Focke Wulf Fw 190

Operational History: North Africa

The Fw 190 was also deployed to North Africa in the period from November 1942 to May 1943. After the end of the North African campaign, it continued to see action from bases in Sicily.

The fighter was a late arrival in North Africa, making its combat debut on 16 November 1942 with Fw A-4/Trop. and A-5/Trop of EprobungsKomando 19 (EKdo 19) departed from Benghazi, Libya at the time of the El Alamein campaign. Over the next six months, the Fw 190 was flown by the units III.Gruppe/Zerstörergeschwader 2 (III./ZG 2), later changed to III.Gruppe/Schnellkampfgeschwader 10 (III./SKG 10) (9./SKG 10/SKG 10 and 11/SKG 10 units based in la Fauconnerie and Sidi Ahmed,Tunisia) and, II.Gruppe/Jagdgeschwader 2 (II./JG 2) (6./JG 2 and 4./JG 2 units detached in Kairouan,Tunisia) among the Stab and II.Gruppe/Schlacht Geschwader 2 (II./Sch.G 2 unit from Protville and El Aounia,Tunisia) from Nov 1942 – May 1943.

These units were equipped with Fw 190 A/Trop standard fighters and A's provided with Us/Rs modifications, but also received some examples of Fw 190s of F/Trop. among the introduction of G/Trop. models also used in assorted types of roles in that stage of the war. In particular, joining with III/SKG 10 and II/Sch.G 2's Fw 190s operated examples of Messerschmitt Me 210A/C and Me 410A Hornisse heavy fighters, among examples of the dedicated Henschel Hs 129B ground attack aircraft respectively during that period.

Many aerial victories were achieved and the Fw 190 fighter-bomber pilots demonstrated how effective the Fw 190 could be against ground targets, the III.Gruppe/ZG 2 (renamed III./SKG 10 in December 1942) being particularly successful. This unit operated throughout the Tunisian campaign, and attacked a variety of Allied targets including airfields, harbours, tanks, vehicles, troop concentrations, anti-aircraft positions, and on one occasion, a British submarine. The fighter pilots of II./JG 2 downed scores of British, American and French aircraft, especially during the first three months of 1943, and Kurt Bühligen and Erich Rudorffer became two of the top scorers in the Tunisian campaign.