The Heinkel He 162, Salamander, was a WW2, German, turbojet fighter. Designed by Ernst Heinkel, it first flew on December 6, 1944. It entered service with the Luftwaffe on January 24, 1945. By mid February, 100 He 162A-2 aircraft had already been produced. Its first operational unit was the I/JG-1 (Jagdgeschwader-1), under the command of famous war ace Heinz Bär.
The Heinkel He 162 was used in combat for the first time on April 19, 1945. The German pilot of this jet fighter, Günther Kirchner, shot down a RAF Hawker Tempest aircraft. But later on the same day, the He 162 would be shot down by another Hawker Tempest as it was about to touch down on an airbase landing strip. At the end of the war, when the British Army forces closed in on the German airbases, the Jagdgeschwader-1 pilots surrendered and gave their jet aircraft over to the British.
Technical Characteristics
The Heinkel 162 was a single-seat, single-engine monoplane. It was fitted with straight shoulder wing and an all-metal fuselage. The 'V'-shaped tailplane had twin fins and the plane had a rather odd configuration as it was the first jet aircraft in history to have its engine mounted on top of the fuselage. It had retractable landing gear, with its wheels folding backwards. Its power plant consisted of one BMW 003E-1 axial-flow turbojet.
Specifications
Type: jet fighter
Length: 9.05 m (29 ft, 8 in)
Wingspan: 7.20 m (23.6 ft)
Wing Area: 11.20 square meters (120 sq. ft)
Height: 2.60 m (8 ft, 6 in)
Maximum Speed: 890 km/h (553 mph), using short burst extra thrust.
Range: 620 km (385 miles).
Weapons: two 20mm MG-151 cannons, set up in forward fuselage, with 120 rounds each.
Below, the Heinkel He 162 prototypes in December 1944
The Heinkel He 162A-2 fighter in service with the Jagdgeschwader 1 squadron of the Luftwaffe. Photo taken in late May 1945, right after the war.
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