The primary objective of this source edition is to provide readers with original documents, allowing them to form their own impression of the development, manufacture and operation of the Heinkel He 162. By linking this accumulated data with the historical situation of those times, we hope to have facilitated a more objective assessment of the “Volksjäger” project. For the purposes of this book, around 200 file documents were selected from a multitude of material on the Heinkel He 162 and reproduced in their original state. Complementing them are some 140 photographs, some of them unpublished hitherto, 50 scale drawings, 30 colour plates and innumerable citations from contemporary documents, teleprints, orders, lectures, reviews and intelligence reports. Rounding off the publication is a comprehensive Annex giving details of propulsion units, camouflage schemes, armament, the cockpit, plus the various versions of the HeinkelHe 162.

The author, Peter Müller, is a Swiss citizen born in 1960, whose military command experience as a Lieutenant Colonel neatly complements his qualifications as a military historian. For the past quarter of a century, he has made a detailed study of armaments issues of the 1914-1945 period. This background andmeticulous studies of archived material have generated the possibility of viewing the subject material from new angles. Peter Müller challenges, links and complements key statements and opinions, thereby revealing fascinating details and drawing new conclusions.