As the once-unstoppable German Wehrmacht was reaching the limits of its power by 1944, it struggled to contain a ferocious Soviet advance and the collective liberation of Europe by the Western allies.
Nazi Germany was running dangerously low on oil, steel, men, and war equipment, and the Luftwaffe was no exception. After suffering several devastating losses, the Third Reich's Air Force found itself thinly spread across numerous fronts and utterly unable to properly maintain the units in service.
But Germany was nothing if not resolute, and its high command soon promoted the Emergency Fighter Program in a last desperate effort to bolster its active aircraft numbers.
The scheme was designed to build cheap and capable aircraft fighters in record time to provide Germany with a much-needed defensive blanket from the increasingly frequent Allied bombing raids. Thus was born the Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger, or the People's Fighter.
The aircraft brought groundbreaking technology to the table with a novel jet engine that made it faster and more agile than many of the warplanes of the time. However, it was also planned to be cheap so it could be easily produced in large quantities and was ultimately made out of wood.
Surprisingly, the hastily-made wooden jet would turn out to be a remarkable fighter, but by the time the Volksjäger was deployed into combat, it was too late for the Third Reich.
Still, the People's Fighter managed to accomplish a series of outstanding feats that would surprise even the Allied pilots fighting against it…
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Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.
As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.
All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.
