Air Power Series>1:48 die-cast display model>FW-190>HA7418

General Background

In 1937 the Me-109 was an excellent aircraft but the Reich Air Ministry wanted a new advanced fighter that could out perform any future foreign designs. Kurt Tank’s Focke-Wulf Fw-190 Würger (Butcher Bird) won the design competition by using an air-cooled radial engine. When the Fw-190 entered combat in the summer of 1941 it already was Germany’s premiere piston-powered WWII fighter. Over 20,000 of all variants of the Fw-190 were built with 13,291 of these being of the 9 different “A” variants.

The Aircraft

1/JG 1 was formed in May of 1939 as one of the original Jagdeschwaders. Between 1940 and 1944 the unit was equipped with Messerschmitt Bf-109 and Fw-190s. I/JG 1 was the only unit to be equipped with the Heinkel He-162 jet and the first to attempt aerial bombing of the USAAF heavy bomber formations. In 1944 the "Oeseau" was added to JG 1 when Geschwaderkommodore Oberst Walter Oeseau was killed. This aircraft belonged to Oblt. Wilhelm Krebs; Group Technical Officer for Stab 1/JG1 and credited with 4 B-17s.

Specifications :

Dimensions:	Wingspan – 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in)
	Wing Area – 18.3 m (197 sq ft)
	Length – 8.96 m (29 ft 5 in)
	Height – 3.96 m (13 ft)
Weight:	Empty – 3,470 kg (7,650 lb)
	Maximum – 4,900 kg (10,800 lb)
Performance:	Engine – BMW 801D 1,700 hp 14-cylinder radial engine
	Maximum Speed – 657 kph (408 mph) (335 kts)
	Service Ceiling – 10,300 m (33,800 ft)
	Range – 800 km (500 mi) (435 nmi)
Armament:	(2) 13 mm Machine Guns plus
	(4) 20 mm cannon or
	(2) 20 mm cannons plus
	(2) 30 mm cannons