Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F and G-series
Type: German Luftwaffe close support attack aircraft and fighter-bomber.
History: The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F and G (the E reconnaissance fighter and high altitude H series not being built) were short-nosed
models, based on the Fw190 A.
The Fw 190 F series' principal model, the F-8, had provision for underwing rocket projectiles. Both the F and G were BMW801-powered, the latter being mostly fighter-bombers in which gun armament was reduced to permit (on the G-1) a single 3,968 lb bomb, or on other G
models up to 2,205 lb of smaller bombs, to be carried.
The Fw 190 G and F were replacing the Stukas in the ground-support units towards the end of WW2.
A pair of Focke-Wulf Fw 190 G-3 extended-range fighter-bombers flying over Romania, possibly in service with II/SG10, in early 1944. By this time the Fw 190 was the most important Luftwaffe multi-role tactical aircraft on all fronts.
The F series were close-support attack aircraft, some having the Panzerblitz array of R4M rockets for tank-busting. There were over 40 other special armaments, and some of the last versions had armoured leading edges for ramming B-17 or B-24 bombers.
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-8 with MG 131 machine-guns in a bulged cowling, under-fuselage rack for a 250kg bomb, and underwing racks for four 50kg bombs.
Total Focke-Wulf Fw 190 production, which ended in 1945, was approximately 19,500.
It was the first fighter to give the Luftwaffe a combat advantage over the early Spitfires. Its overall versatility, too complex to list here, was characterised by several dozen kits to adapt production aircraft to different roles, and the allocation of some 80 Versuchs (test) numbers to individual development aircraft.
Users: Germany, Croatia, Slovakia, Hungary (for Fw 190 F and G).
Fw 190 G of Schlachtgeschwader 2 'Immelmann' in mid-1943. It had been the first unit to equip with the new ground-attack version in North Africa but moved to the Eastern Front.
|
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-8 |
| Type |
fighter-bomber |
| Power plant |
one 1,700 hp (2,100 hp boosted) BMW 801D-2 18-cylinder two-row radial engine
|
| Accommodation |
1 |
| Wing span |
34 ft 5.6 in |
| Length overall |
29 ft |
| Height overall |
13 ft |
| Weight empty |
7,055 lb |
| Weight loaded |
10,800 lb |
| Maximum speed |
408 mph
(with boost)
|
| Initial climb |
2,350 ft/min |
| Service ceiling |
33,790 ft |
| Range |
560 miles |
| Armament |
two 13mm MG131 [930 rpm, velocity 2,461 ft/sec] above engine, two 20mm MG151/20 [720 rpm, velocity 1,920 ft/sec] in wing roots and two more or 30mm MK108 [650 rpm, velocity 1,705 ft/sec] in outer wings.
|
| one 3,968 lb bomb on centreline or one 551 lb bomb and four 110 lb bombs (up to 2,208 lb) |
| First flight Fw 190 V1 |
1 June 1939 |
Production delivery (Fw 190 F) |
end of 1942 |
| Final delivery |
1945
(in France until 1946) |
| Total production figure (all) |
Total: 20,001
(6,634 F and G variants) |
| Accepted by Luftwaffe 1/39-12/44 |
16,724 |
Production 1942
(F and G variants) |
68 |
Production 1943
(F and G variants) |
1,183 |
Production 1944
(F and G variants) |
4,279 |
Production 1945
(F and G variants) |
1,104 |
| Fw190's in First Line Units 20.9.42 |
509 |
| Fw190's in First Line Units 31.12.42 |
580 |
| Fw190's in First Line Units 10.1.45 |
1,561 |
3d model Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-8
From 1943 the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 replaced the Ju 87 in most ground attack units. This example, an F-8 of Schlachtgeschwader 10, was operating in Hungary during the winter of 1944-45. The bomb container under the fuselage housed SD-2 or SD-10 cluster bombs.
|
