In 1937 even though the Me-109 was a very capable fighter the Reichsluftfahrtministeriun (RLM)
or Reich Air Ministry was worried that future foreign designs might surpass its performance so
they called for submissions of designs. Kurt Tank won the competition with his radical use of an
air-cooled radial engine that he dubbed the Fw-190 Würger (Butcher Bird). There were many
skeptics who believed this new aircraft would surpass the performance of the Me-109. However
when the Fw-190 entered combat in the summer of 1941 it already was Germany’s premiere
piston-powered WWII fighter. Over 20,000 of all variants of the Fw-190 were built with 13,291 of
these being of the 9 different “A” variants.

Schlachtgeschwader 1 (SchlG 1) was formed on January 13, 1942 as a ground-attack unit. In
1943 the Schlachtgeschwader 1 was renamed SG 1. In April, 1943 SG. 1 converted to the Fw-
190A-5 but it wasn’t until late 1944, early 1945 that the Fw-190F-9 was put into action. At this
point in time there were critical shortages of material so wood was being used for some parts
such as tails, flaps and ailerons. The green Tech Chevron markings suggest this aircraft
belonged to the Technical Officer for II/SG1 at München-Neubiberg, a major location for aircraft
supply to Italy during the war.

The FW-190F-9 was different from the FW-190F-8:
Visible Differences
Some aircraft received the enlarged wooden vertical tail from the Ta 152 aircraft
A-9 airframe
Blown Canopy
Braced armored headrest with cushion
2 x MG 131 machine gun in fuselage
2 x MG151 machine gun inboard wing positions with protruding barrels and wing root blisters but
none in the outer wing
Center-line ETC 501 bomb rack, optional ER 4 adapter to carry 4 x 50 kg SC 50 bombs
Two ETC 50 bomb racks or Panzerblitz rocket launch rails under each wing
Internal Differences
A new 2,000 hp BMW-801TS/TH engine with a 14-blade cooling fan replacing the earlier 12-
blade fan
Engine cowling was extended 30 mm (0.024 inches in 1/48 scale)
A 3,500 mm (11.48 ft) diameter broad-chord wooden VDM propeller but many A 9s were fitted
with the standard VDM 9 12067A metal propeller and some had a VDM 9 12153A metal propeller
with external, bolt on balance weights

Specifications Focke-Wulf Fw-190F-8 Variant

Role - Single Seat Specialized Ground Attack Variant

First Battlefield Availability - March 1944

Users – German Luftwaffe and RHAF (Royal Hungarian Air Force)

Performance
Engine
1 X 1,700 hp (1268 kw) BMW 801D-2 14 cylinder air-cooled radial engine
Or
1 X 2,100 hp (1566 kw) with MW-50 methanol/water injection in emergency situations.

Maximum Speed - 408 mph (653 km/h) with boost on
Initial Climb Rate – 2,350 ft (720 m) per minute
Service Ceiling – 37,400 ft (11410 m)
Range Using Internal Tanks Only - 560 miles (900 km)

Weight
Empty - 7,055 lbs (3200 kg)
Maximum Take-Off - 10,800 lbs (4900 kg)

Dimensions
Wing Span - 34 ft 5.5 in (10.50 m)
Length - 33 ft 5.5 in (10.2 m)
Height - 11 ft 0 in (3.35 m)
Wing Area - 196.99 sq ft (18.30 sq m)

Armament
2 X 13 mm (0.51 in) MG 131 machine guns above the engine
2 X 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon in the wing roots
2 X MG 151/20 or MK 108 cannon in outer wings
Plus 1 X 3,968 lbs (1800 kg) centerline bomb
Or
1 X 1,102 lbs (500 kg) SC500 centerline bomb
And
2 X 551 lbs (250 kg) bombs on wing racks

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