Focke Wulf Fw 190

Operational History:
Operation Bagration to Budapest

By the summer, 1944 the Germans had lost the Crimean campaign and the Soviets were able to pursue operations that would break into Eastern Europe. German fighter units continued to take a heavy toll of Soviet aviation. However, the entry of types, such as Lavochkin La-7 and Yak-3, presented a problem for German fighters. With wings only 9.8 metres long, the La-7 was one of the lightest and smallest fighters of the war. The Yak-3 was faster and more manoeuvrable than the Bf 109 and the Fw 190. According to Soviet tests with captured German fighters, the Yak-9U also out performed the Fw 190. Further, the liberation of the Donbass region improved metal supplies. The IL-2's weakness was its wing and tail structure, which was now made from metals. This contributed to a reduction in losses. The Luftwaffe had a small number of Fw 190s on the Eastern Front by this time. SG 3 and SG 5 was equipped with Fw 190s in June 1944. II./SG 2 was fully equipped with Fw 190s, while III./SG 2 was a mixed unit of Ju 87s and Fw 190s. By June 1944, the German fighter order of battle contained mostly the Bf 109. 1. Fliegerdivision, Luftflotte 6, contained SG 1 and 10 totalling 76 Fw 190s. JG 54, attached to Jagdabschnittfuhrer Ostland (Fighter Area East) of Luftflotte 1 had on strength 32 Fw 190s. 3 Fliegerdivision contained mixed units, including the Fw 190, which were 64 aircraft strong, although the number of Fw 190s is unknown. Luftflotte 4, I. Fliegerkorps contained units from SG 2, 10 and 77 numbering 27, 29 and 33 respectively.

On 22 June 1944, the Red Army launched Operation Bagration. The Schlachtgeschwader were a vital part of German defences. The fluid situation on the ground meant units retreated rapidly westward. Fw 190 units that employed the aircraft as jabo, became the first line of defence as German ground defences broke down. The Fw 190 Gruppen sent a few aircraft out over pre-assigned areas each morning. They were able to identify any movements made by the enemy. The Fw 190s were sent out after enemy armour spearheads that were roaming in the German rear. Usually 250 or 500 kg (550 and 1,100 lb) bombs were used along with SD-2, 4 and 10 bombs and 13 and 20 mm armaments for soft targets. If the Soviet tanks were operating without resistance, then the targets were the soft skin supporting vehicles. Eliminating them would deny fuel and ammunition to the armour, cutting short the Soviets' advance. If the tanks were engaged with German armour, the tanks themselves would be the target to support the defence. The usual approach was made at 1,600 m (6,000 ft), above the reach of light enemy anti-aircraft fire. The Fw 190s would then drop to 4 to 10 m, dropping their loads just as the target disappeared under the nose of the fighter. The delay charge gave the German pilots about one second to get clear. At 485 km/h (300 mph) this was usually enough. In the battles that followed, it was not uncommon for German Schlachtgeschwader pilots to fly seven or eight sorties a day. Towards the end of August fuel shortages kept the German fighters units on the ground. To save fuel, animals, such as oxen were used to carry fighters from dispersal to the take off point. Pilots were ordered to shut down the engine immediately on landing. The Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL – German Air Force High Command) managed to scrape fuel together while the battles lasted, allowing some units to fly five sorties per day.

The Schlacht Fw 190s were hard hit. Among those operating the Fw 190 were SG 10, which lost 59 Fw 190s in July 1944. The fighter units fared better. IV./JG 54 claimed 80 aerial kills for 31 losses, 21 to enemy action. However, it seems from loss records that even experienced German units had lost more aircraft than they actually shot down in this period. The jabos maintained intense activity and succeeded in inflicting heavy damage to Soviet forces. On 11 July 1944 200 Soviet vehicles were claimed by Fw 190 units. In Estonia, SG 3 and 4 claimed 400 Soviet vehicles destroyed on 28 July. The German air units helped slow down the advance into the Baltic states. In Poland the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive had captured bridgeheads over the Vistula river. The German air units tried to eliminate the foothold. On 28 August the Fw 190s of the Schlachtgeschwader along with Ju 87s claimed to have sunk 28 bridging ferries. The assaults failed to prevent the Soviets from continuing westward. Still, the Fw 190s SG 2 and 77 took advantage of brief moments of air superiority to inflict heavy losses of Soviet infantry, as at times the Red Army's advance was so fast that they outran their air support, allowing the Germans a free hand.

In East Prussia the Luftwaffe sent an 800-strong force under 4. Fliegerdivision. JG 54, operating the Fw 190 fighter versions along with SG 4 supported the German Fourth Army and enabled them to halt the Soviet attempt to crush the Courland pocket. On one day, 27 October, the Fw 190 fighter unit JG 54 claimed 57 aircraft shot down. SG 4 lost 17 Fw 190F ground attack machines. On 28 October, Erich Rudorffer claimed 11 victories, reaching a total of 209. Fw 190s of JG 54 claimed 600 victories between 14 September and 24 November, while the Soviet units reported a total loss of 779 aircraft. The crisis on the Eastern Front now required all available units to return to the theatre. The Battle of the Bulge in the Western theatre was still ongoing, but with the Siege of Budapest and the Soviet winter offensive about to strike across the Polish plain, Luftflotte 6 was rushed from the Ardennes sector to Poland to meet the Soviet threat. It brought with it some 100 Fw 190s.