In the fall of 1942, Heinkel received a contract for the He S 011, a high pressure ratio engine with a growth potential of 15,568 N (3,500 lb). The engine was designed by Dr. Hans von Ohain, who generally shares credit with Britain's Sir Frank Whittle for independently inventing the jet engine

Some advanced features, included a novel high mass flow, high pressure ratio inducer stage followed by a 3-stage, 50 percent reaction axial compressor, and a two-stage, air-cooled, axial-flow turbine. The first engine ran in early 1944, and all of the performance data had been met or exceeded by early 1945. The engine was flight tested under the fuselage of a Junkers Ju-88 test-bed aircraft, but was never flown under its own power by the end of World War II. Mass production also was not begun before the war ended. One intended airframe application was the Heinkel He 162a, which was not built.