Focke Wulf Fw 190

Operational History: Normandy to Salzburg

The Fw 190 also saw heavy action in the 1944 Normandy Campaign. German fighters flew 760 sorties on June 6, 1944 against an Allied total of 14,000. By 10 June, the dearth of specialised ground attack aircraft forces meant the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (High Command of the Air Force) ordered the Fw 190 Gruppen to install bomb racks for these types of operations. Just 24 hours later, the Fw 190 units were asked to revert to air superiority roles again. With conflicting orders and harried by Allied air forces, losses were heavy. In the space of three weeks, 200 Fw 190s and 100 pilots were lost to enemy action. Total losses by the end of June 1944 totalled 230 pilots killed and 88 wounded. Among the casualties was the 173-victory Fw 190 ace Emil Lang. 551 German fighters were shot down, with another 65 destroyed on the ground. A further 290 were damaged. In return, German pilots claimed 526 Allied aircraft destroyed.

The Fw 190 also formed, along with the Bf 109, the core of the German fighter force that participated in Operation Bodenplatte. A total of 35 Fw 190 A-8s, 27 A-8/R2s, 5 F-8s and 50 D-9s were destroyed or lost over Allied lines on 1 January 1945.