The First Jet Pilot by Erich Warsitz & Lutz Warsitz

Author:Erich Warsitz & Lutz Warsitz [Warsitz, Erich]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781844684632
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2012-10-17T04:00:00+00:00

Towards the end of 1938 some structural changes to the hull and engine were necessary. We dedicated the winter months to the task and in the spring of 1939 went ahead with the preliminary tests. I had advanced the rolling tests so far that I would roar the machine full out from the airfield boundary until she lifted off. A kind of leap into the air would ensue, then I would shut down the engine and land again. These flights did not look too good from the ground! At take-off the aircraft would wobble, yaw left and right and back again and then fall. All at two metres altitude, later five! As the leaps got bigger I could see that the airfield was not long enough. It had to be extended very urgently to provide a take-off strip towards the west between 800 and 1000 metres long, while on the other side the woods had to be cut down to give me a better chance of stopping, or for a better airstrip. Later concrete airstrips were laid at Peenemünde. We started building the airfield in 1937, before then there had only been sea, marsh, moor and woods here.

I flew a whole series of short ‘flights’ – over one hundred – under the aircraft’s own power up to 10 to 20 metres altitude: these were only short leaps estimated at over 100 metres long. Up to this time we had deliberately kept the Luftwaffe generals in the dark but in the end could not prevent an RLM visit headed by Udet, Milch and half the General Staff. When they arrived in May 1939, the He 176 was already on the airfield in front of the hangar.

After his examination Udet said laconically: “Man, you call those wings? They’re running boards!” Then he turned to me: “And you want to fly it?”

“Why not,” I replied, “she has already flown, if only short flights, but she has been in the air!”

Some of the most senior officiers stayed on the field while the others retreated to the boundary. Then I demonstrated the short flight. Unfortunately the wind did not play along so that I had to use an uneven strip to take off. This made the run, the brief waggle in the air, the whole flight and landing – I was close to overshooting and had to intentionally spin to a standstill – look like a disaster! After getting out I was driven to where the generals and Dr Heinkel were waiting. Milch was the first to approach. He congratulated me and promoted me on the spot to Flugkapitän for my special achievement. Udet and everybody else who had seen it also offered their congratulations.

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