Air Power Series>1:48 die-cast display model>FW-190>HA7424

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

Egon Mayer recorded his first victory on June 13, 1940. Victories 60, 61 and 62 came on February 14, 1943 when he shot down three RAF Typhoons. Mayer rose through the ranks very quickly becoming Leutnant, Oberleutnant, Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of III./ Jagdgeschwader 2 “Richthofen”. Mayer was shot down and killed on March 2, 1944 but during his short career he flew 353 combat missions and achieved 102 aerial victories and was the first German pilot to score 100 victories solely over the Western Front.

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