Warplanes of Germany: Luftwaffe Heinkel He 162

Deutsche Kampfflugzeuge der Luftwaffe 1939-1945: Heinkel He 162

German Warplanes flown by the Luftwaffe 1939-1945: Heinkel He 162

During and after the end of the Second War a number of German Warplanes were captured and evaluated by the Allied forces.  Most of these aircraft were later scrapped and therefore only a handful have survived.  This is a partial list of He 219 aircraft that were known to have been flown by the Luftwaffe.

Während und nach dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs wurden eine Reihe deutscher Kampfflugzeuge von den Alliierten erbeutet und ausgewertet.  Die meisten dieser Flugzeuge wurden später verschrottet und daher haben nur eine Handvoll überlebt. Dies ist eine unvollständige Liste von He 162 Flugzeugen, von denen bekannt war, dass sie von der Luftwaffe geflogen wurden.

Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger

(USAAF Photo)

Heinkel He 162A-2 Spatz (Sparrow),Volksjager (Wk. Nr. 120230), coded White 23, 1/JG1, painted (Wk. Nr. 120222), USA FE-504, later T2-504, with the tail of (Wk. Nr. 120222). National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Washington Dulles International Airport, Chantilly, Virginia.

The Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger (German, "People's Fighter") was a German single-engine, jet-powered fighter aircraft fielded by the Luftwaffe late in World War II. Developed under the Emergency Fighter Program, it was designed and built quickly and made primarily of wood as metals were in very short supply and prioritised for other aircraft. Volksjäger was the Reich Air Ministry's official name for the government design program competition won by the He 162 design. Other names given to the plane include Salamander, which was the codename of its wing-construction program, and Spatz ("Sparrow"), which was the name given to the plane by the Heinkel aviation firm.

The He 162 was notable for its small size. It had a distinctive top-mounted engine which, combined with the aircraft's low landing gear, allowed the engine to be easily accessed for maintenance. This made bailing out of the aircraft without hitting the engine difficult, and the He 162 was the first single-engine aircraft provided with an ejection seat in an operational setting. The small size left little room for fuel, which combined with the inefficient engine resulted in very low endurance - in the order of 20 minutes - and it only had room for two autocannon, making it relatively underarmed for the era.

A series of fatal accidents during testing required a series of refinements that delayed the program. Although production lines were set up and deliveries began in early 1945, the impending defeat of Germany by that time made the effort pointless. Of nearly 1,000 aircraft on the assembly lines, only about 120 were delivered to the airfields and most of those never flew, usually due to shortages of parts, fuel, and pilots. Small numbers were used in development squadrons and these ultimately saw combat in a few cases during April 1945, yet the He 162 also proved to be quite dangerous to its own pilots as its tiny fuel load led to a number of aircraft crashing off field, while additional losses were attributed to structural failure.

Production was still running when the war ended in May 1945. Numerous aircraft were captured by the Allied forces along with ample supplies of parts from the production lines. Eric Brown flew one just after the war and considered it a first-rate aircraft with few vices. Several He 162s have been preserved in museum collections around the world. (Wikipedia).

(USAAF Photo)

Heinkel He 162 aircraft in a large underground factory at Hinterbruhl, Germany in April 1945.  United States Ninth Army troops found these nearly completed aircraft in a former salt mine near Engels.  Built 300 metres underground, a large elevator was used to bring the aircraft to the surface.

(Luftwaffe Photos)

Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger, (Wk. Nr. 200001), left and another, right, in their factory finish paint schemes.

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Heinkel He 162A-2, White 3, Erproungskommando 162.  The He 162A-2 Volksjäger or “People’s Fighter” was also known as Salamander, which was the code name of its construction program, and Spatz (“Sparrow”), which was the name given to the aircraft by the Heinkel company.

Heinkel He 162A-2, (Wk. Nr. 120221) captured at captured at Leck, Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Designated RAF AM58, this aircraft was scrapped at Farnborough in 1946.

(RAF Photo)

Heinkel He 162A-2, RAF (Serial No. VH513) flyover at Farnborough, 1946.

(Author Photo)

(CA&SM Photo)

(Ra Boe Photos)

(Ziko Photo)

Heinkel He 162A-2, (Wk. Nr. 120076), "Yellow 4", captured at captured at Leck, Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.  Designated RAF AM59, later RAF Serial No. VH523, this aircraft was held by the Canada Air and Space Museum in Ottawa.  It was traded to Aero Vintage in the UK for a Bristol Fighter (G-AANM, D-7889) in December 2006.  Wk. Nr. 120076 is now on display at the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin, Germany.

(Duch Photo)

(Eric Salard Photo)

Heinkel He 162A-2 (Wk. Nr. 120015), Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace, Le Bourget, Seine-Saint-Denis, Île-de-France, France.

Heinkel He 162A-2, (Wk. Nr. 120074), White 11, 20, captured at captured at Leck, Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.  Designated RAF AM60, this aircraft was scrapped at Brize Norton in 1947.  (RAF Photo)

Heinkel He 162A-2, (Wk. Nr. 120086), Yellow 2, JG1, captured at captured at Leck, Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.  Designated RAF AM62, this aircraft was on display in Hyde Park, London, England post war.  This aircraft was later shipped to Canada and is on display in the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. (RAF Photo)

(Author Photos)

Heinkel He 162A-2 Volksjäger, (Wk. Nr. 120086), coded "Yellow 2", JG1, designated RAF AM62, currently on display in the Canada Air and Space Museum, Ottawa, Ontario.  This aircraft surrendered at Leck, and was moved to Farnborough by surface transport on 22 August 1945.  AM 62 was allocated to No. 47 MU, Sealand, on 29 May 1946 for packing and shipping to Canada.  It also left Salford Docks on 26 August aboard SS Manchester Commerce, arriving at Montréal on 9 September 1946.  It has been in the CASM since 1964.

(AWM Photos)

Heinkel He 162A-2, (Wk. Nr. 120095), captured at captured at Leck, Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.  Designated RAF AM63, this aircraft is shown here on display in the UK post war.  It was scrapped at Brize Norton in 1947.

(RAF Photo)

Heinkel He 162A-2 (Wr. Nr. 120097) in the indoor part of RAE Farnborough’s exhibition of enemy aircraft Oct-Nov 1945.

(Kogo Photo)

(Clemens Vasters Photo)

(Dapi99 Photo)

(Clemens Vasters Photo)

Heinkel He 162A-2, (Wk. Nr. 120227) of JG 1, captured at captured at Leck, Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.  Designated RAF AM65, later VN629 this aircraft was brought to Farnborough by surface transport on 31 July 1945.  It was not flown by the RAF.  It is currently on display in the RAF Museum, Hendon, England.

(Tony Hisgett Photo)

(Alan Wilson Photo)

Heinkel He 162A-1, (Wk. Nr. 120235), originally coded Red 6, now painted coded Yellow 6, JG1, was captured at captured at Leck, Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.  This aircraft was not initially allocated an Air Ministry number, likely because it was intended for use as a ballistics target.  It has reportedly later designated RAF AM68.  Initially on display at RAF Cranwell it was transferred to the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth in London, but is now on display at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England.

(USAAF Photo)

Heinkel He 162, 27, damaged at the end of the war, captured by American forces in May 1945.

(USAAF Photos)

Heinkel He 162 A-2, (Wk. Nr. 120077), "Red 1" being test flown as USA FE-489, later T2-489.  This aircraft is now with the Planes of Fame Museum, Chino, California.

(kitmasterbloke Photo)

(Alan Wilson Photo)

(Goshimini Photo)

Heinkel He 162A-2, (Wk. Nr. 120077) "Nervenklau" is currently owned by the Planes of Fame Museum and is on static display at Chino, California.  This aircraft was sent to the United States in 1945 where it was given the designation USA FE-489 (Foreign Equipment No. 489) and later T2-489.

(USAAF Photos)

Heinkel He 162A-1, fuselage (Wk. Nr. 120222), coded White 4, later repainted Yellow 7, USA FE-493, later T2-493, at USAAF Depot Y76 Kassel, Germany before shipment to the USA.

(USAAF Photo)

Heinkel He 162A-1, fuselage (Wk. Nr. 120222), originally coded White 4, repainted Yellow 7, USA FE-493, later T2-493, with a wing from He 162A-1 (Wk. Nr. 120067), at Freeman Field, Seymour, Indiana Ohio post-war.

(RAF Photo)

Heinkel He 162A-2, (Wk. Nr. 120230), coded White 23, 1/JG1, captured by the British at captured at Leck, Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany in May 1945. Transferred by the RAF to the USA, coded USA FE-504, later T2-504, this aircraft is now with the NASM.

(USAAF Photos)

Heinkel He 162A-2 Spatz (Sparrow),Volksjager (Wk. Nr. 120230), coded White 23, 1/JG1, painted (Wk. Nr. 120222), USA FE-504, later T2-504, with the tail of (Wk. Nr. 120222).  This aircraft is stored with the National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Washington Dulles International Airport, Chantilly, Virginia.  This aircraft was one of thirty-one JG 1 aircraft manufactured by Heinkel at Rostock-Marienehe and captured by the British at captured at Leck, Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany on 8 May 1945.  It was painted with the number White 23, and its red-white-black nose bands were in reverse order from the usual paint scheme, which may indicate that the wing commander and high-scoring ace, Col Herbert Ihlefeld, flew this particular aircraft.  After transfer to Britain, the US Army Air Forces accepted the airplane and shipped it to Wright Field, Ohio, for evaluation. It received the foreign equipment number FE-504, later T2-504, and was later moved to Freeman Field, Indiana.  For unknown reasons, mechanics replaced the tail unit at Wright Field with the tail unit of aircraft Wk. Nr. 120222.  FE-504/T2-504 was apparently never flown.  Its flying days ended permanently when someone at Freeman Field neatly sawed through the outer wing panels sometime before September 1946.  The wings were reattached with door hinges and the jet was shipped to air shows and military displays around the country.  The US Air Force transferred the aircraft to the Smithsonian Institution in 1949 but it remained in storage at Park Ridge, Illinois, until transfer to the Garber Facility in January 1955. National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Washington Dulles International Airport, Chantilly, Virginia.

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