Heinkel He 162 Jet Fighter Test Pilot

Harald Bauer's presentation about how he was recruited into the Luftwaffe during the waning days of WWII and was quickly pressed into service as a test pilot for the Heinkel He-162 jet fighter. Hal made the presentation at the Western Museum of Flight Celebrity Lecture Series in Torrance, CA. Produced by Betty Wheaton and Jarel Wheaton.

[@cjbauer9540]

He's my grandfather and I'm sitting next to him right now.

[@DavidWilliams-up2gc]

Wonderful

[@DavidWilliams-up2gc]

You 're very proud of him I'm sure.

[@kelleywright1929]

Wow. Great story. I met a another German once on a flight who went though some of the same things, but he flew the 262 as a teenager and flew out of Wurzburg. he later was in the USAF in Korea, so there must have been several Germans that later flew for the Americans later. Oh I am an American, and living near Kassel, and they are still flying gliders from Dornberg.

[@tommychileti5890]

Nice

[@bret9741]

What an amazing life. He seems like a wonderful man.

[@darkryde1]

An amazing story told with humility and professionalism. Very direct, without any self-justification. A good man.

[@DataWaveTaGo]

Here is the impression of the He 162 flown by Captain Eric Brown from "Wings of the Luftwaffe" ...the aircraft had excellent directional snaking characteristics making it a good gun platform. From this aspect it was the best jet fighter of it's time, and I was certainly in a position to judge, having flown every jet aircraft then in existence. A check on the rate of roll at 400 mph revealed the highest that I had ever experienced outside of the realm of hydraulically-powered ailerons, and the stick force demanded to produce these exhilarating gyrations was delightfully light. Leveling off at 12,000 feet I settled down to another spell of the pleasures of the phenomenal roll rate of this delightful little aeroplane ... I had never met better flying controls ... Even if somewhat underpowered it had a good performance - it could certainly have run rings around the contemporary Meteor. I was to fly the little aeroplane quite frequently.

[@100forks]

I so enjoy listening to men like this. You learn things never mentioned in books.

[@VikingTeddy]

Incredible story. Very moving, you can see the emotion it evokes in him. Poor guy, he really isn't a public speaker, slightly nervous there :). Hats off to all pilots ww2 pilots. I can't imagine what it was like. We're lucky to have the tech to push a button at home and hear these experiences.

[@NikoChristianWallenberg]

For a plane that was designed in a short period of time part of German emergency fighter program, the He 162 was technically a very good design: problems with the plane stemmed from poor quality "ersatz" materials used in construction.

[@bigharmonicabob2593]

Great guy. Great show. Wonderful information and living history. Thanx for making this show.

[@tb7771]

I am very glad to have found this video. Thank you for posting.

[@sped17373]

Wow, excellent presentation! Mr. Bauer is from Kassel--my mother's hometown. She remembers the allied bombings in 1943 and coming out of the air raid bunker to see nothing but death and destruction everywhere. Shortly after that, my grandfather moved the family to a village outside of Eschwege called Frankershausen....where I was later born in 1957. I still have relatives in Kassel and last visited in 1990 on my honeymoon.

[@dergdf1349]

Interesting i am from Kassel and my mother is from Großalmerode, which is less than 10kms away from Frankershausen. There was one guy from Großalmerode, when he had friends staying over night his grandfather told them to not worry about the howling sirenes, because the bombers will continue heading towards Kassel and unload there. This was like 60 years after ww II.

[@guntherbarz7051]

Du bist immer willkommen

[@ninaakari5181]

Wow 50 minutes went fast! Highly interesting video and Herr Bauer has some unique information too. I hope to hear more of him

[@AndrewH9999]

what a life this man has had so far... awesome to hear his storys

[@LetreJete]

Thanks, Sir. You tell a great story, and we appreciate your unique perspectives. Also, thanks for your service.

[@OneMoreDesu]

"The spitfire" . Old mate has a great sense of humour

[@TeemarkConvair]

7 years is a long time; this was fascinating to watch. i was impressed by his joining the US service.

[@mark109s]

What an amazing Man ! Very lucky too. An American hero.

[@trilingual]

This is amazing history in human form! Thank you so much for posting this!

[@gotwot7573]

This has to be one of the most incredible testimonies I have ever heard. Personal ties to Harald too, as my family is from New Rochelle since 1900. I too entered the US Army in Ft. Dix, NJ... my daughter was born in Ulm, Germany, although a US citizen. Two of my FAVORITE radio controlled airplanes are the Henschel Hs-123, and Heinkel He-162 Salamander. I also lived many years near Litchfield, CT, and my wife was born in the city where this incredible interview was conducted. Harald is a Hero!

[@SirRobertofKnoxly]

This has been a very worth while presentation, this man is a true inspiration.

[@melted_cheetah]

Unbelievable story! Thank you!

[@MegaFloyd100]

what an amazing life!

[@doodleesq]

What a great video. Always good to hear first hand evidence of peoples stories. I bet he was thrilled to fly something so modern. But as he said he was lucky to survive. Many of his comrades didn't - they were ordinarily teenagers just flying aircraft, like a taxi service almost.

[@patrickyoung3503]

Thank you for posting this wonderful story about a great human being. Talk about being lucky

[@1GUNSQUIRREL]

what a interesting life...im very glad i watched this, to hear from a man who lived in those times...flying jet at 17 mind blowing...thank you for your service to both country's sir☻

[@Kundry]

When stationed in Germany I met a fellow in much the same circumstances as Mr Bauer. His name was Schatzle (not sure of the spelling) and he was born in prewar Germany of a German father and American mother. He also was in the Luftwaffe during the war but stayed on the ground listening to radio traffic. When I met him in the mid-70s he had two attractive daughters one being a law student in Frankfurt. There are lots of interesting people if one keeps one's eyes and ears open, especially around older people.

[@y.t.928]

Amazing story, thanks for preserving this!

[@jimworthington449]

Incredible story. Thank you for sharing this.

[@WildBillCox13]

Fascinating account. Thanks for posting!

[@jandal8905]

Interesting he said the HE-162 shot down a Gloster Meteor (at around 20:50) - this would have been the first jet-vs-jet kill.

[@thewhitedeath5867]

Yes that is quite interesting, All the sources I can find about the first Jet vs Jet kill was in the Korean War with MiG 15's and P-80 Shooting Stars.

[@tsegulin]

I thought the RAF deliberately kept the Meteor away from action over Europe. This is the first time I've heard of a Meteor being shot down by a Luftwaffe jet.

[@nerome619]

@Mactrip100 The opinion is interesting, but the HE162 was a poor combat weapon - the engine was a very short life and prone to over heating. The wooden wings and airframe was also fragile and unlikely to be repaired well in the field. Simple logistics negate many supposed advantages.

[@ulrichkalber9039]

@Mactrip100rown also stated it would have been the most dangerous Aircraft in german Service, in the Hand of an experienced Pilot.

[@sixpackpilot]

@@tsegulin Not so, Meteor Mk.3s (F3s) from 616 Sq. were based in Belgium and southern Netherlands from Jan.'45, although prohibited to fly over occupied territory. Later on, in April 1945, Meteors were even flying from a former German base (Fassberg). So a meeting would have been possible, but none has been reported. One of the main reasons Meteors were stationed on the continent was to protect the airbases from Me 262/Ar234 raids. The only loss of Meteors the RAF reported in Europe during that period is a mid-air collision between two 616 Sq. Meteors. But I can imagine that if one was shot down by a German jet the RAF would not like to report that fact. Bad for morale and all that;) Source: Shacklady, Edward. The Gloster Meteor. London: Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1962.

[@manikmantis1811]

I only recently discovered this great youtube channel ! Amazing presentations ! Great stuff and information..! please keep up this good work and congrats. Subscribed and will recommended this channel to other flight history enthusiasts.

[@ceedee9186]

The most awesome YT channel in history.

[@ZakMalamane]

50:17 of pure awesome Salute to all who fought for their nations o7

[@JUNKERS488]

An Amazing story!! Thank You for sharing it with us.

[@sandstoney]

Very interesting ,he was very knowledge an his presentation was great thankyou

[@ralph5476]

Absolutely riveting video. Bucket loads of facts, spoken with a great mix of humility and truth.

[@thesandtiger]

very nice story and i glad he is still around to share it

[@metanumia]

WOW! Now that is an incredible life story, great video, great aviator! :)

[@asmithers1502]

Another awesome video... Respect to the museum staff

[@terryroe4852]

God love this man.......a survivor of the worst war in the world and an American patriot as well!

[@edsmith4995]

Fascinating stuff!

[@antonfarquar8799]

incredible what a superb video !!!

[@fastech27]

Thank you for sharing

[@eriknpf1]

Great Story, thanks for sharing a real treasure.

[@VegasCyclingFreak]

Wow, that's an amazing story and life that this man has had.

[@granskare]

an amazing personal story !

[@tastler]

Thanks for sharing

[@WarblesOnALot]

G'day, Yay Team ! This is an excellent presentation. Thanks for posting it..; as an Aeroplane-Freak from infancy, I've often wondered what the German Glider-Pilots thought of the He-162... ;-p Ciao !

[@Sshooter444]

Incredible!

[@andreacummins1271]

Fantastic.

[@speedygonzalez8431]

some people are just made out of better material. I am about the same age and came to this country a few years earlier but he accomplished so much more than I did..

[@VRichardsn]

+Speedy Gonzalez We are all here to play our part, just different roles.

[@12gauge1oz]

Fascinating presentation. Thank you for sharing your unique perspective. 60 of 65 test pilots lost in 3 months? American exceptionalism, US forces save his life after shooting him down.

[@wimziekman1104]

Wunderbar/wonderful what life can bring!

[@trainliker100]

Wow. This is really interesting. Could probably be a movie.

[@Lensman864]

A wonderful video. What an interesting and pleasant gentleman. I've seen an He 162 in London (the one in the video clip) and it's a fascinating aircraft. Thank you for this. (And Cindy's hair is very nice too.) Good work Betty!

[@nimrodquimbus912]

Great story, interesting life.

[@typxxilps]

Dümmer Lake is Dümmersee where nowadays BASF and ZF produces car parts. The nearest air field might have been Neuenkirchen / Vörden as part of the 3 defense airbases around Bramsche equipped with the famous Me 262 jets where the fighter ace Nowotny was shot down before landing. Achmer, Hesepe and Neuenkirchen were these 3 bases, which became NATO bases for dutch patriot and nike batteries and british tank forces. Nowadays tiny airports for gliders or RC gliders. Great story well explained and interesting way of life.

[@432b86ed]

cool dude, respect

[@samsagh]

impressed

[@anthonysalgado5118]

Respect he has a good sence of humour.

[@MonkPetite]

Epic ..

[@YARROWS9]

He was asked which Plane he would rather fly.Without hesitation he says the Spitfire.

[@twinstu50]

+YARROWS9 His answer to the question asked is classic.The Spitfire.His answer is purely a Pilots answer, nothing else.Politics, country building, WHATEVER!, none of that type of shit clearly colourshis answer.The Spitfire.He answered honestly, as a Pilot.

[@16denier]

Herr Bauer echoed an earlier incident. During the Battle of Britain, Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering -- head of the Luftwaffe -- toured fighter bases on the French coast across the channel from the UK. He asked Adolph Galland -- a German ace in Bf.109's -- what he wanted. Galland replied, "Spitfires!"

[@Crims0ny]

Im just guessing that because he would rather fly in an aircraft that didn't have a chance of exploding not for performance reasons.

[@YARROWS9]

+Hoshi Minj What in the battle of Britain,North Africa and Normandy.Fud.

[@16denier]

I don't think you guys get it. More than 56 MILLION people died in World War II, including an uncle of mine when his battleship blew up. It WASN'T a sporting event; it was a death event. We should study it not to boast but to avoid it happening again. I encourage you to study it, as I encourage you to study all human conflict. I discourage you from pretending it hasn't ended, or that it was somehow sport, or that "your" side was "better" than anybody else's. By the end of a war, the "good" side is almost as bad as the bad side. In particular, I discourage you from casting blame. If you look at history, there is blame enough to smear everybody when it comes to World War II. I especially wish to point out that everybody was involved in slaughtering civilians, whether it was with gas chambers, firing squads or with the fire bombings of cities. This is relevant now because the attitude of national "superiority," of pretending that those who are of different nationalities, religions or ethnicities are somehow "less human" than you are is coming back. The last time it felt like this was just before World War II. Fight for peace or you will always fight the smell of death on your hands.

[@robervin4384]

Almost unbelievable. Anti-aircraft gun crew to flying FW-190's & (for the time) an advanced jet fighter design of dubious airworthiness.....then "hangin' out" as a journalist until serving as basically a grunt for your recently adoptive country (of which a citizen to begin with). Then, well.....you couldn't make this up. What a story & awesome man!

[@waynester71]

47:06 brilliant answer!!

[@steveh5005]

What an interesting life story

[@norbert967]

Do you know Gunther Elfurt? He was part of an Heinkel 162 evaluation group.

[@1339LARS]

Great vid, older folk can do it too (I will retire next year) !

[@kleinandreas4944]

Sie sind ein beachtenswert und sehr beeindruckender Mensch jener Zeit mit einem sehr beeindruckenden Lebenslauf, danke f

[@afoose]

Love this guy. Would love to shake his hand.

[@9014jayvictor]

17 and shot down ! WOW

[@malakov5]

Heck yeah, UK!

[@Reachforitify]

wow!

[@alancollard8939]

fantastic life

[@afoose]

47:00 "If you had a preference which aircraft would you have flown?" "De Schpitfire"

[@frankirwin8111]

What a Gentlemen.

[@johna.s.3847]

Alot of interesting facts that nobody ever heard of, especially about the bomber that flew over Detroit and New York then back to France.

[@justinheadley9453]

Very interesting he made a error though it was not a meteor. The he 162 had two kills both tempest Vs. One combat loss was when one pilot scrambled to intercept 8 tempest Vs strafing his airfield. He threw his 162 into an aggressive 360 port turn and the tempest pilot could not close into this turn. However thos maneuver was a fatal as the he 162 suffered rudder failure at slow speeds if any violent acrobatics were performed. His aircraft flipped upside down and he ejected out but was too low and shot homself into the ground. One strange encounter was a group of tempests that were bounced by a he 162 but this pilots 20mm cannon failed and the tempests could not catch him. The british pilots recalled that he was going way too fast possibly 1000km/h. Strangely this he 162 was escorted by me 262s. (Possibly a ferry flight).

[@kilrbe3]

Honestly was expecting more about him talking about his experience with the He 162. Mostly it was about his life pre and after war. With maybe 10mins about the actual plane... I thank him from the deepest of my heart, but I don't thank this YT channel. The title is really wrong, and its mostly about the story of the man. Not the story of the man and his machine.

[@steveh5005]

He was a a young teenage delivery pilot, not combat, so not that much to talk about I guess.

[@folkestender2025]

@Cherry Gorilla This plane could have been successful, but it came way too late for use. Nevertheless, one must have great respect for Ernst Heinkel, who develops and builds this jet fighter in 69 days. On September 8. 1944 the came the Order to build for this jet-fighter, in December 1944 started series production. it's crazy if you think about it.

[@gamerhistorian7843]

Hmm.. This man says that the He 162 shot down a Gloster Meteor Interesting..this would be the first jet vs jet combat.

[@nerome619]

it's also difficult to understand as the Meteor was not used for anything but home defense.

[@cullyschmetterling3963]

I wonder how the He162 might have done in the hands of experienced fighter pilots?

[@dalesheen1816]

Apparently a British fighter ace said it was one of the best planes he ever flew and Would fly circles around a Gloster Meteor

[@ghgghgyuhkljjijijui]

Life expectancy on Russian front 26-28 days!My god they had the worst hell on earth!

[@jackd7618]

Deekwad commentator re your glue comments ... The factory making the good glue was bombed. The alternative had too high an acid content.

[@jackd7618]

...meaning the historian at beginning

[@jackd7618]

correction glue comment is at 14.50

[@leifvejby8023]

That is correcct, the Tego-film factory was bombed

[@gasdorficmuncher9943]

this would be a great story to make a into a movie .

[@FroggyFrog9000]

This is whats great about The USA.

[@MrJp990]

I thought that British Meteors didn't see action in WW2?

[@raycirx]

MrJp990 They were first deployed in England to shoot down V-1 rockets. They did get some. Subsequently they flew combat missions in France, but there wasn't much Luftwaffe to fight by then. They weren't deployed over Germany with the official reason being the British didn't want the Germans shooting one down and getting the technology. It was more likely they were concerned about the Russians getting it. America's first jet fighter, the Lockheed Shooting Star was also in Europe by the end of the war, but saw no action.

[@MrJp990]

Now, I didn't know that. Thank you.

[@EricIrl]

+MrJp990 Mostly correct. The V-1 was a missile but it wasn't a rocket. It was powered by a form of jet engine called a "pulse jet". The Meteors deployed to continental Europe were 616 Squadron deployed to Belgium rather than France. The British were reluctant to have the Meteors fly over the Continent so delayed sending them on cross Channel sorties until well after D-Day. Because of this delay, they never encountered the Messerschmitt 262 or any other piloted German jets. My hunch is the the Meteors would have struggled a bit against a 262 - depending on the pilots involved, of course.

[@EricIrl]

+MrJp990 Mostly correct. The V-1 was a missile but it wasn't a rocket. It was powered by a form of jet engine called a "pulse jet". The Meteors deployed to continental Europe were 616 Squadron deployed to Belgium rather than France. The British were reluctant to have the Meteors fly over the Continent so delayed sending them on cross Channel sorties until well after D-Day. Because of this delay, they never encountered the Messerschmitt 262 or any other piloted German jets. My hunch is the the Meteors would have struggled a bit against a 262 - depending on the pilots involved, of course.

[@hejdu4480]

Daam so he was in the german army but became an american pilot....

[@garyelderman1229]

So much for me thinking all the Germans were the "bad guys."

[@edsmith4995]

Fascinating stuff!