[Hobilar]

Conceived in 1937 by chief test pilot and designer Kurt Tank, as a second-generation monoplane fighter for the Luftwaffe the Focke-Wolf was to prove to be one of the most outstanding fighters of the Second World War. Although basically conventional in layout, Kurt Tank, drew heavily on his personal flying experience incorporated a number of new and innovative ideas to the design. From the outside the most obvious is the frameless bubble canopy which would enable the pilot to have a good all-round visibility, an essential for a fighter pilot. The design team also achieved a crisp control of the aircrafts ailerons and elevators through a clever collection of linked rods rather than the complicated system of pulleys, wires and bell cranks that were usual in most aircraft designs of the day. Finally the cooling of the 1550-hp eighteen cylinder BMW 139 radial engine was to be achieved through a novel ducted spinner fitted to the front of the nose of the aircraft which would induce an airflow over the engines cylinders whilst keeping drag to a minimum. Another of Kurt Tanks farsighted decisions was to give the aircraft a very sturdy undercarriage as he realised that in service, subsequent modifications would soon add extra weight.

The first prototype was flown without armaments on the 1st June 1939.As the innovative ducted spinner had not yet been made available, the maiden flight with test pilot Hans Sander at the controls, was made without it. This maiden flight proved far from uneventful. For a start the main undercarriage failed to close properly and after a short while the BMW engine began to overheat badly, allowing noxious exhaust gases to enter the cockpit. Despite having to wear his oxygen mask for much of the flight, Test Pilot Hans Sander, whilst wisely deciding not to perform any aerobatics, was able to perform a number of cautious high speed runs over the airfield. Sander reported after the flight that the aircraft performed beautifully with the controls light, positive and well balanced. The exhaust fume and undercarriage problems were soon remedied, but the overheating engine problem was to remain with the early FW-190s for some time.

Although the factory had given the new design the name of 'Würger' (Butcher Bird) when the German Air Ministry placed its order for the new fighter it was given the service designation of FW-190A. The second prototype was the first to be flown with its armament fitted. This initially consisted of two Rheinmetall-Borsig MG-17 machine guns in each of the wing-roots. In the first production batch FW-190A-0 these were supplemented with a further two guns mounted in the upper fuselage. Even so if was felt that this might still be insufficient to match current Allied machines and so in the subsequent FW-190A-1 model a number of aircraft were fitted with the wing-root machine guns replaced with synchronised 20mm MG-FF cannons. This format became standard in the FW-190A-2 version, which was by now being powered by a 1600-hp BMW-801C engine.