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General Specifications
Wingspan: 10.54 m (34 ft. 5.5 in.) Length: 8.83 m (29 ft.) Height: 3.99 m (13 ft. 1 in.) Weight: 3,200 kg. (7,055 lb.) Engine: Junkers Jumo 213A-1 Horsepower: 1,776 hp. Guns: Two 13 mm machine guns, two 20 mm cannons ___________________________________________________________
When the Focke-Wulf engineering staff set to work trying to build an airplane that was superior to the Messerschmitt, the result also outclassed Allied fighters. With a simple airframe that facilitated mass-production and maintenance, a radial BMW engine, widely spaced landing gear, a clear-view canopy, lots of new electronically-operated features, and six machine guns, the Fw 190 quickly established itself as an aircraft that was easy for pilots to fly. When it entered service in 1941, it became clear that the 190 was also an airplane for Allied pilots to fear. The Fw 190 never replaced the Bf-109, and was never produced in as great a quantity, but it is thought by many to have been the best German fighter of the war.
The Spitfire IX's threat prompted the development of the Fw 190B, C, and D series. First flown in 1944, the 190D featured a liquid-cooled Junkers engine, and was a high-altitude adaptation of its predecessors. German pilots came to regard the 190D as the finest propeller-driven fighter available to the Luftwaffe during the war. In spite of its threat to the Allies, too few 190Ds were produced to make much of a difference to the German war effort, and they were frequently outnumbered.
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