Focke Wulf Fw 190

Operational History:
Operation Citadel to the Dnieper

The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW or German High Command) chose to eliminate the bulge of Kursk. Unternehmen Zitadelle (Operation Citadel), planned for the summer, 1943, would be the Fw 190's first major battle in number. By June 1943 the Fw 190 was to reach peak strength. II./JG 54, the main operator, operated 196 fighters before Zitadelle. However, some of this total included Bf 109s still on strength. I./54, I., III., and IV./ Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51) mustered 186 Fw 190s (most of the fighter force in this region operated the Fw 190), 88 of them serviceable. The Fw 190 force was assigned to the northern sector near Orel, supporting the German Ninth Army.

In the early morning of 5 July 1943, the opening day of the offensive, the Fw 190s won air superiority over the northern sector. Soviet aviation was held in reserve and its units fed in piecemeal, whereas 1 Fliegerdivision had made an all out effort. The Soviet 16th Air Army (16VA) was permitted to engage only one-third of its fighter force. The German numerical superiority managed to deliver a severe defeat on Soviet aviation on this date. The Fw 190s had the upper hand and shot down scores of Soviet fighter aircraft allowing the German strike aircraft to attack Red Army positions at will. Within a space of a few hours, 50 Soviet aircraft had been shot down. For just 29 casualties, 18 of them destroyed and seven Fw 190s shot down in combat, 1st Fliegerdivision filed claims for 165 victories. The division had over claimed, but Soviet losses were around 100. The Fw 190's performance as a low level air superiority fighter was evident and it reflected the German superiority in the air on that date.

On 6 July the Fw 190 again proved its worth at low altitude. Soviet fighters providing close escort for slow bombers enabled the Fw 190s of JG 51 and JG 54 to attack Soviet formations at will. Fw 190s claimed a ratio in favour of 60:1 on this date; losing two fighters shot down and two damaged while claiming 121 enemy aircraft destroyed. The situation called for a change in Soviet air tactics. Soviet fighters on airfields were placed on alert should larger German formations appear and fighters were now permitted to conduct fighter sweeps in small formations of four to six aircraft. These changes had limited influence of the air battle and not the significant results claimed by Soviet histories. Soviet aviation would still sustain heavy losses. JG 51 and 54 had inflicted heavy damage, the three regiments of 1 DIAD (1st Guards Fighter Division) could field only 26 fighters between them. The 6th IAK (Air Corps) could muster just 48 fighters.

Two main reasons resulted in these loss rates; Soviet pilots were still limited to close escort duty and were not allowed to pursue aircraft into airspace guarded by other Soviet units which restricted their freedom, and when the experience of the German pilots is added, the result was damaging. On 7 July, the 16th Air Army lost 30 aircraft for three Fw 190s destroyed and three crash-landed in German-held territory. On 8 July, the Fw 190 units claimed 74 of the 81 Soviet aircraft claimed destroyed on that date. Actual Soviet losses were 43.

With the German armies now exhausted, the Fw 190 units were asked to perform Jabo, or fighter-bomber missions. JG 54 flew missions in this capacity. Now performing dual purposes, the Fw 190 achieved significant recognition as a rugged aircraft. On 12 July 1943, the 16VA was almost driven from the skies by Fw 190 Geschwader. The air battle had been decisively won by the 1st Fliegerdivision, thanks largely to the Fw 190. However, the ground battle was lost. On 13 July the Soviets launched Operation Kutuzov. The offensive threatened to cut off the entire German Ninth and Second Panzer Army. Luftwaffe resistance was vital to slowing down Soviet advances. On several days, the Luftwaffe achieved numerical superiority. The 15th Air Army could not prevent the Fw 190 units gaining air superiority which allowed Ju 87 units to help the Army to restrict the Red Army's break through to the first German defence line on the first day. But the overall situation could not be sustained, as the Soviet ground forces had made several advances further north. Between 1 and 31 July 1943 JG 51 claimed 800 victories against 77 Fw 190s (50 destroyed). JG 54 claimed 450 for the same period for 34 Fw 190s (24 destroyed). Even though it is probable that between 25 and 33 percent of these claims were exaggerations, the statistics confirm the qualitative superiority of tactical air units in combat. More accurate data suggests JG 51s losses were 55 Fw 190s destroyed and 31 damaged. The introduction of the Fw 190 to the front had proven wise. The armament of the Fw 190 was something that was needed by German fighter units. The IL-2 Shturmoviks were becoming available in increasing numbers, and the Fw 190 was an ideal counter to the Soviet aircraft.

The increasing numbers of Soviet armour led to a rethink in how to combat the threat. In the summer, 1943, Ju 87s crews had suffered heavy losses. The Henschel Hs 129 had suffered 495 losses from a total production of 664. It was decided to replace them with the Fw 190. On 18 October, Sturzkampfgeschwader 1, Sturzkampfgeschwader 3 and Sturzkampfgeschwader 5 were renamed Schlachtgeschwader 1, 3 and 5. Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 and Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 were reformed as mixed fighter and dive bomber units. Two Geschwader, Schlachtgeschwader 9 and Schlachtgeschwader 10 were formed to deal with the threat. It was not until March 1944 that the Geschwaders were able to exchange their Ju 87s for the Fw 190. Some units, such as the one commanded by Hans-Ulrich Rudel, continued to fly the Ju 87 (and Fw 190) until the end of the war. In the meantime, the Fw 190 units fought an increasing number of defensive battles. The Lower Dnieper Offensive and Second Battle of Kiev witnessed large scale air battles. During these actions, Walter Nowotny claimed his 256th and final victory on the front, and was nearly shot down himself on 11 November 1943. JG 54, operating the Focke-Wulf, claimed 71 victories in December 1943, for the loss of 14 Fw 190s. This represented a decreasing victory-to-loss ratio. However, the Soviets were gaining in number and quality. The Red Army was pushing back both Army Group South, and soon Army Group North. Only Army Group Centre remained in strong defensive positions. By the spring, 1944, the German fighter units victory to loss ratio had shrunk from 4:1 at the Battle of Kursk to 1.5:1. Soviet fighter aircraft were now equal to the Luftwaffe's best. Schlachtgeschwader losses amounted to 175, which included a number of Fw 190s.