Focke-Wulf Fw 190
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Fw 190 Fw 190As of Jagdgeschwader 54. Type Fighter Manufacturer Primarily Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG, but also Ago, Arado, Fieseler, Mimetall, Norddeutsche Dorner and others Designed by Kurt Tank Maiden flight 1 June 1939 Introduced August 1941 Retired 1945 (Luftwaffe) Primary users Luftwaffe Hungarian Air Force Turkish Air Force Romanian Air Force Produced 1941-1945 Number built Over 20,000 Variants Ta 152 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger ("shrike"), often 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 Fw 190s lagged far behind in production numbers. 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. Compared to the Bf 109, the Fw 190 was a "workhorse," 1 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. Early development In autumn 1937, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) or Reich Air Ministry 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.[1] Kurt Tank responded with a number of designs, most incorporating liquid-cooled inline engines.
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