[Roger Gaemperle]

Hello,

I found an old message on the Luftwaffe Experten Forum regarding air victories with the He 162. Someone found the following account in the book "Janes, Battles With The Luftwaffe".

In that discussion thread it was never really answered if this story is true or not. Does anybody have more information? Is this all pure fantasy or true?

Thanks,
Roger Gaemperle


"I was commander of II./JG11 during the fierce battles and consequent heavy losses in the Reich Defense, April-December 1943, when I shot down 12 Viermots. I was pulled out by Goring and given the task of setting up the new department 'General Recruiting Luftwaffe' in the Reich Air Ministry. At the same time I was appointed in agreement with Reich Youth Leader(A Axmann) honorary Reich Inspector of Hitler Youth Airmen. So I was saddled with the running of two departments at the same time. The Hitler Youth Airmen had 250,000 members who received pre-military training in Hitler Youth camps, followed by flight instruction(in a selective process for suitability) by the NSFK(the party flying corps, Generaloberst Keller) in their gliding camps. About march 1944 I was ordered to report to Goring on the Obersalzberg, together with Prof W. Messerschmitt, in order to express my opinion on the Volksjager(peoples fighter) project and the possibilities of using selected Hitler Youth pilots. About June 1944 there was a meeting at the Reich Air Ministry under the chairmanship of Keller with Milch, Sauer, Knemeyer, myself and others to discuss the Volksjager project. Here things began to take shape with a reference to a development by Heinkel. It so transpired that, when I was once again with Goring at Karinhall to make my report, the idea of a Jagdgeschwader 'Hitler Youth' with the name 'Oesau was to be realised. It was also decided that this Geschwader was to be equipped with Volksjager(which were still in the development stage). In September 1944 I took part in the so called Volksjager conference at Rastenburg. Galland and Messerschmitt were in favour of giving priority to the Me 262. But Sauer, Galland having meanwhile fallen out of favour with Goring, succeed with his idea of mass production of the Volksjager. In the middle of December 1944 I was ordered to Vienna to attend the first display of the He 162, which ended tragically. Back in Berlin a few days later I had a serious clash with Generaloberst Keller about the possible use of the He 162 for "my Hitler Youth airmen". He did not share my doubts about the Volksjager and advised for its mass production at another meeting with Goring a few days later, in the presence of Gollob. I did not suspect at the time how heavily I would be involved with the He 162 later.

In January 1945 I was Ordered to Rechlin in order to fly and test the He 162. I was given initial instructions on it by Bar(Obstlt Heinz Bar),with whom I had been in Tunisia. After the first circuit it had become obvious to me that, unless decisive changes were made to the machine, this aircraft would be out of the question for Hitler youths coming straight from gliders without intermediate training on other and proven fighters. I informed Goring about my impressions in a priority report! I also informed Keller who meanwhile had flown the He 162. At the beginning of March I was ordered to Goslar to form a yet unnamed fighter Geschwader where I, under Gollob, first assembled ground personnel made up of various fighter Geschwaders to a 'new mob'

In the middle of March the first 32 He 162s arrived, from Travemunde, I believe and we began immediately with the training of the pilots(not Hitler Youth) who had meanwhile arrived from various fighter training schools. It turned out that the conversion training brought no problems, only the lack of fuel causes us difficulties! Enemy formations daily passed overhead without us being able, nor permitted to interfere. On 15 April 1945 I was able to take off for a sortie with the first section, but as we had been sent to the wrong place by fighter control, we failed to make contact with the enemy. We did not operate again until the 21st of the month because of bad weather, when I was able to score the first Abschuss, a P-47, with the He 162. On landing the weak undercarriage collapsed under me and I ended up on my belly. On 22 April Lt Bartz also shot down a P-47 and that was the end of this nameless Geschwader which was to have been named 'Hitler Youth'. As the Americans were meanwhile getting uncomfortably close to the Harz, the remaining He 162s were flown from Goslar to Travemunde and the entire Geschwader was sent to the Harz for ground fighting as infantry. I received orders, again from Loerzer, to take over the Bucker project at Friedersdorf, where I, together with Hptm. Purps, on 1 may 1945 did a night sortie against the approaching tank units of the Red Army between Kustin and Landsberg, but without success as the defensive fire of the Russians was so heavy that, riddled with hits from infantry arms, we had to give up further attempts. I spent the remaining days with Loerzer in the personnel department of the Reich Air Ministry"

Oberst Adolf Dickfield, Ritterkreuz with Oak Leaves who finished the war with 132 Abschusse on the Eastern and Western fronts, recounting his involvement in the development of the He 162 Volksjager 1944/early 1945, and his experiences flying the jet in April 1945.