He-162

Well at least you have been told ‘how’ you should read it, should you get it:eagerness:

Based on my experience with Classic Publications’ volume on the Ju-87, I rather assumed the rest were pretty good so I’ll probably give the volume on the He-162 a shot at some point. I’ve currently got a few of the much smaller (but very entertaining to me) Osprey Aces/Combat Aircraft volumes to run through, but that He-162 work might be next on my purchase list…we shall see.

Project Natter is a well researched and enlightening book. I can recommend it. Oddly though it does not contain a decent 3-view plan if you are thinking of modelling it.

The Classic Publications series are currently about as good as it gets for English language German aircraft monographs. I haven’t read the He 162 book, but I have a number of the others in the series and I don’t think you would be disappointed with it.

However, before reading it, I would urge you to get a copy of “Arming the Luftwaffe” by Daniel Uziel.

The main topic of the book is the German aircraft industry as a whole during WWII, but it has a fairly comprehensive case study of the development and operation of the He 162 at the end of the book. Published in 2012, this book seems to have slipped under the radar which is a shame because to my mind at least, it is something of a landmark work.

I was given the book last Christmas. It is an excellent and in depth read. Buy it; you will not be disappointed.

Martin

There is quite a lot of googlable info about the He162.
I would imagine that it would have had a very low crosswing limit…having a high mounted engine and narrow track landing gear,as you will discover – it had powerful rudders and twin fins – not a good combination if supposed to be flown by inexperienced pilots !
The french used 2 – 3 of them for a year or so post war (1947-8) to introduce some of their pilots to jet operation,here is a nice pic from that time : )

The He162 was just another Nazi contribution to non-achievement, which to put it another way was that there is no post war production aircraft that gained any advantage from the details of its design. The book should be read in that context. As I recall it fell apart in front of Hitler which in itself is no mean achievement and probably may be considered its greatest feat of arms. 😀

There are obvious reasons that few of it´s design features were continued with post war. Chiefly that it was designed to be as simple to produce as possible and to make use of non strategic materials – both of which obviously became totally irrelevant when the war ended. Horses for courses.

From (the ever reliable!) Wikipedia….
“The difficulties experienced by the He 162 were caused mainly by its rush into production (90 days from drawing board to first flight), not by any inherent design flaws.[7] One experienced Luftwaffe pilot who flew it called it a “first-class combat aircraft.” This opinion was mirrored by Eric “Winkle” Brown of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), who flew it not only during post-war evaluations, but went on to fly it for fun after testing had completed. He considered it delightful to fly, although the very light controls made it suitable only for experienced pilots.”

It was also very fast for it´s day.

Back of an envelope/napkin design?

As I´m not a native speaker- what is a Knapkinwaffe?

It was just a rare Luftwaffe Knapkinwaffe design that actually made it to production however by then it didn’t matter a damn. If the book describes the technical aspects OK then it has fulfilled its purpose. The He162 was just another Nazi contribution to non-achievement, which to put it another way was that there is no post war production aircraft that gained any advantage from the details of its design. The book should be read in that context. As I recall it fell apart in front of Hitler which in itself is no mean achievement and probably may be considered its greatest feat of arms. 😀