We are a group of people fascinated by the history of the Luftwaffe and the undeniable influence of this formation on the development of aviation technology and break out of stereotypes futuristic thinking about aviation. Our fascination is not in any case lined with ideological background and sympathy towards Nazism and its crimes. 4 people, different country, different history, one fascination - Luftwaffe. Jaroslaw Zietkiewicz and team
The BMW 801 was a powerful German air-cooled 14-cylinder-radial aircraft engine built by BMW and used in a number of German Luftwaffe aircraft of World War II. Production versions of the twin-row engine generated between 1,560 and 2,000 PS (1,540-1,970 hp, or 1,150-1,470 kW). It was the most produced radial engine of Germany in World War II with more than 28,000 built.
FW190 A5 BMW801 Engine startup
The 801 was originally intended to replace existing radial types in German transport and utility aircraft. At the time, it was widely agreed among European designers that an inline engine was a requirement for high performance designs due to its smaller frontal area and resulting lower drag. Kurt Tank successfully fitted a BMW 801 to a new fighter design he was working on, and as a result the 801 became best known as the power plant for the famous Focke-Wulf Fw 190.
Fw 190 A-5/U1— Several old Fw 190 A-5s were converted by replacing the MW 50 tank with a second cockpit. The canopy was modified, replaced with a new three-section unit that opened to the side. The rear portion of the fuselage was closed off with sheet metal.
Focke-Wulf Fw190S-8 Trainer version
Fw 190 A-8/U1— A similar conversion to the A-5/U1. Fw 190 S-5— A-5/U1 trainers re-designated. Fw 190 S-8 — A-8/U1 trainers re-designated. An estimated 58 Fw 190 S-5 and S-8 models were converted or built. (42)
Combat history
The Fw 190 participated on every major combat front where the Luftwaffe operated after 1941, and did so with success in a variety of roles. Luftwaffe pilots who flew both the Fw 190 and the Bf 109 generally felt that, with the exception of high altitude capability, the Fw 190 was superior.
Production
A 0.40 km² (100 acre) Focke-Wulf plant east of Marienburg was bombed by the Eighth Air Force on 9 October 1944. (43) In addition, one of the most important sub-contractors for the radial-engined Fw 190s was AGO Flugzeugwerke, which from 1941 through to the end of the war produced enough Fw 190s to earn it major attention from the USAAF, with the AGO plant in Oschersleben being attacked at least five times during the war from 1943 onwards.
Fw 190 V1 in its original form with the streamlined engine cowling
and ducted spinner. The pointed tip of the internal spinner can also be seen.
Pilot is probably Hans Sander.
Fw 190 V1
(civil registration D-OPZE), powered by a 1,550 PS (1,529 hp, 1,140 kW) BMW 139 14-cylinder two-row radial engine. (5) D-OPZE first flew on 1 June 1939. (18)
Fw 190 V2
Designated with the Stammkennzeichen alphabetic ID code of FL+OZ (later RM+CB) the V2 first flew on 31 October 1939 and was equipped from the outset with the new spinner and cooling fan. It was armed with one Rheinmetall-Borsig 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine gun and one 13 mm (.51 in) synchronized MG 131 machine gun in each wing root. (19)
