Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger - Roy Cross GAVA RSMA

Original painting in gouache on board.

Image Size: 21.5 x 16 inches, signed lower right.

Totally outnumbered, short of fuel and materials, with the manufacturing industry going 
underground and experienced aircrew in short supply, the Luftwaffe resorted to emergency measures in 1944/5.

One result was the concept of a jet-powered lightweight ‘People’s Fighter’ using non-strategic materials and construction capacity.

Heinkel, pioneers in jet-propelled aircraft, got the contract and produced the minimalist He 162 design pictured here. The machine is from a unit of Jagdgeschwader 1 Oesau ("1st Fighter Wing") which received He 162s from February 1945. The limited range of the 
aircraft and its hurried development resulting in a number of structural failures, meant it had very limited operational use by the close of hostilities in May 1945.