Oxford Diecast Heinkel He162 Air Min61 W.Nr.120072 RAF 1945

The Heinkel He 162 was a German single engine, jet powered fighter aircraft that entered World War II very late into the conflict.  Designed and built very quickly, it was constructed primarily of wood as all available metal was being used in the manufacture of other German warplanes.  Its name Salamander emanates from the construction code name and it proved to be the fastest of all the first jet powered aircraft of the time.  Just over 300 were built and its Luftwaffe service was all of six months from January to May 1945.  The single seat aircraft featured an ejector seat for the pilot; it was capable of a maximum speed of 562 mph with a range of 606 miles and a fuel capacity of 695 litres restricting its operational flight time to just 30 minutes.  Armaments comprised 2 x 20mm auto cannons or on later models 2 x 30 mm guns.