Focke-Wulf FW 190 Würger

An early production FW 190-D9 of II/JG26, Reinsehlen, late 1944.

• Role: single-seat interceptor
• Conception: Kurt Tank
• Production: Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau GmbH; built too in Brandt, France
  20,051 FW 190 and 67 Ta-152 have been built.
• First flight of prototype (powered by a BMW 139): June 1st, 1938

Development

• Early in 1941, forty FW 190A-0 pre-production aircrafts were built, armed with two fuselage-mounted and two wingroot-mounted MG 17 7.9 mm (.30cal) guns.
• In July of 1941, the first FW 190A-1 was delivered to JG26, armed with four MG 17 7.9 mm guns and a pair of wing-mounted MG FF 20 mm cannons. The RAF met the new German fighter for the first time in September 1941, and the Spitfire Mk V showed to be no match for it. 100 FW 190A-1s were built.
• Now armed with four wing-mounted 20 mm cannons and two 7.9 mm guns, and powered by the improved BMW 801C-2 engine featuring a power boost system, the FW 190A-2 was delivered to JG26 in September 1941; 400 were built.
• During the Spring of 1942, the FW 190A-3 was introduced, powered by the new 1700 HP BMW 801D-2 engine. However, the most important evolution of this version was the addition of cooling louvers which finally solved the overheating problems that were keeping early FW 190As unserviceable most of the time. More than 500 FW 190A-3s were built. This version also saw the introduction of bomb rack kits, to turn this efficient low-altitude fighter into a fighter/bomber.
  Click here to see my FW 190A-3 1/48th scale model..
• The FW 190A-4, appearing during early Summer of 1942, differed only from the FW 190A-3 by a MW50 Methanol/Water boost system, and a radio pylon on the fin. More and more FW 190As were used as fighter/bombers on the Western front.

	Focke Wulf FW 190A-4
	Engine	BMW 801D-2	1,700 hp
	Weight	empty: 2,950 kg (6,500 lb) - with full load: 4,535 kg (10,000 lb)
	Armament	Two wing-mounted MG FF 20 mm cannons, two wing root-mounted MG 151 20 mm cannons, and two fuselage-mounted MG 17 7.9 mm guns.
	Performance	Max speed: 630 km/h (390 mph)	Ceiling: 11,000 m (36,090 ft)

• A redesigned engine mounting gave the FW 190A-5 a slightly longer nose. It appeared in April 1943.
• The FW 190A-6, built from June 1943, was armed by four MG 151 20 mm cannons (a better weapon than the previous MG FF) and still the two 7.9 mm guns. The FW 190A-6 had also more armor.

A FW 190A-6 Jabo from II/JG26 at Lille-Vendeville, May or early June, 1944.

• The firepower was again improved on the FW 190A-7: the 7.9 mm guns were replaced by a pair of MG 131 13 mm machine guns, fitted under a bulged fuselage weapon panel. Around 80 FW 190A-7s were built at the end of 1943, half of which were FW 190A-7/R2 Zerstörer with the outboard 20 mm cannons replaced by Mk 108 30 mm cannons.
• The final and most numerous version of the FW 190A series was the FW 190A-8; over 1300 were built in 1944.

	Focke Wulf FW 190A-8
	Engine	BMW 801D-2 with MW 50 Methanol/Water boost system	1,700 hp (2,100 hp with boost)
	Weight	empty: 3,470 kg (7,652 lb) - with full load: 4,900 kg (10,800 lb)
	Armament	Two wing-mounted and two wing root-mounted MG 151 20 mm cannons, and two fuselage-mounted MG 131 13 mm guns.
	Performance	Max speed: 653 km/h (405 mph)	Ceiling: 11,410 m (37,435 ft)

• The FW 190F series, fitted with additional armor and a rack for a 500 kg (1102 lb) bomb, were dedicated to the close support role.
• The FW 190G was a long-range fighter/bomber, armed with a single pair of 20 mm cannons and no guns, and able to carry drop tanks for extended range.
• The FW 190A series were excellent low-altitude fighters, however the Luftwaffe was in bad need for faster interceptors able to stop the American four-engined bomber raids. Kurt Tank's answer to these concerns was the FW 190D: basically the marriage of a FW 190A airframe with a Jumo 213 inline engine.

	Focke Wulf FW 190D-9
	Engine	Jumo 213 liquid-cooled inverted V12	1,766 hp (2,240 hp with boost)
	Weight	empty: 3,500 kg (7,715 lb) - with full load: 4,840 kg (10,670 lb)
	Armament	Two wing-mounted MG 151 20 mm cannons, and two fuselage-mounted MG 131 13 mm guns.
	Performance	Max speed: 704 km/h (437 mph)	Ceiling: 10,400 m (34,450 ft)

• In honor to their creator Kurt Tank, the last series of FW 190 were renamed Ta-152. However, only a few of these high-performance planes were built. The Jumo-engined Ta-152H could reach 755 km/h (470 mph) and the Daimler-Benz engined Ta-152C was even faster.

Stof's notes about this plane in iMOL's WarBirds

The opinions expressed below are only my own, and nothing more...

Strong points:

• Great firepower ! The FW 190A is a very good interceptor.
• The view to the sides and even more to the back, is excellent.
• The FW 190D has the greatest top speed of all piston-engined fighters.

Weak points:

• The FW 190 hates tight or violent movements: keep it fast, and watch out for high speed stalls.