The German Luftwaffe adopted the He 59 as a torpedo bomber and maritime reconnaissance platform. In time, these roles broadened to also include mine-laying, general transport, search/rescue, and pilot training. A collection of these aircraft were used by the German Condor Legion operating during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), the war proving a testbed of sorts for new German equipment such as the famous Messerschmitt Bf 109 monoplane fighter. When World War found Europe once more in September of 1939, the aircraft was again pressed into its base torpedo attack role with mine-laying duties as well. Reconnaissance sorties were peppered throughout its early service career before the line was used in the other listed roles heading into 1942. The Finnish Air Force operated no more than four of the type in the reconnaissance role and this only for a short while in 1943. By 1944, the series had met its technological and operational end - heavily outclassed by new breeds of floatplanes and intercepting monoplane fighters of the enemy.
In practice, the He 59 was regarded as a good handling aircraft though not without fault in its design. The engines - 2 x BMW VI ZU V12 liquid-cooled engines of 660 horsepower each - were deemed underpowered for the airframe and thusly performance was never up to par. Performance specifications included a maximum speed of 137 miles per hour with cruising speeds in the 115mph range. Operational ranges (585 base miles, 950 miles ferry) were another limiting quality that forced reliance on auxiliary fuel tanks for increased service reaches. The aircraft's service ceiling reached 11,480 feet. Armament was another noted deficiency of the product - 3 x 7.92mm MG 15 machine guns were used in defensive positions at the nose, dorsal, and ventral areas. The offensive-minded bomb load equaled 2,200lb of conventional drop bombs or a single 1,764lb torpedo. Generally slow and plodding, the He 59 could easily fall victim to Allied fighters or warships happening to come across it.
Heinkel built several variants of its He 59 product led by the He 59a and He 59a "one-off" prototypes. He 59A were fourteen test aircraft He 59B-1 served as sixteen preproduction mounts. The He 59B-2 was an improved form and He 59B-3 became a reconnaissance minded variant. He 59C-1 was an unarmed trainer followed by He 59C-2 as an Air-Sea rescue aircraft outfitted with appropriate equipment. He 59D-1 was a "combination" mark that included the facilities and functionality of both the C-1 and C-2 variants. He 59E-1 was a dedicated torpedo bomber trainer and He 59E-2 a reconnaissance trainer. Similarly He 59N served in navigation training and were converted through a stock of existing He 59D-1 airframes.
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