The He 50aL was redesignated He 50 V1 and demonstrated to the German Defence Ministry in 1932.
In spring 1943, following the success of the Soviet VVS's Night Witches units against the Wehrmacht Heers frontline encampments while flying their Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes on nocturnal harassment raids, surviving He 50s were rounded up from training schools and delivered to night ground attack units operating on the Eastern Front.