Editing Henschel Hs 129 (section)

===Hs 129 B-2===
During May 1942, deliveries of the new ''Hs 129 B-2'' model commenced, side by side with the B-1 (of which just 50 aircraft had been delivered at that point). By July 1943, (prior to the launch of [[Operation Citadel]], these were a total of five units of the ''Luftwaffe'' equipped with HS 129s.<ref name="Smith & Kay 3346">Smith and Kay 1972, pp. 334-336.</ref>

Initially, the only difference between the B-1 and B-2 models were changes to the fuel system – a host of other minor changes could be found almost at random on either model. These changes accumulated in the B-2 production line until they could eventually be told apart at a glance; the main differences being the removal of the mast for the radio antenna, the addition of a [[Radio direction finder|direction-finding]] [[Antenna (radio)|radio antenna]] loop, and shorter exhaust stacks on the engines.{{CN|date=December 2024}} In the field, the differences became more pronounced. The ''[[Rüstsatz]]'' field refit kits were renumbered and some were dropped, and in general, the Hs 129B-2/R2 aircraft in service with 4./[[Schlachtgeschwader 1]]{{Sfn | Munson | 1978 | p =  95}} received the upgraded cannon pack using a 30&nbsp;mm [[MK 103 cannon]] instead of the earlier MK 101. The MK 103 was effectively an upgraded MK 101 that was capable of increased muzzle velocity.<ref name="Smith & Kay 334">Smith and Kay 1972, p. 334.</ref>

By late 1942, reports were coming in about the ineffectiveness of the MK 101 against newer versions of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[T-34]] [[tank]]s.<ref name="Smith & Kay 3334">Smith and Kay 1972, pp. 333-334.</ref> One obvious solution would be to use the larger {{convert|3.7|cm|in|abbr=on|2}} [[BK 3,7]] (''Bordkanone'' 3,7), recently adapted from the ground-based [[3.7 cm Flak 18]]. These guns had already been converted into underwing pod-mounted weapons for the [[Junkers Ju 87G]] and found to be an effective weapon, despite the fact that only 12 shells per pod could be accommodated. When mounted on the Hs 129, the empty area behind the cockpit could be used for ammunition storage, greatly increasing the supply compared to the Ju.<ref name="Smith & Kay 337">Smith and Kay 1972, p. 337.</ref> The B-2/R3 package introduced the BK {{convert|3.7|cm|in|abbr=on|2}} automatic cannon, but relatively few aircraft were converted in favour of the B-2/R4 and B-3, mounting the BK 7.5.{{Sfn | Munson | 1978 | p = 95}}<ref name="Smith & Kay 3347">Smith and Kay 1972, pp. 334-337.</ref>