The Ejection Site

Thanks to Ludo Kloek, a reader from Belgium who sent me these photos of the He-162 Salamander (or Volksjager) ejection seat displayed in the Deutches Museum. This is one of the earliest seats in service in the world. The seat had the parachute stored in the seat pan, and was cartridge fired hence the name 'Schleudersitz Heinkel-Kartusche'. The Kartusche refers to cartridge. Other early German seats were powered by compressed air.

The Germans were the first nationality to use ejection seats in aircraft. They were used first in developmental aircraft, then in certain operational aircraft. By the end of World War II, over 60 aircrew had used ejection seats in combat.

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Front View

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Upper Section

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3/4 left view
note the 'D-ring' on the harness

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Side view of the seat pan and footrests and pedal

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Seat cushion and straps

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Front pan showing the footrests

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Headrest area showing harness routing

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Looking down at the seat pan

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