Brief history of the Heinkel Fiat G-162

Soon after the introduction into service of the Heinkel He-162 fighter it was clear that it would never make a very good fighter aircraft. The Heinkel He-162 was difficult to handle and an unstable gun platform.

The Me-262 was a far better fighter and from January 1945 enough of the Messerschmitt fighters were available to the front line units. Also the Me P-1101 and Ta-183 fighters were planned for operational use from the end of 1945 onwards. This left the Luftwaffe with a large number of He-162 aircraft that it didn't really want. The obvious solution was the sale of these aircraft to Germany's allies. 

The Italian government had been asking the Germans for jet fighters for a long time. They asked for 100 Messerschmitt Me-262 aircraft plus 300 Jumo 004 engines for their own Reggianne Re-2007 fighter. In June 1945 they received 250 Heinkel He-162's instead. The aircraft were reassembled by Fiat and received the designation G-162.

They were put into combat by the ANR in the defense of Northern Italy.  The ANR names the fighter Lucertola (Lizard). The Italian pilots were not happy with their new jet fighter, especially as their training on the flying of jet aircraft was virtually zero.

The type was withdrawn from service in 1948.

The model

This 1/72 model is an old Revell He-162 kit that was repainted.