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.

Full front view

Upper section

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

Side view of the seat pan and footrests and pedal

Seat cushion and straps

Front pan showing the footrests

Headrest area showing harness routing

Looking down at the seat pan

Ejection Seat Trivia	An Ejection Seat Warning
Fascinating Ejection Seat Facts	Underwater Ejection
Ejection from an OV-1 Mohawk (Animated GIF)	Seat Gallery
Ejection Seat Manufacturers	Ejection Anecdotes
Zero-Zero Ejection The Weber F-106 & Project 90	NASA ejection seats
Remembering the Pioneers	Some Ejection Seat Links
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