Shows Herbert Ihlefeld leading his squadron, JG/1, in their revolutionary Heinkel He 162 jets on a patrol in 1945. Ihlefeld is flying his personal He162, ''White 23'', which was later captured intact and is now in the collection of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. Herbert Ihlefeld is one of the most important personalities of the Luftwaffe. He is one of the First and the Last - when WW II began he was already credited with seven aerial victories from the Spanish Civil War. Ihlefeld amassed more than 1,000 missions; he was credited with 56 victories in the west and 67 victories in the east for a total of 123 aerial victories. The He 162, or Volksjäger (People's Fighter) first flew on December 6, 1944 – the prototype was destroyed during flight trials when the wings were pulled off during flight, killing the test pilot. The specifications for the jet required that it be so simple to operate that teenage Hitler Youth pilots could fly into combat after rudimentary training. The He 162 has been erroneously referred to as the “Salamander” – the term was actually a codename for the wing structure, not the aircraft. There is no evidence that Ihlefeld flew White 23 in combat, and indeed the type saw limited action against the Allies and was not a viable fighter aircraft. Herbert Ihlefeld flew more than 1,000 missions and achieved 140 aerial combat victories , earning the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves
