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The [[Focke-Wulf]] '''Fw 190''' "Würger" ("[[shrike]]", also called "butcher-bird") was a single-seat, single-engine [[fighter aircraft]] of Germany's [[Luftwaffe]], and one of the best fighters of its generation. 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. Its final incarnations retained qualitative parity with Allied fighter planes, although they lagged far behind in quantity of production.
The Fw 190 was well liked by its pilots, and widely regarded as superior to the front line [[Supermarine Spitfire]] Mk V on its combat debut in 1941. Considered a "workhorse" to the "thoroughbred" [[Messerschmitt Bf 109|Bf 109]], the Fw 190 was employed in and proved suitable for a wide variety of roles, including ground attack, long-range bomber escort, night-fighter and (especially in the "D" version) high-altitude interceptor.
On the Eastern Front, the Fw 190 achieved great renown with the celebrated unit, [[JG 54|JG54 ''Grünherz'']], the ''Jagdgeschwader'', most often associated with the Fw 190 and the first one to complete the transition from the Bf 109 in March 1943. With the "butcher bird," as the Fw 190 was informally known, the JG54 produced some of the highest-scoring fighter aces in history, among them [[Otto Kittel]] (267 victories) and [[Walter Nowotny]] (255 victories).
==Early development==
In autumn 1937, the ''[[Reichsluftfahrtministerium]]'' (RLM) asked various designers for a new fighter to fight alongside the [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]], Germany's front line fighter. Although the Bf 109 was at that point an extremely competitive fighter, the RLM was worried that future foreign designs might outclass it and wanted to have new aircraft under development just in case.<ref> Shacklady 2005, p. 25.</ref>
[[Kurt Tank]] responded with a number of designs, most incorporating liquid cooled inline engines. However, it was not till a design used the air-cooled, 18-cylinder [[BMW 139]] [[radial engine]] that RLM's interest was aroused. At the time use of radial engines was frowned upon in Europe due its large frontal area and the belief that they caused too much drag to allow for a competitive design. Tank was not convinced of this, having witnessed the success of the [[Pratt & Whitney Wasp]] radial engines utilized by the [[US Navy]] and designed a highly [[streamlined]] mounting for the engine.<ref> Green and Swanborough 2001, p. 13.</ref> Instead of leaving the front of the engine "open" to allow cooling air to flow over the cylinders, Tank used a very small opening between the engine cowling and an oversized propeller spinner to supply air, blowing it over the engine with a fan. In theory, the use of the tight-fitted cowling would also provide some thrust due to the compression of air at speed through the cowling.<ref> Price 2000, p. 6.</ref>
It was also believed that due to the use of the radial engines versus inline liquid cooled engines, production of the Bf 109 would not be impacted, furthering RLM's interest in the Fw 190.<ref>Green and Swanborough 2001, p. 13.</ref>
==Prototypes==
The first prototype, the '''Fw 190 V1''' powered by a
Problems with a far-forward cockpit ___location, directly behind the engine, resulted in a cockpit that became too hot for comfort. In fact during the first flight, cockpit temperatures reached 55 C (131 F), after which Focke Wulf's chief test pilot, Hans Sander commented: "It was like sitting with both feet in the fireplace." <ref>Janowicz 2001, p. 14.</ref> For months Focke Wulf and BMW traded blame. Finally BMW convinced Tank and the RLM to drop the 139 engine in favor of the new 801 engine. The 801 engine was similar in diameter to the 139, however it was heavier and longer by a considerable margin. This required Tank to redesign the 190. Even with the new engine and the cooling fan, the 801 suffered from very high rear row cylinder head temperatures which, in at least one case, resulted in the detonation of the fuselage mounted MG 17 ammunition.
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== Operational Service==
For the first few months of the Fw 190's combat career, the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]], being entirely unaware of the new fighter, attributed Allied pilot's reports of a new 'radial-engined fighter' to [[Curtiss P-36]] Mohawks captured from the French. The new fighter outperformed the contemporary Spitfire Mk V then in service with the RAF in all aspects except turning radius. As Allied fighter losses rose and local air superiority over the [[English Channel|Channel front]] passed to the Luftwaffe, Allied plans were tentatively made to launch a [[Commando]] raid on a Luftwaffe airfield to snatch a Fw 190 for evaluation. However, the British acquired an intact Fw 190 A-3 in late June 1942, when [[Jagdgeschwader 2]] pilot Oblt. [[Armin Faber]] landed on a British airfield by mistake <ref>[http://ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/1998/12/stuff_eng_profile_fw190.htm Armin Faber]</ref>. Taking advantage of this error, the RAF was quick to study the aircraft for any novel design elements<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/82/a8404382.shtml Rafwaffe]</ref>. In particular, the cooling system and installation of Fw 190's [[radial engine]] was a direct influence on [[Hawker-Siddeley]]'s [[Hawker Tempest|Tempest II]]. The British confirmed the Fw 190 was able to outperform, in most aspects, the then top-of-the-line [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire]] Mk V. In terms of firepower, rate of roll and straight line speed at low altitude, the Fw 190 was considerably superior, a discovery which prompted the rush development of the upgraded/up-engined Spitfire Mark IX model.
The Fw 190's first significant mass engagement took place on [[19 August]] 1942, during [[Dieppe Raid|Operation Jubilee]], the Allied raid on [[Dieppe]]. ''Jagdgeschwaders'' [[JG 2]] and [[JG 26]] had recently converted from the Bf 109, fielding 115 fighter aircraft during the day's fighting, including a small number of Bf 109 G models. The RAF committed over 300 fighter aircraft, consisting mostly of Spitfire V models, with just six squadrons of Spitfire Mk IX, and also some of the new [[Hawker Typhoon
During 1943, the Fw 190 equipped specialist ''Jabo'' Staffeln of both JG 2 and JG 26, undertaking nuisance fighter-bomber raids on the south coast of England. Initial successes were soon replaced by mounting losses and negligible bombing results as the raids were countered by the
As the USAAF's daylight bombing offensive grew in size through 1943, the Fw 190 became a "bomber-destroyer" with ever-more heavier armament and armour fitted. The type's high-altitude performance (i.e. above 20,000 feet) dropped off considerably as a result, making the Fw 190 an increasingly vulnerable target for Allied escort fighters.
==Fw 190 A==
[[Image:Fw190A-3 JG2 Gr.Ko.Hahn42 kl96.jpg|right|thumb
There were nine distinct sub-variants of the original Fw 190 A.
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The '''Fw 190 A-7''' was based on the Fw 190 A-5/U9, and entered production in November of 1943. The A-7 was equipped with the BMW 801 D-2 engine, again producing 1,700 hp (1,270 kW). The basic armament was finally updated to include two fuselage mounted MG 131, two wing root mounted MG 151s and two outer wing mounted MG 151s. The Revi gun sight was updated to the new 16B model. The addition weight of the new weapon systems required the updating of the wheels to a reinforced rim to better deal with typical combat airfield conditions. The A-7 was typically outfitted with the centerline mounted ETC-501 rack. There were several major Rüstsätze for the A-7 many including WGr 21 rockets. 701 A-7s were produced from November 1943 to April 1944 to move assembly lines to the A8.<ref>Janowicz 2001, p. 40-41.</ref>
[[image:Fw190 A8.jpg|thumb
The '''Fw 190 A-8''' entered production in February 1944. The A8 model introduced the ''erhöhte notleistung'' emergency boost system to the fighter variant of the Fw190A (a similar system had been fitted to some earlier jabo variants of the 190A). The erhöhte notleistung system operated by spraying additional fuel into the fuel/air mix cooling it and allowing higher boost pressures to be run, but at the cost of much higher fuel consumption. The A-8 was equipped with a new wooden propeller easily identified by its wide paddle-shaped blades and a new canopy design similar to the “bubble” canopies in widespread use by the Allied air forces. Nearly a dozen Rüstsätze kits available for the A8, including the famous A8/R2 and A8/R8 models which were outfitted with heavy armor including 30 mm canopy and windscreen armor, 5 mm cockpit armor and upgraded outer wing cannons to the [[MK 108]] 30 mm cannon that could destroy most heavy bombers with two or three hits. Over 6,550 A-8 airframes were produced with at least eight factories turning out the fighter.<ref>Janowicz 2001, p. 41-43.</ref>
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==Fw 190 D "Dora"==
[[Image:FW190-D9.jpg|thumb
The Fw 190 D (nicknamed the Dora-9 ''Dora-Neun'' or Long-Nose Dora ''Langnasen-Dora'') was introduced for one primary reason: high altitude performance. While previous versions of the Fw 190 were very effective at low and medium altitudes, they lacked performance at the higher altitudes at which the American heavy bombers (such as the [[B-17]]) and accompanying Allied escort fighters operated.{{fact}}
Two previous Fw 190 development platforms attempted to solve these performance issues. Both the Fw 190 B and C airframe series were developed to tackle this issue, and all attempts to do so had failed for various reasons, including and not limited to high performance superchargers and turbo systems, reliable cockpit pressurization systems, poor material availability and the war demand itself.{{fact}}
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==Attack versions==
[[Image:Focke-Wulf Fw 190F.jpg|thumb
While nearly all variants of the Fw 190 could carry bombs and other air-to-ground ordnance, there were two dedicated attack versions of the Fw 190. The Luftwaffe was looking for aircraft to replace the Hs 123 biplane, which were seriously overmatched in 1942, as well as the slow and heavy Ju 87. Two versions of the Fw 190 rose to the occasion to supply what the Luftwaffe and RLM were looking for.{{fact}}
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===Non-German Fw 190 operation===
* [[
* [[Hungary]]: Received 72 Fw 190 F-8s for training and defensive purposes.
* [[France]]: Postwar, the SNCA aircraft company constructed 64 examples of the Fw 190A-5/6 under the designation, '''NC 900''', used operationally for a short period and withdrawn due to problems with the BMW-801 engines.
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===Airframe salvage and recovery===
On [[1 November]] 2006, a Fw 190A3 was salvaged from the depths off the island of Sotra, near [[Bergen, Norway]]. Its pilot had made an emergency landing in December 1943 and had scrambled to safety and was rescued soon after, but his aircraft had sunk to the bottom of the sea. After its retrieval from its 60 m deep watery grave, the Fw 190, "Yellow 16," from IV/JG 5, appears to be in remarkably good condition, only missing its canopy and the fabric-covered wing and tail surfaces. <ref>[http://www.ba.no/bilder/bildeserier/article2386816.ece Images of the recovery operation and the air plane from Norwegian newspaper BA]</ref>
==Modern Fw 190==
Starting in 1997, a small German company, FLUG WERK GmbH [http://www.flugwerk.de/fw190.shtm], began work on a new Fw 190A-8. These Fw 190A-8s are new builds from the ground up, using many original dies, plans and other information from the war. Werk numbers continued from where the German war machine left off with the new Fw 190A-8 labeled FW 190A-8/N (N for ''Nachbau'' (English: "reproduction, replica or clone"). Some of these new Fw 190s are known to be fitted with the original tail wheel units from the Second World War; a small cache of tail gear having been discovered. In November 2005, the first flights were completed. Ironically, since the BMW 801 engines are no longer available, a Chinese licenced Russian engine, the ASh-82FN 14-cylinder twin-row radial engine, which powered some of the Fw190's opposition: the [[La-5]] and [[La-7]], powers the new Fw 190A-8/N.{{fact}}
Work has also been recently started on a Fw 190D-9, and, again in a bit of irony, will be powered by a modified Allison V-1710 V-12, similar to the powerplant of the [[P-39 Airacobra]], another foe of the FW-190 often flown by Russian forces in the Second World War.
The White 1 Foundation
==Specifications (Fw 190A-8)==
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|empty weight alt=7,060 lb
|loaded weight main= 4,417 kg
|loaded weight alt=
|max takeoff weight main=4,900 kg
|max takeoff weight alt=10,800 lb
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|ceiling alt=39,370 ft
|climb rate main= 17 m/s
|climb rate alt=
|range main=840 km
|range alt=520 mi
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