Losing the war, by 1944 Germany had focused on the production of jet fighters. The Messerschmitt Me.262 was considered expensive and unreliable, so on September 8, 1944, the requirements for a simple and cheap fighter in production were published. Among all the projects, we chose the He 162 Volksj?ger ("people's fighter") from Heinkel, developed and tested in just 90 days. December 6, 1944 - the first flight of the Heinkel He 162 Volksj?ger jet fighter.
It was a single-seat high-wing aircraft with a retractable landing gear and a V-shaped two-keel tail, made mainly of wood. It was equipped with a BMW 109-003E-1 engine with a thrust of 7.85 kN. The maximum speed is 900 km/h, the flight range is 970 km. Armament ? 2 ? 20 mm guns.
320 fighters were built before the end of the war. They were difficult to pilot, often broke down and crashed. After the war, the Allies tested the captured He 162 and came to the conclusion about their unsatisfactory flight characteristics.
