The Heinkel He 45 was a light bomber produced in Germany in the early 1930s, one of the first aircraft adopted by the newly formed Luftwaffe. Its appearance was that of a conventional biplane and included seating for pilot and gunner in tandem, open cockpits. Developed in parallel with the He 46, it appeared in 1931 as a general-purpose biplane and was employed mainly as a trainer, but was also used by the Luftwaffe for reconnaissance and light bombing duties. Production of this plane totalled 512 aircraft, including those built under licence by Gotha, Focke-Wulf, and BFW. Variants He 45a First prototype, powered by a BMW VI 7,3Z piston engine. He 45b Second prototype, fitted with four-blade propeller. He 45c Third prototype, armed with one 7.92 mm (.312 in) forward-firing MG 17 machine gun, and one 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun in the rear cockpit. He 45A Initial production version. He 45A-1 Training version. He 45A-2 Reconnaissance version. He 45B Improved production version. He 45B-1 Reconnaissance version, armed with a 7.92 mm (0.312 in) machine gun. He 45B-2 Able to carry a 100 kg (220 lb) bombload. He 45C Production version of the He 45c. He 45D Slightly improved version. Similar to the He 45C. HD 61a Reconnaissance export version of He 45B intended for China, powered by a 492 kW (660 hp) BMW VI piston engine. Operators Bulgarian Air Force One HD 61a tested and crashed during a demonstration on 22 August 1931. Luftwaffe Royal Hungarian Air Force operated a single He 45C. Spanish Air Force Specifications (He 45C) See also References Notes Bibliography Biplanes Heinkel He 045 He 045 Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1931