The Heinkel He162 was a light fighter designed and built in Germany in the last months of World War II.

It was a good little fighter but problems with manufacturing and shortages meant it had little effect on the course of the war.

The Heinkel He 162 was designed and the prototype flown in only three months at the end of 1944 in a desperate attempt to give the Luftwaffe a simple and effective air superiority fighter.

It was an excellent fight fighter but its success was hampered by poor construction quality control and lack of fuel and engines so, although about 320 were manufactures, only a handful were flown in combat.

At the end of the war France was given five captured He162s and three were made airworthy.  They were used to give French pilots experience in flying jet aircraft until more modern jet aircraft became available.

This model represents a captured He162 in French service on display at the Salon de Provence in 1949.

Hobby Boss 1/72 kit with Berna completed by Leigh Edmonds in December 2016.