Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger German WW2 Fighter

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AVIATION REFERENCE

ABOVE Adetail from a set ofmagnificent drawings of theFocke-Wulf Fw 190A-8 byrenowned technical artistArthur Bentley (who may becontacted at www.albentleydrawings.com).OPPOSITE TOP The Fw 190wasone of the most formidable and feared - of German WorldWar Two fighters.OPPOSITE BOTTOM Aline-up ofearly pre-production Fw 190Aswith BMW engines roaring.

The LTDaccepted Tank'sconcept, and in the summer of1938 placed an order for theconstruction of prototypes, thefighter receiving its official ReichAir Ministry designation: theFocke-Wulf Fw 190,

By thespring of 1939 theairframe of the Fw 190 V1 (fi rstprototype) was almost complete,and that of theV2 was welladvanced, However, BMWwashavingdifficulties with its 139eng ine,The big radial was prone

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low-wing monoplane, In contrast tomost other high-speed fighters ofthe period, it was to bepowered byan air-cooled radial engine, thenew 18-cylinder BMW139, whichdeveloped 1,550 hp. duringbench tests, Designer Kurt Tankselected this engine because itwas one of the most powerful thenavailable in Germany, and becauseair-cooled engines were morerugged and less vulnerable tobattle damagethan their liquidcooled counterparts,

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When the fa st and highly-mano:uvrable Focke-Wulf Fw 190 entered combat in the autumnof 1941 it came as anasty shock to its opponents.The new German fighter appeared tooutperform with some ease the Spitfire Mk V,the best machine the RAF possessed at thetime. Dr ALFRED PRICE describes the history of this versatile, pugnaciousfighter-bomber

HE FOCKE-WULF Fw 190began life in the spring of1938,when the LuftwaffeTechnical Dffice (LTD)

invited theFocke-Wulf company atBremen tosubmit design proposalsfor a new fighter tosupplement theMesserschmitt Bf 109B, whichwasin service in several Jagdgruppen(fighter groups) and had seencombat in Spain,

The fighter that took shape onthe drawing boards was entire lyconventional in layout; an all-metal

AEROPLANE, SEPTEMBER 2004 67

thecorrect relationship between thewing and tai lplane, the span of thelatter was also increased.

When the V5 was fitted with newwing and tail surfaces, Sander foundthat thefighter's rateof climb and itsgeneral handling weregreatlyimproved. The larger wing reducedthe maximumspeed by about 6m.p.h., but that was afair price topay. On learn ing of the improvementsthe LTOordered that all aircraft not inan advanced stage of constructionshould be fitted with the larger wingand tai lplane.

During the autumn of 1940 thefirst Fw 190A-Os started to emergefromthe factory at Bremen.The firstseven pre-productionai rcraft had thesmal ler wing and tailplane, but theeighth andsubsequent aircraft werefitted with larger surfaces. By nowthe Luftwaffe had ordered 100production aircraft and the FockeWulf factory at Marienburg , theAradofactory at Warnemunde and theAGOfactory at Oschersleben were toolingup to mass-produce thenew fighter.

Into ServiceIn March 1941 Erprobungsstaffel190 (Test Squadron 190) was formedat Rechlin -Roggenthin under thecommand of Obit Otto Behrens totest the Fw 190A-0 under Serviceconditions.These early Service trialsdid not augur well for the type'sfuture military career, however.Initially the BMW 801 Calso had atendency tooverheat in flight,resulting in eng ines seizing up orcatching fire. One by one theproblems were solved, and variousmodifications incorporated.

InJune 1941 the first productionFw 190A-l s emerged fromMarienburg , and during Augustmonthly production reached 30ai rcraft.Within a few months theAradoandAGO plants were alsoproducing the new fighter. The

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ABOVE The Fw 190 V1 ,D-OPZE, comes in to landafter a test flight. Theducted spinner and smallundercarriage doors wereremoved after trials.LEFT Focke-Wulf chief testpilot and qualifiedengineer Hans Sanderflew the Fw 190 V1 prototype on its maiden flight.

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ABOVE Aside view of D-OPZEaround the time of its first flightin the early summer of 1939. Theaircraft proved to be agile andfast, the only problem being theengine's tendency to overheat.RIGHT Kurt Tank, the resourcefulaeronautical engineer and pilotwho led the Focke-Wulf designdepartment during 1931-1945.BElOW The Fw 190 V1 after thefitting ofa normal spinner andin Luftwaffe markings as FO+LY.

to overheating, and it fai led to live upto its early promise.Thecompanynow wanted to abandon the projectin favour of the new BMW 801, a14-cylinder radial of the samediameter but weighing moreanddeveloping an extra 50 h.p. Installingthe BMW 801 in the fighter wou ldrequire a redesign of theforwardfuselage, but theLTOfelt that theimprovement in performance wouldjustify the changes, and agreed topay for them. TheV5 prototype wouldbethe first with the revisedairframeand the BMW801.

During May 1939 the Fw 190 Vlwas completed, and on June 1 testpilot Hans Sander took it into theairfor thefirst time, finding that theai rcraft handled beautifu lly, with lightand positivecontrols.Theonlyproblemconcerned theoverheatingof the BMW 139 engine.Wearingonly a thin flying suit, Sander foundthe cockpit uncomfortably hot, beingunable to open the bubble canopy inflight owing to thepossibility ofcreating turbulence over the tai l.Sander told the author: "The rear oftheengine was hard up against thefront wall of the cockpit, and my feeton the rudder pedals were on eitherside of the engine accessories. Thetemperature in the cockpit rose to55°C. I felt as though I was sittingwith my feet in a fi re! The heat wasbearable, but very uncomfortable."

The problemof overheating wou ldplague the BMW 139 throughout itslife. However, pilots at the Luftwaffetest establishment at Rechl in clockedthe new fighter at 369 m.p.h. in levelflight, and praised its handlingcharacteristics. In October 1939 theV2 began flying. This was the firstprototype to be fitted with weapons,having one 7·9mmMG17 machinegun in each wing root.

In a bid to improve the BMW139'scooling the ducted spinner on the Vlwas replaced by a normal spinner.Although this failed to cure theoverheati ng, removal of the ductedspinner caused only a minimalred uction in performance, and wasomitted fromsubsequent aircraft.

The Fw 190 V5, the first prototypepowered by the BMW 801, joined thetest programme in April 1940.Withthe additional weight of the newengine and a strengthened structure,the V5 weighed about 1,4001b morethanVl . Work also began on a batchof 40 pre-production Fw 190A-Os.

The extra weight increased thefighter's wing loading and its finehandling deteriorated. The on ly wayto restore this was to reduce thewing loading by increasing thewing area by some 20 per cent to196'5ft', with less taper. To maintain

68 AERO PLANE, SEPTEM BER 2004

ABOVE Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-2s of 7./JG2 - note the "Chamberlain's Hat"motif on the cowlings - at Morlaix in Brittany in the summer of 1942.BELOW Aline-up of Fw 190 prototypes awaiting test flights at Rechlin.

By the summer of 1942, however,the Fw 190's easy-going superiorityover all comers had begun to slipaway. TheSpitfi re IX, powered by thenew Rolls-Royce Merlin 61 with twostagesupercharging, enteredservice,its speed and climbing performancematching, and in some areasovertaking, those of the Fw 190.

Also at this time the US Eighth AirForce began sending increasinglylarge formations of Boeing B-17sand Consolidated B-24 Liberators toattack targets in occupied Europe.German fighter pilots sent up toengage these heavy bombers foundthe crossfire from such formationshighly disconcerting.

The American heavy bombers alsoposed another problem, as theGerman single-engined fighterslacked the firepower to engage themeffectively from the rear. On average,it took 20 hitswith 20mm roundsfrom the rear quarter to knock downa heavy bomber. Analysing combatfilms, Luftwaffe armament expertsfound that pilots of average ability hitthe bombers with only about 2 percent of the aimed rounds fired atthem.Thus, to obtain the necessary20 hits on a heavy bomber, 1,00020mm rounds had to be firedat it.But the Fw 190A-3 andA-4magazines held only 500 rounds of20mm ammunition.To destroy aheavy bomber, two or more fightershad to engage it (note that these areaverage figures).Ace pilots scored amuch higher proportion of hits, whilethose of below-averageability mightas well have stayed on the ground.

To overcome this problem MajEgon Mayer, the commander ofIII.1JG2, experimented with head-onattacks on the American formations.Against attackers coming fromahead, the bomber formation couldbring far fewer guns to bear.Moreover, the bombers' armour gavelittleprotection against attacks fromthat direction, so only four or five hitswith 20mm rounds were sufficient toinflict fatal damage.

On November 23, 1942, a force of36 B-17s and B-24s, without fighterescort, attacked the U-boat base atSt-Nazaire on the west coast of

lEFT The armourfitted to astandard

Fw 190 fighter toprotect the pilot andthe annular oil tank

set in the enginecowling. The pilot

received additionalprotection from the

self-sealing fueltanks directly

beneath his seat.

S.Smm

"During its first year in service the Fw 190enjoyed aclear edge in performance over

every enemy type it met in combat; apositionreinforced when the A-4 entered production in

1942 with water-methanol injection"

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ABOVE Fw 190A·0 WNr 0025 was the 11th of the pre-production aircraftto be built with the larger wing. These were designated as V5g (grosserfliigel) , asmaller-winged example being known as a V5k (kleiner fliigel).

initial production version carried anarmament of four 7·9mmmachineguns, two on top of the forwardfuselageand two in thewi ng roots,all synchronised to fire through thepropeller disk.

By theend of September 194182 Fw 190A-l s had been deliveredto theLuftwaffe. The lind Gruppe ofJagdgeschwader 26, based atMoorseele in Belgium, had reequipped with the new fighter, anddeliveries had started to III .1JG26 atLiegescourt in France.

Soon afterwards, RAF pilotsreported encounters with the newGerman fighter. On September 18 anRAF report noted the destruction of"a Curtiss Hawk (or Fw 190)". Thepilot, Hauptmann Walter Adolphcommanding II .1JG26, was killed.Three days later Spitfires of 315 Sqnreported shooting down an unknownenemy aircraft "with a radial engine".Again its pilot, Lt Ulrich Dzialas ofII .1JG26, was killed. In the ensuingmonths the RAFlearned, to its discomfort, that the new German fighterhad a considerable edge in performance over the Spitfire V, then FighterCommand's best available fighter.

In theautumn of 1941 theFw 190A-2, powered by the BMW801 C-2, entered production.Thisversion carried a Mauser MG 15120mm cannon in place of themachine-gun in eachwing root. Forattacking enemy bombers, severalA-2s were retrofitted with anadd-itional Oerlikon MG/FF 20mmcannon in eachWing, outboard of theundercarriage leg.

Early in 1942 the A-3 replaced theA-2 in production, and was fitted withthe more powerful BMW 8010-2,which developed 1,700 h.p. at takeoff. Armament was standardised atfour cannon and two machine-guns,as on the modified A-2s.

During its first year in operationalservice the Fw 190 enjoyed aclearedge inperformance over everyenemy type it met in combat. Thisposition was reinforced when theA-4entered production early in 1942with water-methanol injection forshort periods of increased combatpower at low and mediumaltitudes.

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TheBatterinq Ram"In an attempt to solve this problem,the Luftwaffe introduced its so-called5turmgruppe units equipped with theFw 190A-8 R8 5turmbock (batteringram),which carried apair ofRheinmetall MK 108 30mmcannonin theouter wing positions. Mannedbyvolunteer pilots, these aircraftwere to make attacks on bomberformations from the rear, closing toabout 100yd from the target bomberbefore opening fi re. To help them tobrave the bombers' defensive fire,the aircraft carried extensiveadditional armour protection.

The extra armour and heavierarmament added some 400lb to theweight of a normal Fw 190A-8,imposing reductions in performanceand manreuvrability and making itvulnerable to the American escorts.To overcome this, each 3D-aircraftSturmgruppe was to be escorted into

value was in damaging bombers andforcing them to leaveformation to bepicked off individually.

Meanwhile, the Eighth Air Forcehad not been idle, and by thespringof 1944 its escort fighters couldprovide full-route cover for bombersattacking targets deep into Germany.The appearance of these highperformance escorts in largenumbers brought acrisis for theLuftwaffe home-defence units. Iftheir fighters carried sufficientarmament to destroy the heavybombers, theywere too heavy andunwieldy to dogfight with the escorts;if thefighters were nimble enough todogfight with the escorts, they weretoo lightly armed to engage thebombers successfully.

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ABOVE An Fw 190A·4/R6carrying WGr 21 rockets inunderwing mounts. Anaccurate aim was hard toachieve, however, and fewvictories were claimed.lEFT The muzzle of the30mm cannon mounted inthe outer wing position ofa Sturmbock Focke·WulfFw 190A-8/R8.

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ABOVE In 1943, a single Fw 190A-S fitted with standard armament wassent to Japan for evaluation. Although the type was not put intoproduction, this sole example received the Allied codename "Fred':

ABOVE Fw 190A-3s of I.IJGS1 at a forward airfield near Velikye Luki, westof Moscow, early in 1943. The type was specifically designed to berugged enough to operate from ill-equipped forward landing grounds.

Increasing the firepowerIn September 1943 the four factoriesbuilding theFw 190 - Focke-Wulfat Marienburg, AGO at Oschersleben,Arado at WarnemOnde and Fieselerat Kassel - delivered 317 A-4s andA-5s.These aircraft were modified tocarry two underwing launchers fortheWGr 21, a 21cm-calibre tubelaunched, spin-stabilised weaponadapted fromthe GermanArmyrocket mortar. The air-to-air roundweighed 2481b and was fitted with atime fuze to detonate the 881bwarhead at a preset distance about1,000yd from the launch point. Inthe heat of combat, however, it wasextremely difficult to judge the firingrange to within the necessary finelimits, and as a result most rocketswere launched too early or too late,exploding harmlessly either short oftheir target or beyond it. Fitting therocket with a proximity fuze wouldhave overcome that problem, but theLuftwaffe never brought this deviceintoservice.The rockets achievedoccasional victories, but their main

France. Mayer led his Gruppe in ahead-on attack, resulting in threeB-17s shot down and anotherseriouslydamaged. It was the mostsuccessful defensive effort so far bya single fighter Gruppe, and soonother unitswerecopying the tactic.

However, even if the fighter pilotthrottled back during the approach,the closing speed was some 400m.p.h., or 200yd/sec.That left timefor only a brief half-second burstfrom 500yd before the German pilothad to break away to avoid collidingwith his target. It took considerableskill to press home such an attack,and inexperienced pilots often fai ledto get their gunsight on the target inthe short time available. In head-onattacks a few ace pilots amassedimpressive victory scores, but pilotsof average ability achieved li ttle.

During thespring of 1943 theFw 190A-5 entered production,withthe engine mounting lengthened by15cm Oust under 6in) to improvehandling.A few months later thisversion was superseded by the A-6,with heavier armour and fast-firingMG 151 guns in place of the MG/FF20mmcannon in the outer wingpositions.Towards the end of theyear the Fw 190A-7 enteredproduction, with 13mm MG 131heavy machine-guns replacing therifle-calibre weapons above theengine.The Fw 190A-B, producedingreater numbers than any othervariant, had several improvementsover the A-7 and couldaccept alarger range of field modificationsthan its predecessors.

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actionby two Gruppen of lightlyarmed Messerschmitt Bf 109swithuprated engines, to hold back theAmerican escorts.

Because American heavy bombersflew in columns up to 30 miles long,the escorts could not be present instrength everywhere. TheGermanplan was to assemble a Gefechts verband (battle formation) comprisingthe Sturmgruppe and its twoescorting fighter Gruppen, and vectorthe force into the bomber streammidway along its length.

The first successful Sturmgruppeaction took placeonJuly 7, 1944.That day, 1,1 29 B-17s and B-24Liberators of the EighthAir Force,with more than 700 escorts, attackedtargets in the Leipzig area. MajorWalther Dahl led a Gefechtsverbandcomprising 1v' (Sturm)/JG3 and twoescorting Bf 109 Gruppen fromJG300 - a total of about 90 aircraft- into action against Liberators ofthe 492nd Bomb Group.As it curvedin behind the bombers the Sturmgruppe split into its three componentStaffeln, and each engaged adifferent part of the enemy formation.Leutnant Walther Hagenah described

ABOVE AB-24 takes heavy punishment from the 30mm high-explosive/incendiary rounds of a Sturmbock Fw 190. The tactics employed bySturmgruppe units dictated attacks from the rear at very close range.

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AB OVE In an attempt to improve performance at high altitude, V18, thefirst (·series prototype, was fitted with a DB 603G engine, a Hirth turboblower fed by a large ventral intake and afour-bladed VDM propeller.

five seconds' firing, we could notafford towasteammunition in wildshooting from long range. It wasessential that we held our fire untilwe were right up close against thebombers. We were to advance likeFrederick the Great's infantrymen,holdingour fire until we could see'the wh ites of theenemies' eyes '. "

During the advance each manclosed on hischosen bomber, whilethe American bomber crews let flywith everything they had.TheGerman pilots had strict orders towithhold their fire until the leadergave the order. Hagenah continued:

"We could only grit our teeth andpress on ahead. In fact, with theextra armour, surprisingly few of ouraircraft were knockeddown by thereturn fire.AStaffel might loseoneor two aircraft du ring the advance,but the rest continued relentlesslyon.We positioned ourselves about 100ydbehind thebombers before openingfi re . From such a rangewe couldhardly miss, and as the 30mmexplosive rounds struck home wecould see theenemy bomberslitera lly fallingapart in front of us."

Within about a minute, al l 11

"We positioned ourselves 100yd behind the bombers before opening fire.We could hardly miss,and as the explosive rounds struck home we could see the enemy bombers literally falling apart"

the tactics employed to the author:"Once aSturmstaffel was in

position about 1,000yd behind itssquadron of bombers, the Staffelleader would order his aircraft intolineabreast and, sti ll in closeformation, theywouldadvance on thebombers.At this stage our tacticswere governed by the performance ofour wing-mounted 30mm cannon.Although the high-explosiveammunition fired by this weapon wasdevastatingly effective, the gun 'srelatively low muzzle velocity meantthat its accuracy fell off rapidly withrange. And since we carried only 55rounds per gun, sufficient for about

ABOVE Fw 190 V53, DU+U(, was the second Fw 190A to be fitted with thein-line Junkers Jumo 213A engine, effectively becoming prototypenumber two for the Fw 1900-9. Note also the wide-chord propeller.

B-24s in the low squadron had beenshot down.The 2ndAir Division lost28 Liberators that day, most to theSturmgruppe attack and Hagenahwas credited with the destruction ofone of them. During the actionIV.lJG3 lost nine fighters shot downand three damaged. By thestandardsof thetime it was a highly successfuloperation for the Luftwaffe. As aresult, two other Jagdgeschwader,JG4 and JG300, also formedSturmgruppen.

TheAmerican reply to the newtactics was to send powerful fightersweeps aheadof thebombers,aiming to catch the unwieldy

In early 1943, Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-4s of 12 Staffel, IV.lJG1, operatedfrom Deelen in Holland as part of the Defence of the Reich. The unit wastasked with the interception of Allied bombers before they reached theGerman border. Cl 2004 JUANITA FI1ANZI

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DDatabase

Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw 190 frontline units - May 31, 1944AT THE END OF MAY 1944 there were 881 Fw 190s serving withLuftwaffe combat units. Of these, 265 were assigned to 13 fighterGruppen, 387 were assigned to 14 ground-attack Gruppen, and 11belonged to the single reconnaissance Staffel operating the type.

One unit, IV.(Sturm)/JG3, was forming with the Fw 190 Sturmbock,and five ground-attack Gruppen were converting from Ju 87 Stukas toFw 190Fs and Gs. In May 1944, factories delivered 841 new Fw 190s,sufficient to replace combat attrition and increase the size of the force

Ground-attack unitI. Gruppe SG5 7 (forming) 6

Luftflotte 6 (central sector of Eastern Front)

JG(Jagdgeschwader) - fighter geschwaderSG (Schlachtgeschwader) - ground-attack geschwaderSKG (Schnellkampfgeschwader) - fast bomber geschwaderFernaufklarungsgruppe- long-range reconnaissance gruppe

ABOVE Grou nd collisio=n::'-s'::w:::e~re:-:a:--~;;;~;;;;; ;;;;;;:::;:;;;;;;;;;;~frequent occurrence at thecongested forward airfields oftheEastern Front, as this picture of apair of JG51 Fw 190s illustrates.RIGHT The Fw 19DA4/U4 was aphoto-reconnaissance variant ofthe fighter, carrying two camerasmounted in the rear fuselage in asplit-pair arrangement.

ABOVE Groundcrew work on the fuselage guns of an Fw 190A-4 of StabJG51 on an airfield in Russia. The unit was operated as a part of bothLuftflotte 4and Luftflotte 6during its time on the Eastern Front.

ABOVE An Fw 190A-8 ofthe newly-formed JG6 at Konigsburg in thesummer of 1944. Note the full-sized head-on view of a 8-17 painted onthe hangar doors to assist pilots to judge their range from the bomber.

249

2919

8

43650

o14192

2325

(forming) 233

532

Serviceable

124

21520

(forming) 1201178

28 (forming) 25

42 (forming) 225 2

26 925 1534 2428 (forming) 2627 15

343

244425428281023

232

11

319292

3332

1242

881

Total

SG1SG1

JG2JG2JG2JG26JG26JG26

SG4SKG10

SG3

JG300JG300

JG1JG1JG1JG3JG11JG11JG1 1JG54

Dayfighter unitsStab JG54 4I. Gruppe JG54 42II. Gruppe JG54 54

Luftflotte 4 (southern sector of Eastern Front)

Ground-attack unitsII. GruppeIII. Gruppe

Total

Ground-attack unitsII. Gruppe SG2Stab SG10I. Gruppe SG10II. Gruppe SG10III. Gruppe SG10I. Gruppe SG77II. Gruppe SG77

Luftflotte 5 (north Norway, Finland)

Ground-attack unitsStab SG4 3I. Gruppe SG4 14II. Gruppe SG4 27

Luftflotte 1 (northern sector of Eastern Front)

UnitLuftflotte Reich (Home Defence)

Dayfighter unitsStabI. GruppeIII. GruppeStabI. GruppeII. Gruppe

Ground-attack unitsIII. GruppeI. Gruppe

Strategic reconnaissance unit5. Staffel, Fernaufklarunqsqr, 123

Luftflotte 2 (Mediterranean Front)

Dayfighter unitsStabI. GruppeII. GruppeIV.(Sturm) GruppeI. GruppeIII. Gruppe10. StaffelIII. Gruppe

Day/nightfighter unitsStabII. Gruppe

Ground-attack unitIII. Gruppe

Luftflotte 3 (Western Front)

AEROPLANE, SEPTEM BER 2004 73

ABOVE After the war, 64 Fw 190A-8s were built by French manufacturerSNCAC using the former German production lines at Cavant, under thedesignation NC 900. They were in Armee de l'Air service for a short time.

ABOVE AFocke-Wulf Fw1900-9 of IV.lJG3 at Prenzlau, north of Berlin, inMarch 1945.The "00ra-9'; as it was known in service, had impressiveperformance equivalent to that of the Spitfire XIV and P-S1 0 Mustang.

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Focke-Wulf Fw 190 vs Supermarine Spitfire

SIXTEEN EXAMPLES OF THE Fw 190 are known to have beenevaluated in the UK (including Fw 190A-4/UB WNr 7155, seen aboveas PE882, with Royal Navy Spitfire R7193 as escort). The first wascaptured on June 23, 1942, when It Arnim Faber of II1./JG2 becamedisorientated and landed his Fw 190A-3 at RAF Pembrey in southWa les. His ai rcraft went to the Ai r Fighting Development Unit (AFOU)at Duxford for comparative trials against Al lied figh ter types, includingthe Spitfire VB, which then equipped most Fighter Commandsquadrons. The fo llOWing excerpts are from AFOU documents, whichmust have made grim reading for the RAF:

The Fw 190 was compared with a Spitfire VB from an operationalsquadron for speed and all-round manceuvrability at heights up to25,000ft. The Fw 190 is superior in speed at all heights, and theapproximate differences are listed below:• At 1,000ft the Fw 190 is 25-30 m.p.h. faster than the Spitfire VB• At 3,000ft the Fw 190 is 30-35 m.p.h. faster• At 5,000ft the Fw 190 is 25 m.p.h. faster• At 9,000ft the Fw 190 is 25-30 m.p.h. faster• At 15,000ft-18,OOOft the Fw 190 is 20 m.p.h. faster• At 21,000ft the Fw 190 is 25 m.p.h. faster• At 25,000ft the Fw 190 is 20-35 m.p.h. faster

ClimbThe climb of the Fw 190 is superior to that of the Spitfire VB at allheights. Under maximum continuous climbing conditions the climb ofthe Fw 190 is about 450ftlmin better up to 25,000ft. With both aircraftflying at high cruising speed and then pulling up into a climb, thesuperior climb of the Fw 190 is even more marked. When both aircraftare pulled up into a climb from a dive, the Fw 190 draws away veryrapidly and the pilot of the Spitfire has no hope of catching it

DiveComparative dives between the two aircraft have shown that theFw 190 can leave the Spitfi re with ease, particularly during theinitial stages

ManlJ!uvrabilityThe manceuvrability of the Fw 190 is better than that of the Spitfire VBexcept in turning circles, when the Spitfire can quite easily out-turn it.The Fw 190 has better acceleration under all conditions of flight andthis must obviously be useful during combat

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engine. The "Dora" had aperformance comparable to that ofthe Spitfire XIV and the P-51DMustang, the best fighter types thenin service with the RAF and theUSAAF. It was optimised for fighterversus-fighter combat, and itsarmament comprised two MG13113mm machine-guns mounted ontop of the engine and two MG15120mm cannon in the wing roots, allsynchronised to fi re through thepropeller disk.

During the closing months of thewar the crippling shortage of fuelplaced severe limits on Luftwaffeoperational flying. Many Fw 190units were confined to the ground,and, when they got airborne,Alliedair superiority was such that theyachieved little. Some 19,500 Fw190s of all versions were buill, thetype remaining in production Duntil the end of the conflict. ~

Gefechtsverband formation and breakit up before it got near the bombers.Once the formation was broken up itwas almost impossible to re-form itin time to engage the bombers, andthe operation had to be abandoned.In general the countermeasure wassuccessful, and from the autumn of1944 the Sturmgruppe tacticsachieved little.

Enter long-nosed "Dora"The next major fighter version, theFw 1900-9, entered service in theautumn of 1944. It was powered bythe Junkers Jumo 213, whichdeveloped 2,240 h.p. for take-off.At first glance the Fw 1900 lookedas if it was powered by an air-cooledradial engine, like its predecessors,but the Jumo 213 was a liquidcooled in-line, its misleadingappearance being due to the annularradiator mounted in front of the

Focke-Wulf Fw 1900-9"White 12" is seen in the colours of III .1JG301, while defending the westernperimeter of the Reich in April 1945. This "00ra-9" was one of many captured by Americantroops as they advanced through the occupied territories and Germany.(l 20 0 4 JUANITA FRANZI

74 AE RO PLANE, SEPTEMBER 2004

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Kurt Tank led the team that designed and builtthe Fw 190,and al so took avery active part inthe testing of the aircraft. Dr ALFRED PRICEinterviewed him in 1975, during which thedesigner recalled the type'sdevel opment

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ABOVE The Fw 190 V7 ready for test firing atthe stop butts. The fightercarried two 7·9mm MG 17 machine-guns mounted above the engine andtwo more in the wing roots, providing an accurate, narrow field of fire.

TOP Focke-Wulf chief designer Kurt Tank in the cockpit of his most famouscreation, the Fw 190. After the war, Tank lived in Argentina, where hecontinued to design aircraft. ABOVE Tank's original concept for hisDienstpferd in the experimental shop at Bremen in the spring of 1939.

co-ordinated the work. Rudi Blaser,with the help of the people in thedrawing office, designed thestructure, He was avery cleverpractical engineer, and usuallyseemed able to meet the strengthrequirement for a particularcomponent for the lowest possiblestructural weight. Ludwig MittelhOberheaded the team at the project officeresponsible for the Fw 190. HansSander and Kurt Melhorn , the menwho were to carry out the initial flyingtest programme, were brought inearly.They had a great deal of say,especially about the layout of thecockpit, the positioning of theinstruments and the design of thecontrols, Altogether, the team whichprepared the design of the Fw 190comprised about 12 men.

"For the design weight andestimated land ing speed of theprototype aircraft, we calculated thatan undercarriage to withstand asinking speed of 2·5m/sec would besufficient. But if the aircraft wasdeveloped its maximum speed,weight and landing speed would allincrease. That would result inconsiderably higher forces on theundercarriage during landing, So inthe original stress calculations weallowed for a sinking speed of4·5m/sec.Then we designed theundercarriage to be strong enough totake that. The move paid off. Duringits life the maximum loaded weight ofthe Fw 190 rose from 2%tons tomore than twice that figure, but withfew changes the undercarriageremained adequate, I have used theundercarriage as an example, but infact several parts of the originalstructure were a great deal strongerthanthe minimum necessary,

"Hans Sander did the initialtesting, then I flew the aircraft andfound that she handled beautifully inthe air. Thework we had put into theflying controls had produced theresults we wanted. I have alwaysbelieved that a pilot should not haveto use a great deal of muscle power

"I dare say a really good designercould have produced such afighterall by himself. But it would havetaken about eight years and at theend of that time nobody would havebeen interested in it! Adesign for afighting aircraft was of value only if itcould be brought out quickly, so theclosest collaboration between themembers of thedesign team wasessential. My assistant, Willi Kather,

survive more punishment than theliquid-cooled types.And secondlybecause the BMWcompany wasbench-running prototypes of a newengine, the 1,550 h.p. BMW 139,which developed more power thanany liquid-cooledengine we hadbeen offered. If our Dienslpferdwereto come close in performance toother 'racehorses' we would need al ltheengine power we could get.

" HEMESSERSCHMITI Bf 109and the British Spitfire, the twofastest fighters in the world atthe timewe began work on the

Fw 190, could both besummed upas avery large eng ine on the front ofthe smallest possibleairframe. Thesedesigns, both of which admittedlyproved successful , could be likenedto racehorses. Given the right amountof pamperingand an easy course,they could outrun almost anything,But the moment the going becametough they were liable to falter.

"DuringWorldWar One I served inthe cavalry and in the infantry. I hadseen the harsh conditions underwhich military equipment has to workin wartime. I felt sure that a quitedifferent breed of fighter would haveaplace in any future conflict: onethat could operate fromill -preparedfrontlineairfie lds; one that could beflown and maintained by menwhohad received only a short training;and one that could absorb areasonable amount of battle damageand still get back. It was to be nota 'racehorse' but a Dienslpferd(cavalry horse) .

"Obviously, if it was fitted with anengine developing the same power, aracehorse fighter with a lighterstructure would always beable toout-run andout-climb the sort offighter we had in mind. Yet we couldnot allow this difference to becometoogreat. The designproblemcentred around building astrongerairframe able to carry heavierweapons, without sacrificing toomuch in theway of performance.

"Frommy ownflying experience Iknew how important it was for afighter pilot to have thebest possibleall-round view, and we decided to fita largeframeless bubble canopy tothe new fighter. Later these becamevery fashionable, but in 1938 theidea was something of an innovation.

We chose an air-cooled radialengine for the new fighter for tworeasons. First, becausesuch engineswere far more ruggedand could

AE RO PLANE, SEPTEMBER 2004 75

to get an aeroplane to do what hewants. If the controls have beenproperly designed, he should be ableto conduct most rnanewres withonly a finger and thumb on thestick.Incombat a high rate of roll isessential for a fighter, so that thepilot can make rapid changes in hisdirection of flight. Theaileron stickforces had, however, to be keptbelow a maximum of about 81bbecause a man's wrist cannot exert aforce much greater than that. Wesucceeded in getting the stick forcesdown, and finally I had the aileroncontrolsas I wanted them.Theaircraft followed the movement of thestick immediately and precisely, withno initial tendency to yaw. Comparedwith theailerons, theother flyingcontrols were easy to design. Thestick forces were not so critical fortheelevators, and thehighest forcesof all could betaken on the rudderpedals, becausea man's legs arestronger than his arms."

Once the controls were correctlybalanced, it was important to ensurethat they stayed that way over a widerangeof speeds. A fighter pilot did

ABOVE Kurt Tank, on the right,shares a joke with Focke-Wulf testpilot Karl Mehlhorn. Tank joinedthe company in 1931 whenAlbatros Flugzeugwerke, for whomhe was working, was absorbed intothe Focke-Wulf company.LEFT The author, right, after hisinterview with Kurt Tank, centre,in 1975. On the left is formerluftwaffe anti-shipping bomberace Bernhard Jope.

mixture, propeller pitch setting, ignition timing, engine revolutions andthe selection of the correct supercharger gear. The pilot had simply tomove one control, his throttle, and intheory the Kommandcqerat did therest. I say in theory, because at firstthe device did not work at all wel l. Allsorts of thingswent wrong with it.One of the more disconcerting wasthe rather violent automaticswitching-in of the high gear of thesupercharger as the aircraft made itsclimb through 2,650m [8,700ft] .

"Once I was carrying out a testwith an early version of the Fw 190which involved a loop at mediumaltitude. Just as I was nearing the topof the loop, on my back with littleairspeed, I passed through 2,650mand the high gear of thesupercharger cut in with ajerk. Thechange in torque hurled the ai rcraftintoa spin with such suddennessthat I became completelydisorientated.And, since there was aground haze and an overcast and myartificial horizon had toppled, I had noway of knowing which waywas 'up' .Indeed, I never did find out whether it

"Just as Iwas nearing the top of the loop, on my back with little airspeed,l passed through 2,650mand the high gear of the supercharger cut in with ajerk, hurling the Fw 190 into aspin"

ABOVE An explosive ejection seat was designed by Hans Sanderfor the Fw 190. Adummy pilot was fired fromthe aircraft, but the tests revealed several problems with the ejection seat and it was not put into production.

not want to have to re-trim theai rcraft each time he moved thethrott le.The team was so successfulin this that it found that movable trimtabs were unnecessary. Small fixedtrimming tabs were fitted to theailerons, the elevators and therudder.These were adjusted on theground after the initial test fl ight, tocompensate for the wide tolerancesthat occur with a mass-producedaircraft.The only system of trimmingtheaircraft in flight was in theelevator sense, achieved usi ng anall-moving tailplane.

Even before the prototype Fw 190began its fl ight trials, BMWwasoffering the new BMW801 thenundergoing bench testing. Quiteapart from an extra 50 h.p., rising to200 h.p. later, the new engine wasmore reliable and less prone tooverheating. Shortly after the firstfl ight of the Fw 190, Focke-Wulfreceived a contract to modify thefighter to take the BMW 801.

Kurt Tank again: "Although theextra 50 h.p. was useful , we foundthat the extra 160kg [350Ib] ofengine weight, plus the additionalstructure necessary to carry it, plusthe weight of armour and theadditional equipment theLuftwaffenow wanted, had increased all-Upweight by about a quarter. Thewingloading rose from the 185'5kg/m'

[38Ib/ft'] of the first prototypeto224·6kg/m' [46Ib/ft'], and turningperformance deterioratedaccordingly.To restore the aircraft'spreviously pleasant handlingcharacteristics we enlarged the wingby extending each tip by just over50cm [20in] and reducing theamount of taper so that the outersections weresomewhat wider. Inthis way we increased the wing areaby just over 3·25m' [35ft1 andlowered the wing loading toa morereasonable 174·8kg/m' [35·8Ib/ft'].Later, to maintain the correctrelationship between the wing andthe tailplane, we madea proportionalincrease in the area of the latter. The

wing and the tailplane of the lowand medium-al titudeversions of theFw 190 then remained unchangedthroughout the remainder of thedevelopment life of the aircraft."

"Therewere some coolingproblemswith the BMW 801 , although theywere not as serious as those withBMW 139, and soon those difficultieswere reduced to within acceptablelimits. More seriouswere the troublesexperienced with the engine controlsystem- the Kommandogeral fi tted to the new engine.

"This was a rather clever deviceintended to save the pilot having toworry about the optimum relationshipbetween altitude and fuel flow, fuel

was an upright or an inverted spin.After considerable lossof altitude Imanaged to recover fromthespin,but the incident had given mea lot tothink about. As soon as I landed Iwas on the telephone to the BMWcompany. I told them that if they didnot sort out their engine and itsterrible Komrnandoqerat I would doall in my power to see that somebodyelse's engine was fitted into the Fw190! The Kommandoqerat was madeto work and it worked very well, but ittook quitea battle on our part."

• Thefull interviewmaybefound inFocke Wulf Fw 790 In Combot byOr AlfredPrice (SuttonPublishing,RRP£12.99)

76 AEROPLANE, SEPTEMBER 2004

The Fw190was design ed tobe adeadly fighter that was

ea sy to maintain in the field.Dr ALFRED PRICE detailsthestructure of thevariant

produced in greatestnumbers,the Fw190A-8

-

The fuselage was an all-metalmonocoquestructure built up ofbulkheads, flanged formers, andZ-section stringers with a stressedskin covering. The front inverted-Ifshaped bulkhead was attached to theupper flangeof the front spar. On thefront faceof the bulkhead and sparwere the fiveattachment points forthe engine mounting .The rearsection of the fuselage was integralwith the fin, and detachable from themain structure.A largedetachablepanel on the underside of thefuselage, extending fromthe enginebay to the rear of thecockpit,allowed for the installation andremoval of the fuel tanks.

The tailplane was a canti leverstructure, and thefin was builtintegral with the rear fuselage. The

TOP The Fw 190 was known unofficially in Luftwaffe service as derWiirger, or Shrike, the bird often referred to as "the butcher bird':AB OVE This photograph illustrates the grouping of the exhaust pipes on aBMW 801 D-2 engine, with two groups of four on each side, the remainingsix cylinders exhausting beneath the fuselage.

HEWING STRUCTUREof theFw 190 was built round thecontinuous front spar whichpassed th rough the fuselage

and was attached to the fuselage atthree points, two on the upper flangeand one on the lower. The rear sparwas made in two sections, with theroot attached to the sides of thefuselage by pin joints. The two-sparwing structure had widely-spacedflanged plates, with spanwiseZ-section stringers and astressedmetal skin. The front spar formed thepoints of attachment of themainundercarriage, which retracted toaposition ahead of thefront spar. Theailerons had metal frames and werefabric-covered. The al l-metal splitflaps, between the ailerons and thefuselage, wereelectrical ly operated.

"-'REAR SPARATT.A.CHMENTS'10 FU5ElJ\G E.

AHH UNITIONfO~ INBCARC

/ ;CANNQr<1

4::"7~

C~NK ED~l::ONT SPAR

LJRIGHTThe

•actuatmgmechanism ofthe port undercarriage leg.FAR RIGHT Adiagram byFlighttechnical artist Max Millarfrom the August 27, 1942, issue ofthe magazine, showing the simplewing attachment to the fuselage,and unusual cranked front main spar.

78 \ r~ ~ AEROPLANE, SEPTEMBER 20 04

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In early 1943 theFw 190 becameincreasinglyimportant intheground-atta ck rol e.Dr ALFRED PRICEexpla ins howtheai rcraft was adaptedfor, and operated in,th at mission

ROM THE AUTUMNOF 1942the Luftwaffe fighter forcewasseverely overstretched, andcould no longer impose air

superiority over all the fighting fronts.This meant that the Junkers Ju 87Stukas, which equipped the bulk ofthe ground-attack force, werevulnerable to enemy fighter attack.

As an improvisation, some unitsoperating the Fw 190A-4 or A-5fitted an underfuselage bomb rack tocarry a weapon loadof up to1,1OOlb.This worked well at first, buton the Eastern Front in particular theincreasingly ferocious groundfi re

TOP AFocke-Wulf Fw 190F of Schlachtgeschwader 1 during operationsfrom an icy airfield at Sopoc Puszta, Hungary, in January 1945.ABOVE Anumber of Fw 190As were used to test various equipment stores.The Fw 190A-3/U3 was fitted with a standard ETC 501 underfuselagerack, which here has an ER 4 rack with four 5C 50 bombs attached.

ABOVE Carrying one 5C 500 and two 5C 250 bombs, this Fw 190A-5 wasone of the prototypes for the Fw 190F·8. Note also the tropical filter.

gave rise to serious cumulativelosses.Accordingly, the Luftwaffeissueda requirement for aspecialised ground-attack variant ofthe Fw 190, with appropriate armourprotection for thepilot and othervulnerable parts of the aircraft.

Theresult was the Fw 190F"Friedrich", fitted with steel armourplates 5-6mmthick along theundersideof the fuselage, from thefront of theenginecowling to behindthe pilot's seat. Other curved steelplates, 5mm thick, protected the pilotfrom thesides, and the rugged BMW801 radial engine provided protectionfrom rounds coming from ahead.

To compensate for the weight oftheadditional armour, the two outerwing 20mmcannonwere removed,leaving two 20mm cannon and two7·9mm machine-guns. With thesechanges the Fw 190 became oneofthe best ground-attack aircraft of thetime, with a maximum speed of 326m.p.h. at low altitude carrying a550lb bomb. It carried a useful warload, afforded its pilot excellentprotection against ground fire, andcould engage enemy fighters onmoreor less equal terms.

The first few Fw 190Fs enteredservice with II.Gruppe of 5ch/ach!geschwader 1towards theendof


'GDatabase

Fw 190 main production ground-attack variants"During this period the ground

situation was so fluid that we had tostart each daywith an armedreconnaissance.Two or threeSchwarme [four-aircraft flights] weresent to patrol different parts of thearea assigned to our Gruppe, to seeif the enemy had moved, and if sowhere. Sincewe soon came to knowour area well and we knew where theenemy had been the night before, wehad a good ideawhere to startlooking for him the followingmorning.Also, whenever enemyarmoured units had broken through,they wouldadvance through opencountry, which madethe task offinding them much easier. "

Once the morning reconnaissancehad returned and thepilots haddelivered their reports on the latestenemy troop positions, the Gruppewas al located the day's targets.

"Our task was todo all we couldto delay the thrusts, to give Germanground forces time to improvisedefensive positions tostop the rush.Wherever there was a hole in thefront, it was our job to try to plug it.Our Focke-Wulfs were armed withtwo 13mm machine-guns and two20mm cannon, which we used forstrafing attacks.The bombs we usedduring these operations were mainly250 and 500kg [550 and 1,1 OOlb]and also SD-2, SD-4 and SD-l 0bomblets carried in containers.

"When we found enemy unitsmoving forwards unopposed, as amatter of policy we concentrated ourattacks on the soft-skinned supplyvehicles. These were relatively easyto knock out with machine-gun andcannon fire, and we knew thatwithout frequent replenishment offuel the tanks spearheading theadvance would not get far. If theenemy armoured unitswere actuallyin contact with our ground forces,however, then the tanks themselveswere our main target. "

Usually the Fw 190Fs flew in fou raircraft Schwarrne, although againstlarger enemyconcentrations as many

/

(

Smm

Smm

•

Fw 190F-1 Initial ground-attack variant, conversion of the A-4 fighterversion but with additional armour to protect engine andpilot. Armament: two MG 151 /20 20mm cannon and two7·9mm machine-guns, plus a rack for a 1,100lb bombunder the fuselage (or 5501b of bombs on each wing rack)

Fw 190F-2 As above, but conversion from A-5 fighterFw 190F-3 As above, but with features of A-6 fighterFw 190F-8 As above, but with the MG 17 machine-guns on the motor

cowling replaced by two MG131 13mm weaponsFw 190G-1 Extended-range version of the F-l , with mountings for two

66gal drop tanks under the wings. Fuselage-mountedmachine-guns removed

Fw 190G-2 As above, but similar to the F-2Fw 190G-8 With the above features, but incorporating many of the

changes introduced in the A-8 fighter

30mm

ABOVE Adiagram of the additional armourfitted to the Fw 190F and -G ground-attackvariants, designed to provide all-roundprotection for the otherwise vulnerable pilot.RIGHT Leutnant Werner Gail of 1II./5G3, whoplayed an active part in the Luftwaffe groundattack operations on the Eastern Front in 1944.

ABOVE An Fw 190F-8prepares to fly asortie with an AB 250 cluster bomb.Frontl ine unitsoften removed the wheel doors for ease of maintenance.

1942, but re-equipping theunit wasa long drawn-out process. DuringDecember, January and February1943 total production of Fw 190s forall roles averaged just under 160aircraft per month, which did littlemore than keep upwith combatattrition in the fighter units, leavingfew aircraft to spare for the groundattack units.

The Fw 190G"Gustav", developedin parallel with the "Friedrich", wasan extended-range fighter-bombervariant with fittings to carry eitherdrop tanks or bomb racks under thewings.To compensate for theadditional weight, the machine-gunswere removed, leaving just the two20mmcannon in the wing roots.

By mid-May 1943, Schlachtgeschwader I on the Eastern Frontreporteda total of 72 Fw 190s onstrength. Schlachtgeschwader II had11 more, plus a further 22 with itsII. Gruppebased in Italy.

In September 1943 the Luftwaffereorganised its fighter-bomber, closesupport, anti-tank and dive-bomberunits into a unified forcedesignatedas Schlacht (ground-attack) units.Atthe same time therewas a massiveboost in Fw 190 production, anaverage of 295 per month beingdelivered during December 1943 andJanuary and February 1944. Thatprovided sufficient aircraft to re-equipmany of the dive-bomber units. InMay 1944, of 881 Fw 190s servingwith combat units, 387, almost half,were Fand Gvariants assigned toground-attack units.

Leutnant Werner Gail served withIII. Gruppeof Schlachtgeschwader 3,anFw 190Fground-attack unitfighting on the Eastern Front in thesummer of 1944. Herecalls:

"Thesteamroller of the Russiansummer offensive had just begun itsmovewestwards. The enemy brokethrough in several places, and theirarmoured unitswere thrusting intoour undefended rear areas.As rapidlyas possible we moved toDuenaburgin Lithuania, then to Idriza in Russia.

Focke-Wulf Fw 190F-2 "Yellow W'; was operated on the Eastern Frontduring 1943 by 1I1./5G10, carrying the Luftwaffe's white-outlined blackt riangle on the fuselage to indicate the unit's ground-attack role.o 2004 JUANITA FRANZI

\

AEROPLAN E, SEPTEM BER 2004 81

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HEFOCKE-WULF Fw 190A-8had a maximum speed of408 m.p.h. at about 20,000ftand took just over 10min to

climb to this altitude. Describing thisvariant, fighter ace Hauptmann AntonHackl told the author:

"It was a nice stable aircraft andan excellent firing platform. The bigair-cooled radial engine wastremendously rugged and would keepgoing evenwith one or two cylindersshot away. With theengine and thetoughened glass windscreen in frontof him, thepiiot was well protectedfromenemy fire from ahead."

Hackl went on to describetherangeof options available forengaging B-17 and B-24 bombers.

"If one came in from the rear therewas a long period, closing from1,000m to our firing rangeof 400m,when the bombers were firing at us,but we could not fireat them.Thiswas a very dangerous time, and welost a lot of aircraft trying toattackthat way. An alternativewas to attackthebombers from above in a dive.For that we needed to start from aposition at least 1,000mhigher and500min front of the bombers.Thenwe could dive with plenty of speedand the bomber made a nice fattarget. But the problem with this typeof attack was that it took time to setup, and if we were caught in theclimb by enemy escorts things couldget difficult.

"I always led my Gruppe into theattack from head-on. It was the onlyway to knock down the bombers.

Dr ALFRED PRICErecountssomeof thereminiscences herecord ed duringinterviewswithform er Luftwaffepil otswho flewthefea rsome "ButcherBi rd" incombat

342 m.p.h. at sea level394 m.p.h. at 18,000ft2,110ft/min466 miles

7,3281b9,7001b

34ft 5Xin28ft 10Xin97ft'

Initial rate of climbRange

ArmamentTwo Mauser MG 151 20mm cannon, each with 250 r.p.g., mounted inthe wing roots. Two Rheinmetall MG 131 13mm machine-guns with 475r.p.g. mounted on top of the engine cowling. War load of up to 1,100lbof bombs, cluster bombs or rockets carried on racks fitted under thewings or fuselage

WeightsEmpty, equippedOperational, take-off

PerformanceMax speed (clean)

PowerplantOne BMW801 D-2 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine rated at 1,700h.p. for take-off, driving aVDM three-bladed constant-speed metalpropeller. Fuel capacity: 115gal in two self-sealing tanks under thecockpi t. Provision for one 66gal drop tank on the fuselage rack

DimensionsSpanLengthWing area

Focke Wulf Fw 190F·8 data

TOP Apair of ground-attack Fw 190s withempty ETC 501 bomb racks.RIGHTThe 5G 113 Fiirstersonde anti-tankweapon fitted in the wing of an Fw 190F-8.Two 77mm guns were mounted in the lowerhalf. When fired, anti-recoil counterweightswere ejected from the top half ofthe unit.BElOW An Fw 190G-8 was modified to carrythe Blohm und Voss Bv 246 Hage/korn glidingbomb. It was never used operationally.

as 12 aircraft might be sent. Thefighter-bombers approached thetarget area at altitudes around6,000ft, which put themabove theeffective reach of enemy light flak.However, if there was a layer of cloudaircraft usually flew beneath it tomaintain contact with the ground.

"Against the enemy tanks andarmoured vehicles we usually madeskip-bombing attacks, running in atspeeds of around 485km/h [300m.p.h.) at between 4 and 10m[15-30ft] above the ground andreleasing the bomb just as the tankdisappeared beneath our enginecowling.The 250kg bombs usedduring these attacks would eitherskip off the ground and into the tank,or elsesmash straight into thetank;the bombs were fuzed with aoneseconddelay, to give us time to getclear before theywent off. It was avery accurate form of attack, and weused it often against the tanks wecaught in open country. Once we hadreleased our bombs we would useup our cannon and machine-gunammunition against suitable targetsof opportunity.

"Sometimes we caught Russianunits that had outrun their flak cover,and then we could do a lot ofdamage and suffer hardly any lossesourselves. But if the enemy units hadproper flak cover our losses weresometimes heavy."

During the Soviet offensive pilotssometimes flew as many as eightsorties per day, but since thedistances were not great the sortiesaveraged about half an hour. TheV-VS (Soviet Air Force) concentratedits attention against the German rearareas, and usually the Germanfighter-bombers operated with littleinterference.

The Soviet offensive was still at fu llspate when the unit's activitiessudden ly came toa near halt. At theend of August 1944 the Luftwaffesuffered ageneral fuel shortageowing totheAl liedstrategic bombingattacks on the German oi l industry.The rate of flying combat missionsfell drastically, and from then on theunit used every means to save fuel.Beforea mission the aircraft weretowed by oxen from their dispersalsto the take-off point. On leaving therunway after landing, pilots had toshut down their engines and awaitthe towing oxen.

By mid-October 1944 the Sovietoffensive had spent itseif, havingadvanced up to 300 miles in someareas. One of the Luftwaffe unitsisolated in the Coerland peninsula inLatvia was III .1SG3, which, short offuel, flew few sorties during the i'i1remainder of the war. W

82 AERO PLANE, SEPTEMBER 2004

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IIII

One accurate half-second burst fromhead-on and akill was guaranteed.Guaranteed! "

After being wounded in action,Feldwebel Adolf Dilg was graded unfitfor combat and sent to theAradoplant at Warnemunde to serve as aproduction test and del ivery pilot.There he and his colleagues encountered several instances where newaircraft had been sabotaged.

"Sometimes we would find bits ofmetal swart in electrical junctionboxes, or sand in oil systems. On twoor three occasions brand-new FockeWulfs took off for on their maidenflights and as they liftedoff theground one of thewheels fell off.Thepin holding the wheel-retaining ringhad 'accidentally' come adrift.

"Once, when I was deliveringanaircraft, theengine suddenly burstinto flames. I baled out and the aircraft crashed intoa marshy area,where the water rapidly extinguishedthe flames. When thewreckage wasexamined it was found that somebody had jammed a couple ofpyrotechnic flares between cylinders7 and 9, the two at the bottom of therear row, which became hottest whenthe engine was running. During thedelivery fl ight the cylinders had dulyheated up, 'cooked-off ' the flares,and up went the engine."

During the final few days of thewar Dilg and his comrades receivedorders to evacuate Fw 190s fromtheaircraft park at Kolberg (nowKolobrzeg in Poland), whichwas inthe path of advancing Soviet forces.

AERO PLANE, SEPTEMBER 2004

TOP The Fw 190 was an extremely popular aircraft with pilots, owing toits extremely light and positive controls.ABOVE Luftwaffe pilots could be trained on the Fw 190A-8/U1, a two-seatconversion trainer variant of the fighter built only in small numbers.

ABOVE In 1945 Oberleutnant Oskar-Walter Romm flew the Fw 1900 on theEastern Front with IV./JG3. ABOVE RIGHTThe cockpit of the Fw 1900-9.Thefront panel is intwo parts, the upper part containing the primary flyinginstruments, with the engine instruments mounted below.

Therethe delivery pilots becamecaught up in another evacuation, thatto get Germanwomen andchi ldrenaway from threatened areas.

"I flew out a FockeWulf 190 withthe armour plate behind my seatremoved. In its place there croucheda 12-year-old girl. The radio hadbeen removed from the rear fuselageand there huddled her mother, whohad fi rst to removeall metal objectsfromher clothing so as not to interfere with the master compass besideher. Another of the ferry pi lots,Gefreiter Herzmann, flew an Fw 190out of Kolberg with a young childoneach kneeand their mother in therear fuselage."

Oberleutnant Oskar-Walter Rommflew with Jagdgeschwader 3 when itwas re-equipped with the Fw 190

~ "Dora-9" early in 1945.The unit was~

~ then operating on the Eastern Front,~

1; and hefound the new fighter signifi -z~ cantly superior to anything opposing~ it. He recalls:~

~ "As an air-superiority fighter ands interceptor the Fw 1900-9 handled~ better than the '190A; it was faster~ and had asuperior rateof climb.

During dogfights at altitudes ofbetween about 10,000ft- 24,000ft,the usual height when engaging theRussians, I found that I could pullthe Fw 1900 intoa tight turn andstill retain my speed advantage. Inthe descent theDora-9 picked upspeed much more rapidly than theA type; in the dive it could leavethe Russian Yak-3 andYak-9fighters standing."

83

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 survivors

'\5J Database

Fw 190A-2 WNr 5467 (in the colours of J65) - Crashed at Saqne Fjord,Norway, in March 1943. Currently owned by Wade Haynes of Anson,Texas, and registered N6152PFw 190A·5 WNr 1227 (4./J654) - This 4.1JG54 machine, DG+HO, "White4", crashed near Leningrad in July 1943. Removed from crash site byhelicopter in 1990 and shipped to UK. Restored and registered asG-FOKW. Sold to Flying Heritage Collection, Seattle, USA, in 1999 andregistered N19027. Currently in the UK for rebuildingFw 190A·6/R6 WNr 550214 (PN+LU) - Nightfighter of III.lNJGllcaptured and evaluated by the RAF in 1945 as AM10. Currently displayedat the South African National Museum of Military History, JohannesburgFw 190A-6 WNr 550470 (I.1J626) - Crashed Wevelgem, Belgium,November 1944. Currently owned by Malcolm Laing and based atLubbock, Texas, USA. Registered as N126JGFw 190A·8 WNr"170393" (6./J61) - Composite made up from severaloriginal parts. Currently on display at the Luftfahrtmuseum LaatzenHannover, GermanyFw 190A·8 WNr 173056 - Owned by Don Hansen and based at BatonRouge, Louisiana, USA. Under restoration. Registered as N91169Fw 190A-8 WNr 173889 (7./J61 "Yellow 4") - Crashed in Russia,November 1944. Currently under restoration for Dr Mark Timken atKissimmee, Florida, USAFw 190A·8 WNr 350177 (12./J65) - Owned by John Houston and basedat the Texas Air Museum, Rio Hondo, USA. Registered as N4247LFw 190A·8 WNr 732070 (12./J65) - Crashed in Norway in 1945.Currently stored at the Texas Air Museum, Rio Hondo, USAFw 190A·8 WNr 732183 (12./J65) - The former mount of Leutnant RudiLinz, 79-victory ace shot down and killed in this machine in Norway inFebruary 1945. Registered as N90FW to the Texas Air Museum, August1988. Currently at Norwegian Air Force Museum, Garderrneen, NorwayFw 190A-8 WNr 733682 - Imperial War Museum, London, UK. Formerlytop half (as AM75) of II .1KG200 Miste/ S3B composite with Ju 88Fw 190D-9 WNr 210968 (2.lJ626) - Recovered from Lake Schwerin innorthern Germany. Currently displayed while under static restoration forthe Luftwaffe Museum, Berlin, GermanyFw 190D-9 WNr 601088 - This I.lJG26 machine was captured atFlensburg in July 1945. It was shipped back to the USA and evaluated asFE-1 20. It was moved from National Air & Space Museum storage atSilver Hill , Maryland, to the USAF Museum, Dayton, Ohio, in 1968Fw 190D·13 WNr 836017 - Formerly "Yellow 10" of I./JG26, thismachine was evaluated after the war in the USA as FE-118 against a

ABOVE The port side of the Musee de l'Air's NC 900A-8 (eln 62) is paintedas Luftwaffe s+1, and the starboard side as Luftwaffe 7298/13+.

ABOVE Originally a I./J626 machine, Fw 190D·9 WNr 601088 is on displayat the U5AF Museum, Dayton, in the colours of IV.(5turm)/J63 Udet.

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Hawker Tempest. Following a spell at Georgia Technical University, theaircraft was restored in Germany under contract from the ChamplinFighter Museum. It currently resides at the Museum of Flight in Seattle,Washington, USA, registered as N1900. Potentially airworthyFw 190F-3 WNr670071 (1./Sch61)- Captured by Russian forces in1945. Currently displayed unrestored at the Flugplatzmuseum, Cottbus,eastern GermanyFw 190F·8 WNr 5415 - Wreck recovered by a farmer in Czechoslovakiacirca 1965. To Old Flying Machine Company at Duxford in 1993. To AlpineFighter Collection, Wanaka, New Zealand, in 1995 for airworthyrestoration. Project not completed. Current whereabouts uncertainFw 190F·8 WNr 930838 - Captured at Zagreb-Plaso, Yugoslavia, in 1944.Served with the Yugoslav Air Force as "43". Currently stored at theYugoslav Aeronautical Museum, Belgrade, SerbiaFw 190F·8 WNr 931862 - Formerly the mount of 9.1JG5 pilotUnteroffizier Heinz Orlowski , who baled out of the machine at 300ftfollowing a dogfight in February 1945. The remains of the aircraft werefound on a nearby hillside in 1983 and passed to the Norwegian Air ForceMuseum in Bergen. Texas Air Museum restored the aircraft to staticcondition in 1992 as N91 FW, and it is currently with Dr Mark Timken atKissimmee for restoration to flying status with BMW 8010 engineFw 190F·8/R1 WNr 931884 - Originally an A-7, this machine served asa fighter-bomber with I./SG2 on the Eastern Front until capture byAmerican forces in 1945. Shipped to the USA for evaluation as FE-117.Following a period of storage it was restored in the 1980s at the NationalAir & Space Museum's Garber Facility, Maryland, where it still residesFw 190F-8/U1 WNr 584219 - Bomber Command Hall, RAF Museum,Hendon, UK. Sole two-seat survivor captured at Grove in Norway in 1945and flown to RAE Farnborough for evaluation as AM29. Subsequentlydisplayed at various UK locations, arriving at Hendon in February 1990NC 900A-8 eln 62 - One of the examples used by the Arrnee de l'Air afterthe war. Currently displayed at the Musee de I'Air, Paris, France

In 1996, engineer Hans-GOnther Wildmoser and airline pilot Claus Collingannounced their intention to scratchbuild a series of replica Fw 190s.Designated FW 190A-8/N (FW for Flug Werk; the name of their company,and N for Nachbau - remake), the aircraft are being built from originaldrawings, of which the company has amassed more than 5,000, andwith original parts used for patterns. The first aircraft have been fittedwith Russian-built 14-cylinder ASh 82 1,900 h.p. radial engines withdirect fuel injection. The first airworthy example is expected to fly soon

ABOVE Fw 190A·8 WNr 733682 at Biggin Hill in 1962 before it became apermanent exhibit at London's Imperial War Museum in Lambeth.

ABOVE Immaculate Fw 190D·13 WNr 836017, in its I./J626 colours as"Yellow 10'; while at the Champlin Fighter Museum in Arizona, USA.

AERO PLANE, SEPTEM BER 2004

In 1989, the forests east of Leningrad gave up a ghostly relic of the fierce fighting that scarred the Russian landscape in the latter years of World War II: a Focke-Wulf 190 A5/U3 was found that had been force landed in 1943, amongst once-tiny saplings that grew to hide the airframe from view. Aside from its bent propeller, Fw 190 Werk Nummer 1227 remained remarkably intact. � e Balkenkreuz on the fuselage and black Swastika on its tail stood out defiantly against the march of time and surrounding greenery. � e pilot’s leather flying helmet still rested on the seat, where he had carefully placed it before setting off on foot. Even the fighter’s tires still contained their wartime air.

SURVIVORSURVIVORSURVIVORImprobable

Fw 190: The Rarest of The Rare Flies AgainBY RACHEL MORRIS PHOTOS BY JOHN DIBBS/PLANEPICTURE.COM

3_ButcherBirdFW190.indd 12 12/30/13 5:04 PM

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Only the decayed fabric surfaces and saplings growing through the wing confirmed that this aircraft had lain undisturbed on the marshy forest floor for decades. � e year following its discovery saw the Iron Curtain crumble and Leningrad become St. Petersburg once more. In 1991, the Fw 190 was removed from the ex-Soviet Bloc and taken to England for restoration. Purchased by collector Paul G. Allen in 1999, this incredibly rare aircraft has now been returned to airworthy condition and is a star exhibit at the Flying Heritage Collection in Everett, Washington, just north of Seattle. It is now the sole, totally original example of the type still flying.

Although the approximately 20,000 Fw 190s produced were one of the Luftwaffe’s mainstays during

the war, they disappeared quickly after the war leaving the Flying

Heritage Collection’s “White A” as the sole flying example.


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The pioneering design presents challengesThe Allies first observed the unfamiliar silhou-ette of the Fw 190 over France in August 1941. It soon proved itself superior in all but turn ra-dius to the RAF’s frontline fighter, the Spitfire Mk V. Kurt Tank, Technical Director at Focke-Wulf, abandoned the accepted norms of fighter design to develop a radial engine fighter that would be-come his most famous creation. Tank wanted to build a rugged dependable aircraft that decreased the pilot’s workload. He considered the Spitfire and Bf 109 fighters as delicate racehorses: high-performance machines that needed much atten-tion and correct conditions to ensure good per-formance. The Fw 190 would be a Dienstpferd – a cavalry horse: a tough all rounder, well suited to the hard environs of the battlefield. His fighter would be christened Würger, or Shrike in English. Thanks to its murderous feeding habits, the Shrike

is known as the Butcher Bird, and this nickname stuck with the Fw 190. Only a very small number of the 20,000 Fw 190s manufactured survive in Museums today.

In keeping with other aircraft at the Flying His-tory Collection, Fw 190 Wk Nr 1227 has been restored to authentic wartime condition. Jason

Muszala, Aircraft Maintenance Manager at FHC, explains the Collection’s impressive ethos: “We really try to stick with exactly how it was. That’s the allure, and that’s what Mr. Allen wants: an actual artifact, a piece of history, rather than something that can just go fly.” Whilst Jason finds working on the Focke-Wulf rewarding, the Collection’s unique approach inevitably pres-ents difficulties on such a rare type: “The biggest challenge is that there’s no other place to gather information, and nothing else to base it against. We’re forging new territory and, as we put hours on the airplane, we document everything.”

BMW 801 restoration To create his Dientspferd, Tank’s design featured many radical developments, the most prominent being the BMW radial engine. Inline engines, perceived to create the least drag, had become the standard for fighter aircraft. Tank was in-

spired by the U.S. Navy’s use of radials and be-lieved any such issues could be surmounted with proper streamlining and installation. Not having to compete for already stretched supplies of the inline DB 601 (used on the Bf 109) was an addi-tional benefit. Early on in development, BMW’s new 801 powerplant was incorporated into the

“No room was wasted. Everything is compact and fits perfectly. Every bit of space, whether it’s a component or

the air system or just the way things flow is utilized."One of White A’s stablemates in JG54 landing at Siverskaya near Leningrad on the Russian Front during the winter of 1942. Wearing temporary winter camo, the Luftwaffe were taught to land on snow-packed runways by the "friendly" White Russian forces during the winter months.


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design. At FHC, Jason explains how their large engine is tightly cowled: “No room was wasted. Everything is compact and fits perfectly. Every bit of space, whether it’s a component or the air sys-tem or just the way things flow is utilized.”

Mike Nixon of Vintage V-12s in Tehachapi, California, refurbished FHC’s 801. The units were not expected to last more than a few hundred hours in combat conditions, and Jason explains the Focke-Wulf manuals they have do not specify information like Time Before Overhaul. Mike has advised they treat it like any other large radial, watching for internal wear and tear on cylinders and bearings. Jason says, “We take oil analysis ev-ery three or four hours and look for the different minerals or aspects that come up in the oil, to try and learn what’s going on inside. But it’s all kind of experimental right now”.

The 801 incorporated a revolutionary engine management system called the Kommandgerät, or command unit. This inbuilt electro-mechanical computer automatically controls the mixture,

Feldwebel Paul Rätz to FHC Owner Paul Allen:The Saga of “White A” Manufactured in April 1943, this Fw 190 was the 415th A5 variant constructed from batch 0150812 at the Bremen factory of Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau GmbH. Given the Werk Nummer 0151227, the airframe was modified in the factory to carry an ETC501 bomb rack in place of the usual wing-mounted 20mm cannons, making its final designation A5/U3 (the U signifying a conversion kit, or Umrüst-Bausatz). The aircraft was delivered to the Eastern front airbase of Siwerskaya (Siversky) to join the ranks of I. and II Gruppen of Jagdeschwader 54 Grünherz (Greenhearts).

On July 19, 1943, 24-year-old Feldwebel Paul Rätz of 4./JG54 took off from the airfield with a 550-pound bomb strapped underneath his aircraft. Wk Nr 1227 now carried the unusual marking ‘White A.’ Colored numbers usually identified Luftwaffe Squadrons. Research suggests that 4./JG54 used letters during the summer months of 1943 whilst acting as a semi-autonomous specialist ground attack unit, later reverting back to the normal number system.

Rätz and his wingman headed north across enemy lines to the Voibakalo (Voybokalo) region east of Leningrad on a free-fire mission. The aircraft attacked an armored train, and 1227 reportedly suffered flak damage. No such damage was discovered on the airframe, and it seems the Fw 190 suffered a catastrophic engine failure that forced Paul Rätz to land the aircraft wheels up on marshy ground.

After coming to a stop, Rätz removed the clock from the aircraft, placed his flying helmet on the seat and took the first aid kit from the rear compartment before setting off on foot towards German territory. The Russians captured him and he would remain their prisoner until his repatriation to West Germany in 1949. He passed away in 1989, the same year the aircraft was located. During the restoration, an abnormal blockage was found in the engine’s oil lines, which would have caused it to seize. German factories frequently used slave labor, and it seems that rather than falling to enemy fire, Rätz’s Fw 190 was brought down by an act of sabotage on the production line.

Found in unbelievably intact condition, the small saplings that the aircraft had crashed in grew to be a forest, shielding it from view until recovered in 1989.



Improbable SurvIvor

Steve Hinton, White A’s test pilot, reports the aircraft is well balanced with light controls and excellent systems.

"At that time, pilots had four levers to get everything running right, but they put it all into one so the command unit did all the thinking

for the pilot.”


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propeller pitch, boost and magneto timing leav-ing the pilot to operate only the throttle. Trou-bleshooting the unit, and ensuring it’s correctly timed and indexed with the propeller is critical for the FHC team. The unit has its own separate oil system and pump, and the oil reservoir is in the engine mount: “It runs its own brain so to speak, and then outputs to the fuel, propeller, boost, everything from there.” According to Ja-son, this is the Fw 190’s most interesting feature: “At that time, pilots had four levers to get every-thing running right, but they put it all into one so the command unit did all the thinking for the pilot.”

Early prototypes of the Fw 190 suffered major overheating issues, which nearly ended Tank’s project. Installation of a 12-bladed fan at the front of the engine to cool the twin rows of cyl-inder heads finally solved this problem. Another example of Tank’s clever use of space is the annu-lar oil cooler, which sits behind armor plating in the forward ring. An ingenious system was devel-oped to return the air from the fan to the cooler: “The fan pressurizes the engine compartment to force the air counter-intuitively through the oil cooler. The fan is geared with the engine and prop together but turns at a greater speed than the prop. It pushes the air in the same direction, forward to aft, but the cowl flaps limit the air that can escape, which in turn pressurizes the air and forces it forward through the oil cooler. So

the actual airflow pattern for the oil cooler is not forward to aft as you look at the aircraft, it’s aft to forward. It then slips out of a tiny ring right on the nose.” The FHC engineers came across one possible oversight in the engine’s design: “In the nose case where the pressure fan is, they don’t have an oil seal there. So every time you shut the engine down, you get oil that runs out the front. If you’re not familiar with the airplane, it’s pretty alarming — you think you’ve got a full-on oil

Many of the 190’s systems were state of the art for the time, both simple to operate and build. However, had components like the landing gear been missing, restoration would have been much more difficult.

Far too often warbird restorers have to start with a severely corroded hulk that has been picked over by locals so many important parts are missing. The FHC’s Fw 190A5/U3 was missing only its clock and the canopy, which was presumably jettisoned before crash landing.



Improbable SurvIvor

Above: The cockpit of the Fw 190, as opposed to other WW II cockpits, featured a rearward sloped seat allowing the pilot to better tolerate G-forces while getting him further down in the fuselage for better head-on protection. Left: The relatively complete paint on 1227, as found, allowed exact duplication. Right: The original data plate escaped souvenir hunters. Below: With most of the paint intact, all placards were easy to replace.


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leak or something’s busted. That was surprising to me the first time it happened!”

To simplify battlefield maintenance, the engine follows the Kraftei installation concept used on several Luftwaffe types. “Everything that makes the engine run is in a pod forward of the firewall known as the ‘Power Egg.’ It was designed to run until it wouldn’t work anymore. Then they just pulled the entire engine off and stuck a new one on.” Whilst saving time in combat conditions, the Power Egg was not designed for modern engi-neers who lack replacement units. Jason and his team must work on the engine’s internal parts so usually simple procedures can become difficult tasks: “You can get all the panels off and in 15 minutes, the entire engine is accessible. But to work on the different components is challenging. For example, the magneto is a two-day project. It’s a process of removing the spinner, then the propeller, then the forward ring, and then the oil cooler, and oil tank and then you’re finally able to get to the magneto.”

The new technology Jason says the narrow cockpit is also challenging to work in, as a third or more of the aircraft’s com-ponents terminate there. The rest of the airframe poses no such difficulties: “You can have the en-tire airplane opened up for an annual or condi-tion inspection in an hour.” In another departure from regular aircraft design, Tank installed elec-trically powered systems to operate the undercar-riage and armaments. He believed electrics would be more reliable and less vulnerable to combat damage than traditional hydraulic systems. He also eliminated the wear and eventual lag associ-ated with cables and pulleys by using pushrods and bearings to operate the flight controls. As Jason explains, “Everything is unique about the Focke-Wulf. It was pretty advanced for its time and they did a lot of forward thinking.”

Jason considers working on the Collection’s Fw 190 an engineering dream come true: “Where else am I going to get to know the intricacies of an authentic Focke-Wulf 190 with a BMW 801? I’m insanely privileged to work on some of these airplanes.” Another person in a unique position is Flying Heritage Collection pilot Steve Hinton who flew the aircraft for the photo sortie and later talked through its flying characteristics. Like Jason, Steve holds the aircraft’s design in high regard, “Technology has a lot to do with my impression of airplanes and this is a very well-engineered design. It was a big jump as far as I’m concerned and you can see why it sparked a lot of change.” Steve says he appreciates why the Al-lied pilots who flew captured Fw 190s were so im-pressed; “It was an airplane that made us aware of the developments the Germans were making. The Bearcat has been said to come from it. When they looked at the 190, it opened their eyes to a few things on how to build an ultimate airplane.”

The Flying Heritage Collection The Flying Heritage Collection houses the aircraft and wartime artifacts of Paul G. Allen. Best known as co-founder of Microsoft, Allen began preserving important and iconic types in 1998, fueled by his passion for aviation and history. The Collection’s aircraft are restored to the highest degree of authenticity and returned to their rightful place in the sky. This mission for historical accuracy has created a unique airworthy stable, which includes historic types from the U.S., UK, Germany, Russia, and Japan. Alongside the aircraft are ‘“homefront” exhibitions to illustrate the wartime stories of the five nations. The collection resides in a 51,000 square-foot hangar, on the southeastern corner of Paine Field in Everett, Washington. Open to the public since 2004, FHC recommends 1-2 hours to enjoy a self-guided tour through the hangar, with their staff and volunteers on hand to answer any questions. Please note that exhibits are sometimes absent from the Collection for flying commitments or maintenance.

The Collection is open seven days a week, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and Tuesday to Sunday the rest of the year (closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas). For more information, please visit flyingheritage.com.

The author and photographer would like to thank Paul Allen, Adrian Hunt, Liz Davidson, Jason Muszala and Steve Hinton. Tim Ellison flew the camera ship.

To avoid the ground accidents that dogged the Bf 109, Tank gave the Fw 190 a wide-set, inward-retracting undercarriage to provide better stabil-ity on rough battlefield airstrips. This configura-tion makes the aircraft seem large on the ground, but Steve points out its actually quite small: “It’s got a large wingspan and a lot of wing area, but it’s a narrow fuselage — narrower than a Spitfire. When you’re inside the cockpit, the layout is tighter than a Pitts Special and everything is right in front of you.” Tank used the latest technology to create a one-piece Perspex bubble canopy to improve all around visibility. Steve says the front windscreen is only six or seven inches tall when looking straight ahead, much like an air race plane, but “The view to the side is excellent and you’re protected by the airframe because you’re

sitting down low.” Whilst obscuring the pilots view on the ground, the big radial up front also gave an extra layer of protection in combat. Tales were told of aircraft limping home having had one or even two cylinders shot away by enemy fire.

Bringing it to life againThanks to the Kommandgerät, start-up is a simple process: “You prime the engine, hit the starter, and it starts. You taxi out and warm it up. The only checks you give are the ignition system and the propeller pitch. Like all German airplanes, it has a little clock that tells you what the propeller is doing. As you advance the throttle, it governs one way, retard the throttle and it unwinds the other way, so you know the automatic function is working.” He mentions that the rudder is not very responsive on takeoff until the aircraft gains speed: “Of course it’s heavy, it’s got all the guns in it too. But once the rudder becomes effective then it feels like a normal airplane. It doesn’t ac-celerate very well. You could put the throttle up



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rudder had fixed tabs that were only adjusted on initial test flights, leaving the pilot in control of elevator trim only. Steve confirms the FHC air-craft requires some trim change after takeoff, but barely any in flight. On the in-cockpit experience he says, “The engine vibrates a lot and the ex-haust stacks are uneven, so it’s not got a smooth sound to it, unless the power is way back. But it’s real easy moving the flight controls and the airplane is very responsive. If you’re used to a hot rod, with the vibrations and that oily smell in the cockpit like some of the fighters give you, then it’s an easy airplane to fly.” In contrast to the notoriously tricky Bf 109, landing the Fw 190 is straightforward: “The undercarriage struts are real hard, so you get tire bounce on landing, but it rolls out good.”

When photographed, the FHC Fw 190 had completed 7.5 hours of flight. Steve explains

real quick and it just crawls along. Most of these fighters, when you power them up, accelerate really hard and push you back in the seat in a nice tail low takeoff. This airplane uses a lot of runway. But you take off, put the gear and flaps up, and once you’ve got the speed to 300kph (186mph) it climbs really good.” The landing gear is operated electrically by pushing a button, taking about eight seconds to go up. Small indi-cator rods protruding from the top of the wing (which disappear as the wheels retract) and cock-pit lights provide visual confirmation of the un-dercarriage position to the pilot.

To improve the pilot’s experience further, Tank’s design team simplified the cockpit layout, made the controls light to operate and installed a reclining seat to lessen the likelihood of black-ing out in high-G maneuvers. They also reduced the necessity for trim change. The ailerons and

The single letter on the fuselage rather than the more standard numeric system employed by the Luftwaffe indicates that this machine was part of a specialized ground attach unit within JG54, as was White A.

The low seating position of the pilot is evident in Norbert Hanning’s aircraft as is the bomb rack that is similar to what was mounted on White A in its bomber role.


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When Grumman test pilots flew a captured Fw 190A in England they were impressed by its performance and overall handling. This greatly affected their design of the F8F Bearcat, as this planform view attests.

Most of these fighters, when you power them up, accelerate really

hard and push you back in the seat in a nice tail low takeoff. This airplane

uses a lot of runway.



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Survivors: The Remaining Fw 190sPeacetime is hard on warplanes. Surviving combat aircraft usually are melted down for components, especially those on the losing side. Certainly it’s true of some 20,000 Focke Wulf 190s as perhaps 25 remain intact today.

» Like all warbirds, no list of 190s is entirely current or complete. Plus, some on the list are “airplanes” in name only, having been dredged from underwater or severely crashed so may never be restored.

» Most surviving 190s are A models, trailed by fighter-bomber F variants. Certainly the best-known surviving “Dora” with the liquid-cooled Jumo engine is the late Doug Champlin’s “Yellow 10,” now owned by the Flying Heritage Collection in Everett, Washington. FHC also has an A model that often is airborne on “fly days” at Paine Field.

» Presently, about 15 examples exist in the U.S. That figure includes the only remaining example of 50 Ta 152 “long wing” versions, which is held by the National Air and Space Museum. Four more are known in Germany, three in Britain, and at least five elsewhere in Europe, including current restorations. One is reported in Russia.

» The Würger population increased somewhat with reproductions from Flugwerk, which built 21 kits. Depending on model type, they were adapted to radial or liquid-cooled engines.

» Perhaps the best compilation is the Preserved Axis Aircraft site preservedaxisaircraft.com. — Barrett Tillman

their primary mission was to build a safe aircraft, “So we haven’t explored its performance and I haven’t had a chance to really push the airplane around. The history books describe the 190 as a breakthrough airplane. There’s no doubt about it: it’s a fighter, with beautiful ailerons and light as a feather rudder. It floats round the sky, in-stead of boring a hole through it like some air-planes.” Dogged by performance problems at high altitude, the Fw 190 would never remove the requirement for the Me 109. Regardless, Tank had developed a truly versatile aircraft that be-came an excellent day fighter, fighter-bomber and ground attack plane. Used on every German front, many of the Luftwaffe’s highest-scoring Ex-perten had great success on the type. Steve can see the advantage afforded to them by Tank’s capable Butcher Bird, and to him that means “hats off to the Thunderbolt guys who could do a good job against the Focke Wulf.”

The Fw 190’s BMW 801 has a single power lever that controls manifold pressure, mixture, propeller pitch and magneto timing through an early form of electronic control system. This greatly simplifies flying the aircraft and lightens the pilot’s load.


Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger German WW2 Fighter

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