Focke Wulf Ta 152

Design & Development

Kurt Tank originally designed the Ta 152 using the 44.52 litre displacement Daimler-Benz DB 603 engine as it offered better high-altitude performance and also a greater developmental potential. The DB 603 had been used in the Fw 190C prototypes but had many problems and was considered too difficult to implement in the Ta 152 by RLM officials. With this in mind, Tank focused his efforts on the 213E as the Ta 152H's power plant. However, he insisted that the DB 603 be retained for the Ta 152C versions and as an option for later versions of the Ta 152H.

The Ta 152's fuselage was an extended version of the Fw 190D-9 fuselage with wider-chord fixed vertical tail surfaces (especially the top half), and hydraulic rather than electrically controlled undercarriage and flaps. Due to the changes in the center of gravity and overall balance, the nose was also lengthened. The D-9 retained the 10.51 metres (34.5 ft) wingspan of the original pre-war Fw 190 models, but this was slightly extended for the C model to 11 metres (36 ft), and greatly extended for the H model to 14.44 metres (47.4 ft), which gave it much better control at high altitudes at the cost of speed at lower altitudes.

Due to the war's impact on aluminum availability, the wing was built around two steel spars, the front extending from just past the landing gear attachment points, and the rear spar spanning the entire wing. The wing itself was designed with 3° of washout, from the root to the flap-aileron junction, to prevent the ailerons from stalling before the center section of the wing.

The Ta 152 also featured the FuG 16ZY and FuG 25a radio equipment (some aircraft were issued with FuG 125 Hermine D/F for navigation and blind landing, LGW-Siemens K 23 autopilot, and a heated armor glass windscreen for bad-weather operations).

High-altitude features
To reach higher altitudes, a pressurized cockpit was added to the H models. The canopy was sealed via a circular tube filled with rubber foam which was inflated by a compressed air bottle, while the engine compartment was also sealed from the cockpit with a rubber foam ring. A Knorr 300/10 air compressor provided the pressure, maintaining the cockpit at 0.36 atmospheres (5.29 psi) above 8,000 m (26,250 ft). To prevent fogging, the windscreen was of a double-glazed style with a 6 mm (.236 in) thick outer pane and a 3 mm (.118 in) inner pane with a 6 mm gap. The gap was fitted with several silica gel capsules to absorb any moisture forming between the panes. The cockpit was not pressurized in the C models.

Armament
The H model had heavy armament to allow it to deal quickly with enemy aircraft. It had three weapons: one 30 mm MK 108 Motorkanone cannon centered within the propeller hub and two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons, synchronized to fire through the propeller, located in the wing roots.

The C model was designed to operate at lower altitudes than the H-model with the same armament package, while adding two more of the MG 151/20 cannon, likewise synchronized as these additional autocannon for the C-model were mounted just ahead of the windscreen, and above the engine's upper rear crankcase. The Ta 152C could destroy the heaviest enemy bombers with a short burst but the added weight decreased speed and rate of turn.

Performance
The Ta 152H-1 was among the fastest piston-engined fighters of the war, with a top speed comparable to the twin-engined Dornier Do 335. It was capable of 755 kilometres per hour (469 mph) at 13,500 metres (44,300 ft) using the GM-1 nitrous oxide boost and 560 kilometres per hour (350 mph) at sea level using the MW 50 methanol-water boost. It used the MW 50 system mainly for altitudes up to about 10,000 metres (33,000 ft) and the GM-1 system for higher altitudes, although both systems could be engaged at the same time.

Kurt Tank was flying an unarmed Ta 152H in late 1944 to a meeting at the Focke-Wulf plant in Cottbus when ground controllers warned him of two P-51 Mustangs. The enemy aircraft appeared behind Tank, but he escaped by applying full power and engaging the MW 50 boost "until they were no more than two dots on the horizon"