README FOR HS-129 B-3

Thanks for downloading the Henschel HS-129 B-3

Civilopedia Text Entry:

#PRTO_HS129
^
^
^The Hs 129 was a heavily armoured ground support aircraft. The A series was underpowered, so the much-modified B used captured French engines. The Hs 129 had a cramped cockpit, poor performance, unreliable engines, and sluggish handling. Heavy armour and armament made the Hs 129 a capable anti-tank aircraft, but losses were high.  
^
^A city must have both $LINK<oil=GOOD_Oil> and $LINK<rubber=GOOD_rubber> in its
$LINK<Strategic Resource=GCON_ResourcesS> box to build the HS-129 B-3.
#DESC_HS129
^
^
^The Henschel Hs 129, often referred to by its nickname, the Panzerknacker, (tank cracker), was a World War II ground attack aircraft fielded by the Luftwaffe. Although likely to be a good anti-tank weapon, the plane was produced in only small numbers and deployed during a time when the Luftwaffe was unable to protect them from attack.
^
^
^By the middle of the 1930's the idea of using aircraft against ground targets had been "well understood" to be of little use other than hurting enemy morale. But the Condor Legion proved the opposite in Spain with attack planes like the Henschel Hs 123 and cannon-armed versions of the Heinkel He 112. Although these planes were poorly suited to the role, their powerful armament and fearless pilots proved that the aircraft was a very effective weapon even without bombs. This led the Luftwaffe to issue a tender for a new plane that was built specifically for the ground-attack role. The plane had to be heavily armored around the cockpit and engines, and include a 75 mm thick armored windscreen that had to be as close as possible to the nose in order to see the ground during low level strafing runs. One last requirement doomed the designs, they needed to be powered by "unimportant" engines of low power. Four companies were asked to respond, and only two of the resulting three entries were considered worthy of consideration; Focke-Wulf's conversion of their earlier Fw 189 reconnaissance plane, and Henschel's new Hs 129.
^
^
^Even by late 1942 complaints started about the MK103 against newer versions of the Soviet T-34 tanks. One solution would be to standardize on the larger 37 mm gun, itself adapted from an anti-tank gun that had recently been abandoned by the army. For some reason the Luftwaffe decided to skip over this gun (although it served perfectly well on the Ju 87), and install a 75 mm gun from the Panzer IV. A huge hydraulic system was used to damp the recoil of the gun, and an auto-loader system with twelve rounds was fitted in the large empty space behind the cockpit. The resulting system was able to knock out any tank in the world, but the weight slowed the already poor performance of the plane to barely flyable in this new Hs 129B-3 version. B-3's only started arriving in June 1944, and only 25 were delivered by the time the lines were shut down in September. A small number were also converted from older B-2 models. In the field they proved deadly weapons, but with only 25 of them they had no effect on the war effort.












PediaIcons Text Entries:

#ICON_PRTO_HS129
art\civilopedia\icons\units\HS129Large.pcx
art\civilopedia\icons\units\HS129Small.pcx

#ANIMNAME_PRTO_HS129
HS129

Suggested Stats:

Prerequisite:  Flight 
Shield Cost: 8
Moves: 1 Operational Range 5
A/D: 10/6 
Requires Support
Required Resources:  Oil, Rubber
Unit Abilities:  Immobile
AI Strategies:  Offence
Air Missions: Recon,Intercept, Rebase



Visit the Civ3 forums @ www.cdgroup.org
http://www.cdgroup.org/forums/tbs/civ3/