Pod, 4.9 Wings
| Armor | F | R/L | B | T | U |
| Body | 3/7 | 3/7 | 3/7 | 3/7 | 3/7 |
| Wings | 3/7 | 3/7 | 3/7 | 3/7 | 3/7 |
| Pods | 3/10 | 3/10 | 3/10 | 3/10 | 3/10 |
| Cockpit | 0/+40 | 0/+30 | 0/+30 | 0/+10 | 0/+40 |
Weaponry
2*Aircraft LMG/7.92mm MG 17 [Body:F] (500 rounds each)
2*20mm Medium Aircraft ACs/MG 151/20 [Body:F] (125 rounds each)
Each pair fires linked; additional link fires all four.
Equipment
Body: medium range radio receiver and transmitter, autopilot,
navigation instruments, 550-lb hardpoint. Wings: one 110-lb hardpoint
each.
Statistics
| Size: 32'x47'x11' | Payload: 0.9 tons | Lwt: 5.5 tons |
| Volume: | Maint.: 33 hours | Price: $37,400 |
HT: 7
HP: 120 [body], 120 [each wing], 150 [each pod]
| aSpeed: 253 | aAccel: 12 | aDecel: 12 | aMR: 3.75 | aSR: 2 |
| Stall: 82 mph |
Design Notes
Design speed was 263 mph. The historical value has been subsituted
for this, as well as wing area (312 sf).
The wing racks were left empty if any ordnance was carried under the fuselage, due to weight restrictions. Underwing ordnance consisted of SC 50 bombs (1 per hardpoint), SD 2 antipersonnel bombs (48 per hardpoint) or SD 4 hollow-charge bomblets (2 boxes). Hs 129's with an available fuselage hardpoint could use it to mount the equivalent of two underwing hardpoints.
Variants:
Hs 129B-1/R1: No fuselage hardpoint.
Hs 129B-1/R2: Added a 30mm Mk 101 cannon with 30 rounds in a
tray under the fuselage. No fuselage hardpoint.
Hs 129B-1/R3: Added four MG 17's with 250 rounds per gun in
a tray under the fuselage. No fuselage hardpoint.
Hs 129B-1/R5: Added a Rb 50/30 camera for reconnaissence duties.
No fuselage hardpoint.
Hs 129B-2/R1: Replaced the two nose MG 17's with two 13mm MG
131's. The first B-2's saw action in early 1943 against the Soviets.
Hs 129B-2/R2: As B-2/R1, but added 30mm Mk 103 cannon with 30
rounds in a tray under the fuselage.
Hs 129B-2/R3: As B-2/R2, but use a 37mm BK 3.7 gun instead.
Hs 129B-2/R4: As B-2/R2, but mounted a 75mm Pak 40L in an underfuselage
pod with 12 rounds. Weight and stall speed increased to 6.9 tons and 91
mph, respectvely, and aMR dropped to 3.
Hs 129B-3/Wa: As B-2/R4, but with the 75mm BK 7.5 cannon and
26 rounds instead. The pod could be jettisoned in an emergency. Only 25
were made, due to the gun being too much for the airframe and disruption
from Allied bombing.
Hs 129C: This planned upgrade would have used two 627-kW Italian
engines and had a limited traverse ventral turret with two 30mm Mk 103
cannons. The design was dropped after Italy surrendered and the engines
became unavailable.