Focke-Wulf Fw 190

Spotlight
Focke-Wulf
Fw 190
20 Pages in detail
62 Origin and
history
64 Contemporaries
compared
66 Men behind
the Fw 190
72 Innovation:
Fw 190-Ju 88
combination
74 ‘Dora’ in profile
76 In combat Fw 190
ace, ‘Sepp’
Wurmheller
82 A pictorial look
at Kurt Tank’s
fighter
CHRIS GOSS COLLECTION
This month’s Spotlight shines on one of the most potent
fighters of World War Two – the Luftwaffe’s Fw 190
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Spotlight
Focke-Wulf
Fw 190
Fw 190
Scrutinizes the history of...
The Focke-Wulf
The versatile Fw 190 was the Luftwaffe’s most feared wartime fighter.
We look at its history
P
Right
Kurt Tank.
KEY - MIKE CARR
erhaps
the most
potent of
Germany’s
fighters in World
War Two, the
Focke-Wulf Fw
190 proved both
a peril to Allied
bomber crews
and a dangerous
opponent to their
fighter escorts. Today,
like its Luftwaffe
contemporary, the
Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Fw
190 maintains a certain mystique,
one that has led the modern-day
German FlugWerk organisation
to manufacture a large number of
superb airworthy reproductions.
The origins of the fighter can
be traced back to 1937 when the
German Ministry of Aviation issued
a specification for a single-seat
aircraft to fight alongside the Bf 109.
While there were no concerns with
the Messerschmitt’s suitability for
combat, it was feared that its older
design (first flying in May 1935)
might eventually be outclassed by
foreign manufacturers.
Focke-Wulf ’s chief designer Kurt
Tank responded with a number of
concepts, the most successful of
which was one that incorporated
a BMW radial engine. The Bf
109 was powered by an inline
Daimler Benz DB601 unit, which
was consequently already in great
demand. If the new fighter could
Fighter General
Most Luftwaffe pilots that flew both
the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and FockeWulf Fw 190 agreed that the latter
was the superior machine, except at
high altitude. Among its supporters
was highly decorated General der
Jagdflieger (Fighter General) Adolf
Galland, himself a well-known ‘ace’.
“The pilots liked the Fw 190 very much
as far as handling, performance and
armament was concerned,” he reported.
“Compared with the Bf 109 series of the
time, the Fw 190 was superior, but this
did not hold true at altitudes above
25,000ft. Especially against bombers the
Fw 190 was by far superior because of its
heavy armament, its lower vulnerability,
and its better protection for the pilot.”
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SPOT FACT The advanced Ta 152 version
was named in honour of designer Kurt Tank
be equipped with a different
powerplant, the pressure on
manufacturing the DB601 would
be eased.
The Fw 190 had a more bulbous
cockpit than the 109’s, giving pilots
an improved field of visibility. It
also had much wider landing gear,
making it easier to land. In general
terms, it also proved the design
adage that ‘if it looks right, it flies
right’. Once the usual teething
troubles had been overcome, the
190 proved a magnificent combat
aircraft – a match for any of the
Allied fighters in use at the time.
The first prototype, the V1,
which carried the civil registration
D-OPZE, was powered by a
1,529hp (1,140kW) BMW
139 14-cylinder radial engine, a
forerunner of the 801 D-2 radial
that would power most early
production models. Flying for the
first time on June 1, 1939, it almost
immediately displayed superb
handling, visibility and speed. Test
pilot Hans Sander did, however,
become exceptionally hot due to
the proximity of the cockpit to the
engine. This, and other minor flaws,
were corrected before the Fw 190
entered service with the Luftwaffe.
Flock of shrikes
The first Fw 190A-1s were
versions, including the long-nosed
’D model and the ground attack ’F
brought the total produced to over
20,000.
Nicknamed Würger, meaning
shrike, the Fw 190 eventually
proved as versatile as the Bf 109,
and served in a variety of roles
on virtually all fronts, including
in Russia and Africa. When early
models were encountered by RAF
units flying the Supermarine Spitfire
V they proved superior in all but
turn radius to the British fighter. It
was not until the Spitfire reached
its Mk.IX incarnation in July 1942
that parity was established. Within
a year of entering service, Fw 190s
were performing low-level daylight
sweeps over southern England. Fast
and agile, they proved extremely
difficult to intercept.
Having gained the upper hand,
the aircraft was rapidly modified to
perform different roles. Other than
as a pure fighter, its greatest success
came as a fighter-bomber in the ’F
and ’G versions. In these, the outer
20mm cannon were replaced with
a variety of bomb racks or pods for
the MK 103 30mm cannon. Later
versions of the ’A featured up to six
20mm cannon, while the A-6/R-6
could carry two 210mm unguided
rockets. The latter were intended to
down US heavy bombers.
“One can easily imagine the
excitement that must have been
generated by this exceptionally
futuristic looking machine...”
completed in June 1941 and entered
service with II/JG 26 near Paris,
France. They were the first of several
’A variants to be built, concluding
with 910 A-9s made between April
1944 and May 1945, mostly at
Focke-Wulf ’s Cottbus factory. In
total, around 13,290 Fw 190As of
all specifications were built. Further
28
Fresh strategy
As daylight attacks on Germany
intensified, Fw 190 units developed
new tactics designed to destroy
or damage as many bombers as
possible. Approaching from the
rear, the Würger pilots would form
a ‘queue’, one behind the other,
presenting a very small target to the
Origin & history
rear gunners. This would usually
enable the fighters to open fire at
close range and in numbers. Being
manoeuvrable in a dogfight, the
190s were a sizable threat to any
Allied escort fighters, especially
when flown by experienced pilots.
Some of the Luftwaffe’s most
successful fighter ‘aces’ flew the Fw
190, including Otto Kittel who
claimed the majority of his 267
victories flying the Focke-Wulf.
Other exceptionally high scorers
were Walter Nowotny and Erich
Rudorffer with 258 and 222 claimed
‘kills’ respectively. In the latter days
of the war, however, the quality of
the machine could not compensate
for the inexperience of many
German pilots rushed in to defend
the Reich. Many 190s were lost or
damaged by increasingly confident
Allied pilots, and many more were
destroyed on the ground.
A noted decrease in performance
at high altitude was rectified in the
Fw 190D, which was introduced in
1944. Given a much longer nose to
accommodate the Junkers Jumo 213
inline engine, it proved effective as
a high-altitude interceptor. Other
variants achieved great success on
the Eastern Front. Specialised FockeWulf Schlachtgeschwader (Battle
Wings) carried out damaging attacks
on Soviet ground troops. When
challenged by the Red Air Force, the
190 proved formidable.
In spite of its successes, the
machine never entirely replaced
the Bf 109 – but the pairing
undoubtedly provided the Allies
with fearsome opposition. The end
of the war brought an end to the
Würger, although the Turkish Air
Force – which had received 72 Fw
190A-3as in 1942, operated them
until 1949.
Above
Cowling panels are
removed to reveal the
Fw 190’s 13mm MG 131
machine guns. BOTH VIA
CHRIS GOSS
Left
Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-3 313
having been captured
by the Allies. Oblt Arnim
Faber of III/JG 2 landed
this aircraft at Pembrey,
Wales, on June 23,
1944, after making a
navigational error.
Far left
‘Ramraiders’ by
Richard Taylor. WWW.
ACESHIGHGALLERY.CO.UK
of the pre-production Fw-190A-0 were built
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