Focke Wulf Fw 190

Operational History:
Early Use

The Fw 190 was introduced on the Western Front in August 1941. For the first few months of its combat career, the Allies, entirely unaware of the new fighter, attributed pilots' reports of a new "radial-engine fighter" to Curtiss P-36 Mohawks which the Germans had captured from the French. The new fighter outperformed the Spitfire Mk. V, the then top-of-the-line RAF fighter, in all aspects except turning radius. The Fw 190 was considerably better in firepower, rate of roll, and straight-line speed at low altitude. As Allied fighter losses rose and local air superiority over the Channel front passed to the Luftwaffe, Allied plans were tentatively made to launch a commando raid on a Luftwaffe airfield to steal an Fw 190 for evaluation. However, the British acquired an intact Fw 190 A-3 in late June 1942, when a Jagdgeschwader 2 pilot, Oberleutnant Armin Faber, landed on a British airfield by mistake.

As tests confirmed the performance characteristics, British rushed development of the Spitfire Mk. IX with the new two-stage supercharged Merlin 61 engine. The RAF was also quick to study the aircraft for any novel design elements. In particular, the cooling system and installation of Fw 190's radial engine was a direct influence on Hawker Siddeley's Tempest II.

On the whole, Allied pilots who flew the Fw 190 found it pleasant to fly, very responsive, and, while the cockpit was small compared to most Allied fighters, it was well laid out. Most pilots found the Fw 190's Kommandogerät system (which automatically controlled the RPM, fuel mixture, ignition timing, supercharger switchover, and boost pressure) to be more of a hindrance than a help. German pilots in some instances reportedly failed to pull up from a steep dive at low altitude, diving straight into the ground. It was thought that they had left the powerful, variable incidence tailplane trim mechanism in the "nose heavy" position, meaning that their aircraft could not recover from the dive in time.