“The U.S. Navy, which in addition to fighting the Pacific War took part in Allied operations in the Mediterranean and North Sea, needed its aviators to be ready for Focke-Wulfs.”

By Marc Liebman

THE FOCKE-WULF 190A came as an ugly surprise to the RAF when it appeared over the skies of France in September of 1941. The new Luftwaffe fighter could out climb, out run, out roll, out dive, and out accelerate the Spitfire Vs and earlier marks being flown by the RAF.

Very quickly, the superiority that the Spitfires had over the Messerschmitt 109 gave way to the FW-190A. Two engagements illustrated this.

The first came over two days in early June 1942, when FW-190s from Jagdgeschwader 26 shot down 15 Spitfire Vs without losing a single plane.

The second came on August 19, 1942. While the debacle of the Allied landings at Dieppe was playing out along the French coast, another disaster, this one for the RAF, was unfolding high above the beaches. Ninety Spitfire Vs from Britain’s frontline squadrons were shot down in dogfights with FW-190s. The Germans lost just 23 representing a four-to-one kill ratio for the Luftwaffe.

Soon RAF pilots were calling the FW-190 the “Butcher Bird.”

FW-190’s superiority over the Spitfire continued well into 1943. The Spitfire IX, introduced in limited numbers in July 1942, reduced the FW-190 dominance over the Spitfire but did not eliminate it.

By a stroke of unbelievable luck, the Allies soon had a chance to examine a FW-190 in detail. In June 1942, Luftwaffe Oberflightleutnant Armin Faber mistook the Bristol Channel for the English Channel. Almost out of fuel, Faber landed his FW-190A-3 at RAF Pembrey which is in Wales, a long way from the English Channel and occupied France. That the RAF had a fully functional FW-190A-3 to test fly and study was a closely guarded secret. That didn’t keep the British from allowing USAAF pilots from evaluating the airplane. Thanks to the captured warplane, both services developed effective tactics to counter the FW-190.

U.S. Navy Interest in the FW-190

Of course, the American and British air forces weren’t the only service branches to take an interest in the FW-190. The U.S. Navy, which in addition to fighting the Pacific War took part in Allied operations in the Mediterranean and North Sea. Both the Fleet Air Arm and the U.S. Navy needed its aviators to be ready for Focke-Wulfs. Remarkably, the U.S. Navy would get its own intact FW-190.

On Sept. 9, 1943, U.S. forces taking part in the campaign for Sicily captured an intact Focke-Wulf 190 G-3, serial number 160 057 assigned to III Gruppe of Schnellkampfgeschwader (fast fighter bomber squadron) 10 on the Montecorvino Airfield near Salerno. According to Dr. Andrew Arthy, curator of the “Focke-Wulf and Werk Nummer Listing” on the web site www.FW190.hobbyvista.com, this was the fighter delivered to the U.S. Navy.

Anticipating that U.S. Navy fighters, like the F4U-1 Corsair and F6F-3 Hellcat might face the FW-190 in combat in Europe, the service wanted to fly the captured FW-190 against these two frontline warplanes.

However, there is a bit of a mystery of what model FW-190 was flown in the comparison test. The report states it is an FW-190 A-4 with serial number #2900 which is not a Focke-Wulf serial number. There are photos of the fighter giving its serial number is 150 051 which again, is not a serial number on the Focke-Wulf and Werke Nummer list.

The difference between an FW-190A-4 and an FW-190G-3 are significant. The G-3 has the 5.9” (15 cm) longer nose to broaden its CG envelop so it could carry more external fuel or ordnance along with hard points on the wings for bombs, rockets launchers, or fuel tanks. The G-3 retains the A-4’s armament of four 20mm cannon in the wings and two 7.7mm machine guns in the nose.

All these capabilities are mentioned in the test report. For the sake of simplicity, for the rest of this article, the German airplane will be referred to as an FW-190.

The captured FW-190 was stripped of all its paint and then repainted in U.S. markings. Two of the four FW-190’s 20 mm cannons were not installed which lowered the FW-190 empty and take-off weights. No explanation is given as to why the guns were removed. All its flight and engine instruments were calibrated for accuracy and the airplane was loaded to its “normal” air to air combat weight – full internal fuel and ammunition – when it took off.

Both the F4U-1 and the F6F-1 were taken off the production lines and flown to the Naval Air Station at Patuxent River, Maryland for the test.

Evaluating the FW-190

One of the more innovative features of the FW-190 is that there is only one “power” lever. Mixture, rpm, and manifold pressure settings are set automatically by the throttle. For those of you who have flown airplanes with constant speed propellers, you learn from day one that when you add power, the sequence is: richen the mixture, push the propeller lever to increase rpm, and then push the throttle forward. For reducing power, the sequence is: pull back on the throttle, followed by rpm and then mixture.

The Hellcat had, for example, had four positions for the mixture level – off, auto lean, auto rich and full rich. When engaging an enemy aircraft, it was “balls to the wall,” i.e., everything went full forward in the proper sequence.

In the FW-190, when the pilot moves the throttle, the linkages automatically adjust the mixture and propeller settings for the desired manifold pressure. While this reduces the workload on the pilot, one cannot “fine tune” the settings. The testers, all of whom flew fighters in combat in the Pacific, noted the automatic features made the FW-190 difficult to fly in close formation.

Visibility through the clear canopy of the FW-190 was significantly better than the F4U-1 and the F6F-3, both of which had birdcage canopies. Looking forward, pilots rated three airplanes about equal, however, German pilots had much better visibility when looking behind.

While the naval aviators noted how easy the FW-190 was to fly, the plane had one nasty characteristic: it tended to stall without warning when in a slow, tight, left-hand turn. It also exhibited aileron control reversal in the stall, i.e. pushing the stick to the right caused the airplane to roll left and vice versa.

Unlike the U.S. fighters which had servo and trim tabs on each control surfaces, the FW-190 only had a trim tab on the elevator. At most speeds, it was not a problem for the pilot to hold the airplane in whatever attitude he desired, but as the speeds increased past 350 knots, it required significant pressure to hold the Focke-Wulf in the desired attitude. As airspeeds increased, the effort needed to move the stick and rudder also increased. But these were considered manageable.

Surprising Results

Throughout most of the flight envelope, the Corsair outperformed the FW-190 and for most aspects of the comparison, the Hellcat was either as good or better than the Focke-Wulf. Each of the three airplanes climbed very well but at significantly different speeds. The Focke-Wulf’s best rate of climb airspeed was 160 knots, the Corsair’s was 135 knots and the Hellcat’s was 130 knots.

At 160 knots, the FW-190 out-climbed the Corsair and the Hellcat with the greatest advantage at around 15,000 feet which is where most of the dogfights in the Second World War occurred. Climbing at 180 and 200 knots, the FW-190 maintained its superiority over the American fighters, but it decreased once the planes were above 10,000 feet.

In the horizontal acceleration tests at 200, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000 and 25,000 feet and starting from 140, 160, 180 and 200 knots, initially the Focke-Wulf accelerated faster than either the Corsair or the Hellcat, thanks to its automated throttle system. Above 160 knots and up to 15,000 feet however, the F4U-1 accelerated slightly better than the other two airplanes. Above that altitude, the FW-190 and F4U-1 were about equal, and the F6F-3 was slightly behind. Nonetheless, at all altitudes tested – after one minute of full power, the FW-190 and the F4U-1 were even with the F6F-3 being slightly behind.

It was no surprise that the Corsair was the fastest of all three airplanes below 10,000 and the Hellcat was second. At 15,000 feet, the Corsair and German fighter were equal, while the Hellcat was 15 knots slower. At 20,000 and 25,000 feet the Focke-Wulf was 5 and six knots faster than the F4U-1 and 16 and 17 knots faster than the F6F-3.

In a Dogfight

Given the German fighter’s reputation as a Spitfire killer, at least when it was introduced, the comparison test revealed that the Focke-Wulf couldn’t hold its own in a turning dogfight with the bigger and heavier American Navy fighters. Both the F4U-1 and the FW-190 rolled equally better than the F6F-1.

When the airplanes were rolled into a steep turn, both the F4U-1 and the F6F-3 turned better in terms of rate, i.e., how fast the airplane goes around the circle and had a tighter turn radius.

The F4U-1 and the F6F-3 could easily follow the FW-190 in a turn at any airspeed, but the FW-190 could not do the same with either of the American fighters. In a turning fight that began with both fighters closing head on, the pilots flying the Corsair or the Hellcat could be behind the FW-190 in less than one complete circle. In a fight that began with one of the American fighters behind the German fighter, within three circles, both American fighters would be in a firing position.

If the pilot of the FW-190 tried to follow either the Corsair or the Hellcat in a tight loop, the German fighter either stalled or “fell” out of the maneuver. Or the radius of the Focke-Wulf’s loop was much larger than either of the U.S. airplanes.

Tactically, the only way the FW-190 could get away from either the Corsair or the Hellcat was by climbing at 160 knots or faster. However, if the fight was taking place above 10,000 feet, this would be only marginally successful.

Word was passed onto U.S. Navy and Marine Corps squadrons flying the F4U-1 and F6F-3 that if they encountered FW-190s, it was best to get in “close” and force a turning fight. FW-190 pilots were expected to roll and dive out of the engagement, something the Hellcat and Corsair pilots could easily follow.

If surprised, or “bounced,” by FW-190s, the best defense was for the Corsairs and Hellcats to turn into the enemy or fly a tight loop. If the German pilot continued to dive, then the Naval and Marine Corps aviators should roll out and follow the FW-190 down where the American planes would be markedly faster. In a Hellcat, the same tactic was thought to work, however, the F6F-3 did not have the speed advantage of the Corsair below 10,000 feet.

The test pilots concluded that “… the FW-190 is an extremely simple airplane to fly and is designed for pilot convenience but is not equal to the F4U-1 or F6F-3 in combat.” The report concluded that “All the pilots agreed that the F4U-1 and F6F-3 would be preferred in actual combat operations.”

Epilogue: Hellcats Maul Focke-Wulfs

Eventually, American-made Grumman F4Fs and F6Fs operating with the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm would find themselves in action against FW-190s in the summer of 1944.

During an attempted raid to sink the German battleship Tirpitz in May of 1944, Royal Navy Hellcats from HMS Emperor engaged a mixed force of Me-109s and FW-190s over Kaafjord, Norway. Three Me-109s were shot down for the loss of one Hellcat that was lost to ground fire.

SIDEBAR: What Other Air Forces Flew the FW-190

By Marc Liebman

THE Luftwaffe was not the only air force to fly the FW-190, either during World War II or afterwards. So, thanks to Wikipedia and other sources, what follows is an alphabetical listing of the other air forces that flew FW-190s operationally. Some of the countries may surprise you.

France

Right after the war, the French government gave captured plans and drawings for the FW-190 A-5/6s to an aerospace company called SNCAC – Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Centre — a descendant of the Farman and Hanriot aircraft companies of World War I. It was hoped the blueprints would help France restart its aviation industry. Sixty-four FW-190A-8s were ordered but were never flown operationally due to problems with construction and the copies of the BMW engines. SNCAC was shut down in 1948.

Hungary

The Royal Hungarian Air Force took delivery of 72 FW-190 F-8s and flew them against the Soviets until the end of the war. Following the occupation of the country by the Red Army, the airplanes were taken out of service and replaced by Russian-made machines.

Romania

Shortly after King Michael led a coup that led to Romania joining the Allies, Bucharest captured 22 FW-190s. None were flow in combat against the Axis. After the communists took control of the country, the Romanian Air Force was equipped with Lavochkin LA-9s.

Spain

Volunteers from Spain flew a variety of FW-190s against the Soviets throughout the war in Russia. These squadrons were disbanded at the end of the war and the airplanes ultimately destroyed. The pilots returned to Spain and many became members of the Spanish Air Force under Franco.

Turkey

In an effort to bring Turkey into the Axis, the German government gave the country 72 FW-190 A-3s. These were flown by the Turkish air force until 1947, when a lack of spare parts forced them to retire the fighters.

 

Marc Liebman is a retired U.S. Navy Captain and Naval Aviator and the award-winning author of 14 novels, five of which were Amazon #1 Best Sellers. His latest is the counterterrorism thriller The Red Star of Death. Some of his best-known books are Big Mother 40, Forgotten, Moscow Airlift, Flight of the Pawnee, Insidious Dragon and Raider of the Scottish Coast. All are available on Amazon here.

A Vietnam and Desert Shield/Storm combat veteran, Liebman is a military historian and speaks on military history and current events.

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