In 1936 the Heinkel He 112 lost out to the Messerschmitt Bf109 as the selected Luftwaffe fighter. Following this loss, Heinkel began development of a new high-speed fighter as a private venture.

The new aircraft incorporated many advanced features such as surface cooling replacing radiators. The engine was directly mounted to the front of the fuselage negating the need for engine spars.

The prototypes were extremely fast. The second prototype broke the world speed record over 100Km and the eighth prototype broke the world absolute speed record, before being surpassed by the Me209 four weeks later.

During record attempts the aircraft was designated as the He112U.

During the war, the aircraft was often photographed wearing different markings for propaganda purposes.

The new wonder fighter, the He113 was often reported as being encountered by Allied pilots but it was never used in combat.

Special Hobby 1/72 kit completed by Steve Pulbrook in 2011.