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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 1486.PDF
FLIGHT Sixth of the New Recognition Series AIRCRAFT TYPES AND Focke-Wulf Fw.190 and Me.W9F W HEN the first reports filtered through about the new German fighter, some surprise was occasioned at its being equipped with an air-cooled radial engine instead of the well-tried Mercedes-Benz in-line engine. Experience as between our own Merlin-engined fighters with their well streamlined noses and the radial- engined American types imparting a '' blunt entry '' to the fuselage, suggested that the Fw.190 might not be any im provement on the Messerschmitt, and that considerations quite divorced from performance had dictated its design. Actually, however, the Fw.190 is, from the design point of view, a very attractive aircraft, and certainly about the cleanest aerodynamically that Germany has evolved in the form of single-seater fighters. This has not been entirely a case of designing a fighter aircraft to which the most readily obtainable engine could be fitted in order to speed up production. It is clear on examining the machine that its designer, Kurt Tank, has taken the 14-cylinder two-row radial B.M.W.801 engine as the keystone of his, layout, and based his design upon this undeniably excellent power-unit which develops not less than 1,580 h.p. at 2,700 r.p.m. for take-off. Features of this engine are its fan-assisted cooling, the sliding leading-edge of the cowling which controls the pas sage of air to the oil coolers, and the servo control unit which links the various components to the pilot's throttle. Nevertheless, it may reasonably be assumed (as has pre viously been suggested in Flight) that, had Germany possessed an in-line engine capable of a power output demanded by the modern fighter and comparable with that of the B.M.W.,.it would probably have been chosen in preference to the radial type. Having chosen the B.M.W., however, the Focke-Wulf designer has attached a very compact aircraft to it, and has paid attention to good manoeuvrability. The forward position of the wings, the leading-edge of which abuts on to the engine cowling, indicates that the major weight of engine, tanks and pilot has been compressed within the smallest possible volume. Other notable features are the small, well-faired cockpit cover and the particularly wide undercarriage, making for maximum stability when the aircraft is obliged to operate from the rough surfaces of temporary airfields. , No precise information about its armament is available. FOCKE-WULF Fw.190
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