Focke-Wulf Fw 190


The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed Würger is a German single-seat, single-engined, fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Fw 190 became the backbone of the Jagdwaffe of the Luftwaffe. The twin-row BMW 801 radial engine that powered most operational versions enabled the Fw 190 to lift larger loads than the Bf 109, allowing its use as a day fighter, fighter-bomber, ground-attack aircraft, and to a lesser degree, night fighter.
The Fw 190A started flying operationally over France in August 1941 and quickly proved superior in all but turn radius to the Spitfire Mk. V, the main front-line fighter of the Royal Air Force, particularly at low and medium altitudes. The 190 maintained its superiority over Allied fighters until the late 1942 and early 1943 introduction of the improved Spitfire Mk. IX. In November/December 1942, the Fw 190 made its air combat debut on the Eastern Front, finding much success in fighter wings and specialised ground attack units from October 1943.
The Fw 190A series' performance decreased at high altitudes, which reduced its effectiveness as a high-altitude interceptor. From the Fw 190's inception, efforts had been going on to address this with a turbosupercharged BMW 801 in the B model, the much longer-nosed C model with efforts to also turbocharge its chosen Daimler-Benz DB 603 inverted V12 powerplant, and the similarly long-nosed D model with the Junkers Jumo 213. Problems with the turbocharger installations on the -B and -C subtypes meant only the D model entered service in September 1944. These high-altitude developments eventually led to the Focke-Wulf Ta 152, which was capable of extreme speeds at medium to high altitudes . While these "long nose" 190 variants and the Ta 152 derivative especially gave the Germans parity with Allied opponents, they arrived too late to affect the outcome of the war.
The Fw 190 was well-liked by its pilots. Some of the Luftwaffe's most successful fighter aces claimed many of their kills while flying it, including Otto Kittel, Walter Nowotny and Erich Rudorffer. The Fw 190 had greater firepower than the Bf 109 and, at low to medium altitude, superior manoeuvrability, in the opinion of German pilots who flew both fighters. It was regarded as one of the best fighter planes of World War II.

Early development

Genesis

Between 1934 and 1935, the German Ministry of Aviation ran a contest to produce a modern fighter for the rearming Luftwaffe. Kurt Tank entered the parasol-winged Fw 159 into the contest, against the Arado Ar 80, Heinkel He 112 and Messerschmitt Bf 109. The Fw 159 was hopelessly outclassed and was soon eliminated from the competition along with the Ar 80. The He 112 and Bf 109 were generally similar in design, but the 109's lightweight construction gave it a performance edge the 112 was never able to match. On March 12, 1936, the 109 was declared the winner.
Even before the Bf 109 had entered squadron service, in autumn 1937, the RLM sent out a new tender asking various designers for a new fighter to fight alongside the Bf 109, as Walter Günther had done with Heinkel's follow-on to the unsuccessful He 100 and He 112. Although the Bf 109 was an extremely competitive fighter, the ministry was worried that future foreign designs might outclass it, and wanted to have new aircraft under development to meet these possible challenges. Tank responded with a number of designs, most powered by a liquid-cooled, inline engine.
The Ministry of Aviation's interest was not aroused, though, until a design was presented using the air-cooled, 14-cylinder BMW 139 radial engine. As this design used a radial engine, it did not compete with the inline-powered Bf 109 for engines, when already too few Daimler-Benz DB 601s were available. This was not the case for competing designs such as the Heinkel He 100 or twin-engined Focke-Wulf Fw 187, where production would compete with the 109 and Messerschmitt Bf 110 for engine supplies. After the war, Tank denied a rumour that he had to "fight a battle" with the ministry to convince them of the radial engine's merits.

Design concepts

At the time, the use of radial engines in land-based fighters was relatively rare in Europe, as their large frontal area were believed to cause too much drag on something as small as a fighter. Tank was not convinced of this, having witnessed the successful use of radial engines by the U.S. Navy, and felt a properly streamlined installation would eliminate this problem.
As to the rest of the design philosophy, Tank wanted something more than an aircraft built only for speed. He outlined the reasoning:

Engine

The hottest points on any air-cooled engine are the cylinder heads, located around the circumference of a radial engine. To provide sufficient air to cool the engine, airflow had to be maximized at this outer edge. This was normally accomplished by leaving the majority of the front face of the engine open to the air, causing considerable drag. During the late 1920s, NACA led the development of a dramatic improvement by placing an airfoil-shaped ring around the outside of the cylinder heads. The shaping accelerated the air as it entered the front of the cowl, increasing the total airflow, and allowing the opening in front of the engine to be made smaller.
Tank introduced a further refinement to this basic concept. He suggested placing most of the airflow components on the propeller, in the form of an oversized propeller spinner, whose outside diameter was the same as the engine. The cowl around the engine proper was greatly simplified, essentially a basic cylinder. Air entered through a small hole at the centre of the spinner and was directed through ductwork in the spinner, so it was blowing rearward along the cylinder heads. To provide enough airflow, an internal cone was placed in the centre of the hole, over the propeller hub, which was intended to compress the airflow and allow a smaller opening to be used. In theory, the tight-fitting cowling also provided some thrust due to the compression and heating of air as it flowed through the cowling.
The eventual choice of the BMW 801 14-cylinder radial over the more troublesome BMW 139 also brought with it a BMW-designed cowling "system" which integrated the radiator used to cool the motor oil. An annular, ring-shaped oil cooler core was built into the BMW-provided forward cowl, just behind the fan. The outer portion of the oil cooler's core was in contact with the main cowling's sheet metal. Comprising the BMW-designed forward cowl, in front of the oil cooler was a ring of metal with a C-shaped cross-section, with the outer lip lying just outside the rim of the cowl, and the inner side on the inside of the oil cooler core. Together, the metal ring and cowling formed an S-shaped duct with the oil cooler's core contained between them. Airflow past the gap between the cowl and outer lip of the metal ring produced a vacuum effect that pulled air from the front of the engine forward across the oil cooler core to provide cooling for the 801's motor oil. The rate of cooling airflow over the core could be controlled by moving the metal ring to open or close the gap. The reasons for this complex system were threefold. One was to reduce any extra aerodynamic drag of the oil radiator, in this case largely eliminating it by placing it within the same cowling as the engine. The second was to warm the air before it flowed to the radiator to aid in warming the oil during starting. Finally, by placing the radiator behind the fan, cooling was provided even while the aircraft was parked. The disadvantage to this design was that the radiator was in an extremely vulnerable location, and the metal ring was increasingly armoured as the war progressed.

Landing gear

In contrast to the complex, failure-prone, fuselage-mounted, main gear legs of the earlier Fw 159, one of the main features of the Fw 190 was its wide-tracked, inwards-retracting, landing gear. They were designed to withstand a sink rate of, double the strength factor usually required. Hydraulic wheel brakes were used. The wide-track undercarriage produced better ground handling characteristics, and the Fw 190 suffered fewer ground accidents than the Bf 109. The Fw 190's retractable tail gear used a cable, anchored to the "elbow" at the midpoint of the starboard maingear's transverse retraction arms, which ran aftwards within the fuselage to the vertical fin to operate the tailwheel retraction function. The tailwheel's retraction mechanical design possessed a set of pulleys to guide the aforementioned cable to the top of the tailwheel's oleo strut, pulling it upwards along a diagonal track within the fin, into the lower fuselage; this mechanism was accessible through a prominently visible triangular-shaped hinged panel, on the left side in the fin's side sheetmetal covering. On some versions of the Fw 190 an extended tailwheel oleo strut could be fitted for larger-sized loads beneath the fuselage.

Control systems

Most aircraft of the era used cables and pulleys to operate their controls. The cables tended to stretch, resulting in the sensations of "give" and "play" that made the controls less crisp and responsive, and required constant maintenance to correct. For the new design, the team replaced the cables with rigid pushrods and bearings to eliminate this problem. Another innovation was making the controls as light as possible. The maximum resistance of the ailerons was limited to, as the average man's wrist could not exert a greater force. The empennage featured relatively small and well-balanced horizontal and vertical surfaces.
The design team also attempted to minimize changes in the aircraft's trim at varying speeds, thus reducing the pilot's workload. They were so successful in this regard that they found in-flight-adjustable aileron and rudder trim tabs were not necessary. Small, fixed tabs were fitted to control surfaces and adjusted for proper balance during initial test flights. Only the elevator trim needed to be adjusted in flight. This was accomplished by tilting the entire horizontal tailplane with an electric motor, with an angle of incidence ranging from −3 to +5°.
Another aspect of the new design was the extensive use of electrically powered equipment instead of the hydraulic systems used by most aircraft manufacturers of the time. On the first two prototypes, the main landing gear was hydraulic. Starting with the third prototype, the undercarriage was operated by push buttons controlling electric motors in the wings, and was kept in position by electric up-and-down locks. The armament was also loaded and fired electrically. Tank believed that service use would prove that electrically powered systems were more reliable and more rugged than hydraulics, electric lines being much less prone to damage from enemy fire.

Wing loading and canopy

Like the Bf 109, the Fw 190 featured a fairly small wing planform with relatively high wing loading. This presents a trade-off in performance. An aircraft with a smaller wing suffers less drag under most flight conditions, so flies faster and may have better range, but it also means the aircraft has a higher stalling speed, making it less maneuverable, and also reduces performance in the thinner air at higher altitudes. The wings spanned and had an area of. The wing was designed using the NACA 23015.3 airfoil at the root and the NACA 23009 airfoil at the tip.
Earlier aircraft designs generally featured canopies consisting of small plates of perspex in a metal "greenhouse" framework, with the top of the canopy even with the rear fuselage; this was true of the IJNAS Mitsubishi A6M Zero, whose otherwise "all-around view" canopy was still heavily framed. This design considerably limited visibility, especially to the rear. The introduction of vacuum forming led to the creation of the "bubble canopy", which was largely self-supporting, and could be mounted over the cockpit, offering greatly improved all-round visibility. Tank's design for the Fw 190 used a canopy with a frame that ran around the perimeter, with only a short, centerline seam along the top, running rearward from the radio antenna fitting where the three-panel windscreen and the forward edge of the canopy met, just in front of the pilot.

''Wilde Sau''

From mid-1943, Fw 190s were also used as night fighters against the growing RAF Bomber Command offensive. In mid-1943, one of the earliest participants in the single-engined, ground controlled, night-fighting experiments was the Nachtjagdkommando Fw 190, operated by IV. Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 3,. The main Nachtgeschwader were keen to adopt a new fighter type as their twin-engine fighters were too slow for combat against increasing numbers of de Havilland Mosquito night fighters and bombers. Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 and NJG 3 kept a pair of Fw 190s on standby to supplement the Messerschmitt Bf 110 and Junkers Ju 88. The considerable performance advantage of the Fw 190 over the other two types was more than offset by the difficulties of operating at night. Few, if any, aerial successes can be attributed to these operational tests.
One of the first purpose-built units to use Fw 190s in this role was Stab/Versuchskommando Herrmann, a unit specifically set up in April 1943 by Major Hajo Herrmann. Herrmann's unit used standard A-4s and A-5s borrowed from day fighter units to intercept bombers over or near the targeted city, using searchlights and other visual aids to help them find their quarry. The first use of "Window" by the RAF during the Battle of Hamburg in July 1943, rendered the standard nightfighter Himmelbett procedures useless and brought urgency to the development of Herrmann's Wilde Sau technique, pending the development of new nightfighting strategies. Instead of restricting the Fw 190s to ground control interception protocols, the Fw 190s were given a free hand to over-fly bombed areas to see if they could locate bombers using the ground fires below. These tactics became an integral part of the nightfighter operations until May 1944.
St/V Herrmann was expanded to become Jagdgeschwader 300, JG 301 and JG 302. All three units initially continued borrowing their aircraft from day fighter units. The day fighter units began to protest at the numbers of their aircraft that were being written off because of the hazards of night operations; the numbers soared with the onset of winter, with pilots often being forced to bail out through being unable to find an airfield at which to land safely. Crash landings were also frequent. Eventually, all three Wilde Sau units received their own aircraft, which were often modified with exhaust dampers and blind-flying radio equipment. Another unit was Nachtjagdgruppe 10, which used Fw 190 A-4/R11s through to A-8/R11s; Fw 190s modified to carry FuG 217 or FuG 218 radar mid-VHF band equipment.

The ''Sturmböcke''

The appearance of United States Army Air Forces heavy bombers caused a problem for the German fighter force. The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress in particular was especially durable, and the armament of the Bf 109 and Fw 190 were not adequate for bomber-destroyer operations. The B-17's eventual deployment in combat box formations provided formidable massed firepower from 100 or more Browning AN/M2.50 caliber machine guns. In addition, the Luftwaffes original solution of Zerstörer twin-engined Messerschmitt Bf 110G bomber destroyers, while effective against unescorted Allied bomber formations, lacked maneuverability and were eviscerated by the USAAF's fighter escorts in late 1943 and early 1944.
Two of the former Wilde Sau single-engined night fighter wings were reconstituted for their use, such as Jagdgeschwader 300 and JG 301. These units consisted of Sturmböcke. However, JG 3 also had a special gruppe of Sturmböcke.
The Fw 190, designed as a rugged interceptor capable of withstanding considerable combat damage and delivering a potent "punch" from its stable gun platform, was considered ideal for antibomber operations. Focke-Wulf redesigned parts of the wing structure to accommodate larger armament. The Fw 190 A-6 was the first subvariant to undergo this change. Its standard armament was increased from four MG 151/20s to two of them with four more in two underwing cannon pods. The aircraft was designated A-6/R1. The first aircraft were delivered on 20 November 1943. Brief trials had the twin cannon replaced by the MK 108 30 mm autocannon in the outer wing, which then became the A-6/R2. The cannons were blowback-operated, had electric ignition, and were belt fed. The 30 mm MK 108 was simple to make, and its construction was economical; most of its components consisted of just pressed sheetmetal stampings. In the A-6/R4, the GM-1 boost was added for the BMW 801 engine to increase performance at high altitude. For protection, of armoured glass were added to the canopy. The A-6/R6 was fitted with twin, heavy-calibre Werfer-Granate 21 unguided, air-to-air rockets, fired from single underwing tubular launchers. The increased modifications, in particular heavy firepower, made the Fw 190 a potent bomber-killer. The A-7 evolved in November 1943. Two synchronized 13 mm MG 131 machine guns replaced the twin, cowl-mount, synchronized 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns. The A-7/R variants could carry two 30 mm MK 108s, as well as BR 21 rockets. This increased its potency as a Pulk-Zerstörer. The A-8/R2 was the most numerous Sturmbock aircraft, some 900 were built by Fiesler at Kassel with 30 mm MK 108s installed in their outer wing panel mounts.
While formidable bomber-killers, the armour and substantial up-gunning with heavier-calibre firepower meant the Fw 190 was now cumbersome to maneuver. Vulnerable to Allied fighters, they had to be escorted by Bf 109s. When the Sturmgruppe was able to work as intended, the effects were devastating. With their engines and cockpits heavily armored, the Fw 190 As attacked from astern and gun camera films show that these attacks were often pressed to within 100 yds.
Willy Unger of 11./JG 3 of Sturmgruppe made these comments:
Richard Franz commented:
The number of heavy bombers destroyed by the Fw 190 is impossible to estimate. However, below is a list of the top-scoring Sturmbock pilots:
NameTotal victory claimsHeavy bomber claimsB-17 claims
Georg-Peter Eder78Est. 36unknown
Anton Hackl192Est. 34Unknown
Konrad Bauer5732Unknown
Walther Dahl12830Unknown
Egon Mayer 1022621
Hermann Staiger632621
Willy Unger242113
Hugo Frey 322519
Hans Ehlers 552418
Alwin Doppler292516
Werner Gerth272216
Friedrich-Karl Müller1402315
Hans Weik362215
Walter Loos3822Unknown
Heinz Bär2212111
Emil-Rudolf Schnoor321815

Variants

First prototypes (BMW 139)

;Fw 190 V1:, powered by a BMW 139 14-cylinder, two-row radial engine. D-OPZE first flew on 1 June 1939.
;Fw 190 V2: Designated with the Stammkennzeichen alphabetic ID code of FL+OZ the V2 first flew on October 31, 1939, and was equipped from the outset with the new spinner and cooling fan. It was armed with one Rheinmetall MG 17 machine gun and one synchronized MG 131 machine gun in each wing root.
;Fw 190 V3:Abandoned
;Fw 190 V4:Abandoned

Later prototypes (BMW 801)

;Fw 190 V5: Fitted with the larger, more powerful 14-cylinder, two-row BMW 801 radial engine, this engine introduced a pioneering example of an engine management system called the Kommandogerät designed by BMW, which also designed the 801's forward cowling with its integral oil cooling system: the Kommandogerät functioned in effect as an electro-mechanical computer which set mixture, propeller pitch, boost, and magneto timing.
;Fw 190 V5k: The smaller span initial variant re-designated after the longer span wing was fitted. The V5 first flew in the early spring of 1940. The weight increase with all of the modifications was substantial, about, leading to higher wing loading and a deterioration in handling. Plans were made to create a new wing with more area to address these issues.
;Fw 190 V5g: In August 1940, a collision with a ground vehicle damaged the V5 and it was sent back to the factory for major repairs. This was an opportune time to rebuild it with a new wing, which was less tapered in plan than the original design, extending the leading and trailing edges outward to increase the area. The new wing had an area of, and now spanned. After conversion, the aircraft was called the V5g for große Fläche. Although it was slower than when fitted with the small wing, V5g was much more manoeuvrable and had a faster climb rate. This new wing platform was to be used for all major production versions of the Fw 190.

Fw 190 A

;Fw 190 A-0: The preproduction Fw 190 A-0 series was ordered in November 1940, with a total of 28 completed. Because they were built before the new wing design was fully tested and approved, the first nine A-0s retained the original small wings. All were armed with six MG 17 machine guns – four synchronised weapons, two in the forward fuselage and one in each wing root, supplemented by a free-firing MG 17 in each wing, outboard of the propeller disc.
;Fw 190 A-1: The Fw 190 A-1 was in production from June 1941. It was powered by the BMW 801 C-1 engine, rated at for take-off. Armament included two fuselage-mounted MG 17s and two wing root-mounted MG 17s and two outboard wing-mounted 20 mm MG FF/Ms.
;Fw 190 A-2:The introduction of the BMW 801 C-2 resulted in the Fw 190 A-2 model, first introduced in October 1941. The A-2 wing weaponry was updated, with the two wing root-mounted MG 17s being replaced by 20 mm MG 151/20E cannon.
;Fw 190 A-3: The Fw 190 A-3 was equipped with the BMW 801 D-2 engine, which increased power to at takeoff. The A-3 retained the same weaponry as the A-2.
;Fw 190 A-3a: In autumn 1942, 72 new aircraft were delivered to Turkey in an effort to keep that country friendly to the Axis powers. These were designated Fw 190 A-3a, designation for export models and delivered between October 1942 and March 1943.
;Fw 190 A-4: Introduced in July 1942, the A-4 was equipped with the same engine and basic armament as the A-3.
;Fw 190 A-5: The A-5 was developed after it was determined that the Fw 190 could easily carry more ordnance. The D-2 engine was moved forward another as had been tried out earlier on the service test A-3/U1 aircraft, moving the centre of gravity forward to allow more weight to be carried aft.
;Fw 190 A-6: The A-6 was developed to address shortcomings found in previous "A" models when attacking U.S. heavy bombers. A structurally redesigned and lighter wing was introduced and the normal armament was increased to two MG 17 fuselage machine guns and four 20 mm MG 151/20E wing root and outer wing cannon with larger ammunition boxes.
;Fw 190 A-7: The A-7 entered production in November 1943, equipped with the BMW 801 D-2 engine, again producing and two fuselage-mounted MG 131s, replacing the MG 17s.
;Fw 190 A-8: The A-8 entered production in February 1944, powered either by the standard BMW 801 D-2 or the 801Q. The 801Q/TU, with the "T" signifying a Triebwerksanlage unitized powerplant installation, was a standard 801D with improved, thicker armour on the BMW-designed front annular cowling, which still incorporated the BMW-designed oil cooler, upgraded from on earlier models to. Changes introduced in the Fw 190 A-8 also included the C3-injection Erhöhte Notleistung emergency boost system to the fighter variant of the Fw 190 A, raising power to for 10 minutes. The 10 minute emergency power may be used up to three times per mission with a 10 minute cooldown in "combat power" between each 10 minute use of emergency power.
;Fw 190 A-9: First built in September 1944, the Fw 190 A-9 was fitted with the new BMW 801S rated at ; the more powerful 801F-1 was still under development, and not yet available.
;Fw 190 A-10: Late in the war, the A-10 was fitted with larger wings for better maneuverability at higher altitudes, which could have allowed additional calibre, long-barreled MK 103 cannon to be fitted.
A total of 13,291 Fw 190 A-model aircraft were produced.
A-6, A-7, and A-8 were modified for Sturmböcke bomber-destroyer operations.

High-altitude developments

Tank started looking at ways to address the altitude performance problem early in the program. In 1941, he proposed a number of versions featuring new powerplants, and he suggested using turbochargers in place of superchargers. Three such installations were outlined
;Fw 190 V12: would be outfitted with many of the elements which eventually led to the B series.
;Fw 190 V13: first C-series prototype
;Fw 190 V15: second C-series prototype
;Fw 190 V16: third C-series prototype
;Fw 190 V18: fourth C-series prototype
;Fw 190 B-0: With a turbocharged BMW 801
;Fw 190 B-1: This aircraft was similar to the B-0, but had slightly different armament. In its initial layout, the B-1 was to be fitted with four MG 17s and two 20 mm MG-FFs. One was fitted with two MG 17s, two 20 mm MG 151s and two 20 mm MG-FFs. After the completion of W.Nr. 811, no further Fw 190 B models were ordered.

V-12 Engine

;Fw 190 C: With a turbocharged Daimler-Benz DB 603, the tail of the aircraft had to be lengthened in order to maintain the desired centre of gravity. Four additional prototypes based on the V18/U1 followed: V29, V30, V32 and V33.
;Fw 190 D: The Fw 190 D was intended as the high-altitude performance version of the A-series.
;Fw 190 D-0: The first D-0 prototype was completed in October 1942 with a supercharged Junkers Jumo 213 including a pressurized cockpit and other features making them more suitable for high-altitude work.
;Fw 190 D-1: Initial production
;Fw 190 D-2: Initial production
;Fw 190 D-9: The D-9 series was rarely used against heavy-bomber raids, as the circumstances of the war in late 1944 meant that fighter-versus-fighter combat and ground attack missions took priority. This model was the basis for the follow-on Focke-Wulf Ta 152 aircraft.
;Fw 190 D-11: Fitted with the up-rated Jumo 213F series engine similar to the Jumo 213E used in the Ta-152 H series but minus the intercooler. Two MK 108 cannons were installed in the outer wings to complement the 20 mm MG 151s in the inboard positions.
;Fw 190 D-12: Similar to the D-11, but featured the MK 108 cannon in a Motorkanone installation firing through the propeller hub.
;Fw 190 D-13: The D-13 would be fitted with a 20 mm MG 151/20 motor cannon.

Ground attack versions (BMW 801)

;Fw 190 F: The Fw 190F configuration was originally tested in a Fw 190 A-0/U4, starting in May 1942, fitted with centre-line and wing-mounted bomb racks.
;Fw 190 F-1: Renamed A-4/U3s of which 18 were built
;Fw 190 F-2: Renamed A-5/U3s, of which 270 were built according to Focke-Wulf production logs and Ministry of Aviation acceptance reports.
;Fw 190 F-3: Developed under the designation Fw 190 A-5/U17, which was outfitted with a centreline mounted ETC 501 bomb rack. The Fw 190 F-3/R1 had two additional ETC 50 bomb racks under each wing. The F-3 could carry a 66-Imp gal drop tank. A total of 432 Fw 190 F-3s were built.
;Fw 190 F-4 to F-7: designations used for projects.
;Fw 190 F-8: Based on the A-8 Fighter, having a slightly modified injector on the compressor which allowed for increased performance at lower altitudes for several minutes. Armament of the Fw 190 F-8 was two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon in the wing roots and two MG 131 machine guns above the engine. It was outfitted with an ETC 501 Bomb rack as centerline mount and four ETC 50 bomb racks as underwing mounts.
;Fw 190 F-9: based on the Fw 190 A-9, equipped with a new bulged canopy as fitted to late-build F-8s and A-8s, and four ETC 50 or ETC 70 bomb racks under the wings. According to Ministry of Aviation acceptance reports, 147 F-9s were built in January 1945, and perhaps several hundred more from February to May 1945.
;Fw 190 G: The Fw 190 G was built as a long-range attack aircraft. Following the success of the Fw 190 F as a Schlachtflugzeug, both the Luftwaffe and Focke-Wulf began investigating ways of extending the range of the Fw 190 F. Approximately 1,300 Fw 190 Gs of all variants were new built.
;Fw 190 G-1: The G-1 was renamed from A-4/U8 Jabo Reis. Initial testing found that if all but two wing root mounted 20 mm MG 151 cannons were removed, the Fw 190 G-1 could carry a or bomb on the centreline and up to a bomb under each wing.
;Fw 190 G-2: The G-2 was renamed from Fw 190 A-5/U8 aircraft, similar to the G-1; the underwing drop tank racks were replaced with the much simpler V.Mtt-Schloß fittings, to allow for a number of underwing configurations.
;Fw 190 G-3: The G-3 was based on A-6 with all but the two wing root mounted MG 151 cannons removed. The new V.Fw. Trg bombracks, however, allowed the G-3 to simultaneously carry fuel tanks and bomb loads
;Fw 190 G-8: The G-8 was based on the Fw 190 A-8, using the same "bubble" canopy as the F-8 and fitted with underwing ETC 503 racks that could carry either bombs or drop tanks.

Trainer versions

;Fw 190 A-5/U1: Several old Fw 190 A-5s were converted by replacing the MW 50 tank with a second cockpit. The canopy was modified, replaced with a new three-section unit that opened to the side. The rear portion of the fuselage was closed off with sheet metal.
;Fw 190 A-8/U1: A similar conversion to the A-5/U1.
;Fw 190 S-5: A-5/U1 trainers re-designated.
;Fw 190 S-8: A-8/U1 trainers re-designated. An estimated 58 Fw 190 S-5 and S-8 models were converted or built.

Combat history

The Fw 190 participated on every major combat front where the Luftwaffe operated after 1941, and did so with success in a variety of roles. The Fw 190 first tasted combat on the Western Front in August 1941, where it proved superior to the Mk V Spitfire. The Spitfire's main advantage over the Fw 190, and the Bf 109 as well, was its superior turn radius. Beyond that, the Fw 190 outperformed the Spitfire Mk. V in most areas, such as roll rate, speed, acceleration, and dive performance. The addition of the Fw 190 to the Jagdwaffe allowed the Germans to fight off RAF attacks and achieve local air superiority over German skies until the summer of 1942, when the improved Spitfire Mk. IX was introduced. In June 1942, Oberleutnant Armin Faber of JG 2 landed his Fw 190 A-3 at a British airfield, allowing the RAF to test the Mk. IX against the 190 and learn tactics to counter it.

Production

A Focke-Wulf plant east of Marienburg was bombed by the Eighth Air Force on 9 October 1944. In addition, one of the most important sub-contractors for the radial-engined Fw 190s was AGO Flugzeugwerke, which from 1941 through to the end of the war produced enough Fw 190s to earn it major attention from the USAAF, with the AGO plant in Oschersleben being attacked at least five times during the war from 1943 onwards.
VariantNumberProduction dates
Fw 190 A-1102June–October 1941
Fw 190 A-2/A-3909October 1941 – August 1943
Fw 190 A-4975June 1942 – August 1943
Fw 190 A-51,752November 1942 – August 1943
Fw 190 A-61,052May 1943 – March 1944
Fw 190 A-7701November 1943 – March 1944
Fw 190 A-86,655February 1944 – February 1945
Fw 190 A-9930September 1944 – February 1945
Total 13,291—
Fw 190 F-1/F-2 18 & 271May 1942 – May 1943
Fw 190 F-3 432May 1943 – April 1944
Fw 190 F-8 6,143March 1944 – February 1945
Fw 190 F-9 415September 1944 – February 1945
Total7,279—
Fw 190 G-1 183August–November 1942
Fw 190 G-2 2351942 July – 1943 May
Fw 190 G-3 214June–December 1943
Fw 190 G-8 689August 1943 – February 1944
Total~1,300—
Fw 190 D-91,805August 1944 – April 1945
Fw 190 D-1120February–March 1945
Fw 190 D-131April 1945
Total1,826—
Fw 190 S-5 converted from A-5 or built~20Late 1944
Fw 190 S-8 converted from A-8 or built~38Late 1944
Total58—
Ta 152 V/H-044December 1944 – January 1945
Ta 152 H-125January–April 1945
Total69—
Total 23,823—

Surviving aircraft and modern replicas

Some 28 original Fw 190s are in museums or in the hands of private collectors around the world.
In 1997 a German company, Flug Werk GmbH, began manufacturing new Fw 190 models as reproductions. By 2012, 20 had been produced, most flyable, a few as static display models, with airworthy examples usually powered by Chinese-manufactured Shvetsov ASh-82 twin-row, 14-cylinder radial powerplants, which have a displacement of 41.2 litres, close to the BMW 801's 41.8 litres, with the same engine cylinder arrangement and number of cylinders.
The nearly intact wreck of an Fw 190 A-5/U3 that had crashed in a marsh in a forest near Leningrad, Soviet Union, 1943 was located in 1989. After restoration in the US, the Fw 190 flew again on 1 December 2010. Following the successful test flight, the aircraft was transported to the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Washington, where it was reassembled in April 2011 and returned to airworthy condition.
At least five surviving Fw 190A radial-engined aircraft are known to have been assigned to the Luftwaffe's JG 5 wing in Herdla, Norway. More German fighter aircraft on display in museums in the 21st century have originated from this unit than from any other Axis Powers' military aviation unit of World War II.
The Turkish Air Force retired all of its Fw 190A-3 fleet in early-May, 1948 mostly because of a lack of spare parts. It is rumored that American-Turkish bilateral agreements required retiring and scrapping of all German-origin aircraft, although that requirement did not exist for any other country. 35 of the 36 FW190-A3s that took off from the 5th Air Squadron in Bursa on the morning of 4 May, 1948 landed in Kayseri, with one aircraft executing an emergency landing en route at Eskişehir. According to the Hürriyet Daily News, all of the retired Fw 190s were saved from scrapping by wrapping them with protective cloths and burying them in the soil near the Aviation Supply and Maintenance Center at Kayseri. All attempts to locate and recover the aircraft have been unsuccessful, which suggests the story is probably a hoax or myth.

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