THE   FW­190A3,   newest   and“hottest”   German   fighter   plane,   isan extremely good craft, but it doesnot live up to the claims made for itby  Nazi  officialdom.   In   fact,   bothBritish and American planes can, ashas  been  proven   in   combat,  morethan hold their own against it.

Nevertheless,   many   points   ofinterest   and  value   to   the  designer,the   production   man   and   themaintenance   chief   have   beenbrought out by inspection and flighttests   of   British   engineers,   whosereports   have   recently   been   madeavailable.   This   close   study   wasmade   possible   when   a   Germanpilot was  forced  down in Englandand  captured  before  he   coulddestroy the plane.

Created by Kurt Tank, builder ofthe Focke­Wulf Condor, long rangefour­engine   bomber   and   the   FW­189,   short   range   reconnaissanceplane,   the   190   was   designed   forquantity   production   and   extensivesubcontracting.

It   is   a   low­wing,   full   cantilevermonoplane with a 34­ft. 5­in. spanand   length   of   29   ft.   4   in.   Wingconstruction is of conventional two­spar type, with the wing being builtin one piece. While this has effecteda material  saving in weight,   it  hasmade   maintenance   more   difficult.Wing trim tabs are small perforatedplates   on   the   ailerons   and   areadjustable only on the ground.

Split   flaps   are   electricallycontrolled by push buttons to threepositions: closed; down 10 deg. for

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FOCKE-WULF

FW-190A3

RIGHT: Flight tests of this Focke-Wulf190A3, captured intact by the British, revealmany unusual design and constructionfeatures but show that “the pride of theLuftwaffe” leaves much to be desired. Notethe wide tread of the landing gear — 12 ft.

— made necessary by a landing speed of110 mph. LEFT: This close-up of theFocke-Wulf 190 shows the extremely closecowling around th BMW 801D 14-cylinderengine, the first radial air-cooled engine tobe mounted in a German fighter. Note the

cowling louvres through which cylinder-cooling air and exhaust are dissipated. Notealso the 20-mm. cannon, set in the leadingedge of the wing; fires through the propellerarc.

Cut-away and diagrammatic views of the BMW 801A engine, forerunner of the model Dinstalled in the Focke-Wulf 190, the main difference being that on the D the nose ring andmotor cooling air regulator rings are not adjustable. These illustrations, redrawn from “TheAeroplane” show the large cooling fan installed just behind the propeller and point up thereverse flow of air.

takeoff,   and   down   60   deg.   forlanding.

Unlike modern Allied craft whichhave elevator and rudder trim tabs,the   Focke­Wulf  stabilizer  isadjustable,   making   it   morevulnerable   to   concentrated   firepower.

The fuselage is also built  in onepiece and is very well streamlined,narrowing   vertically   practically   allthe way back from the engine. Theentire   cockpit   cover,   includingrather long fairing, slides back but itcannot   be   opened   in   flight.Emergency exit in flight can only beaccomplished  by  pushing   a  buttonwhich   detonates   a   cartridge   whichbreaks   the  supporting  member,allowing   the   entire   cover   to   beblown away.

All  the   fuel   is  carried  in   thefuselage   in   two   self­sealing   tanks,one of  64 gal.   immediately behindthe  pilot's   seat,   another  of  51  gal.under the seat.

The   electrically   operated   fullretracting landing gear has a tread of12 ft., apparently made necessary bythe   high   landing   speed  —approximately  110  mph.   It   is   alsoset   well   forward   to   permit   heavybraking   without   nosing   over.   Aninteresting   feature   of   the   landinggear   is   the   tail  wheel   retraction,   acable   attached   to   one  of   the   frontwheels automatically pulling the tailwheel up into its well.

Power Plant

Power   is   supplied   by   a   BMW801D 14­cylinder radial,  air­cooledengine   developing   slightly   under1,600 hp. at 2,700 rpm. for takeoffand   just   over   1,750   hp.   at   3,000rpm.   at   18,000   ft.   Cowling   isextremely   close­set,   the   diameterbeing   but   52   in.,   necessitatinginstallation   of   a   large   fan   set   justbehind   the   propeller.   The   oilradiator is set just inside the nose ofthe cowling, cooling being effectedby   a   reverse   flow   through   theradiator   and  out   through  a  narrowopening   at   its   front.   Extensivebaffling distributes the air to all thecylinders   with   the   heated   air   bingexhausted through long louvres cutin   the   cowling   sides.   Unlike   theBMW 801A, there are no facilitiesfor sliding the nose ring or cowlingat the back of the motor to adjust theflow of air.

The   electrically  operated,   three­

blade,   constant   speed   VDMpropeller is of rather small diameter—due to landing gear restrictions—but   the   blades   are   of   long   chordalmost all the way to the tips.

Armament and ArmorArmament   consists   of   two   7.92

mm.   machine   guns   mounted   atopthe   fuselage   firing   through   thepropeller;   two   20   mm.   Mausercannon mounted in the wings, alsofiring through the propeller; and two20 mm Oerliken cannon also in thewing but firing outside the propellerarc. Despite the fact that four of thesix  guns   fire   through   th  propeller,the   fire   power   totals   about   3,500rounds per minute — 1,200 for  themachine guns; 1,400 rounds for theinboard   cannon   and,   strangelyenough,   but   900   for   the   outercannon.   Effectiveness   of   the   firepower   is curtailed due to  the shortrange of the machine guns and lowmuzzle velocity of the Oerlikens.

Provision   is   also   made   forattachment   of   a   550­lb.   bombbeneath   th   fuselage   for  very   shortrange operations.

The plane is well armored. A 5­mm. plate protects the oil radiator inthe   nose   ring   cowling   and   the   aftportion for the cowling is fitted with3­mm.   plate.   Cockpit   windshieldhas   2¼­in.   thick  bullet­proof  glassand   a   bulkhead   behind   the   pilot'sseat is 8­mm. thick. A 14­mm.­thickpanel is fitted behind the pilot's headin the movable cockpit cover.

Performance Not Outstanding

Performance  range of  the 190 islimited,   its  most  effective  altitudesbeing   above   15,000   ft.   and   below25,000 ft. Its top speed at 4,500 ft.,for   example   is   but   326   mph.compared with 375 at 18,000 ft.  Itcan,   however,   do   390   mph.   at20,000 ft. for one minute by meansof   a   booster.   Reports   fromAmerican   bomber   crews   indicatethe   Focke­Wulf   does   not   performwell near its reported service ceilingof   37,000   ft.   British   fighters   areunderstood to be able to turn insidethe  190,   even   at   its  most   efficientaltitudes.

Specifications   and   performancedata are as follows:

Wing span................................ 34 ft. 5 in.Length.......................................29 ft. 4 in.Wing area...................................203 sq. ft.Wing loading.......................42.2 lb./sq. ft.Power loading............................5.3 lb./hp.Gross weight................................8,580 lb.Weight empty..............................6,240 lb.Maximum speed (18,000 ft.).......375 mph.Landing speed.............................110 mph.

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