The Focke-Wulf Fw-190 is one of the most famous fighter aircraft of the Second World War. It was fast, maneuverable, and well-armed. And because it had a reputation for being able to take a substantial punch in return, it gained the nickname “The Butcher Bird”. The Luftwaffe’s principal fighter at the start of its war with Britain, it was also called “The Flying Pest” by RAF pilots who were grateful to have escaped being hit by only a couple of them. The Focke-Wulf Fw-190 was developed as a successor to the Fw-189 reconnaissance aircraft and first flew in 1939. Following several modifications, production ceased in 1944 with over 20,000 built. Its durability and versatility made it one of the most popular German fighters after its introduction in 1943, as well as one of the most important warplanes at that time.
FW-190 Background
The Focke-Wulf Fw-190 was a single-seat, all-metal, single-engine fighter, designed as a short-range interceptor. The Fw-190 was the result of a long development period, several different design teams, and some very different aircraft along the way. The Focke-Wulf company was established in the 1920s and began building aircraft in the early 1930s. It was responsible for a number of designs, most notably the Fw-189 reconnaissance aircraft, but also the Fw-191 airliner, the Fw-200 Condor airliner, and Fw-200 bomber variant, and the unsuccessful Fw-189 fighter. The Fw-190 was the result of a 1935 effort by the RLM to set a new standard in fighter aircraft. It called for a single-seat fighter with a short range, a top speed of at least 400 mph, a climb rate of 3000 feet per minute, and an operational ceiling of at least 33,000 feet. At the time, the German aviation industry was hampered by restrictions imposed by the Versailles treaty, so the RLM also needed a design that could be built without any rare raw materials.
Butchers Are Made, Not Born
The Fw-190 was designed as a high-performance aircraft, but while not as well armed as some of its contemporaries, it was extremely rugged. “It would be a good fighter even if you built it out of pig iron,” one engineer commented. This ruggedness meant that the Fw-190 could take a lot of damage and still keep flying. The thin wings were easy to break, but they were easy to fix as well. The Focke-Wulf engineers recognized that the short-range requirement would make the aircraft a poor choice for naval operations, so they gave the aircraft a large internal fuel tank, supplemented by two external fuel tanks. The large internal tank made the design challenging; designers had to install the pilot between the fuselage fuel tank and the engine. FW-190s were notorious for internal fires caused by leaking fuel.
The Butcher Bird’s Teeth
The Fw-190’s main armament was a pair of 13-mm (.51 calibers) MG 131 machine guns mounted in the wing roots. Although these were effective weapons, they were slow-firing and had a low rate of fire compared to other fighters of the era. They could fire between 250-350 rounds per minute, with a muzzle velocity of 1,875 mph. The aircraft was also equipped with two 7.92-mm (.312 caliber) MG 17 machine guns in the cowl, and two 20-mm MG FF/M cannons mounted in the fuselage. While the MG 17s were effective against aircraft, they were not very good against ground targets. It is unlikely that the MG FF/M were ever used against ground targets, as they were designed for use against aircraft. The cowl-mounted MG 17s were not that useful for air-to-air combat and were primarily defensive weapons. The 20-mm MG FF/M were useful against both air and ground targets, with a rate of fire of between 250-350 rounds per minute, and a muzzle velocity of 2,900 miles per hour.
Speed Is the Answer
The Fw-190 was powered by a Junkers Jumbo 211 engine, an 11-cylinder, two-row, liquid-cooled engine that produced 1,600 horsepower. The engine’s performance was actually better than the aircraft’s specifications suggested. It was capable of producing around 2,000 horsepower at low altitudes and had a maximum altitude of 29,000 feet. The Fw-190’s top speed was 390 miles per hour at 22,000 feet and 375 miles per hour at 25,000 feet. The Fw-190’s designers reportedly were not overly concerned with its top speed, as they felt that it would always be able to evade enemy fighters, and never use all of its speed in combat. The Fw-190’s cruise speed was around 220 miles per hour at low altitudes. At 22,000 feet, the Fw-190 could cruise at a speed of about 260 miles per hour, and at 25,000 feet about 215 miles per hour. The slow cruise speed was due to the single-stage, two-speed supercharger, which restricted the engine’s maximum altitude.
Conclusion
The Focke-Wulf Fw-190 was a rugged and dependable aircraft, and it played a major role in the German war effort, particularly on the Eastern Front. It is estimated that around 75 percent of all German fighter aircraft losses on the Eastern Front were caused by the Fw-190s. The Fw-190 was used extensively in the Mediterranean and Western European theaters, as well as against the Soviet Union. It was flown by several different Axis nations, including Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania. The Fw-190 was one of the most advanced aircraft of the war.
