Topic: Warbirds of WWII Part Ten: FW 190

[Chris SI]

Excellent German fighter

The Fw 190 began life as a back-up to the Germans' leading fighter, the Messerschmitt Bf l09. By the end of the war it had established itself as the most dependable fighter in the Luftwaffe. It was Germany's first radial-engined monoplane fighter, and flew for the first time in June 1939. The plane was introduced into service gradually; too late for the Battle of Britain, it was first sighted over the United Kingdom in August 1941.

In 1943 the Fwl90D entered service. This was powered by the Junkers Jumo 213 inline engine, a change which necessitated several modifications to the airframe. The fuselage was lengthened, and this produced the characteristic 'long nose', and the fin was widened. Extra speed was obtained with the addition of a power boost to the engine, driving the D 12 at a maximum speed of 453 mph. Increased firepower was allowed for in the 190D 12 and 13, with a 30-mm cannon firing through the airscrew boss. Previous versions of the Fw 190 were armed with two rapid-firing 20-mm cannon mounted near the base of the wings; two slower-firing cannon were positioned midway along the wings.

The D model, which enjoyed considerable success on the Eastern Front, was further developed under the designation Ta 152, the prefix being a tribute to the plane's designer, Kurt Tank. Most notable of the Ta 152s were the C model interceptor fighter and the H high-altitude interceptor. These were notably sleeker than their Fw190 predecessors, but were introduced too late in the war to have a great impact. With nitrous-oxide fuel injection the Ta 152H had a maximum speed of 472 mph and a ceiling of 48,000 ft.

The Fw 190F, a ground-attack machine, was armed with 24 50-mm air-to-air missiles or 14 anti-tank missiles; it could alternatively carry bombs. The G version was a fighter-bomber and had a strengthened undercarriage for carrying a bomb-load of up to 3,967 Ibs.

Specifications:
Length: 29ft
Span:34 ft 6 in
Power plant: BMW 801 14-cylinder air-cooled radial engine
Combat weight 18,700 Ibs
Max speed: 391 mph
Ceiling: 34,775ft
Armament: four 20-mm cannon; two 7.92-mm MGs
Crew: one.

[Clark Kent]

IMHO, one of the greatest of WWII.  Good thing they were so enoamoured with the 109 and didn't produce this one in too great of numbers.  I'm not saying that the 190 could replace the 109; they were both great fighters in their own rights, and both were needed in the war.
I've read that the 190 had one interesting issue: where as it was a dream to fly (and much more comfortable than it's tiny cockpitted broth the 109), in high G's it's guns were sussceptable to jamming, so deflection shots were risky.

[oldmanken]

Hmmmm...I wasn't aware that the Ta-152 was a derivative of the FW-190.  They must have done quite a few adjustments, as the 152 performed quite a bit differently than the 190.

[Chris SI]

If you view the Ta-152 and a FW 190 Dora, you see how close they are.

[oldmanken]

In the main body, they very much are...this is true.  The wings and tail are vastly different as far as I recall.  The wing shape and span on the 152 is quite different.

[Chris SI]

Compare a Spitfire Mk I and a Mk 24, they are both Spits, but do they look alike?

[J. Carney]

http://www.luft46.com/fw/ta183-i.html

A link to another of Kurt Tank's babies... the Ta-183. Though it never flew for Nazi Germany, you can see where the next 20 years of aviation design came from. This pair of Ta-183's, to have been called the "Owl"  by the Luftwaffe, are shown carrying the Ruhrstahl/Kramer X-4 air-to-air missile.



It did, however, become Argintina's first home-built jet fighter; though changes in the airframe made it less effective than Tank had originally intended.