Editing Heinkel He 112 (section)

===The contest===
Trials of the competing aircraft for the RLM began at Reichlin in October 1935. The thick high-lift aerofoil and open cockpit of the He 112 generated more drag than the Bf 109, causing its performance to suffer despite being equipped with an identical engine. The Bf 109 prototype was able reach a top speed of {{cvt|467|km/h}} but the He 112 slower at {{cvt|440|km/h}}{{sfn|Forsyth|2012|p=Chapter 4}}{{sfn|Owen|2015|p=1 c.7}}). The He 112 had better ground handling and wingloading. The other two competing aircraft, the Arado Ar 80 and the parasol wing Focke-Wulf Fw 159, had problems and performed badly compared to the Bf 109 and the He 112; they were eliminated from any serious consideration.{{sfn|Forsyth|2012|p=}}{{sfn|Wilson|2007|p=100}} At the end of the trials, the aircraft were judged similar enough that both Messerschmitt and Heinkel were awarded contracts to produce ten prototypes for further testing and competitive trials.{{sfn|Forsyth|2012|p=Chapter 4}}{{sfn|Owen|2015|p=1 c.7}}

At this point, the He 112 was the favorite over the Bf 109, but opinions changed when the Bf 109 V2 arrived on 21 March. All the competitor aircraft had initially been equipped with the [[Rolls-Royce Kestrel]] engine due to the lack of the intended Jumo, but the Bf 109 V2 had the Jumo. From that point on, it started to outperform the He 112 in almost every way, including the Jumo-engined He 112 V2 from 15 April.

The He 112 had better turn performance due to its larger wing, but the Bf 109 was faster at all altitudes and had considerably better agility and aerobatic abilities. During spin tests on 2 March, the Bf 109 V2 showed no problems while the He 112 V2 crashed. Repairs were made to the aircraft and it was returned in April, but it crashed again and was written off. The V1 was then returned to Heinkel on 17 April and fitted with the V2's clipped wings.{{Citation needed|reason=cite needed for V2 crashing twice & V1 then being fitted with wings of V1|date=October 2009}}

Meanwhile, news came in that [[Supermarine]] had received a contract for full-scale production of the [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire]]. The Spitfire was far more advanced than any existing German aircraft and this caused a wave of concern in the high command of the ''Luftwaffe''. Time now took on as much importance as any quality of the winning aircraft itself, and the RLM was ready to put any reasonable design into production. That design was the Bf 109, which in addition to demonstrating better performance, was considerably easier to build due to fewer compound curves and simpler construction throughout. On 12 March RLM produced a document called ''Bf 109 Priority Procurement'' which indicated which aircraft was now preferred. There were some within the RLM who still favored the Heinkel design, and as a result the RLM then sent out contracts for 10 "zero series" aircraft from both companies.{{sfn|''Air International''|1989a|p=233}}{{sfn|Smith|Kay|1972|p=261}}

Testing continued until October, at which point some of the additional zero series aircraft had arrived. At the end of September, there were four He 112s being tested, yet none was a match for the Bf 109. From October on, the Bf 109 appears to have been selected as the winner of the contest. Although no clear date is given, in ''Stormy Life'' [[Ernst Udet]] himself delivered the news to Heinkel that the Bf 109 had entered series production in 1936. He is quoted as saying, "Pawn your crate off on the Turks or the Japanese or the Romanians. They'll lap it up." With a number of air forces looking to upgrade from biplanes and various designs from the early 1930s, the possibility for foreign sales was promising.