The Heinkel He 70 caught the eye of the rebuilding German Luftwaffe, they themselves ordering and receiving deliveries of a communications-minded He 70D model. From there, the type was evolved into a three-man light bomber (He 70E) and a three-man reconnaissance/courier model (He 70F). A long-range reconnaissance model existed under the He 70F-1 and He 70F-2 marks. At least 28 He 70s served with the Condor Legion in the Spanish Civil War, this conflict essentially a test-bed for such German war machines as the Panzer tank, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter (Heinkel's own He 112 fighter competed unsuccessfully for this fighter contract) and the Dornier Do 17 medium bomber. After Germany's involvement there ended, some eleven Condor Legion aircraft were passed on to the Ejercito del Aire of Spain.
While the He 70 proved a solid aircraft in her own right, the system was not without some major flaws. Dominant of these was the aircraft's tendency to burst into flames when hit, this owing to its magnesium airframe which combusted when heated in the air. Crews were generally quite unlucky if their aircraft were to catch fire, the blaze quickly engulfing crew and aircraft alike. Additionally, as impressive as the He 70 was by early 1930s standards, it became clearly outclassed by the middle of the decade and the type was relegated to secondary roles or retired altogether, replaced by the newer breed of aircraft coming online in time for World War.
By the time of World War 2, the heydays of the He 70 were behind her. She was used by the German Luftwaffe primarily as a trainer by then. It is of note that the He 70 was also delivered to the Empire of Japan for evaluation, resulting in the Aichi D3A "Val" light bomber of the IJN. Heinkel and the Empire would meet on such common ground on several more occasions before the war negated such exchange of ideas and technology.
In the end, over 320 examples were produced in all, both in military and civilian forms and included license production of the type in Hungary as the He 70K/He 170A. Eighteen German He 70s were also delivered to Hungary between 1937 and 1938, though these were fitted with the Gnome-Rhone 14K Mistral Major engine. Armament for these Hungarian exports included a pair of 7.8mm Gebauer machine guns. As the combustible issue became well-known, the Hungarians also retired their He 70s lesser types until Germany could deliver a more modern product.
The British firm of Rolls-Royce purchased at least one He 70G to be used as a flying laboratory of sorts in the testing of various powerplants. The cabin aboard the He 70 served this purpose well for engineers and equipment could be held onboard and monitor performance in real time while in flight. The purchase through the RLM was made in exchange for four Kestrel engines.
Heinkel's other wartime design, the better-known He 111 medium bomber, was born from the lessons learned in the He 70. Looking at the two designs side-by-side, the similarities are apparent, particularly the elliptical planform, quite a difference from the bombers developed by Junkers and Dornier in that same span.
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