Focke-Wulf Fw 190

[cyberia]

Also known as the Butcher-bird, the Fw 190 was a single-seat, single-engine fighter dubbed one of the Luftwaffe's best. Used extensively during the Second World War, over 20,000 were manufactured, including around 6,000 fighter-bomber models. Production ran from 1941 to the end of hostilities, during which time the aircraft was continually updated.

The Fw 190 was well liked by its pilots as a "workhorse", employed in and proved suitable for a wide variety of roles, including ground attack, night fighter-bomber, long-range bomber escort, night-fighter and high-altitude interceptor.

[Jim O]

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Another photo.


800px-Focke-Wulf_Fw_190D-9_outside_USAF.jpg
Fw 190D-9 Langnasen-Dora preserved at the USAF Museum.


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Cockpit


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In flight

[lufttiger]

I like the D-9 the best!

[cyberia]

A "rare bird" in the Focke-Wulf flock. The Fw 190A-8/R6 "Wurger".

Armorers load WGr. 21 air to ground rockets into tubes of a A-8/R6

The WGr. 21 rockets were used mainly against static ground targets such troop and artillery positions

[lufttiger]

Those rockets tubes i heard they used against bomber formations with
little success.

[Geek44]

I'm with you Luft...the D-9 is a beautiful thing.

[MAGNA]

I read recently how the FW190 was first delivered to a unit in Russia and they weren't too sure about it's durability. I think it was replacing 109's so one of the pilots took one of the 190's up and gave it hell, including a long dive and pull out to test the joints and a few other things.

The pilot landed after his try out and the plane was inspected. Not even a rivet was out of place. The pilots were highly impressed with this as they were with most aspects of the plane from then on. It must have been a good, robust design.

[Geek44]

Seems like a perilous test. Bad luck if something popped while pulling out eh? I've read a similar story about a guy who shot down a Me 163 Komet while flying a P-51. He was lucky. He managed to dive on the Komet and get a few shots into it. As he pulled out of his dive, he blacked out. His pal saw the Komet go down and it was caught in a few frames of his gun camera. When he returned to base, it was found that his wings had an extra few degrees of dihedral and the upper surface skin was rippled. Seems he nearly broke his plane.
Anybody else heard of the practice of school kids going down to the local airfields in Germany to help ground staff polish the aircraft with furniture polish to try to milk an extra couple of mph out of the planes?

[MAGNA]

That P-51 incident sounds scary. I also wonder how much of a dive the 190 was put into if it was done by a pilot who was used to a 109. I had read the 109 could not be put into a steep dive because a sharp pull up at the end could tear the wings off. I don't know it that is right or not though - maybe they didn't have enough polish on it ?

And yes, I could believe that.

[Geek44]

I guess they knew what they were doing and how far they could push the aircraft. Jeez, you know I love an FW 190 but I'm a 109 man for sure. And I like the 'ugly' ones too...the 'G' series is probably my favourite. I think they started to get serious with 'em when they began installing the 'Galland' (Erla) canopies and a 30mm hub cannon. Makes me wonder how rifle calibre armament survived as long as it did in any airforce. Still, if it was my life on the line...gimme a D-9 anytime.