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He 111H-6, Gefechtsverband Kuhnley, Finland, July 1944
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He 111H-3 of 2./KGr 100 at Vannes, Brittany, in 1940/41
The He111 was a medium bomber that was also used in small numbers as civil transport. The early versions of the He 111 flew in the Spanish civil war in 1936. The He 111 was a good medium bomber, but suffered severely over England because of a lack of fighter protection as the Bf109s did not have the range to provide them with more than 20 minutes of protection. It was kept in production long after it should have been replaced, but the Luftwaffe suffered from a developmental plan for long range, heavy bombers. It basically had none, until much too late in the war when they were on the defensive. Production ceased in 1944 after more than 7300 aircraft. Compared with Allied medium bombers like the B-25 Mitchell, it was undergunned. With a crew of four, and later five, it had a nose gunner, a top gunner and a belly gunner. 
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