The He-162 is a much maligned jet fighter that was the result of panic in the last months of the war. It resulted from poor RLM (Air Ministry) oversidght of the jet program combined with the totally ridiculous politically driven 'Volksjäger' (peoples' fighter) program that envisioned cheap jet fighters built largely of wood being flown by kids given a crash course in flying using He-162 style gliders then sent off to combat. It would have been mass murder. The aircraft had wooden wings to reduce demands on increasingly scarce aluminium and a metal fuselage. (When I was there in September 2023, they were restoring an He-162 at IWM Duxford and the single-piece wooden wings had been removed and could be seen closeup). It was powered by a BMW-109-003 axial flow turbojet and carried 2 x 20mm cannon. That it first flew around 90 days after it was given the RLM green light masks the fact that Heinkel and other aircraft builders had been involved for over a year with ever changing RLM requirements for a single jet fighter that would be cheaper to build than the twin jet Me-262 that actually did see active service. It used many parts adapted from existing aircraft, like the main undercarriage which came from the Messerschmitt Bf-109 and the nosewheel, modified from the He-177A bomber. One downside of the He-162 was its short range, an effort to keep weight down to maximize performance from the early, fuel-thirsty jet engine. Despite Germany lacking the strategic metals needed to make high temperature alloys for parts like turbine blades, the jet worked pretty well although it (like the Jumo 109-004B that powered the Me-262A fighter and Arado-234 bomber) was effectively the cutting edge for jet engine design at the time and was still really undergoing development. It could burn a wide range of fuels and used a kerosene fuel rather than the desperately short supplies of conventional avgas the propeller engine aircraft used. These early jet engines were actually cheaper to produce than contemporary piston engines, but not being built with the correct high temperature alloys they were less reliable and had short service lives. The BMW 003 was bought in 1946 by the French Air Ministry and its designer Hermann Östrich moved to France, proving the soundness of its design. This became the basis of the French jet engine company SNECMA. Ejection seats had been under development in Germany around this time, notably by Anton Draeger and the He-162 was fitted with one so the pilot could supposedly bail out directly in front of the engine intake. One can only wonder what his chances of surviving that might have been? The He-162 suffered from a number of fatal accidents because there was no time for proper wind tunnel studies and because the only wood glue available wasn't all that great (it killed the Focke-Wulf Ta-154 Miskito program for example) and because there was no decent training program. Due to the desperation of the time, the normal R+D that would have been carried out with pre-production aircraft was largely based on issues found with aircraft already in service, for which fixes were to be applied as retrofits in the field. I don't think that was too popular with pilots. Although some kills were claimed the He-162 had no real effect deterring the masses of bombers in German skies. It was too late and not quite ready. Although it was supposed to be piloted by novices, the He-162 was rather a handful to fly and required an experienced fighter pilot, of whom there were declining numbers in 1945. RN test pilot Flight Captain Eric Brown flew the He-162 after the war and noted that while it was very unstable and had a tendency to roll upside down if not handled correctly, he was generally quite impressed by its performance as a fighter aircraft and felt it would make a good gun platform. Had it had been developed properly, not so compromised by lack of resources and arrived a year or so earlier, it could have presented a real threat to Allied bomber forces. I hope this particular example might enjoy a little restoration love before too long. Despite its lack of service, it is an historic aircraft that had much unrealized potential. Thanks for the video - especially the detail closeups.
Really a awesome little plane, just a shame there's only 8 off them left. Would really want to see at least 1 example airworthy again. And its a real shame they just letting this one rot away.
They would never allow an original He-162 to fly. They had problems with wood bonding glue, and the wings are very old. The BMW 003 engines are not that reliable anyway. Maybe a modern replica with a modern engine would fly, but it would be very tricky to fly.
According to historical accounts, at the very end of the war in Europe, Allied military inspectors discovered some 800 He-162s in various states of completion! One well-known photo shows a cavern filled with two rows of He-162 fuselages, acrylic canopies installed, but awaiting wings, engines, and other key components. The Germans accomplished this in the last four months of the European theater of WW2! Imagine if the Germans had gotten this far with the He-162 in mid-1943, even possibly late 1943. What effect would it have had on the history of the Air War over Europe. The one snag would be finding and training hundreds of pilots. The German authorities considered conscripting 15 to 17 year old teenagers, the Hitler Youth, a huge untapped manpower reservoir. But hard experience showed that a fighter pilot could be trained in just one year, given intensive training focused on just the essential, fundamentals, shortened Primary, Basic, and Advanced flight training. Yet a decently-trained fighter pilot from any belligerent nation required around 300 hours flying time to be competent. The training part was going to be the hardest for the Luftwaffe to accomplish. The earliest He-162s would have to be manned by existing Luftwaffe pilots, brand new flight graduates to experienced aviators, all in increasing short supply even if it was late 1943.
@@jeffyoung60 Training many pilots costs time, (flying weather must be there!), airfields, aircraft, maintenance personnel and a LOT of fuel. Everything was short from 1943 and later...
A rebuilt could be done, for sure. The partitial wooden construction was set up to use simple tools and jigs. The sheetmetal parts look a bit crude and straight foreward. The rebuilt should be much easier(?) compared to the latest Mosquito rebuilts. As an engine, you could use the J85 from the Talon, alltough it must be severly limited in its output for "going to fast" reasons. Modern reliable adhesives, modern testing methods and simulation would increase safety compared to 1945. The project would be between 5-8 million Euro, depending on external suppport, expertise and "come -along to be made servable parts".
@@fredferd965 The Kaurit glue which was most probably used (industrialised 1937) uses formic acid as hardener. You apply the glue on one side and wet the other adherent with acid. In time it appeared that the acid-side of the wood deteriorates badly by the acid and after 70 years or so the joint loosens completely. Dangerous adhesive hence.! The Germans used the quick set-time (heated in 5 minutes) to built quickly, and the mentioned deterioration effect is not noticable in short time.
Very interessting to see a closeup of a He 162. But whoever wrote the plackards did not know how the spell german words. Such a shame. Thats not original at all.
That Heinkel He-162 Volksjager is in sore need of restoration, at least externally. German late war fighter plane engineering was genius. Up close, the He-162 is a really small jet fighter. Yet a six-feet tall man could comfortably sit inside the cockpit due to the round fuselage providing ample room. The acrylic canopy is in fairly good shape. Acrylic usually yellows quickly with prolonged exposure to sunlight. But this captured He-162 likely spend its entire post-war existence indoors away from direct sunlight. The cockpit did not contain any armored glass protecting the pilot. The He-162 had to be small and lightweight as it's single Junkers Jumo 004A turbojet produced only 1,980-lbs thrust. The Me-262 jet fighter carried two Jumo 004A jet engines, each slung under a wing. Accounts of the He-162's top speed varied. The most common accepted figure is 512 mph while other opinions put the top speed around 480 mph. The He-162's compact size meant a smaller fuel tank. This was actually not a metallic container but a large, thick rubber container that collapsed as the fuel fed out into the turbojet. The problem was that the single fuel tank provided only some 30 minutes flying time. Clearly, had WW2 lasted longer and the He-162 saw extensive service, it would have undoubtedly undergone refinement and improvement, no doubt its limited flight duration. Nevertheless, despite the collapsing Third Reich in its last three months, the government and Heinkel constructed huge production centers that were in the process of assembling around 800 He-162 Volksjagers. Where the Luftwaffe was going to find all the necessary pilots and the vast amount of fuel to train them and support combat operations in the last months of the Reich was anyone's guess. It just wasn't going to happen.
Looking to the canopy it has this distinct small wobble marks which can occur during stretching. Polycarbonate show this distinct wavyness during warm stretching, while polystyrene and plexiglass(PMMA) donot have this effect, or in much lesser degree. So I suppose it is a nice decoy, not original hence, but a retrofit, made after the war for this aircraft. The transparant quality points to it too.
@@galdramadur1 Ла-5 - боевой самолёт, на котором асы сбили много самолётов врага. La-5 ist ein Kampfflugzeug, auf dem die Asse viele feindliche Flugzeuge abgeschossen haben.
