For He 162 Experts: He 162 that went to the US

[Roger Gaemperle]

Hello,

I am trying to figure out how, how many and which He 162 were brought to the US after the end of WWII. Here's what I found out:

• T2-489: Red 1, W.Nr. 120077
• T2-493: White 7, W.Nr. 120222
• T2-494: Yellow 6, W.Nr. probably 30012
• T2-504: White 23, W.Nr. 120300

Yellow 6 was brought to Kassel before it went to the US. I suspect the others in above list as well, but that's a pure assumption from me (does anybody have any evidence that would support this assumption?).

Now, www.indianamilitary.org states the following:

"The Americans, under the command of Col. Watson, claimed three machines as part of Operation Lusty, one of them being Lt. Hanf’s Red 1. The three He-162s were taken to Merseburg, an Allied collection point for captured equipment and then taken to Kassel (they may have been flown to these two locations by the Americans) where they were dismantled, crated, loaded on rail cars and sent to the French port of Cherbourg in June, 1945.
They were then loaded aboard the Liberty ship; Richard J. Gatling, along with a large amount of captured German material and shipped to the United States"


That leaves following questions:

• If only 3 were claimed by Op. Lusty and brought to the US by the liberty ship Richart J. Gatling, how did the 4th one arrive in the US?

• Does anybody have the list of aircraft on Richard J. Gatling? The "Sources" of above website mentions "USSAF in Europe memo, Shipment of GAF Equipment and Inventory List for the Richard J. Gatling."

• At least White 4 120067 and White 3 120028 were also at Kassel and another unknown one. That makes 7 in total that were in US hands. Most sources only state 3 He 162 that were handed over to the US. Can anybody explain the difference?

Cheers,
Roger

[Roger Gaemperle]

Does really nobody have more information about the He 162 that went to the US?

Thanks,
Roger

[Harold Lake]

Roger,

Your information regarding FE-489, W.Nr. 120077, Red 1, is correct. But there are errors in your list of the other three He 162s brought to the States:

FE-493, was YELLOW 7 not white. There are color shots of it in print. True, the number 7 was outlined in white, but the number itself was yellow.

FE-494, was He 162 A-1, W.Nr. 310017, Yellow 6, which may not have been reassembled once in arrived at Wright Field. I understand it was used as an instructional tool ,and if this is true, probably explains why it has fallen through the cracks in so many historical reports.

FE-504, was W.Nr. 120230 but was reassembled in the States with the tail from W.Nr. 120222; which I think it probably still has.

[Roger Gaemperle]

Hi Harold,

Thanks for your reply to my request.

120222: I still think it was "White 7" and not "Yellow 7" as there exists a nice color photo of it during an exhibition in the US. See e.g. the following link for the color photo: http://cs.finescale.com/forums/2/1004175/ShowPost.aspx

It is cearly a "White 7" and not "Yellow 7". Did you refer to another color shot? I only know five color wartime or immediate postwar color photos of He 162s and none of a Yellow 7.

310012: Regarding Yellow 6: I did a typo and forgot the 1 (30012 instead 310012). But as far as I understood from He 162 experts there is no photo that shows its real W.Nr. and 310012 is according to the latest research the most probable one. If not, why do you think it was 310017?

120230: I totally agree with you. Again a typo. My mistake! Sorry.

Cheers,
Roger

[Kutscha]

from a list of FE/T2 designations at http://www.luftwaffe-experten.org/fo...showtopic=4740

FE-489/T2-489 - Heinkel He162A-2 - W.Nr.120077 - static display Palnes of Fame museum

FE-493/T2-493 - Heinkel He162A-1 - W.Nr.unknown - possible W.Nr.120067 "White 7", fate unknown

FE-494/T2-494 - Heinkel He162A-2 - W.Nr.120017 - possible "Yellow 6" of JG1 and used as source of spares for T2-489. Fate unknown

FE-504/T2-504 - Heinkel He162A-2 - W.Nr.120230 - on static display NASM Silver Hill

[Ruy Horta]

Originally Posted by Roger Gaemperle

Hi Harold,
120222: I still think it was "White 7" and not "Yellow 7" as there exists a nice color photo of it during an exhibition in the US. See e.g. the following link for the color photo: http://cs.finescale.com/forums/2/1004175/ShowPost.aspx

It is cearly a "White 7" and not "Yellow 7". Did you refer to another color shot? I only know five color wartime or immediate postwar color photos of He 162s and none of a Yellow 7.

Too lazy to check any reference, nor do I know the history of this bird, but...

based on this (poor quality) photo I'd say that a yellow seven with a white outline is just as possible. It may look white(ish) at first glance, but closer inspection doesn't rule out the other option, IMHO it actually makes a good case for the opposite.

[Harold Lake]

Roger,

Regarding the color of the number seven, I have an excellent quality transparancy similar to the one you cite and tell you beyond doubt the "7" was yellow thinly outlined in white. But I can also say this yellow is quite bright and not what you would expect. As to yellow 6, I have it somewhere that it was officially listed by American authorities as "120017" but my source claimed this was a misread for 310017. However, in all honesty I can't testify this source was infallible, so maybe it really was 130012. Perhaps someone else has better evidence?

[edwest]

The source I use is War Prizes by Phil Butler. T2-504 is given WNr 120230, reassembled using the tail of T2-493.



Ed

[Roger Gaemperle]

Kutscha,

Thanks for the list. "Yellow 7" (as it now turned out) was not 120067 it just received the wing of 120067. The fuselage was 120222.

Harold & Ruy,

The evidence is convincing and I have to revise my statement about 120222. It must have been "Yellow 7" then. Thanks for correcting me!

Yellow 6 cannot have been 120017 as it was an A-1 with the camouflage pattern of He 162 built at Bernburg. So, I would say 310xxx. I have checked my sources again and 310012 is also not based on clear evidence. So, 310012 may be the more probable W.Nr. for "Yellow 6"

Ed,

Yes, you are absolutely right.

Thank you all for your comments.

Regards,
Roger

[vzlion]

Hummm! Okay which one is this one?

http://www.warbirdphotographs.com/LCBW6/He162-28f.jpg

You can't see the tail in this picture but the WNr is 120222.

Best to all,

Walt