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He162

Name : He162 Manufacturer : Heinkel Production Began : 1945 Retired : 1945

Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger Known as the peoples Fighter, named after the Volksstrum was a single-engine, jet-powered fighter aircraft built by Germany for the Luftwaffe at the end of World War Two. Designed and built quickly, and made primarily of wood as metals were in very short supply and prioritized for other aircraft, the He162 was nevertheless the fastest of the first jets that flew in the Luftwaffe and faster than the first Allied jet fighters. Volksjäger was the Reich Air Minstrys official name for the He162. The He162 was also well known by another name - the Salamander, which was the codename of its construction program, and Spatz (Sparrow), which was the name given to the plane by the builders Heinkel. In February 1945 the He162 began operations with deliveries of the He 162 to its first operational unit, I./JG 1 The He 162s only had 30-minute fuel capacity which caused problems, as at least two of JG 1s pilots were killed attempting emergency landings after exhausting their fuel.

Pilots and Aircrew for : He162
A list of all aircrew from our database who are associated with this aircraft. A profile page is available by clicking their name.
Name	Info
Ackermann, Rolf Click the name above to see a profile of Ackermann, Rolf    Died : 23 / 4 / 1945	Ackermann, Rolf Killed on 23rd April 1945 when his He162A of JG1 was destroyed in an accident at Leck airfield.
Beck, Karl Click the name above to see a profile of Beck, Karl    Died : 30 / 4 / 1945	Beck, Karl Killed on 30th April 1945 when his He162A of JG1 ran out of fuel and crashed near Klintum.
Durr, Alfred Click the name above to see a profile of Durr, Alfred    Died : 30 / 4 / 1945	Durr, Alfred Killed on 30th April 1945 when his He162A 0120086 of JG1 was destroyed in a crash landing on the autobahn near Lubeck.
Fendler, Gerhard Click the name above to see a profile of Fendler, Gerhard    Died : 20 / 4 / 1945	Fendler, Gerhard Killed on 20th April 1945 when his He162A of JG1 was destroyed in a crash.
Hamel, Emil Click the name above to see a profile of Hamel, Emil    Died : 26 / 4 / 1945	Hamel, Emil Killed on 26th April 1945 when his He162A of JG1 was lost.
Hartung, Wolfgang Click the name above to see a profile of Hartung, Wolfgang    Died : 18 / 4 / 1945	Hartung, Wolfgang Killed on 18th April 1945 when his He162A of JG1 was destroyed in an accident at Husum or Leck airfield.
Ihlefeld, Herbert Click the name above to see a profile of Ihlefeld, Herbert    Died : 8 / 8 / 1995	Ihlefeld, Herbert Born 1st June 1914 in Pinnow Pommern and died 8th August 1995 in Wenningen lower Saxony. Joined the Luftwaffe in 1936 and scored nine victories during the Spanish Civil War. Flew 1000 combat missions and claimed 132 enemy aircraft with 56 on the Western Front including 26 spitfires and 67 on the Russian Front. Participated in the air war over Poland, France and the Battle of Britain. In 1941 Ihlefeld was transferred to the Balkans for the invasion of Yugoslavia. He was shot down by AA fire and captured by the Yugoslavian Army. 8 days lated he was rescued by the German troops. Ihlefeld participated in the assault on Crete, claiming his 36th kill, a Hurricane. He then commanded Jagdgeschwader 77 in time for Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. In April 1942 Ihlefeld became the 5th pilot to reach 100 victories and his unit 1/JG77 was credited with 323 enemy aircraft kills compared to the loss of only 17 Bf109s. Ihlefeld then took command of Jagdgeschwader 52 in June 1942 but he was involved in a landing accident and badly injured and was not ready to return to active service until July 1943. In May 1944 he commanded JG11 and then JG1 during the defence of the Reich. In 1945 he took command of Jagdgeschwader 1 equipped with the Heinkel 162.
Kirchner, Gunther Click the name above to see a profile of Kirchner, Gunther    Died : 19 / 4 / 1945	Kirchner, Gunther Killed on 19th April 1945 when his He162A Yellow 2 of JG1 was shot down by an American P-47 Thunderbolt and crashed near Klintum.
Rechenbach, Helmut Click the name above to see a profile of Rechenbach, Helmut    Died : 26 / 4 / 1945	Rechenbach, Helmut Killed on 26th April 1945 when his He162A of JG1 was destroyed in a crash.
Rechenberg, Hans Click the name above to see a profile of Rechenberg, Hans	Rechenberg, Hans On 20th April 1945, his He162A of JG1 was damaged in combat with a British Spitfire and force landed near Weimar. The aircraft was destroyed. He was uninjured.
Rieder, Josef Click the name above to see a profile of Rieder, Josef	Rieder, Josef On 17th April 1945, he survived when his He162A of JG1 was damaged in an accident at Husum airfield.
Schmitt, Rudolf Click the name above to see a profile of Schmitt, Rudolf	Schmitt, Rudolf On 20th April 1945, his He162A White 7 of JG1 was destroyed in a crash at Leck airfield. He was uninjured.
Steeb, Erwin Click the name above to see a profile of Steeb, Erwin	Steeb, Erwin On 30th April 1945 his He162A of JG1 ran out of fuel and was damaged in a crash landing near Kaltenkirchen airfield. He was uninjured.
Stiemer, Gerhard Click the name above to see a profile of Stiemer, Gerhard	Stiemer, Gerhard On 25th April 1945, his He162A of JG1 suffered mechanical failure and was damaged in a forced landing at Leck airfield. He was uninjured.
Wollenweber, Wolfgang Click the name above to see a profile of Wollenweber, Wolfgang	Wollenweber, Wolfgang After his flight training Wolfgang was transferred to JG5 in the Arctic where he flew the Me110 on escort missions over the North Atlantic, Murmansk and Russia, he was then awarded the Iron Cross First Class. After this he retrained on the Fw190 fighter aircraft and rocket fighter Me163. Wolfgang flew the Heinkel He162 as a Squadron Leader of the first jet fighter squadron. This revolutionary jet was demanding even for the most experienced pilots, many of them did not survive, but miraculously he survived 14 missions on this aircraft.

Known Individual Aircraft : He162 :
Type	Serial	Codes	First Flew	Squadron History	Aircrew History	History Notes	Engine	Factory
He162 A	0120086		-	details	details	details

Squadrons for : He162
A list of all squadrons known to have flown the He162. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name.
Squadron	Info
JG1 Country : Germany Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of JG1	JG1 German World War II fighter unit or wing which used the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 aircraft, between 1940–1944. The name of the unit derives from Jagd, meaning hunt and Geschwader, meaning wing. First formed in May 1939 in eastern Prussia, I./JG 1 was one of the original groups created by the Luftwaffe as part of its expansion plans. Between 1940 and 1942, JG 1 operated primarily over the Western Front and northern occupied Europe. During the initial days of the war, JG 1 faced little resistance, apart from occasional Royal Air Force (RAF) excursions. The unit was rarely engaged in large-scale confrontations during this time. From late 1942 onwards it was tasked with defense of the Reich duties. After D-Day, elements of JG 1 were moved to France and were tasked with air support to the army Wehrmacht, along with their air defense role. Operation Bodenplatte severely reduced the strength of JG 1. Towards the end of the war, the unit was disbanded and its remaining pilots and aircraft were re-organized. What remained of these groups surrendered to Allied forces at the end of the war. JG 1 was the first unit to attempt 'aerial bombing' techniques against the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) heavy bomber formations. It was the only unit to be equipped with the Heinkel He 162 jet fighter. In 1944 the Oesau suffix was added to the unit's title, after its late Geschwaderkommodore Oberst Walter Oesau (127 kills), who was killed in action. Some 700 enemy aircraft were claimed shot down during the war.

Last edited : 16:55, June 14, 2013
Last editor : kc

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