Hurricane MK II Vs. He-162A-2???

[Reggie Mental]

The He162 is modelled on early turbojet technology. Because we may have flown a modern sim with loads of power like and F16 or F18 we assume jets have always had very fast acceleration and climb. In 1944/5 this was not the case.

BMw003 or JUMO 004 or Hirth SO11 engines did not have reheat and their power out put was dependent on slow spooling up times and how much air was getting inside them.

All fighters lose speed in turns, but piston engines accelerate better afterwards. Early jets did not and needed long straight runs, even shallow dives to spool up the turbine and give more power output. More air in=More power out, bit like a supercharger for high altitude piston engines. Jets of that period were best fought like their piston engined contemporaries, ie energy tactics!

Also when flying the He162, you should exploit its straight line speed. It will accellerate to 700km/h + if flown well. It is more accurate gun platform at higher speeds. At lower speeds it 'snakes' when the cannons are fired. This was due to the designs inherent longitudinal instability, a problem that would likely have been cured by a v tail and higher dihedral in the C model. The D model swept forward wings were not possible with current construction methods, but were a theoretical improvement. The propsed armanent of 2 30mm cannons would have been devastating against bombers and ground targets. Also the small size and the fitting of the cannons close to the centreline means little problems with divergence too.

As a dogfighter it is also very capable. Just don't let your speed drop below 550km/h and don't get lower than your opponent (unless you have built up a good rate of speed first.) If it goes wrong and you find yourself pootling about 220kmh, dive away and attack later.

If I went online against Hurricane MkIIc, I'm pretty sure I'd shred it in short order. The Volksjager is one of my best mounts. Fast, small target, easy to fly and powerfully armed.