Focke-Wulf Fw 190
| Focke-Wulf Fw 190 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Fighter plane, fighter-bomber |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
June 1, 1939 |
| Commissioning: |
1941 |
| Production time: |
1941 to 1945 |
| Number of pieces: |
19,500 |
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The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 , called " Würger ", was a German fighter aircraft of the Second World War . The machine developed by Focke-Wulf in Bremen under the direction of chief designer Kurt Tank was used by the Air Force as a second standard fighter alongside the Messerschmitt Bf 109 from 1941 . By the end of the war, around 19,500 Fw 190s were produced in different versions.
In addition to its use as a fighter aircraft, the type was used as a reconnaissance aircraft , fighter-bomber , night fighter and ground attack aircraft. Most of the Fw 190 were powered by an air-cooled 14-cylinder double radial engine of the type BMW 801 . In order to achieve a better level performances were later versions with liquid-cooled twelve-cylinder - V engines equipped.
The tender
For reasons of quick production and efficient stocking of spare parts, it was initially planned that the Bf 109 should remain the only standard fighter of the German Air Force. In 1937, however, the Reich Aviation Ministry (RLM) deviated from this point of view and commissioned Focke-Wulf to develop a single-seat fighter aircraft. The reasons for this order, which was carried out without the usual invitation to tender , have not been clarified beyond doubt, but could lie in the fact that design and manufacturing capacities at Focke-Wulf were free, the Bf 109s could not be produced in sufficient numbers quickly enough or that they were able to do so Several defects crystallized in daily use. Against the background of an ever increasing speed of development in international aircraft construction as a result of the arms race of the air forces, the RLM continued to regard it as necessary to initiate the development of new designs with the corresponding development potential at an early stage. The majority of countries with an efficient aviation industry developed at least two modern types of fighter at this time, such as France ( Dewoitine D.520 , Morane-Saulnier MS.406 ), Great Britain ( Hawker Hurricane , Supermarine Spitfire ), the USA ( Bell P-39 , Curtiss P-40 ) and the Soviet Union ( Jak-1 , LaGG-3 , MiG-3 ). In order to remain competitive with the Luftwaffe in an international comparison in the medium term, the Technical Office of the RLM therefore awarded Focke-Wulf the development contract for a new fighter aircraft in the winter of 1937/38.
In addition to the Bf 109, a single-seater fighter was to be developed, in which the experiences from the development and use of contemporary fighter aircraft were to flow. The new type of aircraft was to be powered either by the liquid-cooled twelve - cylinder V-engine Daimler-Benz DB 601 or one of the two air-cooled 14-cylinder double radial engines of higher power (BMW 139 or BMW 801) currently being developed.
Udet , who in his capacity as Generalluftzeugmeister took (from 1939) influence on the design and selection to be installed the components of aircraft designs, sat at the Air Ministry the radial engine BMW 139 against the V-engine DB 601 through that already in the Bf 109 and Bf 110 served as a drive. In addition to the higher bullet resistance of an air-cooled engine (due to the lack of cooling fluids, the loss of which leads to the engine seizing in the event of bullet damage), the relief of the V12 engine production at Daimler-Benz and its licensees spoke in favor of such a solution. Furthermore, the RLM demanded the simplest possible structure in order to achieve very short manufacturing times in large-scale production, good maintenance options through appropriate access flaps and as free access to the entire engine and the engine ancillaries as possible, as well as good armor protection for the pilot in the expected main firing directions. These considerations coincided with the design philosophy of Kurt Tank, who later summarized his considerations during the development of the Fw 190 as follows:
“When we started working on the Fw 190, the Bf 109 and the British Supermarine Spitfire were the fastest fighters in the world. Both types were high-performance aircraft that combined the most powerful engine possible with the smallest possible airframe, with the armament only secondarily determining the concept, and may be compared to 'racehorses', which all competitors with appropriately good feeding and on a good, smooth track could be superior. But as soon as the track became more difficult, they tended to 'stumble'. During the First World War I had served in the cavalry and infantry and saw the difficult conditions under which weapons and equipment still have to be functional and effective. I was therefore convinced that in a future conflict a different type of fighter than the Bf 109 and the Spitfire would have important tasks to perform. For example, the use of unprepared field airfields, under the guidance of less experienced pilots, with maintenance and care by only briefly trained personnel. These considerations determined the design of the Fw 190, which should not be a 'race horse' but a 'service horse', as the cavalry called their horses. "
The oldest known drawing of the Fw 190 V1 dates to July 18, 1938 and still shows certain differences compared to the later prototype. Focke-Wulf's technical manager, Kurt Tank, was responsible for coordinating the overall work; the drafts came from the department responsible for this and headed by Andreas von Faehlmann, and the design was carried out under the direction of Rudolf Blaser (supported by Ludwig Mittelhuber and Willy Kärther).
A 1: 1 model of the Fw 190 was made in 1938, followed by a slightly scaled-down wooden model on which the cut of the cladding panels was worked out. On this model, you can still see the originally planned wing armament in the form of four machine guns mounted close together in the wing roots. After completing this preliminary work, the Reich Aviation Ministry ordered three prototypes from Focke-Wulf.
Construction of the Fw 190
The Fw 190 was a single-seat, cantilevered , cantilevered low - wing aircraft in all-metal half - shell construction, driven by a double-row air-cooled radial engine. The wings were built on two continuous spars, to which the wing tips, the wing leading edges as well as the landing flaps and ailerons (with fixed trim ) were attached. Elevator and rudder had an aerodynamic horn compensation and fixed trim tabs. The horizontal stabilizer was adjustable for trimming like the Bf 109. As with many fighters (F4F, F4U, F6F) of the Second World War, the wings were profiled with a strak from the 23 series of the NACA (NACA 23015 on 23010 or 23009).
In the course of the development of the Fw 190, the BMW 139 was initially used in the first prototypes, a 14-cylinder double radial engine that had been developed from the single-row BMW 132 . This engine was soon replaced by the more powerful BMW 801. In later versions and test series also found liquid-cooled twelve-cylinder - V-engines of the types Daimler-Benz DB 603 and Junkers Jumo 213 use, because of its greater length extension of the rear cell required to keep to the center of gravity.
The fuel was housed in two self-sealing tanks below the cockpit floor, of which the front held 232 l and the rear 291 l. From the beginning, four machine guns or machine cannons were provided as rigid barrel armament , which were housed in front of the cockpit above the engine and in the wing roots and fired synchronously through the propeller circle. The armament was later supplemented by two automatic cannons mounted in the outer wing, which shot past the propeller circle.
The construction of the wings had a high structural strength due to the continuous spar, which gave the wings great stability. With this construction, the pilots of the Fw 190 were able to go close to the load limits of the airframe without having to worry about the wings breaking off. Kurt Tank also paid special attention to the harmonious coordination of the rudders from the beginning of the development of the machine.
The main landing gear of the Fw 190 was suspended from the wing spars and retracted inwards. With this construction, the landing gear had a large track width , which better absorbed the high torque of the engine at takeoff and made the machine roll more stable after landing. The Fw 190 was therefore much easier to take off and land than the Bf 109 (especially on uneven ground such as meadows or fields). In the original design, the Fw 190 had additional landing gear flaps attached to the inside of the fuselage, which enabled the wheel well to be closed completely and thus aerodynamically advantageous. However, due to their susceptibility to failure, these flaps were often removed again from the deployment units. The tail wheel of the Fw 190 could also be half retracted, so that with acceptable aerodynamics it could still keep the worst damage away from the rear fuselage in the event of an emergency landing with retracted landing gear. Since there were no flaps to ensure a tight seal on the fuselage, the twelfth bulkhead inside the fuselage was covered with a fabric covering, which protected the equipment in the fuselage from dust. The Fw 190 was the first aircraft that did not have hydraulic, but electrical control of all units, including the operation of the landing gear and flaps. The advantages of this construction resulted in a lower weight, less space requirement and lower sensitivity to fire.
As with the Bf 109, great importance was attached to good and easy maintenance options when designing the Fw 190. Large maintenance hatches gave access to the engine and all the equipment housed in the rear fuselage, such as the mother compass and radios. The machine also had separation points which, for example, made it possible to replace the entire engine or an entire tail unit in a short time. This design not only increased the operational readiness of the aircraft for the squadrons, but also enabled more efficient production by subcontracting the manufacture of certain components.
Prototypes
The first flight of the V1 prototype ( registration D-OPZE) took place on June 1, 1939 in Bremen by Focke-Wulf chief test pilot Hans Sander. The second prototype V2 (license plate FL + OZ) followed on October 31, 1939, and the extensive flight tests continued well into 1940 (the V1 was still used for flight tests until March 29, 1943). The machine showed very good handling properties (for example a roll rate of 162 ° per second at 419 km / h), a high maximum speed (610 km / h), good take-off and landing properties and good visibility for the pilot. However, there was also insufficient cooling of the engine due to its proximity to the front cockpit bulkhead, which resulted in very high cockpit temperatures of sometimes over 50 ° C. The reason for this was the attempt to keep the air resistance of the cell as low as possible, which is why the first prototype was initially equipped with a so-called tunnel hub or double hood. In principle, the tunnel hub represented a double propeller spinner, open in the direction of flight, the oversized outer part of which ended with the engine casing. As a result, it had an aerodynamically particularly favorable shape, with which the large frontal area of the engine could be partially compensated (the resistance with fairing was only 1/6 of the resistance of the uncovered engine). However, since this design also had cooling problems that could not be managed, especially the rear cylinder ring, it was finally replaced with a conventional NACA hood .
The general cooling problems of the engine accompanied the initial phase of the development of the Fw 190 and almost led to the termination of the project. A twelve-blade cooling fan turned out to be central to solving these difficulties, which was operated in front of the engine via its own gearbox at 3.12 times the propeller speed and which supplied more cooling air to the lower cylinders of the rear cylinder ring. In the later course of the tests, however, it should become apparent that this measure, too, could not eliminate the existing overheating problems in all situations.
The 14-cylinder double radial engine BMW 139, which was initially used as a drive, was technically based on the BMW 132 and partly used its assemblies. In its first design, the BMW 139 had a starting power of around 1550 hp, but early on in the development of the Fw 190 it was recognized that the completely newly developed BMW 801 had greater development potential. The BMW 801 engine used from the V5 onwards also had 14 cylinders with a displacement of 41.2 l, with a smaller diameter, and in 1938 achieved a starting power of around 1,500 hp. BMW had developed a completely new engine control for the 801 aircraft engine, which was used for the first time in the Fw 190. A "command device" designed by Heinrich Leibach, as a mechanical analog computer , automatically set all parameters (such as ignition timing , throttle valve position, charger gear , injection quantity of direct fuel injection , propeller adjustment ) to match the boost pressure (or the associated speed) specified by the pilot with the "power selector lever " ) a. Since no separate levers had to be operated for mixture and propeller adjustment, the pilot was relieved and the risk of incorrect operation was reduced. The injection pump, also controlled by the command device, was a development by the Munich company Friedrich Deckel .
Since the BMW 801 was 159 kg heavier and slightly longer than the BMW 139, a large part of the fuselage had to be redesigned. In particular, the cockpit moved further back to compensate for the changed center of gravity. This measure also reduced the cockpit heating up due to the waste heat from the engine and created additional space for the integration of the fuselage armament (2 × 7.92 mm MG 17 ). This in turn made it necessary to strengthen the entire cell, the wings and the landing gear (reinforced landing gear legs, larger tires, replacement of the hydraulic retraction mechanism with an electrical system), which increased the curb weight. The structural tests required for this were carried out with the prototype V4, which - like the V3, which was later used as a spare part dispenser - was already in an advanced stage of construction at the time of the decision for the BMW 801 and was still designed for the BMW 139.
With the new engine and the associated reinforcement of the airframe, the take-off weight had increased so much that the good flight characteristics of the Fw 190 V1 with the BMW 139 could no longer be achieved. The surface loading increased from 187 kg / m² to 228 kg / m². With the fifth prototype V5 (with BMW 801 C-0), an enlarged wing was tested from October 1940, the span of which had been increased from 9.50 m to 10.50 m. With this measure, the wing area increased from 14.9 m² to 18.3 m². The V5 in the equipped state with the enlarged wings received the suffix "g". Comparative flights between the variant V5g and V5k (for "small" = small wing area) resulted in improved flight characteristics of the larger wing with low losses in top speed and were adopted for the series machines. Above all, the relatively high demolition speed of the machine decreased, which was 205 km / h with the originally small wings.
Fw 190 A
In the winter of 1940/1941, the first of a total of 40 Fw 190 A-0 pre-series aircraft that had been ordered were transferred to the Rechlin Air Force Test Center , where they went through an extensive test phase. The first two machines were still given the prototype designations V6 and V7. With the V6, the general flight performance and handling of the machine were flown, while the V7 was used for armament tests with the 20-mm MG FF from Rheinmetall-Borsig, which was mounted outside the propeller circle and fired in the wings and the four in series Machine guns of the MG 17 type (in the fuselage and in the wing roots) should complement.
At the time the enlarged wing of the prototype V5g was being developed, seven other cells were already in such an advanced stage of construction that the machines were delivered with the original smaller wings. In the other machines of the pre-series A-0, a slightly enlarged horizontal stabilizer was used in addition to the enlarged wings. In total, only 28 of the 40 pre-series A-0 machines ordered were completed. These were driven from the W. 0010 from the BMW 801 C-1 engine and many of these machines were still used as test aircraft for various weapons in the course of the war.
The main purpose of the A-0 series was to uncover and eliminate technical weaknesses in the Fw 190 and to gain experience in maintaining the machine. In order to be able to carry out this under the most realistic conditions possible, the test squadron 190 was founded from personnel from II./JG 26 in March 1941 under the command of Lieutenant Otto Behrens. She received a total of six Fw 190 A-0s; flight operations were initially monitored by specialists from the Rechlin test center. After a period of familiarization, the unit was relocated to Le Bourget near Paris.
The machines of the A-0 series differed in a number of features from the sub-variants of the Fw 190 A, which were later built in series. They had a shorter propeller spinner, symmetrical cladding of the internal air intake ducts of the engine and the cooling slots in the cladding panels behind the exhaust pipes were missing.
The tests showed that the cooling problems of the BMW 801 engine were still not eliminated. The lower cylinders in the rear row of cylinders in particular tended to overheat if the engine was operated at low speeds for too long in a stationary aircraft and was not surrounded by a permanent stream of cooling air. The VDM propeller, which ran at a constant speed, posed problems, as did the under-constructed engine casing panels, which tended to open in flight. The new command device for the automated control of the engine and the propeller setting, which repeatedly had to struggle with leaking pressure sockets and lines, also gave cause for criticism. A particularly serious problem for the pilots was the fact that the cabin roof of the Fw 190 A-0 no longer opened above a flight speed of 250 km / h due to the effects of congestion in the air that pressed the cabin roof onto the fuselage with increasing pressure let. This shortcoming was finally remedied by small explosive charges, which ensured a safe separation of the cabin roof from the aircraft even at high speeds.
All in all, an alarming list of technical deficiencies was found during the tests that almost doomed the Fw 190 project to failure. Only after more than 50 detailed improvements and the at least partial solution of the engine's cooling problems did the RLM finally order the first series of the Fw 190.
Fw 190 A-1
In June 1941, the first series machines of the Fw 190 A-1 from the new Focke-Wulf factory in Marienburg were initially delivered to the II./JG 26. In August of the same year, license construction began at Arado in Warnemünde , which was followed by a second license production at AGO in Oschersleben in October . The number of deliveries soon reached 30 machines per month, so that the 102 Fw 190 A-1s that had been ordered were delivered by the end of October.
In the A-1 series, the armoring of the oil tank and the oil cooler was standardized, and some machines also received a FuG 25a "debut" for the friend-foe identifier in addition to the standard FuG 7 radio . A Fw 190 A-1 / U-1 was equipped with the BMW 801 D-2 on a trial basis.
Technical reports from this period show that the cooling problems of the BMW 801 C-2 engine were still not completely resolved. Even in this early phase of use, overheating occurred again and again, especially in the lower cylinders of the rear cylinder star, as well as occasional engine fires.
In use with Jagdgeschwadern 2 and 26 , the Fw 190 nevertheless proved to be a powerful fighter aircraft. The machine was first introduced into these two squadrons, as they - stationed on the French Channel coast - were in constant use against the RAF, which the Air Force considered to be the most capable and technically best equipped opposing air force. Compared to the then British standard fighter Supermarine Spitfire Mk. V, the Fw 190 had a higher top speed and a significantly higher roll rate .
Fw 190 A-2
The Fw 190 A-2 was the first larger series of the Fw 190. Driven by a BMW 801 C-2 engine, the cooling problems that had previously occurred in this variant were finally eliminated by the addition of three cooling slots on each side of the fuselage lining behind the Exhaust pipes of the engine eliminated. With these simple slots, the flow of cooling air was significantly improved, so that this modification was also carried out on the Fw 190 A-1 that was still in use. The 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns mounted in the wing roots were replaced by 20 mm MG 151/20 E cannons after the corresponding gun , which synchronized fire with the rotating propeller, had reached series production. This modification, which greatly increased the firepower of the Fw 190, required bulge-shaped panels on the top of the wing roots in order to accommodate the larger weapons. Simultaneously with the introduction of the MG 151/20, the previously used Revi C 12 reflex sight was replaced by the more modern Revi C 12 D. A more effective retraction mechanism for the landing gear was also installed.
The curb weight of the Fw 190 A-2 increased as a result of these improvements to a total of 3850 kg. The cell of the A-2 already had all the provisions for the inclusion of an ETC-501 bomb lock (ETC = electrical carrier for cylindrical external loads), but there is no indication that such a lock was actually used on a Fw 190 A-2 . A machine of the series (Wnr. 000315, license plate CM + CN) was equipped with an autopilot on a trial basis and designated as Fw 190 A-2 / U-1. A total of 420 Fw 190 A-2s were built.
Conversion (U) and conversion kit (R) variants Fw 190 A-2:
- Fw 190 A-2 / U1: Equipped with an autopilot system godmother (only model aircraft)
Fw 190 A-3
In the spring of 1942, series production of the Fw 190 A-3 began, which differed from the previous version in that it had a more powerful BMW 801 D-2 engine. By using a modified mechanical supercharger , the take-off power of the engine increased from 1,560 hp to 1700 hp at 2700 min −1 with a boost pressure of 1.42 ata (≈ 139 kPa). The improved engine had to use the higher-quality C3 fuel with 96 octane (later 100 octane) instead of the B4 fuel with 87 octane . Since not enough D-2 engines were available, A-2 and A-3 were built simultaneously; Both variants are otherwise identical and can only be distinguished by the different hull identification of the fuel to be used. A total of 952 A-2 and A-3 were built.
In use, the cooling capacity of the Fw-190 cell proved to be insufficient for the new engine. Again, were cooling problems of the rear cylinder star, so that the emergency power already in March 1942 at 2450 rpm it -1 and limited boost pressure of 1.35 ata had. Only after extensive modifications to the engine, including chrome-plated valves, reinforced starter shafts and spark plugs from Bosch, could the full emergency power of the BMW 801 D-2 be released on October 12, 1942.
In the autumn of 1942 72 Fw 190 A-3s were delivered to Turkey in an effort to influence the political situation between the two countries favorably. These machines - referred to as Fw 190 Aa-3 - reached the Turkish Air Force between October 1942 and March 1943. Equipped with the standard armament of four MG 17 and two optional MG FF as an upgrade kit for the outer wing, the Fw 190 Aa-3 had no FuG 25a for the friend-foe identification. With the Turkish Air Force the machines were used as fighter planes together with the English Supermarine Spitfire until the end of the war.
With the A-3 version, the systematic expansion of the Fw 190's usability began. This was done through a long series of conversion kits that enabled the Fw 190 to be used as a fighter-bomber or as a long-range fighter aircraft, for example. Central to the use of the conversion kits was the possibility of being able to mount a lower hull pylon of the ETC 501 type on the machine, which in addition to various bombs (e.g. 1 × 500 kg, 1 × 250 kg or 4 × 50 kg on an ER4 adapter) could accommodate a 300-liter additional tank. This modification allowed the Fw 190 in specialized fighter-bomber squadrons of Jagdgeschwader 2 and 26 to fly low-level attacks from northern France on targets in southern England. During these missions just above the surface of the water, the pilots were able to optimally use the high flight performance of the Fw 190 at low altitude and at the same time fly under the English “ Chain Home ” radar.
Around the same time, in the spring of 1942, the US 8th Air Force began deploying strategic air forces to England. The need to fight the American bombers, which was already foreseeable at that time, required, in contrast to the low-level flight operations, above all a high climbing performance in order to be able to reach the height of the bombers or the favorable launch positions above them as quickly as possible. The Fw 190, whose engine was originally designed for high performance at low and medium altitudes, was unsatisfactory at higher altitudes, which is why Focke-Wulf submitted the first specification of an Fw 190 high altitude fighter on August 14, 1942 to remedy this deficit to accomplish.
In the absence of a version of the BMW 801 suitable for high altitude available at short notice and in view of the requirement for a higher rate of climb, Focke-Wulf primarily intended changes to the cell side. As early as June 1942, Focke-Wulf had attempted to reduce the weight of the Fw 190; At this point in time, three different high-altitude fighter versions were planned for the A-4 variant of the Fw 190, which was in the planning stage (A-4 / U5, A-4 / U6 and A-4 / U7), which were later not implemented. The only variant of a weight-reduced high-altitude fighter realized in this context was therefore three prototypes of the Fw 190 A-3 / U-7 (Wnr. 528 (DJ + AB), Wnr. 531 and Wnr. 532).
By partially removing armor (head and shoulder protection as well as driver's seat) and container protection as well as dispensing with the FuG 25 and the two fuselage-mounted MG 17s, it was possible to reduce the curb weight of the Fw 190 A-3 by a total of 224 kg. The space gained in the fuselage by eliminating the machine guns was used for a slight expansion of the front tank, at the same time the machine was to be provided with new wings , the span of which had been increased from 10.50 m to 12.30 m (the wing area rose through this modification from 18.30 m² to 20.30 m²). Since the additional fuel weighed around 20 kg and the expansion and reinforcement of the wings weighed 40 kg, the net weight reduction was 164 kg.
The Fw 190 A-3 / U-7 had, after the weight reduction with the standard surfaces and armed with two MG 151/20 E in the wing roots, a significantly improved climbing performance and an increased service ceiling to 12,000 m. At the same time, the curve radius decreased from 1,450 m to 1,250 m at a height of 10,000 m. A further reduction in the curve radius to 950 m and an increase in the service ceiling to 12,500 m would have arithmetically resulted from the extended wings, but there is no evidence of use on a Fw 190 A-3 / U-7.
In parallel to reducing the weight of the Fw 190 A-3 / U-7, attempts were made to improve the engine performance at higher altitudes by means of an outward-facing intake of the supercharger air. The BMW 801 sucked in the air for its mechanical supercharger inside the engine cowling. As a result, only a slight jam effect could be achieved, which limited the effectiveness of the charger. The external intake manifolds of the Fw 190 A-3 / U-7 were a comparatively small modification, but proved to be very efficient. They sucked in outside air with a damming effect of 60% (the standard engine only achieved a damming effect of 22%), which increased the full pressure altitude of the engine from 6400 m to 7400 m. Overall, the weight reduction and the modifications to the engine showed a very positive effect on the performance data: so the Wnr. 528 a ground climb rate of 18 m / s and a service ceiling of 11,900 m. A height of 8000 m was achieved in 10.3 min. reached. Despite the good performance, the Fw 190 A-3 / U7 did not go into series production - probably due to the lack of armor protection, the low level of armament and the lack of a pressurized cabin. However, there is evidence that at least the external intake ducts have been delivered in the form of conversion kits, at least in small numbers, to the field workshops of the fighter pilot units and have also been installed there. One machine that has been shown to have been flown with these intake ports is the Fw 190 A-4 from Egon Mayer, which at that time belonged to III./JG 2. It can also be proven that Hermann Graf flew a Fw 190 A-5 / U7 in southern France during his use in the hunting supplement group East in the summer of 1943.
Conversion (U) and conversion kit (R) variants Fw 190 A-3:
- Fw 190 Aa-3: Export version of the Fw 190 A-3 for Turkey (72 machines, armament 4 × MG 17 and 2 × MG FF, no FuG 25)
- Fw 190 A-3 / U1: engine suspension extended by 150 mm (only model aircraft, engine suspension was incorporated into series production with the A-5)
- Fw 190 A-3 / U2: Test vehicle for wing-mounted RZ-65 missiles
- Fw 190 A-3 / U3: Test vehicle for various serial display devices
- Fw 190 A-3 / U4: Reconnaissance aircraft with two Rb 12.5 / 7 × 9 series cameras (twelve machines as a pilot series for an E-series height reconnaissance aircraft, which however was not realized)
- Fw 190 A-3 / U7: Weight-reduced high altitude fighter for testing purposes
- Fw 190 A-3 / U8: Converted A-3 / U1
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| length | 8.85 m |
| span | 10.51 m |
| height | 3.95 m (above propeller circle) |
| Wing area | 18.3 m² |
| Wing extension | 6.0 |
| Takeoff mass | 3,850 kg (without MG FF / M) |
| Wing loading | 190 kg / m² |
| engine | a BMW 801 D-2 with 1,700 hp (1,250 kW) takeoff power |
| Top speed | 635 km / h at an altitude of 6,000 m on climbing and Combat performance |
| Top speed | 665 km / h at 6,500 m altitude at take-off and Emergency service |
| Rate of climb | approx. 1,250 m / min |
| Summit height | 10,300 m |
| fuel | C3 (525 liters) |
| Range without additional tanks with economy performance | 810 km |
| Armament | two 7.92 mm MG 17 (900 rounds each) above the engine, two 20 mm MG 151 / 20E (250 rounds each) firing in the wing roots, controlled by the propeller circle,
two 20 mm MG FF / M (90 rounds each) shooting uncontrollably past the propeller circle in the outer wings |
Fw 190 A-4
In July 1942, the A-3 was replaced by the A-4 version on the assembly lines. A modification that made it possible to distinguish the two versions from the outside was the replacement of the horizontal antenna mast of the A-3 on the vertical stabilizer with a vertical variant on the A-4. In addition, the previously used radio FuG 7 was exchanged for a FuG 16. In order to increase the number of Fw 190 deliveries, production with the A-4 version was expanded to include other production sites, including the Gerhard Fieseler works in Kassel-Waldau . A total of 909 Fw 190 A-4s were built.
With the A-4, the options for adapting the Fw 190 to various operational requirements have been expanded beyond the conversion kits to include the so-called conversion kits. In theory, the new sets differed in that they were easier to assemble, which should also enable them to be installed in the squadron's field repair units. In fact, some of the conversion kits required the modification of the flying frame on the assembly line, so that in practice there was hardly any difference in flexibility between conversion kits and conversion kits; As a consequence, the conversion kits were generally referred to as “conversion kits” for reasons of standardization in the later course of the war.
The first upgrade kit, which was used on a larger scale with the Fw 190 A-4, took into account the increasing number of heavy American bombers that penetrated German airspace from the beginning of 1943. In order to break up the dense formations of these robust machines and the high density of defensive fire in these formations, the Fw 190 was equipped with two launcher grenades 21 (WGr. 21) under the wings using the R6 upgrade kit. The launcher grenade 21 was a spin-stabilized rocket projectile in 21 cm caliber, which was fired recoil-free from a tube with guide and holding rails inside. In air-to-air use, the warhead was detonated by a simple time fuse. H. The prerequisite for an effective use of weapons consisted primarily in the ability of the pilot to correctly estimate his distance to the target and his approach speed. The task was made even more difficult by the relatively low exit speed of the projectile, which caused a large projectile to fall on the way to the target. Nevertheless, in many cases the large warhead was sufficient to break up the formations of the American bombers and damage individual machines in such a way that they could no longer follow the bomber formation, which could then be fought by cannon-armed aircraft with less resistance.
The Fw 190 A-4 also used the BMW 801 D 2 engine, which was now equipped with a MW 50 system. It could each for a few minutes, a methanol - water mixture in a 50:50 ratio to be injected could be increased so that the engine power to 2000 HP. The additional power was achieved by the introduced water, which, similar to a charge air cooler, cooled the intake air through the evaporation and thus optimized the charging of the engine. The main purpose of the added methanol was to prevent the engine from knocking and the MW-50 mixture from freezing at high altitudes. As a side effect, the cold charge air increased the internal cooling of the cylinders. Due to the high thermal load on the engine, use of the MW 50 was limited to ten minutes.
However, there were repeated delays in the delivery of the MW-50 systems, so that the practical use of the system was only possible with the Fw 190 A-8. In addition, the performance increases at low levels initially fell short of expectations and the performance of other, more simply structured systems, such as the C-3 additional injection or a simple increase in boost pressure (see section Fw 190 A-5). At the end of 1943, the use of the MW-50 system at a height of 100 m in Rechlin only recorded an increase in top speed of 16 km / h.
Conversion (U) and conversion kit (R) variants Fw 190 A-4:
- Fw 190 A-4 / Trop: Tropical version of the Fw 190 A-4 with sand filters etc.
- Fw 190 A-4 / U1: Small series of fast fighter-bombers
- Fw 190 A-4 / U3: Attack aircraft with ETC-501 bomb pylon under the fuselage (around 30 machines)
- Fw 190 A-4 / U4: Height reconnaissance aircraft with two row cameras Rb 12.5 / 7 × 9 (not or only built as a single piece)
- Fw 190 A-4 / U5: planned test vehicle for the development of a high altitude fighter (not built)
- Fw 190 A-4 / U6: planned test vehicle for the development of a high altitude fighter (not built)
- Fw 190 A-4 / U7: planned test vehicle for the development of a high altitude fighter (like A-3 / U7)
- Fw 190 A-4 / U8: Long-range fighter-bomber with suspensions for additional tanks under the wings (test vehicle for “Jabo-Rei”, was ready for series production in the form of the G series)
- Fw 190 A-4 / R1: Fighter aircraft with FuG-16ZE radio as lead fighter in the Y-procedure
- Fw 190 A-4 / R6: Hunter with two launcher grenades WGr. 21 under the wings (so-called “bulk destroyer”), only one built, tested in Rechlin
Fw 190 A-5
Based on the experience that the development team around chief engineer Blaser had gained with testing the Fw 190 A-3 / U1, Focke-Wulf had come to the conclusion that the increasing armament of the Fw 190 shifted the focus of the machine had - a tendency that would intensify under the sign of desired weapon options in the future. For this reason, Blaser decided to move the engine of the Fw 190 forward by extending the engine mount by 150 mm - a change that was introduced when production of the Fw 190 A-5 began and was retained for all subsequent sub-variants of the Fw 190 A. As a result of this measure, the fuselage length of the A-5, which replaced the A-4 on the assembly lines from November 1942, increased to 9.00 m. Also easily recognizable from the outside was the covering of the previously used very simply designed cooling slots with adjustable cooling flaps, with the help of which the pilot could precisely control the temperature of the engine.
Other changes to the A-5 compared to the A-4 mainly concerned the equipment, such as a new electrically operated artificial horizon, an improved high-altitude breathing apparatus and the extensive use of the FuG 25a for the friend-foe identification (IFF). The radio equipment housed in the rear fuselage was moved a little to the rear and the maintenance flap, which gave access to radio devices and other equipment on the left side of the fuselage, was enlarged. Further changes to the flying frame made it possible for the Fw 190 A-5 to accommodate numerous conversion kits. The number of Fw 190 A-5s produced amounted to a total of 680 machines.
In autumn 1943, a Fw 190 A-5 (W.Nr. 157347) was converted into a V45 prototype, which was used to test the GM-1 system. In this system, the injection of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) led to a short-term increase in engine performance at great heights through the associated supply of oxygen. This system was later standardized in the R-4 upgrade kit. Another Fw 190 A-5 (W.Nr. 410230) was converted into a V34 prototype in December 1943, with which the BMW 801 F intended for the variants A-9 and A-10, with a planned output of 2400 hp, was tested should. However, it cannot be proven that the corresponding engine prototype BMW 801 V85 was ever installed and tested in the machine mentioned.
Another means of increasing performance, which was tested with the Fw 190 A-5 (in addition to some A-4 test vehicles), was the C-3 injection system. Originally developed especially for the F and G variants of the Fw 190, which often flew their missions at low altitudes - at which the GM-1 system could not be used - and with large external loads, it was supposed to be a response to the increasing risk be the fighter-bomber due to the advancement of the technical development of the enemy fighter aircraft from mid-1942. BMW and Focke-Wulf developed a combined system of increased boost pressure (1.65 ata instead of 1.42 ata at 2700 rpm near the ground) and additional fuel injection to increase the engine's performance at altitudes of up to 1000 m. The additional injection of C-3 fuel was necessary because the maximum delivery rate of the injection pump of the BMW 801 D was no longer sufficient at maximum boost pressure (the additional fuel requirement when using the C-3 injection system for ten minutes was around 12 l). These combined measures resulted in an increase in performance to around 2060 hp near the ground. Focke-Wulf tested the new system from June 3, 1943 with the Fw 190 A-5 / U8 (W.Nr. 1428) and recorded an increase in top speed of max. 37 km / h. This result coincided with the performance achieved by the Rechlin test center from May to July 1943 with a total of six Fw 190 A-4 and A-5 test vehicles equipped with a C-3 injection system, with a speed increase between 30 and 45 km / h. At this point in time, the C-3 injection system achieved better results than the MW-50 system, which was also intended for use in the Fw 190. In addition, Focke-Wulf was able to prove that the C-3 injection system contributed to a noticeable increase in performance even at heights of 8000 m, which is why its use was recommended for the fighter variants of this type in addition to the fighter-bomber variants of the Fw 190. To what extent it was actually used can no longer be determined today due to the lack of relevant documents.
Conversion (U) and conversion kit (R) variants Fw 190 A-5:
- Fw 190 A-5 / U1: Trials with different barrel weapons like Mk 103
- Fw 190 A-5 / U2: Night fighter, small series for "Wilde Sau" night hunt, with Fla-V system (flame destroyer) and glare protection, later converted into G-2 as a night Jabo, without external wing weapons, with underwing ETCs for 300 l tank
- Fw 190 A-5 / U3: fighter-bomber with ETC-501 bomb pylon under the fuselage and reduced barrel armament (only MG 17 in the fuselage); F-2 model aircraft
- Fw 190 A-5 / U4: reconnaissance plane with two row cameras Rb 12.5 / 7 × 9; Small series, model aircraft of the unrealized E-1
- Fw 190 A-5 / U7: Fighter with two external 30 mm MK 103 in the lower wing nacelle or two 30 mm MK 108 in the outer wing
- Fw 190 A-5 / U8: Fighter-bomber with bomb suspensions under the wings (version for high-speed combat squadrons, later renamed G-2)
- Fw 190 A-5 / U9: Various weapon tests, e.g. as a destroyer with two MG 151/20 in the outer wing instead of MG FF or Mk 108
- Fw 190 A-5 / U10: model aircraft for the A-6 series, with MG 131 and four MG 151/20
- Fw 190 A-5 / U11: Two external 30 mm MK 103 in lower wing nacelles or two 30 mm MK 108 in the outer wing as model aircraft for the F-3 / R3 and F-8 / R3 tank destroyers and the A-8 / R3
- Fw 190 A-5 / U12: Hunter with two weapon containers WB 151, each with 2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 (125 rounds per weapon)
- Fw 190 A-5 / U13: long-range fighter-bomber, prototype for the G-3 series
- Fw 190 A-5 / U14: Torpedo fighter for fighting ships with extended rear wheel suspension, enlarged vertical tail and torpedo carrier under the hull for LTF 5b (two machines)
- Fw 190 A-5 / U15: Torpedo fighter for fighting ships with extended rear wheel suspension, enlarged vertical tail and torpedo carrier under the hull for LT 950 (one machine). In May 43 it was ordered to reassign the designation for a bulk destroyer with Mk103 or Mk108 in gondolas
- Fw 190 A-5 / U16: bulk destroyer with two MK 108 and reinforced armor
- Fw 190 A-5 / U17: model aircraft for F-3 and F-3 / R1 attack aircraft
- Fw 190 A-5 / R1: Guide machines with FuG16ZE
- Fw 190 A-5 / R6: Pattern for use of the BR21 rocket launcher
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| length | 9.00 m |
| span | 10.51 m |
| height | 3.95 m |
| Wing area | 18.3 m² |
| Wing extension | 6.0 |
| Takeoff mass | 4,000 kg (without MG FF / M) |
| engine | a BMW 801 D-2 |
| Top speed | 607 km / h at an altitude of 6000 m with maximum continuous power |
| Top speed | 628 km / h at an altitude of 5750 m with climbing and Combat performance |
| Top speed | 655 km / h at 6250 m altitude at start and end Emergency service |
| Summit height | 10,350 m |
| fuel | C3 (525 liters) |
| Armament | two 7.92 mm MG 17 (900 rounds each) above the engine
two 20 mm MG 151 / 20E (250 rounds each) controlled by the propeller circle shooting in the wing roots, two 20 mm MG FF / M (90 rounds each) shooting past the propeller circle in the outer wings |
Fw 190 A-6
With the start of series production of the variant A-6, the MG FF mounted in the outer wings was replaced by more powerful MG 151/20 E. This modification required a reinforcement of the wing structure, as the MG 151/20 not only used compared to the MG FF larger installation volume, but also a higher weight and a stronger recoil. In addition to a new mount and electrical connections, the wings were provided with enlarged maintenance hatches on their underside and streamlined panels on the top, which were necessary due to the greater height of the MG 151/20 compared to the MG FF. Parallel to these measures, space was created in the wings for an enlarged ammunition container, which eliminated one of the weak points of the MG FF - the provision of the weapon in a drum container with only 60 rounds of ammunition. With the new armament with the MG 151/20 in the outer wing, the case did not have to be ejected, instead the cases were now caught in a container on the wing between the 6th and 7th rib. On the underside of the surface, only the belt links were ejected. In view of future requirements, additional precautions were taken in the wings of the A-6 to be able to accommodate 30 mm machine cannons at a later date , both inside and below the wing as nacelle armament. In both cases, the weapons should be stored in ammunition containers in the wing.
All of these measures took into account the new demands of aerial combat, which the pilots of the Fw 190 were increasingly faced with. At this time, in the summer of 1943, the USAAF began to fly increasingly effective and massive daytime bomber attacks against strategic targets in Germany from England. In order to combat the heavily armed and robust four-engine bombers of the Americans, there was a demand for a heavily armed fighter to be made available that would enable even an average pilot to achieve a kill with a realistic chance. Due to its design features, the Fw 190 was much more likely to be considered for this role than the Messerschmitt Bf 109, whose ability to carry additional weapons in or under the wings was limited.
With the A-6, in addition to an improvement in armament, the Fw 190 was also equipped with the FuG-16-ZE radio (together with the FuG 10 ZY), which had a characteristic ring antenna for radio direction finding on the underside of the rear fuselage and so on created the possibility of radio navigation via the bearings of radio beacons. This modification was also made to some of the A-5 machines.
In the autumn of 1943, the Erla Maschinenwerk in Leipzig developed a simplified fuselage pylon which, compared to the ETC 501, had been designed to be more aerodynamic and could be installed or removed depending on the requirements of an operation. Various machines of the variants A-6, A-7 and A-8 were equipped with this pylon in the field; For example the machine that Lieutenant Colonel Josef Priller flew during the operation "Overlord" on June 6, 1944 during the only attack by the Luftwaffe on the Allied landing heads ("Schwarze 13", W.Nr. 170346). A total of 1067 Fw 190 A-6s were built in the various manufacturing plants.
Conversion (U) and conversion kit (R) variants Fw 190 A-6:
- Fw 190 A-6 / R1: Hunter with two weapon containers WB 151, each with 2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 (125 rounds per weapon)
- Fw 190 A-6 / R2: Fighter with two internal 30 mm MK 108 in the outer wing
- Fw 190 A-6 / R3: Fighter with two external 30 mm MK 103 in under wing containers
- Fw 190 A-6 / R4: test vehicle for BMW 801 TS
- Fw 190 A-6 / R6: Hunter with two launcher grenades WGr. 21 under the wings
- Fw 190 A-6 / R11: Night fighter with FuG 217
Fw 190 A-7
In November 1943, production of the A-7 variant began, with which the armament of the A-5 / U9 modification sub-variant in the form of two 13 mm MG 131 and four MG 151/20 E was standardized. Due to the size and height of the ammunition feed of the MG 131, streamlined fairings were attached in front of the cockpit, which in this version (and all subsequent ones) formed a characteristic "hump". This further reinforcement of the armament was also made in view of the increasingly violent clashes with American four-engine bombers, against which the small-caliber MG 17 could no longer achieve any noticeable effect. At the same time, the Revi C / 12D reflex sight was replaced by the more modern Revi 16 B. The A-7 was also equipped with the BMW 801 D-2 engine with 1700 hp takeoff power. The heavier armament entailed a reinforcement of the landing gear, as had already been developed for the Fw 190 F fighter-bomber version. The Fw 190 A-7 was usually equipped with the lower hull pylon ETC 501, which, in addition to bombs, could also accommodate 300-liter additional tanks. In addition, all the conversion kits already developed for the previous versions of the Fw 190 such as the WfGr were available for the A-7. 21 available.
A machine of the A-7 variant (W.Nr. 380394) was used for tests of the additional tanks called "Doppelreiter", which sat as streamlined bodies on the upper side of the wing. With this construction, Focke-Wulf hoped to be able to transport a maximum of additional fuel with the least possible resistance. Although the experiments at the Graf Zeppelin research station were successful, the double rider tank did not go into series production. A total of 620 Fw 190 A-7s were produced between November 1943 and April 1944.
Conversion (U) and conversion kit (R) variants Fw 190 A-7:
- Fw 190 A-7 / R1: Hunter with two weapon containers WB 151, each with 2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 (125 rounds per weapon)
- Fw 190 A-7 / R2: Fighter with two internal 30 mm MK 108 in the outer wing
- Fw 190 A-7 / R3: Fighter with two external 30 mm MK 103 in under wing containers
- Fw 190 A-7 / R6: Hunter with two launcher grenades WGr. 21 under the wings
Fw 190 A-8
1. Shift the ETC-501 external load carrier by 200 mm forwards (at the same time equipping the machines with ETC 501 ex works)
2. Relocating the pitot probe to the edge of the right wing (not visible here)
3. Equipping with MW-50 injection system to increase the performance of the engine 4.): Equipped with FuG 16 ZY
The A-8 variant enabled the Fw 190 for the first time to use the MW-50 system for a short-term increase in engine output, which had already been planned in earlier variants, but had not yet been successfully implemented. For this purpose, the machine was equipped with a tank with a capacity of 115 liters behind the pilot's seat to hold the methanol-water mixture. This tank could alternatively be used as an internal additional tank for gasoline and made it necessary to relocate the radio equipment directly behind the pilot's seat. At the same time, the pilot's oxygen bottles were moved to the rear and placed around the new tank. Access was via a round access flap on the underside of the fuselage, immediately behind the wings, by which the A-8 variant can be easily recognized. The slight shift in the center of gravity caused by the additional tank was compensated for by relocating the lower hull pylon ETC 501 forward by 200 mm, which was also now installed as standard at the factory. Other changes concerned the relocation of the fuel filler neck below the rear cockpit hood and another access flap to the radio equipment on the right side of the fuselage. In this form, the fuselage of the Fw 190 was the starting point for all the following variants, including the Fw 190 D and the further developed Ta 152. The A-8 was equipped with a FuG-16-ZY radio, which had a very characteristic whip antenna underneath the left wing immediately behind the wheel well and allowed the Fw 190 to use the Y-bearing method to determine its position. At the same time, the pitot tube was moved to the right wing tip for speed measurement.
In addition to the performance-enhancing MW-50 system, the A-8 was equipped with increased emergency power as standard from July 1944. This enabled the boost pressure to be increased from 1.42 ata to 1.58 ata at ground level and to 1.65 ata at higher altitudes. This measure led - depending on the flight altitude - to an increase in the top speed between 22 and 25 km / h, which, for example, increased the maximum speed of the Fw 190 A-8 near the ground from 548 km / h to 578 km / h and at an altitude of 6300 m 644 km / h rose to 652 km / h. In contrast to the C-3 injection system, no additional fuel was required here. As with all systems for the special and emergency power of the engine, its use was limited to ten minutes (although it could be used several times per use after the engine had cooled down).
From the A-8, the Fw 190 had a new propeller with paddle-shaped blades made of wood. The blown cockpit canopy developed for the F-2 fighter-bomber variant of the Fw 190, which improved the pilot's view, was also partially mounted on the A-8 aircraft. The new hood also had improved armor protection and increased support for the pilot's head armor.
As with the previous versions, the A-8 was also able to carry a large number of conversion kits, of which the R2, R6, R7 and R8 kits were the most common. With the R8 upgrade kit, which included two 30 mm MK 108 automatic cannons in the outer wings with 55 rounds of ammunition per weapon, a variant of the A-8, called the “storm ram”, was created. Since the Fw 190 was better suited to carry a large number of heavy weapons than the Bf 109, the “Sturmbock” variant was developed to be able to fight the heavily armed and well-armored American bombers. The A-8 / R8 was armed with two MG 151 / 20E in the inner wings and the 30-mm cannons in the outer wings. Additional armor plates protected the pilot against fire from the side, and reinforcements of the cockpit hood called “blinkers” improved protection in the head area as well. These 30 mm thick bulletproof glass panes were, however, not entirely popular with the crews, as they restricted the pilot's view and tended to freeze at higher altitudes. In order to at least partially compensate for the additional weight of the cannons and armor, the 13-mm MG 131s mounted in front of the cockpit were usually dismantled on the “Sturmbock” machines. Machines of the A-8 variant were also often used as test vehicles for numerous weapons and other equipment, but also as test machines for engine developments.
From 1944, the production of fighter aircraft was massively increased as part of the hunter emergency program. This required well-coordinated production on the part of the manufacturer and effective cooperation with sub-component suppliers. The Fw 190, which, due to its modular design, was just as suitable for mass production as the Bf 109, was produced in large numbers in the A-8 variant in all aircraft factories working with Focke-Wulf. In addition to the already established plants, production has now started in Cottbus, Sorau, Posen and at the North German Dornier works in Wismar. Smaller companies manufactured less complex assemblies, carried out repairs and recycled the material that had been flown out and discarded by the squadrons. Due to these efforts to increase production, the A-8 is the most popular variant of the Fw 190 with 6550 units.
Conversion (U) and conversion kit (R) variants Fw 190 A-8:
- Fw 190 A-8 / U3: lead hunter as the upper component of the mistletoe project
- Fw 190 A-8 / U11: torpedo fighter for fighting ships
- Fw 190 A-8 / R1: Hunter with two weapon containers WB 151, each with 2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 (125 rounds per weapon)
- Fw 190 A-8 / R2: Fighter with two internal 30 mm MK 108 in the outer wing
- Fw 190 A-8 / R3: Fighter with two external 30 mm MK 103 in underwing tanks
- Fw 190 A-8 / R6: Hunter with two launcher grenades WGr. 21 under the wings
- Fw 190 A-8 / R7: Sturmjäger with additional armor on the cockpit sides and the cockpit glazing
- Fw 190 A-8 / R8: Sturmjäger with additional armor on the cockpit sides and the cockpit glazing and two internal 30 mm MK 108 in the outer wing
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| length | 9.00 m |
| span | 10.51 m |
| height | 3.95 m |
| Wing area | 18.3 m² |
| Wing extension | 6.0 |
| Takeoff mass | 4,400 kg |
| Wing loading | 239 kg / m² |
| engine | a BMW 801 D-2 |
| Top speed | 656 km / h at an altitude of 6,000 m |
| Rate of climb | approx. 1,100 m / min |
| Summit height | 10,600 m |
| Range | 985 km |
| Armament | two 13 mm MG 131 above the engine,
two 20 mm MG 151 / 20E, controlled by the propeller circle, firing in the wing roots, two 20 mm MG 151 / 20E firing uncontrolled past the propeller circle in the outer wings |
Fw 190 A-9
With 660 machines produced, the A-9 variant represents the last sub-type in the production series of the Fw 190 A. The machine was originally intended to be equipped with the improved BMW 801-F engine, which had a special emergency output of 2400 hp (1470 kW) developed. However, since BMW had not yet started production of this engine, the BMW 801 S was chosen as a replacement, which developed a starting power of 2000 hp. Together with a more efficient charger, a larger oil tank (whose armor was reinforced from 6 to 10 mm), as well as an engine mount and engine cowling, BMW delivered the engines to Focke-Wulf as a replacement engine with the designation BMW 801 TS. Due to the larger oil tank, the engine cover of the Fw 190 A-9 was extended by 30 mm. A new cooling fan with 14 instead of 12 blades improved the cooling for the more powerful engine.
According to the original plans, the additional engine power was to be implemented by a broad-bladed wooden propeller from Heine or Schwartz with a diameter of 3500 mm. In fact, the metal propeller VDM 9-12176, which had already been used in the previous versions, was used in all Fw 190 A-9s . The most noticeable change compared to the earlier versions was the standard adaptation of the blown cockpit canopy, which was carried over from the F-8 version and improved the pilot's view. A few machines in the last construction batch also had the widened vertical stabilizer that had been developed for the Ta 152. The Fw 190 A-9 had the same armament as the A-8 and could use the same equipment kits.
Production of the A-9 began in autumn 1944 and, due to the shortage of BMW 801 TS engines, took place in parallel with production of the A-8. The heavily modified variant of the Fw 190 A-10, which was supposed to be powered by a BMW 801 F, was under development at the end of the war, but was no longer put into production.
Conversion (U) and conversion kit (R) variants Fw 190 A-9:
- Fw 190 A-9 / R1: Hunter with two weapon containers WB 151, each with 2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 (125 rounds per weapon)
- Fw 190 A-9 / R2: Fighter with two internal 30 mm MK 108 in the outer wing
- Fw 190 A-9 / R3: Fighter with two external 30 mm MK 103 in under wing containers
- Fw 190 A-9 / R6: Hunter with two launcher grenades WGr. 21 under the wings
Fw 190 B and C
Despite its good flight characteristics and performance, the Fw 190 had a central flaw from the start of its development, which became more and more serious as the war progressed: the lack of high-altitude performance of its engine. The BMW 801 was originally designed as a bomber engine for low and medium altitudes, where it could also develop its optimal performance. With increasing altitude, however, it lacked compression, which resulted in a rapidly decreasing engine power from about 6000 m upwards.
In particular over northern France and soon afterwards over the territory of the Reich, this characteristic of the Fw 190 proved to be an increasing shortcoming from autumn 1942, as the aerial battles against the western allied air forces RAF and USAAF, which attacked their targets with growing fleets of strategic bombers, moved to ever greater altitudes. As a reaction to this, Focke-Wulf developed concepts for the Fw 190 suitable for high altitude, which were known as Fw 190 B and C. The B variant was to be equipped with a turbocharged BMW 801, while the C variant was to be equipped with a V-12 Daimler-Benz DB 603 engine. Both the Fw 190 B and the Fw 190 C were only built in very small numbers as test vehicles and neither of the two variants was ever put into series production - despite some very good flight performance and originally different plans.
Fw 190 D
As part of the planned Höhenjäger variants of the Fw 190, in addition to the use of the Daimler-Benz DB 603 engine, the Junkers Jumo 213, located in the same performance class, was also considered as a drive. As with the Daimler-Benz engine, the Jumo 213 was a hanging 12-cylinder V-engine with a mechanical charger (on the Jumo 213, however, the charger housing and the associated air intake were on the right side of the engine, whereas on the DB 603 on the left). In the prototypes V19 and V20, the engine was first checked for its suitability. In addition, extensive changes were made to the flying frame on both machines, which not only included the adaptations of the fuselage to a V12 engine with a small frontal area, which had already become necessary for the DB 603. Both the V19 and the V20 were equipped with newly designed wings that had a straight leading edge of the wing. In addition, the fuselage was lengthened with a 500 mm long intermediate piece in front of the connection points of the tail unit in order to compensate for the greater length of the V12 engine and the associated shift in the center of gravity. In addition, the machines received a widened vertical stabilizer, which improved the longitudinal stability.
When the first prototype of the D-0 sub-variant was completed in October 1942, Focke-Wulf did without the newly designed wings of the V19 and V20 and built the D-0 on the frame of a Fw 190 A-5. The water-cooled Junkers Jumo 213 A, equipped with a ring cooler, achieved a starting power of 1750 HP and in later production variants could deliver around 2100 HP for up to ten minutes with MW-50 injection in emergency situations. Early examples of the Fw 190 D-9 reached the task forces without the MW-50 system, but Junkers developed a conversion kit to increase the boost pressure, which could increase the engine output up to a height of 5000 m to around 1900 hp. The upgrade kit was installed ex works in all D-9s produced from September 1944, earlier units were retrofitted in field workshops, so that in December all D-9s (183 machines) in use at that time were equipped with it. From November 1944 on, a simplified MW-50 system was installed ex works, which increased the special emergency power to 2100 hp.
Due to the extension piece inserted in front of the tail unit and the larger installation length of the V-engine, the Fw 190 D had a fuselage length that was 1.52 m to 10.19 m longer than the A-5 sub-variant. In order to further improve the center of gravity, the oxygen bottles for the pilot were also moved to the rear in the new extension piece. The prototypes of the Fw 190 D were still provided with the old cockpit hood, while the series machines later used the curved, vision-enhancing variant that was also common in the A-9 and the F and G versions.
Since the D-9 was mainly intended for fighting enemy escort fighters at greater heights, the machine had reduced armament for weight reasons in the form of two fuselage-mounted 13-mm MG-131s and two MG 151/20 E in the area roots. The machine, however, had the same wing as the Fw 190 A-8 and had the appropriate fittings and connections to accommodate the outer wing weapons - but this option was not used with the D-9. The bomb pylon under the fuselage was exchanged for the new ETC 504, which had a simpler structure and, due to its smaller size, had a significantly reduced forehead resistance. Some examples of the late construction section of the D-9 also seem to have been equipped with the widened vertical stabilizer and rudder of the Ta 152 (also called the standard stern because it was later to be used in all other versions), for example the "Braune 4 "Of 7./JG 26 (W.Nr. 500647) or the" Black 6 "of JG 2 (W.Nr. 500645).
The first Fw 190 D-9s went into service in September 1944 with the III./JG 54, followed by other units such as the I./JG 26, which was converted from the A-8 to the D -9 started. In use it was shown that the roll rate of the D-9 was lower than that of the star engine-powered variants of the Fw 190, while above all the rate of climb, the top speed in level flight and the altitude performance were significantly improved. Kurt Tank, the chief designer at Focke-Wulf, viewed the Fw 190 D-9 only as an interim solution until the more advanced Ta 152 was ready for use. The pilots of the squadron also viewed the D-9 with skepticism at first, mainly because the machine was powered by an engine which was originally developed for bombers - one feared accordingly a sluggish response behavior of the unit in air combat. However, their own experience with the D-9 was able to convince the pilots that this machine was an aircraft that was up to date with its performance data compared to the Allied fighters. There are photos of Fw 190 D-9 with a significantly smaller additional tank under the fuselage and two other photos showing the launch grates with R4M rockets under the wings.
Despite the good performance of the Fw 90 D-9 with the Junkers Jumo 213 A, the RLM demanded the installation of the high-altitude engine Jumo 213 E in 1944. Due to the lack of space in the nose of the D variant, the required intercooler could not be used related Jumo 213F was installed and the charge air was cooled by means of MW-50 injection. By autumn 1944, Focke-Wulf carried out extensive tests with six test samples of the D-11 sub-variant with the new engine, but these were stopped by the RLM for unknown reasons. As a result, the development focused on the sub-variants D-12 and D-13, which should differ in armament. Since the Jumo 213 F allowed the installation of a motor cannon, the D-12 should be equipped with a central 30 mm MK 108, the D-13 with a 20 mm MG 151/20 motor cannon. In both machines, the further armament was limited to the MG 151/20 E mounted in the wing roots, as the chassis could no longer cope with further loads from fuselage-mounted MGs or automatic cannons mounted in the outer wings.
Focke-Wulf provided five test machines for testing the D-12 / D-13 series: V62, V63 and V64 for the D-12 series, V65 (W No. 732053) and V71 (W No. 732054) for the D-13 series. In addition, Focke-Wulf used the test machines of the planned D-11 series, which were stopped after a few copies, for further testing of the Jumo 213 F, which, however, did not include the installation of a motor cannon. Like the newly built test machines of the D-12 / D-13 series, these machines were converted from Fw-190-A-8 series machines. One focus was on the tests with the central cannon arrangement, which is why the prototypes V63 and V65 were handed over to the weapons testing center in Tarnewitz.
Despite difficult tests due to an acute shortage of materials and an initially too weakly designed supercharger gearbox of the engines, production of the sub-variants D-12 and D-13 was to start at Fieseler in January 1945 and at Arado in February. From this point in time, delivery schedule 227 provided for the production of 1,300 Fw 190 D-12s at Arado and 1,260 machines of the same type at Fieseler. The Roland consortium was included in the same production plan for the manufacture of 1,060 D-13 machines. The extremely tense organizational situation at this point in the war, as well as an acute shortage of material and labor, prevented the start of large-scale production.
According to Document No. 2766/45 of the Quartermaster General of the Air Force from April 1945, the number of D-13s produced is therefore only 17 machines. The D-13 / R11 was equipped with a PKS 12 direction finding system, a K-23 autopilot and a heated windscreen for all-weather operations. In addition, a hydraulic system to support the rudders was introduced in the D-13, which was later to be used in the Ta 152 as well.
It seems uncertain whether a D-12 was ever delivered to task forces; the Air Force's aircraft distribution plans only record the delivery of two D-13s to task forces for March 1945. One of these machines (Wnr. 836017) was flown at the end of the war by the then squadron commodore of JG 26, Franz Götz, and captured undamaged by the Allies in May 1945. The aircraft is in airworthy condition in the possession of the American Flying Heritage Collection . Apart from the V65, which was captured by the Allies in Travemünde at the end of the war, nothing is known about the whereabouts of the prototypes that were used to test the Jumo 213.
By the time the war ended, Focke-Wulf had made progress with plans to further increase the performance of the D series. During the flight tests it turned out that the radiator of the D-12 / D-13 sub-variants was undersized, so that the radiator flaps had to be opened slightly during the flight. At higher altitudes this cost a top speed of around 20 km / h - a situation that was expected to be remedied by installing the Jumo 213 EB engine in the Fw 190 D-13 planned for June 1945. This engine had an intercooler and, due to minor changes in the structure, it fitted into the nose of the Fw 190 D-12 / D-13. This engine would not only have enabled operation with the radiator flaps completely closed, it would also have provided an additional output of around 200 hp. The planned version D-12 / R25 should have reached a top speed of 770 km / h (613 km / h near the ground) with this engine according to the performance calculations by Focke-Wulf at 9500 m. A test machine was no longer built, however, and the project remained in the planning phase.
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| length | 10.19 m |
| span | 10.51 m |
| height | 3.95 m |
| Wing area | 18.3 m² |
| Wing extension | 6.0 |
| Takeoff mass | 4,270 kg |
| Wing loading | 234 kg / m² |
| engine | a Junkers Jumo 213 A-1 |
| Top speed | 686 km / h at an altitude of 6,600 m |
| Rate of climb | approx. 1,280 m / min |
| Summit height | 11,100 m |
| Range without additional tanks with economy performance | 810 km |
| Armament | two 13 mm MG 131 two 20 mm MG 151 / 20E |
Fw 190 F and G
The development of extensive conversion kits for the Fw 190 from variant A-3 had shown the unusually versatile usability of the Fw 190 for a wide variety of operational roles. In addition to its original purpose as a fighter, the Fw 190 was able to carry increasingly larger external loads with it - a property that made the machine a superior ground attack aircraft or fighter-bomber compared to the Bf 109. At the beginning of 1943 this suitability was taken into account by developing the prototype of the Fw 190 F-1 based on a Fw 190 A-4 / U3. After just a few copies, this machine was replaced by the F-2 sub-variant, which was based on the extended Fw 190 A-5. The Fw 190 F stood out in view of the high risk of a ground attack aircraft or fighter-bomber from enemy flak, especially through improved armor and a reinforced chassis. The first variants of the Fw 190 F were armed with two 7.92 mm MG 17s with 900 rounds each in the fuselage and two 20 mm MG 151/20 E with 250 rounds each in the wing roots. The lower hull pylon ETC 501 was fitted as standard, bombs up to 500 kg could be hung on it, but in exceptional cases also larger bomb calibers. In addition, there was the option of hanging four 50 kg bombs under the fuselage with the help of an ER 4 hanging grate. Initially, no external loads could be carried under the wings, this was only possible from the Fw 190 F-3. The additional armor - but above all the carrying of heavy external loads - had an impact on the flight performance of the Fw 190 F. For example, depending on the external load that was carried with both the fuselage and the wing carriers, a speed loss of up to 90 km / h, a reduction in climbing performance of up to 5 m / s and a reduction in the service ceiling by around 2300 m had to be accepted. In addition, the maneuverability with bomb load was considerably limited and, due to the fixed girders under the fuselage and wings, a speed loss of 15–30 km / h had to be accepted even after the external loads were dropped.
The sub-variants F-4 to F-7 did not get beyond the test phase, so that the F-8 represented the next sub-variant produced in large series. It was based on the frame of the Fw 190 A-8, accordingly the two fuselage-mounted 7.92 mm MG 17 were replaced by stronger 13 mm MG 131 with 475 rounds each. Part of the F-8 production was provided with a new curved canopy, which gave the pilot more freedom of movement and at the same time improved the view of the ground, which is so important for ground combat missions. In order to compensate for the increasing take-off weight, the wing structure of the F-8 was additionally reinforced in the area of the landing gear.
As a fighter-bomber with an increased range, in addition to the Fw 190 F, the G variant as a fighter-bomber with an increased range was also developed from the A-series. Based on the Fw 190 A-4 / U8, the G-1 was equipped with the option of accommodating two 300-liter additional tanks under the wings and a bomb load of up to 500 kg on the central fuselage support ETC 501. This sub-variant was followed at the beginning of 1943 by the G-2 based on the Fw 190 A-5 / U8, which was also suitable for night operations with a flame-extinguishing system and landing lights. The G-3, based on the Fw 190 A-5 / U13, had more severe modifications, the barrel armament of which had been reduced to the two MG 151/20 E mounted in the surface roots. Some of the machines were equipped with a PKS-11 course control to facilitate long-distance operations. In some cases, so-called cuton noses were installed on the leading edges of the wing to cut through locking balloon cables (a means to prevent attacks from low-level terrain). The G-4 was mainly a G-1 equipped with a cutonase and PKS-11, but it is doubtful whether this sub-variant was ever built in series. Since the sub-variants G-5, G-6 and G-7 definitely did not go into series production, the G-8, which was mainly characterized by improved radio equipment, was the last series-produced descendant of the long-range fighter-bombers of the Fw 190.
Fw 190 S
With the development of the F and G ground combat variants of the Fw 190, the RLM and the Focke-Wulf company took into account the very rapid development of flight performance from 1943 at the latest, as well as the massive appearance of enemy fighters over the battlefield, which made use of the types Junkers Ju 87 or Messerschmitt Bf 110 made more and more dangerous in classic ground support missions in daylight. In addition, there was the growing need for fighter planes and pilots who could fly them in order to be able to bring sufficiently strong fighter units into the air against the Allied bomber offensive .
These two developments, as well as the high losses that occurred particularly during operations against the USAAF bomber formations, led to an increased demand for training on the Fw 190, as at this point in the war the Luftwaffe's pilot training schools could no longer meet the need for new pilots. As a result, fighter pilots in particular were used for retraining in order to then use them as fighter pilots, or to be able to convert them to the Fw-190 ground attack aircraft and thus improve their chances of survival.
This led to the development of the two-seater training version Fw 190 S. The Fw 190 S was created by converting repair cells, based on different types of the A variant. The conversions from A-2, A-3, A-4 and A-5 cells were referred to as Fw 190 S-5 and conversions from A-8 cells as Fw 190 S-8. The decisive factor for which cells were installed, however, seems to have been primarily the availability, since, for example, documents from Focke-Wulf indicate that an Fw 190 S (W.Nr. 670007) was tested from an F-3 cell had been rebuilt.
The two aircraft yards in Prague and Altenburg were commissioned to design the Fw 190 S. Focke-Wulf inspected the first dummies in September 1944. In order to accommodate the second seat and the second control in the Fw 190, the spar was cut from frame 6 and replaced by a spar attached to the outside of the hull planking. This made it possible to leave the planking largely in its original condition. A slight outward bulge was only necessary at the height of frame 8 in order to create the necessary space for a second pilot in the interior. Both cockpits were covered with hinged hoods that opened to the right.
The Prague design initially used a seat from the Focke-Wulf Fw 58 "Weihe" in the second place in the cockpit , and the cockpit hood behind the second seat was transferred very abruptly into the fuselage. Here, the Altenburg solution was preferred for production, which provided a Fw-190 seat for the rear seat. This made it possible to keep the cockpit canopy lower and allow it to merge into the fuselage in a more aerodynamically favorable manner. Despite the allied superiority in the airspace over Germany, all of the Fw 190 S remained unarmed. The series production of the machines from repair cells was planned for the period between September 1944 and February 1945 in the Flugwerft Altenburg, but the main part of the conversions was to take place in November 1944 at Menibum (Metallwerk Niedersachsen Brinckman & Mergell, Harburg-Wilhelmsburg ), which works at Barsbüttel the U-relocation "Kolibri" entertained.
An original Fw 190 S, which was converted from a Fw 190 A-8 / U1 (W.Nr .: 584219) and at the end of the war as "Black 38" was in service with the Fighter Aviation School 103, is now in with a running engine Owned by the RAF Museum Hendon, England.
production
The production of the Fw 190 was divided between many plants. The pilot series and the A-1 were built at Focke-Wulf ( FW ) from June 1941 (works in Cottbus ( Cottbus-Nord airfield with flight operations at Neuhausen airfield ), Sorau , Posen - Kreising and Marienburg ). From version A-2 / A-3, the Gerhard-Fieseler-Werke in Kassel ( GFW , from May 1942), Arado Warnemünde ( ArW , from August 1941) and the AGO Flugzeugwerke Oschersleben ( AGO , from October 1941) in involved in production. From version A-6, the North German Dornier-Werke ( NDW , from January 1944) were also involved. With the A-8, the production base was significantly expanded, so that it became the most built version with around 6,000 aircraft (with variants A-8 / R2, A-8 / R11 and A-8 NL). In the course of 1944 the Silesian Weserflug -Werk Aslau ( WFG ), the Leichtbau Budweis ( LBB ) and Heinkel Oranienburg ( HWO ) were added. Also MiMetall Erfurt (MME) made Fw 190th
The fighter-bomber version G was built almost exclusively by Focke-Wulf from December 1942, the attack aircraft F from October 1942 mainly by Arado Warnemünde. From versions F-8 and F-9, the North German Dornier works participated to a considerable extent.
The fighter version D-9 was launched in September 1944 (over 1,400 built).
Production of the Fw 190 until November 30, 1944 according to versions:
| version | FW | GFW | ArW | AGO | MME | HWO | LBB | ND W | WFG | total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-0 | 28 | 28 | ||||||||
| A-1 | 102 | 102 | ||||||||
| A-2 / A-3 | 360 | 20th | 332 | 240 | 952 | |||||
| A-4 | 232 | 160 | 283 | 230 | 905 | |||||
| A-5 | 153 | approx. 200 | 42 | approx. 285 | 680 | |||||
| A-6 | 300 | 337 | 410 | 20th | 1,067 | |||||
| A-7 | 150 | 200 | 270 | 620 | ||||||
| A-8 | 1,613 | 318 | 1,560 | 311 | 80 | 10 | 110 | 7th | 4,009 | |
| A-8 / R11 | 126 | 126 | ||||||||
| A-8 / R2 | 752 | 752 | ||||||||
| A-9 | 75 | 112 | 20th | 8th | 215 | |||||
| A-9 / R11 | 193 | 193 | ||||||||
| D-9 | 252 | 41 | 73 | 366 | ||||||
| B-1 | 5 | 5 | ||||||||
| F-1 = A-4 / U3 | 18th | 18th | ||||||||
| F-2 = A-5 / U3 | 135 | 135 | 270 | |||||||
| F-3 | 432 | 432 | ||||||||
| F-8 | 2,044 | 1,350 | 3,394 | |||||||
| G-1 = A-4 / U8 | 20th | 30th | 50 | |||||||
| G-2 = A-5 / U8 | 476 | 150 | 626 | |||||||
| G-3 | 550 | 550 | ||||||||
| G-8 / R5 | 146 | 146 | ||||||||
| total | 4,614 | 2.011 | 3,635 | 3,145 | 496 | 100 | 10 | 1,488 | 7th | 15,506 |
| Dec. 44 and Jan. 45 | 633 | 229 | 676 | 309 | 391 | 0 | 0 | 279 | 0 | 2,517 |
| Until Jan. 45 | 5,247 | 2,240 | 4,311 | 3,454 | 887 | 100 | 10 | 1,767 | 7th | 18,023 |
The production of the Fw 190 continued until April 1945. Exact production figures are not available, but can be approximated. By November 1944, 15,478 Fw 190s were built (without A-0), by January 1945 a total of 17,995 units. In February and March 1945, 1,349 aircraft were taken over by the RLM. Destroyed or destroyed aircraft must be added to this number before handover, but the number is not known. Since no air raids were carried out on the Fw-190 plants in these two months, a maximum of 1,400 Fw 190s can be expected. By April 11, 1945, the Luftwaffe took over another 80 aircraft, some of which came from the conversion industry. This means that around 19,400 to 19,500 aircraft should have been built. The number of 20,001 Fw 190 to be found everywhere in the literature is definitely too high. It comes from a compilation that was made after the end of the war and for 1944 and 1945 is only based on estimates. A total of around 5,600 attack aircraft, around 12,500 fighters and 1,372 fighter-bombers were delivered.
Deliveries of Fw-190 fighters to the air fleets from December 1944 to April 11, 1945:
| version | December | January | February | March | until April 11, 1945 | total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-8 | 9 | 24 | 11 | 44 | ||
| A-8 NL | 332 | 380 | 134 | 846 | ||
| A-8 / R2 | 44 | 43 | 47 | 134 | ||
| A-8 / R11 | 18th | 18th | ||||
| A-9 | 20th | 67 | 12 | 99 | ||
| A-9 / R11 | 103 | 50 | 153 | |||
| D-9 | 218 | 234 | 287 | 165 | 904 | |
| D-9 / R11 | 76 | 41 | 117 | |||
| D-9 EZ 42 | 28 | 7th | 35 | |||
| D-11 | 13 | 13 | ||||
| D-11 EZ 42 | 4th | 4th | ||||
| D-13 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| A / D | 25th | 25th | ||||
| total | 820 | 815 | 508 | 215 | 36 | 2,394 |
In the period from December 1944 to March 1945, the industry delivered a total of 2,411 Fw-190 fighters to the Luftwaffe, so the above breakdown can be regarded as representative of production in the same period. Of the attack aircraft versions F-8 and F-9, 1,363 (without damaged or destroyed) aircraft were delivered to the Air Force in the same period. By April 11, 1945, another 43 attack aircraft had been handed over to the air fleets. Production of the F-9 probably began in December 1944. In January 1945, 147 F-9s were built. However, the total production of the F-9 cannot be determined.
Mission history
First missions
After reaching operational readiness, the first series machines of the Fw 190 were delivered to the Air Force from June 1941. As the first unit, the Jagdgeschwader 26 “Schlageter” was converted from Messerschmitt Bf 109 E and F to the Fw 190 A-1. After the end of the last night air raids by the Luftwaffe on British cities ( known as " Blitz " in England ) in the spring of 1941, when most of the fighter and bomber squadrons were relocated to the east in preparation for Operation "Barbarossa", JG 26 and remained JG 2 was the only German fighter squadron in France. In the course of 1941 and 1942 they were involved in a largely unknown mission against the RAF , which was mainly characterized by the defense against attacks by the Bomber Command on targets in France and in western and northern Germany. The choice of JG 26 and JG 2 as the first operational units of the Fw 190 was made by the Reich Aviation Ministry against the background of the assessment that the RAF was the most technically well-equipped enemy of the Air Force, who also had very well trained and motivated pilots.
In use, the Fw 190 quickly showed a number of advantages over the Bf 109. It had a higher top speed at low and medium altitudes, and the maneuverability around the longitudinal axis and the firepower were much better. The good view from the cockpit (especially to the rear), the harmoniously coordinated rudders, as well as the landing gear with its large track width and robust construction, which had a very positive influence on the take-off and landing properties and high additional weights, proved to be particularly pleasant and useful for the pilots was able to cope well with hard emergency landings after combat damage. As expected by the designers in the run-up to the decision in favor of an air-cooled radial engine as the drive, the Fw 190 also proved to be more bullet-proof than the Bf 109. However, compared to the Fw 190, the latter had the advantages of better climbing performance and, above all, superior altitude performance. The extent to which the Bf 109 and Fw 190 differ in their turning maneuverability is assessed differently in different publications today. Although the differences were actually small, the Bf 109 showed better stall behavior in the limit area due to its automatic slats, while the Fw 190 was able to approach the structural limits of the airframe more safely due to its continuous wing spar of great stability. In practice, therefore, the experience and skills of the respective pilot were more decisive for the extent to which the limit of the aircraft could be flown out and with what minimum radius it could be turned.
The flying ace Erich Brunotte reported in an interview in 2014 about the machine being pulled over during an aerial fight in the opposite direction. This saved his life in some dogfights, as the enemy could not follow so quickly. The opponent shot past the FW190 so that it came into an advantageous shooting position.
When the Fw 190 first encountered the RAF aircraft, it quickly became apparent that the Fw 190 A-1 was technically superior to the standard fighter of the Fighter Command at the time - the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. V. At the altitude that was relevant at the time, the Fw 190 clearly exceeded the top speed and maneuverability around the longitudinal axis of the Spitfire. Surprisingly, the RAF did not know anything about the development of the Fw 190 and when a shot down machine was recovered from the English Channel, due to the radial engine, it was initially thought to be a Curtiss Hawk 75 taken over from French services in the Air Force . The British had to give up the hunting patrols leading into France because of the new aircraft. They even considered stealing such an aircraft in a combined action with the Resistance . Instead, chance came to their aid when, on June 23, 1942, a disoriented German pilot landed at Pembrey airfield, 20 kilometers west of Swansea in Wales. The testing of the machine led to a change in tactics against the aircraft. With the Spitfire variant Mk. IX, the RAF succeeded in restoring balance in the air from the beginning of 1943.
The first major operation in which Fw 190 machines were involved was the Cerberus company on February 12, 1942. It involved the relocation of the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen from the port of Brest , where the ships were subjected to continued heavy bomber attacks by the RAF, after Wilhelmshaven . The ships should cross the English Channel as close as possible to the French coast on bright day. Since the RAF, the Fleet Air Arm and the RAF Coastal Command were expected to launch massive air strikes, all German fighter units available in France were used to provide a permanent air screen during the most dangerous phase of the passage. These units also included the III./JG 26 equipped with Fw 190 under the command of Major Gerhard Schöpfel, which carried out the last - later famous - attack of the Fleet Air Arm by six Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers under the command of Eugene Esmonde ( posthumous award of the Victoria Cross ) on the German ships.
The first air battle in which the Fw 190 was deployed in large numbers was dated August 19, 1942. As part of Operation Jubilee , an amphibious landing near Dieppe with which Canadian troops were to occupy a limited bridgehead in France, JG 2 and JG 26 flew with a total of 115 machines, mostly Fw 190, fighter patrols over the combat area. In continued fierce aerial battles, the two German fighter squadrons claimed a total of 61 aerial victories (with 106 official RAF losses), 40 of which were attributable to JG 26 and 21 to JG 2. This contrasted with the loss of 25 Fw 190s that were lost in aerial battles or in take-off and landing accidents.
At the end of June 1942, the two fighter-bomber units of the fighter squadron in France, the 10th (Jabo) / JG 2 and the 10th (Jabo) / JG 26, which had previously flown variants of the Bf 109 F, were transferred to Fw 190 A-3 / U3 converted. With these machines, the squadrons carried out surprise attacks at extremely low altitude in order to avoid detection by the British radar warning chain. These fast-flying attackers were difficult to intercept for the Fighter Command, as they could only be detected by visual observation and had mostly started the return flight at high speed when RAF fighters appeared in the target area. The attacks were directed both against shipping in the English Channel and against high-quality individual targets in port cities on the south-east coast of England. The largest and most momentous of these operations was directed on October 31, 1942 against the city of Canterbury . In the greatest daylight deployment since the Battle of Britain, around 60 Fw 190 bombed the city, killing 32 people and injuring 116. After the development of the Spitfire Mk. IX and the Hawker Typhoon had equalized the performance advantage of the Fw 190 on the British side , the two fighter-bomber squadrons of JG 2 and 26 were integrated into the new Schnellkampfgeschwader 10 in April 1943 , which carried out night raids over southern England. The Fw 190 suffered heavy losses from the De Havilland DH.98 Mosquito night fighters, which were equipped with improved radar technology . During the first operation of the SKG 10 on the night of April 16-17, four Fw 190s were lost in an attack on London.
North africa
The first missions of the Fw 190 on the North African theater of war began on November 16, 1942. The III./ZG 2 (renamed III./SKG 10 (Schnellkampfgeschwader) in December 1942), the II./JG 2 as well as the Stabsstaffel and the II./SchG 2 (battle squadrons) operated from Libyan and Tunisian airfields until the surrender of the Axis powers in Tunisia in the following year. The Fw 190 proved to be a very powerful fighter plane and a good fighter-bomber - as it had been in action against the RAF from northern France. In spite of its air-cooled engine, the Fw 190 also coped well with the specific characteristics of the North African theater of war, which naturally included high air temperatures, high levels of dust and improvised airfields.
III./ZG 2 in particular demonstrated the Fw 190's special ability to attack on the ground in North Africa by attacking various targets such as enemy airfields, ports, flak positions, tanks, convoys and flak concentrations at low altitude during the entire Tunisian campaign. The group was converted to the Fw 190 in Parndorf (Austria) in the late summer of 1942 and was scheduled to be relocated to Sicily at the beginning of October with the task of fighting ships and bombing targets on Malta . However, the Allied landing in North Africa on November 8, 1942 as part of Operation Torch made a change to these plans necessary and the III./ZG 2 was moved via the intermediate stations in Bari and Catania to the Sidhi Ahmed airfield near Bizerta in Tunisia. From there, the unit initially operated against Allied ships, and later against a wide range of different ground targets. In mid-December the III./ZG 2 was renamed III./SKG 10; the actual mission, however, remained the same and at that time consisted mainly of supporting the army. The last deployment of this unit in Tunisia was flown on April 30, 1943 after around 2,400 combat missions. The aircraft of III./SKG 10 were then handed over to II./SchG 2.
The II./JG 2 achieved numerous aerial victories against allied aircraft and some of the most successful fighter pilots in the North African theater of war flew the Fw 190, for example Kurt Bühligen and Erich Rudorffer . The Fw 190 proved to be superior to most of the fighters used against them in North Africa, especially the American-made Curtiss P-40 Warhawk and Kittyhawk, which the RAF in North Africa used as fighter-bombers in large numbers.
On April 30, 1943, the III./SKG 10 flew its last mission in Tunisia. Then she handed over her remaining Fw 190 to the II./Sch.G 2 and left the theater of war. In Tunisia, III./SKG 10 carried out a total of 434 missions and flew 2,396 sorties. As a result, several hundred vehicles and various ground targets were destroyed, 12 ships sunk or damaged and 13 enemy aircraft shot down.
Soviet Union
The use of the Fw 190 in larger numbers on the Soviet theater of war was a long time coming due to the difficult development of comprehensive logistics for the new aircraft type in the geographically extremely extensive theater of war on the Eastern Front - although the machine with its high performance in low and medium altitudes as well as their high bullet resistance for the air operations over the Eastern Front - where most aerial battles took place at lower altitudes than over the western theaters of war - was optimally suited. The first unit on the Eastern Front that was partially equipped with the Fw 190 in 1942 was the JG 51 , whose staff was converted to the new machine in November 1942. At first there were only a few A-3 machines, but in July 1943 the staff of JG 51 was fully equipped with twelve Fw 190 A-3s from repair units that were used until August. Gradually, all four groups of the squadron were converted to the Fw 190, with the II./JG 51 being withdrawn from the eastern front after the conversion in mid-1942 to reinforce the fighter forces in the Mediterranean area. The first aerial victory of a Fw 190 of JG 51 on the Russian front was achieved on September 29, 1942.
Another important fighter pilot unit, which was at least partially equipped with the Fw 190 on the Eastern Front, was the Jagdgeschwader 54 "Grünherz", which converted to the new fighter from 1943 onwards. In addition, the Fw 190 was used by the Fighter Squadron 5 “Eismeer” deployed in the northern section of the Eastern Front .
The Fw 190 appeared on the Eastern Front at a time when the Red Army was beginning to suspend the Air Force's technical lead by introducing new types such as the Lavochkin La-5 , Jak-1B and Jak-9 . Due to the increasing numerical inferiority, the Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front was pushed more and more on the defensive at this time. Nevertheless, the performance of the Fw 190 at low to medium altitudes, the maneuverability, strong armament, as well as the broad gauge landing gear and the general robustness of the machine benefited the pilots on the Eastern Front. Subsequently, numerous aerial victories were achieved with the Fw 190 and some of the most successful fighter pilots in the Russian theater of war achieved most of their aerial victories on the Fw 190.
The most successful Fw-190 pilot is Otto Kittel , who achieved over 200 of his total of 267 aerial victories on this model and is the fourth most successful fighter pilot ever. Also Hermann Graf , Erich Rudorffer , Heinz Bear and Emil Lang flew the Fw 190 on the Eastern Front and achieved there high shooting numbers. On November 6, 1943, Major Erich Rudorffer succeeded in shooting down 13 enemy aircraft within 17 minutes, which is the highest number of aerial victories that could be achieved during a single mission.
The Fw 190 was not only used on the Eastern Front as a fighter, but also intensively as a fighter-bomber and attack aircraft. When the threat posed by the Soviet fighter pilots grew ever greater from 1943, day operations with the Junkers Ju 87, which had previously been used as a close-up support aircraft, were only possible with great losses. In search of a successor, the Luftwaffe decided on the Fw 190, which, due to its heavy armament, bullet resistance and high payload, represented an ideal solution for the tasks of close air support, battlefield sealing off and tank hunting. Since the machine could also be used like a fighter plane after the external loads had been dropped, the conversion of the Stukageschwader - which have now been renamed the Battle Squadron - to the Fw 190 meant a great increase in the capabilities of the Air Force on the Eastern Front.
During the years 1943 to 1945 the battle squadrons 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 mainly flew the Fw 190 (in addition to some Bf 109, Henschel Hs 123 and Hs 129 and Junkers Ju 87). It was shown that the Fw 190 used as attack aircraft, after dropping their external loads, could also intervene in combat operations as fighter aircraft if necessary. As a result, many pilots of the battle squadrons on Fw 190 F and G achieved high numbers of kills.
Imperial Defense
A particularly important position in the history of the Fw 190 occupies its use in the context of the so-called "Reich Defense" against the bomber attacks of the USAAF and the RAF. In this context, the Fw 190 was used both as a day and night fighter. In order to understand the outstanding importance of this type of aircraft for the German air defense over the Reich territory between 1942 and 1945, the circumstances at that time must first be examined in more detail.
In January 1943, the USAAF's 8th US Air Force began its first strategic day bomber attacks from England on targets in German Reich territory, which were initially aimed at coastal targets such as Wilhelmshaven and Bremen, which were still within the limited range of the American escort fighters available at the time . In contrast to the strategy of the RAF, which had shifted to area-wide night bomber attacks on cities relatively early in the war, the USAAF planned to break up and paralyze the opposing armaments production by means of precision attacks on the military-industrial infrastructure of the German Reich. In addition to the appropriate precision targeting device (which was available in the form of the Norden bomb target sight), daylight was required above all, which posed the problem for the bomber formations of having to break through the defensive barriers of the German air defense.
Due to the technical possibilities at the time, the American bomber formations only had fighter protection by Republic P-47 - "Thunderbolt" fighter planes up to about Aachen in the initial phase of the attacks , which could take up combat with the German single-engine fighter planes. Twin-engine Lockheed P-38 "Lightning" were also available as long-range escort fighters, but these had only proven to be of limited use in the fight against the German interceptors. The American Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" and Consolidated B-24 - "Liberator" bombers were more or less defenseless against the attacks of the single and twin-engine German fighter planes over the Reich territory itself , as the relatively strong armament of the American bombers and combining firepower by maintaining close formations could not replace adequate protection by fighter planes.
As a result, the Luftwaffe air defense units equipped with Bf 109, Fw 190, Bf 110 and Me 210/410 were able to inflict heavy losses on American bomber formations in the summer of 1943. In particular, the first major USAAF attack against a target deep in the Reich - the ball bearing works in Schweinfurt on August 17, 1943 - offered the German interceptors optimal conditions due to planning errors. The American commander set the attack height at 6,100 m (20,000 ft) in order to enable the most precise attack possible and was therefore in the optimal altitude range for German fighters - especially the Fw 190. Due to the lack of protection in the form of escort fighters, the German fighters were able to carry out repeated attacks on the American bombers until their ammunition was exhausted. Above all, the Fw 190 proved to be an aircraft well suited to the defense against heavy bombers, as it combined the speed and maneuverability of a single-engine fighter with heavy armament and high bullet resistance. This made it possible for the German Defense Associations to shoot down 60 of the 147 American bombers attacking Schweinfurt. Throughout the summer of 1943, the battle between the American bomber formations and the German fighters was fought with the utmost fierce. Despite the high losses, the American bombers were able to shoot down numerous German aircraft with their heavy defensive armament, so that during this time the losses of pilots in the Air Force slowly began to exceed the influx of new pilots from the flight schools.
After the intensity of the attacks had decreased due to the weather in the autumn and winter of 1943/44, the situation changed more and more in favor of the USAAF at the beginning of 1944, when the range of the P-47 was further increased by the possibility of carrying three additional tanks the American units with the North American P-51 B and D finally had a fighter aircraft that combined a long range with extremely good flight performance. Since the American units also flew in at ever greater heights, the dogfights shifted to areas in which the Fw-190-A versions were increasingly falling behind the American fighters equipped with high-performance high-altitude and turbo-chargers due to their known low altitude. While the German fighters had previously been able to break open the American bomber formations with heavy weapons such as the 21 cm launcher grenade over the Reich territory in order to then attack the isolated machines with concentrated fire, it was now increasingly difficult for the German anti-fighter defense due to the increasingly dense defensive shield from escort fighters to push through to the bombers. In particular, the use of heavily armed and twin-engine models such as the Bf 110 and Me 410 had to be increasingly discontinued.
In the spring of 1944, the continued American bomber offensive forced the Luftwaffe to withdraw more and more fighter pilot units from the fronts in defense of the Reich territory. While on the one hand the level of experience of the average German pilot decreased due to the growing losses and greatly reduced training times, the USAAF had increasingly experienced pilots who, with the P-47 D and especially the P-51 D, had aircraft types that the German ones Standard fighters outperformed the Bf 109 and Fw 190 in many respects. At this decisive stage in the air war over Germany, the establishment of the "Sturmgruppen" led to the development of a new tactic with which the air force took account of the changing air combat conditions. The basic idea behind the storm groups was no longer to conduct the attack in squads or swarms (i.e. two or four machines) and leave the choice of target and the further course of action to the individual pilot after the first attack, but entire squadrons of nine each To attack machines in tightly closed wedge formation . Each storm group consisted of three squadrons and the pilots were instructed not to open fire until the squadron leader gave orders. The assignment of the bomber pods to be attacked to the individual storm squadrons was carried out by the group leader of the storm group according to the situation, after which the squadron leaders assigned their pilots individual machines as targets. During the attack, the pilots were to fire at the bombers until the ammunition of the heavy cannons had been fired, and then dive down together. The tactics of the assault groups thus provided for a strictly coordinated and concentrated, one-off attack, which was intended to minimize the time in which the German fighter planes were exposed to the defensive fire of the American bombers or the attacks of American escort fighters. The storm groups only accepted volunteer pilots, who had to commit themselves in a declaration to crash the enemy bombers by ramming them if there was no other possibility of shooting them down. The first storm group was created by the formation of IV./JG 3 in May 1944, which was followed by two more storm groups in Jagdgeschwadern 4 and 300.
Within this new tactic, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was of central importance, as it was able to use a much stronger barrel armament without necessarily having to resort to resistance and weight-increasing armament as with the Bf 109. With the R8 upgrade kit, a sub-variant of the Fw 190 was created, known by the troops as the “Sturmbock”, which was provided with additional armor bolted on both sides of the cockpit and with “blinkers” reinforcements for the cockpit glazing in the head area of the pilot. The armament was significantly reinforced by two instead of the usual 20 mm MG 151/20 installed in the outer wings, 30 mm MK-108 cannons with 55 rounds per cannon. In order to at least partially compensate for the additional weight of the armor and the cannons of around 180 kg, the two fuselage-mounted 13 mm M-131s were usually removed from the R8 upgrade kit. The machines modified in this way were on the one hand heavily armed and well armored and thus had a real chance of being shot down through the dense defensive fire of the American bombers, at the same time the additional armor made the various variants of the Fw 190 equipped with the R8 upgrade kit im Air combat very sluggish. The new tactics of the Luftwaffe therefore provided for the protection of the storm groups with lightly armed (that is, operating without gondola armament) Bf 109s equipped with high cover squadrons (so-called "hunting groups"), which were supposed to shield the storm groups against enemy escort fighters.
The tactic of assault group attacks was used for the first time on July 7, 1944, when the IV./JG 3 "Udet" with around 30 machines, which were shielded by two groups Bf 109, one consisting of 1129 B-17 and B-24 Bomber formation attacked. The unit, led by Major Walter Dahl, succeeded in shooting down 28 B-24 bombers of the 2nd Bomb Division / 14th Combat Wing under optimal conditions, that is, in the absence of American escort fighters. The 492nd Bomb Group, which lost a total of twelve B-24s, was hit hardest. During this first deployment of the storm groups, nine Fw-190 “Sturmbock” machines were shot down by the American bombers' defensive fire (five pilots were killed), and three others were forced to make emergency landings. This means that around 40% of the machines used were lost and the fact that it was a very successful defense operation according to the standards of the Air Force at the time shows the extremely difficult situation in which the air defense was already at that time - especially when you consider that this first attack by the assault groups took place in the absence of American escort fighters.
In view of the dangerousness of the new German tactics, the American commanders decided to change the operational doctrine of their escort fighters and to send them to hunt freely in large units ahead of the bomber formations and on their flanks. As a result, the American pilots mostly succeeded in intercepting the cumbersome formations of the storm groups long before they could get within range of the American bombers. As a result, the storm groups only achieved success against the bombers if they succeeded in penetrating sections of the bomber formations that were not protected by fighters. Nevertheless, the losses of the storm groups remained high, even with successful defense missions. For example, two independently operating storm groups from JG 3 and JG 4 succeeded on November 22, 1944 in attacking an American bomber formation. The 91st Bomb Group and 457th Bomb Group lost 13 and nine B-17 bombers, respectively. At the same time, however, the American escort fighters managed to shoot down 31 of the 61 storm ram machines used in the ensuing aerial battles. Like all other Luftwaffe units, the storm groups were unable to recover from the personnel losses suffered in such clashes.
From 1943, however, the Fw 190 also played a role in the defense of the Reich against the nightly raids by the RAF. During the second major thousand-bomber attack by the RAF Bomber Command against Hamburg ( Operation "Gomorrah" ) in 1943, the British Air Force succeeded in removing both the ground-based radars and those installed in the night fighters of the Luftwaffe by mass dropping "Window" - To disturb chaffs in such a way that a radar-guided operation at night was no longer feasible for the German pilots. In order to bridge the time until new, more interference-resistant radar devices could be made available, the Luftwaffe Colonel Hajo Herrmann - originally a fighter pilot - developed a new aerial combat tactic that should at least enable the attacking RAF bombers to be combated by fighter planes directly above the targets . In this process, which was given the name " Wilde Sau ", the flak was instructed to set a certain limit height for the detonator setting of their grenades (usually around 5000 m), above which fighter planes should go free hunting. The target acquisition at night had to be done purely visually, with the night fighters flying over the stream of bombers looking from above at the approaching bombers. The flak headlight batteries were instructed to search for enemy bombers directly in a cloudless sky and to illuminate them for their own flak, or at a higher altitude for the night fighters, or to let the beams of their headlights glide slowly along the base of the cloud formations when it was cloudy. In this case, the water droplets in the clouds caused a scattering effect of the light, whereby the cloud formations, viewed from above, acted like a viewing screen on which the bomber silhouettes emerged against the light ground. This effect was intensified by the fires set by the bombers and the flare bombs that were used to mark targets during the attacks. The advantage of this tactic was that single-engine hunters, who were actually unsuitable for night hunting due to a lack of radar equipment, could be used for this purpose. Here, too, as in the fight against the heavy American bombers during the day, the Fw 190 was particularly recommended due to its heavy armament.
Preserved machines and replicas
About two dozen Fw 190s have been preserved and are on display in various locations. Almost half of them are in the USA, two in Germany (in the Military History Museum in Berlin-Gatow and in the airfield museum Cottbus ), one in France, two each in Norway and Great Britain, as well as in Serbia and South Africa. The Fw 190 A-8 of the Gatower Museum with the work number 682060 belonged to 16./JG 3 and was shot down by a P-47 on December 17, 1944 . The pilot Rolf Lahne was killed in the crash. The aircraft was recovered in 2003 and extensively reconstructed. The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-3 in Cottbus is the former yellow 4 of the 12./SG 9 and comes from Finsterwalde airfield , where it was buried when a hangar was blown up by the Red Army on April 20, 1945. The aircraft was recovered in 1997 and has since been exhibited in the found condition, as reconstruction was prohibited by the monument protection authorities.
There is also a modern replica, which FLUG WERK GmbH tackled in 1997 primarily on the basis of original plans and drawings and comprised 20 machines. Some of these machines have also been fitted with original parts and assemblies. Instead of a replica of the original engine , they contain the Chinese license replica of the Soviet ASch-82 , some also American engines from Pratt & Whitney with the corresponding modifications to the airframe. About half of these replicas are airworthy and are also exhibited or in use at various locations, four of them in Germany.
See also
literature
- Aero Detail 2: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D.
- Report 06011 from Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau GmbH - Flight Mechanics Department: January 1944.
- Federal Archives / Military Archives Freiburg, ZA 3/306.
- Federal Archives / Military Archives Freiburg, RL 3, production programs and takeovers by the Air Force. National Archives, Washington, January-November 1944 production programs.
- Donald Caldwell: JG 26; Top Guns of the Air Force. New York, 1991. Ivy Books, 1991, ISBN 0-8041-1050-6 .
- Jerry L. Campbell, Don Greer: Focke Wulf Fw 190. Squadron / Signal Publications, Podzun-Verlag, Friedberg 1976, ISBN 3-7909-0045-1 .
- Stefan Draminski: Focke Wulf Fw 190 D. D-9 / D-11 / D-13 / D-15 models. Kagero Publications, 2008, ISBN 978-83-61220-24-4 .
- Airplane Classic, issue 2/2005.
- Flugzeug Classic, issue 6/2007.
- Flugzeug Classic, edition 9/2008.
- Flugzeug Classic, edition 9/2009.
- Flugzeug Classic, edition 8/2010.
- Flugzeug Classic, edition 7/2011.
- Flugzeug Classic, edition 8/2011.
- Flugzeug Classic, issue 2/2015.
- Airplane Classic Special: German piston-engine fighter planes 1933–1945. GeraMond Verlag, Munich, 2008.
- Manfred Griehl, Joachim Dressel: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 / Ta 152. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-613-01681-8 .
- Olaf Groehler : History of the Air War 1910 to 1980. Military publishing house of the German Democratic Republic, Berlin 1981.
- Dietmar Hermann, Ulrich Levernez, Eberhard Weber: Focke-Wulf 190 Fw 190 A. The first series. Aviatic Verlag, 2002, ISBN 3-925505-72-5 .
- Dietmar Hermann: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F and G. From fast fighter to fighter-bomber and attack aircraft. Stedinger Verlag, Lemwerder 2012, ISBN 978-3-927697-63-8 .
- Dietmar Herrmann: C3 injection for the FW 190. For emergencies! In: Flugzeug Classic , September 2018, pp. 30–35.
- Krzysztof Janowicz: Focke Wulf Fw 190. Vol. I, Kagero Publications, 2001, ISBN 83-89088-11-8 .
- Andre Joineau, Dominique Breffort: P-51 Mustang: From 1943 to 1945. Paris: Histoire & Collections. 2007, ISBN 978-2-913903-81-4 .
- Jet & Prop, issue 1/2010.
- Jet & Prop, edition 4/2010.
- Aviation classics, issue 3/03.
- Aviation classics, issue 4/06.
- Aviation International, Issue 7.
- Aviation International, Issue 10.
- Aviation International, Edition 13.
- Aviation archive Hafner: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A. Technical compendium with 4550 pages, manuals, spare parts lists, operating instructions, ISBN 978-3-939847-02-1 .
- Morten Jessen: Focke-Wulf 190: The Birth of the Butcher Bird 1939-1943. Greenhill Books, London 1998, ISBN 1-85367-328-5 .
- Friedrich König: The History of the Air Force. Rastatt 1980.
- Monogram Close-Up No. 8 FW 190 F. Monogram Aviation Publications, ISBN 0-914144-08-1 .
- Heinz J. Nowarra : The German Air Armament 1933-1945. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Koblenz 1993, ISBN 3-7637-5464-4 .
- Page, Neil: Focke Wulf 190: Part One-the Fw 190A-series fighter variants. Scale aircraft modeling. Vol. 24, No. November 9, 2002.
- Alfred Price: Focke Wulf Fw 190 In Combat. The History Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-7524-5207-4 .
- Winston G. Ramsay (Editor): The Blitz Then and Now: Volume 3 May 1941 - May 1945. Battle of Britain Prints International, London 1990, ISBN 0-900913-58-4 .
- Peter Rodeike: Focke Wulf fighter aircraft Fw 190 A Fw 190 "Dora" Ta 152 H. Rogge, 1998, ISBN 3-923457-44-8 .
- Edward Shacklady: Butcher Bird: Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Cerberus Publishing, Bristol 2005, ISBN 1-84145-103-7 .
- US Strategic Bombing Survey. Aircraft Division Industry Report, Second Edition January 1947, Table V-4.
- John Weal: Fw 190 Aces of the Western Front. Osprey Publishing, 1996.
- John Weal: Air Force Assault Groups. Osprey Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1-84176-908-8 .
Web links
- Report on the new building of FW 190
- The history of the Focke-Wulf 190 & Ta 152
- Luftarchiv.de
- Air Force Resource Center (English)
- Fw 190 info
- Documents comparison flight 190 A-109 F
- Focke-Wulf 190 new edition
Individual evidence
- ↑ According to the company tradition of that time, all Focke-Wulf aircraft had internal bird names.
- ↑ Classics of Aviation, Edition 3/03, “ Jack of all trades ” , p. 37.
- ↑ "The Great Air Battles of the Second World War"; Aerospace Publishing Ltd .; P. 62.
- ↑ Nowarra, Heinz J .: Die Deutsche Luftrüstung 1933–1945 ; Volume 2; P. 72.
- ↑ Hermann, Leverenz, Weber 2001, pp. 46/47.
- ↑ Dietmar Hermann: The history of the development of the Fw 190. From chick to strangler. In: Flugzeug Classic issue 11/2012, p. 14ff.
- ↑ a b Classics of Aviation, Edition 3/03, “ Jack of all trades ” , p. 38.
- ↑ https://bmw-grouparchiv.de/research/detail/index.xhtml?id=3866974
- ↑ Time horizon brochure from the BMW Museum in Munich.
- ↑ www.ju388.de Injection pump Friedrich Deckel from the BMW 801 radial engine
- ↑ a b Classics of Aviation, Edition 3/03, “ Jack of all trades ” , p. 39.
- ↑ Flugzeug Classic 8/2011, "Auf Messers Schneide" , p. 15.
- ↑ Jet and Prop 1/2010, “The increase in performance in the BMW 801 D in the Fw 190” , p. 24.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Aviation History: Focke-Wulf Fw 190.Retrieved April 6, 2013 .
- ↑ Flugzeug Classic 9/2008, "Rosskur für den Höhenjäger" , p. 59.
- ↑ Flugzeug Classic 9/2008, "Rosskur für den Höhenjäger" , p. 57.
- ↑ Jet and Prop 4/2010, “Focke-Wulf's 1. Höhenjäger” , p. 27.
- ↑ Flugzeug Classic 9/2008, "Rosskur für den Höhenjäger" , pp. 60/61.
- ↑ Jet and Prop 4/2010, “Focke-Wulf's 1. Höhenjäger” , pp. 29/30.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau GmbH data sheet: November 29, 1942.
- ↑ a b Jet and Prop 1/2010, "The increase in performance in the BMW 801 D in the Fw 190" , p. 28.
- ↑ Jet and Prop 1/2010, "The increase in performance in the BMW 801 D in the Fw 190" , p. 25.
- ↑ Jet and Prop 1/2010, “The increase in performance in the BMW 801 D in the Fw 190” , pp. 27/28.
- ↑ a b Manfred Griehl: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 variants , FLUGZEUG Profile 45, revised new edition of Profile 9, Stengelheim 2008.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Fw 190 A-5 / A-6 Aircraft Manual - Part 0, General Information (August 1943).
- ↑ a b c d e f g Report 06011 from Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau GmbH - Flight Mechanics Department: January 1944.
- ↑ Campbell / Greer, 1976, p. 33.
- ↑ Campbell / Greer, 1976, p. 36.
- ↑ Janowicz 2001, pp. 40/41.
- ↑ Campbell / Greer, 1976, p. 38.
- ↑ Janowicz 2001, pp. 41-43.
- ↑ Page 2002.
- ↑ Page 2002, p. 593.
- ↑ Joineau and Breffort 2007, p. 25.
- ↑ Rodeike. 1998, pp. 379-380.
- ↑ Dietmar Hermann. 2004.
- ^ "Yellow 10." ( Memento from December 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Airplane Classic 6/2007, “Focke-Wulf Fw 190 double seater” , p. 78.
- ↑ www.geschichtsspuren.de - U-relocation “Kolibri”, Barsbüttel.
- ↑ Airplane Classic 6/2007, “Focke-Wulf Fw 190 double seater” , p. 79.
- ↑ US Strategic Bombing Survey, Aircraft Division Industry Report , Second Edition January 1947, Table V-4.
- ↑ Federal Archives / Military Archives Freiburg, ZA 3/306.
- ^ Federal Archives / Military Archives Freiburg, RL 3, production programs and takeovers by the Luftwaffe ; National Archives, Washington, January-November 1944 production programs.
- ↑ http://video.flyingheritage.com/v/116079427/feldwebel-erich-brunotte.htm
- ↑ Flugzeug Classic 8/2011, "Auf Messers Schneide" , p. 21.
- ↑ The German World War II fighter pilot who accidentally landed his plane in West Wales ... and helped the Allies win the war , WalesOnline, November 8, 2014
- ↑ Weal 1996, p. 26.
- ↑ Ramsay 1990, pp. 160-161, 168-170, 185.
- ↑ Caldwell 1991.
- ↑ Ramsay 1990, pp. 252, 253.
- ^ Uwe W. Jack: New exhibition in Gatow. Stopover . In: FLiEGERREVUE X . No. 71 . PPV Medien, Bergkirchen 2018, p. 105 .
- ^ Lutz Krebs: Aviation Museum Cottbus . In: Aviation Classics . No. 7/15 . Motor Presse, Stuttgart 2015, p. 74-77 .
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