Focke-Wulf Fw 190

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was a fighter aircraft used by Germany during World War II. It was the Luftwaffe's second fastest combat plane, right after the Dornier Do 335 Pfeil. It had been designed by Kurt Tank in 1937 to replace the obsolete Heinkel He 51 and to complement the Messerschmitt Bf 109. It flew for the first time on June 1, 1939, entering service in August 1941, with the Jagdgeschwader 26, II Gruppe. It would be massively produced, as about 23,000 aircraft had been made by 1945, with the Fw 190A-8 and Fw 190F being the most widely employed.

This formidable and capable German aircraft first saw combat action in late August 1941, in the skies over the English Channel and northern France. It would achieve considerable success against the RAF aircraft in dogfights, specially against the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire V. Its efficiency came to a point that the British found it extremely difficult to counter the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in the spring and summer of 1942 as more of them entered frontline operation. Therefore, the British pilots would have to wait for the introduction of the Spitfire IX, which had a more powerful engine, a Merlin-61, with a two-stage supercharger, to be able to match the Fw 190A-1/2/3 variants.

In September 1942, to overcome the relative low performance at high altitude of the BMW 801 engine, which powered the first production versions, the German engineers replaced it with the Junkers Jumo-213, V-12 engine, which put out 1,800 HP. Thus, the new variant was called Fw 190D-0. Meanwhile, the Fw 190F and Gs were ground-attack versions of the fighter, as they were fitted with racks and hard points to carry 250 and 500-kg bombs. These versions would be used more intensely on the Eastern Front. Fitted with a new, even more powerful engine, a Junkers Jumo 213E, with 2,000 HP, it would be developed into the Focke-Wulf Ta 152.

Below, two Fw-190A-8 in flight as they dive down sharply.

 

Technical Description

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was a single-seat, single-engine monoplane. It was fitted with straight low wings, which were built around two spars. This through-spar construction made it very strong. Its large wings also made it very agile, especially during rolling maneuvers in dogfights; however, it showed some lack of aileron control at high-speed dive. The tailplane was a variable incidence unit driven by a small motor in the base of fin. Fuel was held in two self-sealing tanks situated under the pilot's seat.

Its fuselage was all-metal, with aluminum. It featured armor plates attached behind the pilot and the sides of fuselage. The cockpit was well laid out, offering excellent visibility in flight, but its broad nose and tail-down stance made ground visibility poor. The canopy slid back for ingres and egress and it could be jettisoned with explosive cartridges in case of emergency. Its main landing wheels retracted inwardly to lie in the wing roots.

Specifications (Fw 190A-8)

Type: fighter

Length: 8.84 m (29 ft)

Wingspan: 10.50 m (34 ft, 5 in)

Wing Area: 18.3 sq. meters (196.98 sq. ft)

Height: 3.96 m (13 ft)

Power Plant: one BMW-801D-2, 14-cylinder, radial piston engine, delivering 2,100 HP.

Maximum Speed: 654 km/h (408 mph)

Range: 810 km

Armament: four 20-mm MG-151 cannons; two 7.92-mm machine guns; one 500-kg or two 250-kg bombs.

Below, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 at a military airbase in France in 1943.

 

Below, the Fw 190D-9 version, from which the Ta 152 would be developed.