Heinkel He162 Volksjäger Book Review

By Michael Benolkin

Review

If you missed this terrfic, 2009 tome first time around, grab it – now.

Classic – now an imprint of Crécy – has reissued Heinkel He162 Volksjäger. And the hefty hardback tells the total tale in 208 pithy pages.

Available in North America from Casemate and subtitled “From Drawing Board to Destruction: The Volksjäger Spatz”, the spellbinding saga nicely distills the economic realities of Hitler’s war machine poised for total defeat by resource-rich enemies.

Ergo: Völksjäger. Proponents of the quixotic concept stressed the economic benefits of a simpler, wholly new, lightweight jet fighter with dramatically reduced production and operational costs. Opponents, by contrast, fought to focus steadily shrinking Luftwaffe wherewithal on proven, but expensive types – like Messerschmitt’s Me 262.

Völksjäger promoters won. And upon receiving the September 1944 go-ahead, Heinkel produced the first He 162 prototypes early that December – a stunning engineering achievement.

Author Robert Forsyth methodically charts the whole phenomenal process – including Heinkel’s design competitors and allegations of air-to-air Spatz combat. And as endnotes confirm, text leans heavily on primary sources.

So, in fact, do illustrations. In addition to period BW and color photos, coverage includes archival images mapping He 162 development – visual feasts for detail enthusiasts.

Hundreds more photos and scale drawings spice the story. And sidebars and extended captions further enrich the illuminating account. Late-WWII enthusiasts will love this sumptuous study.

Robustly recommended!