Heinkel He 100

The Heinkel He 100 was a single seat fighter design for the German Luftwaffe which had its first flight in January 1938. Despite being one of the fastest fighters at the time, it was not adopted by the Luftwaffe, which concentrated on the Messerschmitt Bf 109 instead. Approximately 19 prototypes and pre-production aircraft were constructed, but none entered service.

In a propaganda campaign, the pre-production He 100s were used to deceive Allied intelligence into believing that large number of the He 113 (as it was called in the campaign) were in service. Aircraft were re-painted several times in different markings, including as a night fighter to convince the Allies.

Once the Luftwaffe rejected the He 100, Heinkel was given permission to sell the fighter abroad. Prototypes V1, V2, V4, V5, V6 and V7 were sold to the Soviet Union, where its surface cooling system was of interest.

Japan purchase three D-0 pre-production aircraft and a licence. Although Hitachi built a plant for their construction, the start of the war in Europe meant that the jigs and plans never arrived.