In the fifth He 162 A-2 (V22, factory no. 220005), the wing root was further improved to improve the tilting behaviour. The sixth He 162 A-2 (V23, factory no. 220006) also took part in the subsequent flight characteristics test, which had been modified in the same way. The next two He 162 A-2s (V24 and V25, factory nos. 220007 and 220008 were used to test the flight characteristics around the vertical and longitudinal axis, whereby the fuselage of the latter aircraft was slightly lengthened on a trial basis. This change was also adopted for the following two A-2s (V26 and V27, factory no. 220009 and 220010). The fuselage extension amounted to 127 mm, a measure that was also taken on the eleventh He 162 A-2 (V28, factory no. 220011), which served as a reserve aircraft. Weapons tests were carried out with the twelfth and thirteenth He 162 A-2 (V29 and V30, factory nos. 220012 and 220013), which flew for the first time on 19 February and 24 February 1945 respectively. The latter machine was equipped on a trial basis with the new "Adler" aiming device developed by AEG.
The next six V models of the He 162 also belonged to the A-2 series; however, they were again used for various experimental purposes. In this context, not only more effective armament and more powerful thrust engines were considered, but also a further improvement in flight characteristics. He162A-9 was an A-2 with a V-tail, but it did not get beyond its drawing board stage. In November 1944, the Technical Office requested a lightweight fighter with an Argus As 014 engine. This simple unit, which worked as an intermittent thrust tube, developed a thrust capacity of 335 kp. It became well known as the engine of the winged long-range bomb Fieseier Fi 103 or "V1", which came against targets in southern England from August 1944. Heinkel had already converted the He 280 V1 to four As 014s at the beginning of 1942. However, test results could not be determined, because on January 13, 1942, this machine was lost in a crash during a tow flight. The first design for the new fighter tender, designated He 162 B-1, envisaged two As 014 thrust tubes as propulsion, which were arranged next to each other on the rear part of the fuselage. The calculated top speed of this project was 810 km/h, and the use of a single 500 kp As 044 thrust tube on the He 162 B-2 also showed poor flight performance. As a result, the further development of the B-series was discontinued and more promising projects were turned to. As already mentioned, the He 162 V11 and V12 were each equipped with two Jumo 004B engines. However, both machines had to be blown up in Vienna in March 1945 without ever having flown. The most promising projects were the He 162 C and D, which were equipped with HeS 011 engines, but these were not carried out due to the war situation. We will present these two "Volksjäger" versions, equipped with swept wings and V-tails, in a separate report. On the other hand, the He 162 E, equipped with a BMW 003R engine, could have been built much faster. The combination unit BMW003R, which was also used in the Me 262 C-2b, consisted of a normal BMW003A with a BMW 109-718 rocket engine connected to the underside. The latter developed a thrust of 1000 kp with a burn time of three minutes, which was necessary for the The planned interceptor version of the "Volksjäger" promised excellent climbing performance.
In order to further improve the attack armament of the He 162, the installation of some of the most modern developments of the time was investigated. In this context, the so-called "15 honeycomb" with 55 mm on-board rockets of the type R4/M, whose suspension was planned on the underside of the wing, should be mentioned. In addition, there was a fuselage assembly of the "tubular block drum" developed by Rheinmetall-Borsig, which was a modification of the SG 117 special device and which enabled the volley of 30 mm shells.
At the end of January 1945, the Test Command 162 under Lieutenant Colonel Heinz Bär was the first unit of the Luftwaffe to receive the He 162. The primary task of this command for the next few months was to test the new machine, initially in Rechlin and then in Munich-Riem. At about the same time, the training of technical personnel began with appropriate courses. The Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1), under the command of Colonel Herbert Ihlefeld, converted to the He 162 A-2 from 6 February 1945, namely the I.Gruppe (l/JG 1) under Oberleutnant Demuth. She handed over her FW 190 to the 2nd Group (ll/JG 1) under Captain Dähne and briefly transferred it to Parchim airfield in Mecklenburg, about 70 km south of Rostock. Here, and later in Ludwigslust, the individual pilots were instructed on the He 162 under the guidance of Heinkel factory pilots.In
the meantime, the ll/JG 1 had also been converted to the He 162 in Warnemünde. Its commander, Captain Dahne, was killed by a crash on 24 April 1945 during a workshop flight with his machine. His place was then taken by Major Zober. On 3 May 1945, ll/JG 1 and Geschwader-Stab/JG 1 moved to Leck/Holstein airfield. L/JG 1 had been here since mid-April, and on 4 May all three units were merged into a larger group under Major Zober. This I (mission)/JG 1 had an aircraft fleet of over fifty operational He 162 A-2s.
When British troops occupied the Leck airfield on May 8, 1945, they found all the planes in parade formation and undamaged. Five days earlier, in Salzburg-Maxglan, the Test Command 162, which belonged to the Me 262 unit JV 44, had also capitulated to the US Army. After the end of hostilities, several He 162s were taken over by the Allies and subjected to thorough retesting in the respective test centres. Their flight performance and characteristics were rated as thoroughly positive by all pilots.
Some aircraft survived all the turmoil of war well, were restored and have since been among the main attractions of the major aviation museums in England, France, Canada and the USA. /
A total of only 100 aircraft of the He 162 had been completed by the end of the war — including all prototypes and pilot series aircraft. In addition, however, there were about 800 other machines in a more or less advanced state of construction. Although the He 162 was no longer used militarily, the fact remains that this model was developed in a period of only a few months until large-scale production. That alone represents a real achievement in the history of aviation. With the "Volksjäger" it was clearly proven that even under the most adverse conditions it was possible toit is possible to build a high-quality fighter aircraft with minimal cost and material expenditure and to bring it into active military service.
Hans Redemann
References:
1. Report 105a/44 Strahljäger He P 1073 dated 23.9.1944.2
. Construction description DSB 162/103 dated 15.10.1944.3
. Model overview He 8-162 M1 to M36 dated 12.2.1945 (CV file).
4. Personal notes of Messrs. Günter, Hohbach and Bader.
