a factory defense unit, flown by Heinkel test pilots (all civilians). The planes never saw action in the role, and were replaced with He 100s and then exported. Japan In 1937 the Japanese Imperial Navy found itself at a disadvantage in combat over the Chinese mainland. The fact that Navy aircraft were fighting over the mainland might seem odd, but interservice rivalry in Japan went beyond the occasional bar brawl and both services fielded complete air forces with their own types of planes. At the time the Navy air services were small and equipped mostly with older biplanes. Meanwhile, the Soviets were supplying the Chinese air forces with the Polikarpov I-15bis and Polikarpov I-16 fighters. Although the new Mitsubishi A5M was largely similar to the I-16, they were just starting to enter service and available in small numbers only. The Navy was concerned about the lack of fighters and went looking for new designs that could be purchased off the shelf to bring the squadrons to strength quickly. At the time the majority of modern design work was taking place in Europe, and with England no longer on friendly terms, they turned to Germany for a new fighter. In late 1937 a delegation visited the Heinkel plant in Marienehe and saw V9 in action. They were impressed and placed an order for thirty of the B series planes, with an option for 100 more. They even purchased one of the older designs to take back with them immediately (according to the primary source below, this was the V5). Upon arriving in Japan the planes were named A7He1, the A7 refers to the 7th navy fighter design (the Mitsubishi Zero was 6th), and the He1 means it is the first version of this particular design, built by Heinkel. In testing the He 112B proved superior to the A5M2 in many ways, notably in speed where the 112 could easily outrun the A5M by 65 km/h. Yet the test pilots rejected the plane out of hand because the A5M was more maneuverable. Maneuverability was considered to be the single most important factor for any fighter among the IJN pilots; everything and anything was sacrificed to improve it. It could be said that the Japanese were still fighting World War I in the air, and the focus on maneuverability would later prove to be the downfall of their air forces. In the end