I certainly have no corner on that market.
Like most normal males, I have dreamt of owning a WWII fighter plane my entire adult life.
As do we all, I have my favorites.
Fast and heavily armed, the Luftwaffe’s Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was a formidable opponent for Allied bomber crews. Image: U.S. Air Force
TheP-38 Lightningis likely the most graceful flying machine ever produced.
However, of 10,037 copies originally built, only 26 survive today.
Of those 26, a mere 10 remain flyable.
Focke-Wulf F-8 long range Jabo fighter-bomber aircraft of Schlachtgeschwader 5. Schlachtgeschwader 5 was tasked with ground support of Wehrmacht troops on the Eastern Front. Image: Sa-kuva
I doubt their owners would part with them for any amount of money.
TheGerman Bf 109was a sultry-looking beast.
That thing sets my heart aflutter just looking at it.
A squadron ofJunkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombersgains altitude while a Focke-Wulf 190 is prepared for flight. Image: Sa-kuva
The Bf 109 was actually the most-produced combat aircraft in history, with 34,248 seeing service.
A total of 67 survive to the present day, 20 of which are flyable.
Fully 10% of the total production run of Bf109 fighters was lost to accidents on takeoff and landing.
U.S. personnel inspect a captured Fw-109 during World War II. In the background are a Bf 109 andP-51 Mustang. Image: NARA
As a day fighter, night fighter, fighter-bomber and ground attack machine, the Fw 190 excelled.
If I could have one myself, I think the Fw 190 would be it.
Fw 190 Origin Story
Though few used it, the Fw 190 actually had a name.
The U.S. Naval Aviation Training Division published this briefing for Allied pilots about the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Image: NARA
The official designation was Wurger which means Shrike.
In the late 1930s, the German Bf 109 was the worlds premiere fighter aircraft.
The winner was the brainchild of esteemed German engineer Kurt Tank.
This Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 is located at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Image: U.S. Air Force
What really set Tanks plane apart was its use of the 14-cylinder BMW 139 radial engine.
Yep, that BMW.
At the time, radial engines were fairly rare on European warplanes.
A captured Focke-Wulf FW. 190A Würger in U.S. markings and with armament removed, circa March 1944. Image: NARA
The solution was something called a NACA cowling.
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics was a U.S. federal agency established in 1915 to promote aeronautical research.
By carefully sculpting the subsequent cowling geometry, the overall airframe could still me made quite slippery.
A close look at the cockpit of a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 held at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Image: U.S. Air Force
Details
One of the most laudable aspects of Kurt Tanks design was the landing gear.
That of the Bf109 folded outward.
By contrast, the gear on the Fw 190 mounted fairly far out on the wings and folded inward.
A Focke Wulf Fw 190 F-8 fighter bomber is prepared for a combat mission on Eastern Front. Image: Sa-kuva
This made the plane exceptionally forgiving on the ground.
The Fw 190 also turned out to be an exceptionally versatile design.
The Fw 190 A-8 was arguably the apex of the basic design.
An Fw-109 D captured by the U.S. Army Air Force at Fürth.P-47 Thunderboltsare visible in the background. Image: NARA
At the time, most combat aircraft used cable connections for the flight controls.
However, these cables were subject to both combat damage and stretching over time.
As a result, Tank primarily utilized rigid pushrods.
A squadron of Focke Wulf Fw 190 fighters returning from a combat mission in June 1944. Image: Sa-kuva
This design offered reliably responsive controls and enhanced ruggedness.
The 190 was a feared and respected dogfighter.
A Luftwaffe fighter jock once likened attacking massed American heavy bombers to trying to copulate with a porcupine.
A Focke-Wulf Fw 190 ground attack aircraft taxis for takeoff somewhere on the Eastern Front. Image: Sa-kuva
The plane was also a formidable ground-attack platform.
General-purpose bombs and cluster munitions made the Focke-Wulf a devastating close support aircraft, particularly on the Eastern Front.
German Fighter War Story
In its prime, the Fw 190 represented a closely-guarded military secret.
Oberleutnant Farbers day job was as admin officer for JG2.
However, desk jockey pilots still need to get their flight time.
In 1942, this meant the occasional combat mission.
Mistaking the Bristol Channel for the English Channel, he turned north assuming he was headed home.
Thinking South Wales was actually France, he angled towards RAF Pembrey for fuel.
Faber buzzed the field and waggled his wings to celebrate his recent aerial victory.
He then lowered his gear and landed uneventfully.
Incredulous British ground crew duly guided him to parking and then surrounded his airplane.
When Oberleutnant realized his mistake, he tried to kill himself.
The Brits stopped him and hauled him bodily out of the cockpit.
Faber spent the rest of the war in a POW camp in Canada.
Ruminations
It is easy to judge Oberleutnant Faber.
Later versions of the Fw 190 like the D-9 and Ta-152 used inline water-cooled engines.
Today, only one original Fw 190 remains flyable.
However, in 1997, a German company called Flug Werk GmbH began producing modern full-scale replicas.
By 2012, they had produced 20 airframes.
