Heinkel He 115

Profile Lotnicze 1
Zbigniew Lalak
Pegaz-Bis
ISBN 83-911863-0-X
66 Pages
Aviation Usk Price: $15.95

Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

The Heinkel He 115 was a classic float plane design, with twin floats, twin engines, a broad wing and a long greenhouse canopy. The excellent range and decent maneuverability of the type put it in service in just about every front where there was water. This book covers the history of this famous float plane, and covers it well.

The text is in both Polish and English, with the English running in a column next to the Polish. I like this style because by following the text in each column you can pick up a bit of Polish, which can be useful for reading those books that don't have an English translation. The book starts out with the origins of the He 115 and covers both the early testing and operations and the technical background of the type. In this same section the book talks about foreign use of the He 115, including Swedish, Norwegian, and Finnish service, among others.

The next section makes up the lion's share of the book and that covers the Luftwaffe operations of the He 115. From Greece to Norway the He 115 in German service is covered completely. General service plus anecdotal information makes this book a pleasure to read.

Finishing up the book is a section on colors and markings, including foreign operators as well as Luftwaffe service. This section is finished off by a set of scale drawings and some nicely done color profiles.

If you're interested in German float planes then you've surely heard of the He 115. This book will make an excellent addition to your library and you shouldn't pass it up, especially if you're thinking of building either the Matchbox or Revell kits of the plane.