Focke-Wulf Fw 189
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| Fw 189 Uhu | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Tactical reconnaissance and army cooperation aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Focke-Wulf |
| Designed by | Kurt Tank |
| Maiden flight | July 1938 |
| Introduced | August 1941 |
| Retired | 1945 (Luftwaffe) |
| Primary users | Luftwaffe Hungarian Air Force Slovak Air Force |
| Produced | 1940-1944 |
| Number built | 846 |
The Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu (Eagle Owl) was a German twin-engine twin-boom three-seat tactical reconnaissance and army cooperation aircraft. It first flew in 1938 (Fw 189 V1), entered service in 1940, and was produced until mid-1944.
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[edit] Design and development
In 1937, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium issued a specification for a single-engined reconnaissance aircraft with optimum visual characteristics. The preferred contractors were to be Arado, but the request prompted the Focke-Wulf company to work up the alternative idea of the Focke-Wulf Fw 189, a twin-boom design with two small French made Argus As 410 engines and a central crew gondola, while Blohm + Voss proposed something far more radical. The proposal of chief designer Dr. Richard Vogt was the unique asymmetric Bv 141.
Most likely the best reconnaissance aircraft to operate during WWII, the Fw 189 was produced in large numbers, first at the Bordeaux-Merignac aircraft factory (now the Dassault Mirage plant) in occupied France, then in Aero (occupied Czechoslovak aircraft factory in the Prague 337 pcs). Total production was 846 aircraft of all variants.
[edit] Operational history
Called the "Flying Eye" of the German army, the Fw 189 was used extensively on the Eastern Front with great success. Its Russian nickname was "Rama" (Frame), referring to its distinctive tailboom shape. Despite its fragile looks, the Fw 189's maneuverability made it a difficult target for attacking Russian fighters. When attacked, the Fw 189 was often able to outturn attacking fighters by simply flying in a tight circle that enemy fighters could not follow. Its ruggedness was demonstrated when Fw 189s routinely returned to bases with one tail shot or torn off.
[edit] Variants
The main production model was the Fw 189A reconnaissance plane, built mostly in two variants, the A-1 and A-2.
- Fw 189 V2 : Second prototype.
- Fw 189 V3 : Third prototype.
- Fw 189 A-0 : Ten pre-production aircraft for operational tests and trials.
- Fw 189 A-1 : Initial production version, armed with two flexible 7.92 mm (0.31 in) MG 15 machine gun in the dorsal and rear postions, two 7.92 mm (0.31 in) MG 17 machine guns in each wing root, plus four 50 kg (110 lb) bombs. It could carry a Rb 20/30 or a Rb 50/30.
- Fw 189 A-1 Trop : Tropicalised version of the Fw 189 A-1, fitted with desert survival equipment.
- Fw 189 A-1/U2 : VIP transport version of the Fw 189 A-1.
- Fw 189 A-1/U3 : VIP transport version of the Fw 189 A-1.
- Fw 189 A-2 : The flexible MG 15s were replaced by twin-barrel 7.92 mm (0.31 in) MG 81Z machine guns.
- Fw 189 A-3 : Two-seat dual-control training aircraft. Built in small numbers.
- Fw 189 A-4 : Light ground-attack version, armed with two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons in each wing roots, fitted with armour protection for the underside of the fuselarge, engines and fuel tanks.
The Fw 189B was a five-seater training aircraft, but only 13 were built.
- Fw 189 B-0 : Three pre-production aircraft.
- Fw 189 B-1 : Five-seat training version. Ten built.
The Fw 189C was conceived as a heavily armored ground attack, close-support variant, but its two prototypes (V1b and V6) were not satisfactory, and it was not produced.
- Fw 189D : Proposed twin-float trainer floatplane. Not built.
- Fw 189E : Proposed version, fitted with two 522 kW (700 hp) Gnome-Rhone 14M radial piston engines.
- Fw 189 F-1 : Re-engined Fw 189 A-1 aircraft, fitted with two 433 kW (580 hp) Argus As 411 MA-1 engines.
- Fw 189 F-2 : Fitted with electrically operated landing gear, increased fuel capacity and additional armour plating, powered by two 433 kW (580 hp) Argus As 411 MA-1 engines.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Survivors
One Fw 189 survives today. Its story starts when on May 4 1943 Fw 189 V7+1H (Werk Nr. 2100) based at Pontsalenjoki took off on a mission to photograph the Loukhi-3 airbase from an altitude of 6,000 m (20,000 ft), then to continue north along the Murmansk-Leningrad railway. Approximately 31 minutes after taking off V7+1H was attacked by Soviet Hawker Hurricane fighters. The aircraft nose dived to escape the fighters but owing to damage already suffered could not pull out in time and struck the treetops. The tail was torn off, and the crew nacelle left hanging upside down within the trees. The pilot, Lothar Mothes, survived but one crewman had been killed in the crash and the second died from loss of blood as a result of a severed leg. Incredibly, the pilot was able to survive two weeks in sub-zero temperatures, evading Russian patrols while eating bark and grubs as he walked back to his base. Lothar Mothes spent the next nine months in a hospital recovering from severe frostbite before returning to the front lines to eventually fly another 100 missions.
In 1991, the wreckage of V7+1H was found in the Russian forest where it had remained for 48 years. The aircraft was purchased by a group of British aircraft enthusiasts and was shipped to the UK, arriving in the town of Worthing, West Sussex in March 1992. The "Focke Wulf 189 Restoration Society" was formed to restore the aircraft to flying condition. Her pilot met up again with his aircraft in 1996 at Biggin Hill airshow.
It has been reported that this aircraft has recently been acquired by Paul Allen’s Flying Heritage Collection. The Flying Heritage Collection’s new location at Paine Field in Everett Washington will open to the public June 6, 2008.
[edit] Specifications (Focke-Wulf Fw 189 A-1)
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Length: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
- Wingspan: 18.4 m (60 ft 4 in)
- Height: 3.7 m (12 ft 0 in)
- Wing area: 38 m² (409 ft²)
- Empty weight: 2,680 kg (5,920 lb)
- Loaded weight: 3,950 kg (8,708 lb)
- Powerplant: 2× Argus As 410, 350 kW (465 hp) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 357 km/h at 2,600 m (222 mph at 8,530 ft)
- Range: 670 km (416 miles)
- Service ceiling 8,400 m (27,550 ft)
- Rate of climb: 8.3 m/s (1,640 ft/min)
- Wing loading: 103.9 kg/m² (21.3 lb/ft²)
- Power/mass: 0.177 kW/kg (0.107 hp/lb)
Armament
- 2 × 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns mounted in the wing roots, firing forward
- 1 × 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun in dorsal position, flexible mount, firing rearwards
- 1 × 7.92 mm MG 15 in rear cone, flexible mount, firing rearwards (optional)
- In later versions MG 15 were replaced with 7.92 mm MG 81Z twin-barrel machine gun
- 4 × 50 kg (110 lb) bombs
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
[edit] Bibliography
- Brown, Capt. Eric (CBE, DSC, AFC, RN). Wings of the Luftwaffe. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1978. ISBN 0-385-13521-1.
- Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970 (fourth impression 1979). ISBN 0-356-02382-6.
- Kucera, Pavel. Focke-Wulf Fw 189 (bilingual Czech/English). Prague, Czech Republic: MBI, 1996. ISBN 80-901263-6-7.
- Punka, George. Focke-Wulf Fw 189 in Action (Aircraft Number 142). Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1993. ISBN 0-89747-310-8.
- Smith, J.Richard. Focke-Wulf, an Aircraft Album. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: IAn Allan Ltd., 1973. ISBN 0-7110-0425-0.
- Smith, J.Richard and Kay, Anthony. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam & Company Ltd., 1972 (third impression 1978). ISBN 0-370-00024-2.
- Wood, Tony and Gunston, Bill. Hitler's Luftwaffe: A pictorial history and technical encyclopedia of Hitler's air power in World War II. London: Salamander Books Ltd., 1977. ISBN 0-86101-005-1.
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
Comparable aircraft Bv 141 - Praga E-51 - Sukhoi Su-12
Related lists
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