Focke-Wolf Fw 190

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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.

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The first Luftwaffe unit to receive the new machine were those of 6/Jagdgeschwader 26 Schlageter (literally 6th Squadron of the 26th Fighter Group) based at Coquelles in the Pas de Calais who began to receive deliveries in November 1941. In service the FW-190A was soon discovered to considerably faster than both the Messerschmitt Bf-109 and the Spitfire V at that time in service with the Luftwaffe and Royal Air Force respectively. However as the engine overheating problems still persisted instructions were issued forbidding the pilots from flying over the sea beyond a point where they could safely glide back to land in the event of an engine failure.

By the spring of 1942 the Luftwaffe had received over 200 Focke-Wolf FW-190 fighters mostly equipping Jagdgeschwaders 2 and 26 based along the English Channel. By this time most of the early engine overheating problems had been overcome and the Luftwaffe commenced employing the fighter in a much mare aggressive fashion. On the 1st of June 1942 RAF Bomb carrying Hurricanes escorted by no less than seven escorting Spitfire squadrons from the Biggin Hill and Hornchurch wings attempted an attack on installations near Bruges in Belgium. They were quickly set upon by FW-190s guided to their interception by ground based radar stations, and in quick succession seven Spitfires were shot down and the rest scattered for no loss to the German aircrew.

Later, in June 1942, the pilot of a Focke-Wolf FW-190A-3 became disorientated in a combat with Spitfires over western England, and mistakenly landed his aircraft at Pembrey in Wales. This intact example was examined closely by British engineers whose report instigated a strongly worded letter from Air Chief Marshal Sir Shilto Douglas (C-in-C of RAF Fighter Command) to the Under Secretary of State for Air, Lord Sherwood. In this letter Sir Douglas was to state that in his opinion Fighter Command had lost the technological edge over the Luftwaffe.

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By 1942 it was becoming increasingly clear that the Junkers Ju87 Stuka dive-bomber was reaching the climax of its operational life. A replacement for the Stuka was an urgent requirement. Consequently a new FW-190 project was initiated to turn the fighter into a viable ground attack aircraft. This was to become the FW-190F with a heavily armoured cockpit to provide the pilot with protection from ground fire. The FW-190F was equipped with a central under fuselage bomb rack capable of holding a SC 250 General-Purpose bomb and under wing racks for four SC 50 50KG (110-lb) bombs. These Ground attack aircraft were to see considerable service on the Eastern Front.

For such a small aircraft the structural strength of the Focke-Wolf FW-190 airframe, coupled with a high ground clearance and the widely spaced undercarriage, enabled this machine to satisfactorily carry a wide variety of ordnance. Even designer Kurt Tank expressed surprise at the variety of roles to which his fighter was employed. The FW-190 was so versatile in fact, that it could carry full size naval LF5b torpedo or a 1000-kg (2204-lb) ETC 501 bomb. Amongst the many weapons employed at one time or another were twin 30mm Rheinmetall-Borsig (R?z 3) on the ground attack FW-190A-5/U11. Others included twin SG-113 Forstersonde Anti-Tank missile launchers, 200mm WfrGr 28/32 Anti-Tank missile projectiles, and AB250 cluster bombs which would split apart when released scattering over 180 SD-2 2Kg butterfly sub-munitions. On the 7th March 1945 FW-190Gs were even carrying the massive SC-1800 18OO-kg (3968-lb) bomb in an attack on the Remagen Bridge over the Rhine.

Despite the FW-190s reputation as the best fighter in the world the performance of the BMW Radial engines fell off rapidly above 20, 000 ft ceiling. The introduction of the Spitfire IX during 1943 led to a number of trials with different engines in an attempt to improve the FW-190s performance at higher altitude. Prototypes were constructed employing the BMW 801D-2 (FW-190B-0) and the inline supercharged Daimler-Benz 603 (FW-190C) but finally the decision was made to install the 1770-hp Junkers Jumo 213A- 1 inline engine. This engine had originally been designed for use in medium bombers and its adoption for use in the FW-190 airframe necessitated the lengthening of the aircrafts nose. Nevertheless the Jumo powered model was ordered into production as the FW-190D-9 which was to prove to be the most outstanding model of the breed.

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One of the best known of the German aces that flew the Focke-Wolf FW-190, Major Josef Pips Priller the famous Geschwaderkommodore of JG26 was credited with 101 victories over Allied aircraft. Priller, operating on the Western front (usually in Black 13) was the second leading ace in the west after Egon Mayer.

Continued development of the FW-190C project led, in 1944 to the production by the Focke-Wolf Company of a much-revised design. This aircraft was given the designation of TA-152.and trials commenced with a choice of engine. Ultimately the Jumo 213C engine was selected for production models over the Jumo 213E-1engine. Twenty pre-production Jumo powered aircraft were produced as the TA-152H-0 followed by a dozen H-1 production machines. Production then switched to the DB-603 powered TA-152C of which some 26 prototypes and 67 pre-production aircraft were manufactured before the war ended. The TA-152H-1, which was armed with single 30mm and two 20mm cannons, was recorded as having achieved a remarkable 472-mph at 41, 000 feet.

In total some 20, 087 Focke-Wolf FW-190s were built. Very few survive today despite considerable post war interest in the TA-152. Several examples were shipped to the USA and the UK at the end of the war. In the United States there are known to be three aircraft at aircraft museums (a pair of FW-190Ds and a TA-152H). The Luftwaffen museum in Germany had a D-9 recovered from Lake Schwerin some years ago for restoration. A recent report has stated that Glenn Lacey of Surrey is currently restoring an FW-190D-9 G-DORA obtained from the former Soviet Union to flying condition for an American owner in the United Kingdom.