Post on 15-Feb-2018
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
JL McClellan: FW190A3 draft Copyright 2005 p 1 of 2
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.
JL McClellan: FW190A3 draft Copyright 2005 p 2 of 2