Author(s): Dan Sharp

History

The history of the Luftwaffe's last minute single-jet fighter, the Heinkel He 162, is neither standard nor straightforward. Originally conceived as the jet fighter anyone could fly into combat, the He 162 was designed and built in under five months - an astonishing and unparalleled feat of engineering. But what emerged was not a simple jet fighter but a tricky 'widow-maker' which killed far more of its own pilots than it ever did those of the enemy. Going back to the original wartime documentation, author Dan Sharp examines the story of this remarkable aircraft in detail.