Monthly Archives: June 2025

Fighter, Fighterbomber

Focke-Wulf Fw 190F-8 with Blohm & Voss Bv P. 246 Hailstone, (Airfix-Models)

Gallery

TYPE: Fighter, fighter-bomber

ACCOMMODATION:  Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One BMWD-2 air-cooled radial piston engine, rated at 1,440 hp at 18,700 ft

PERFORMANCE: 405 mph at 19,420 ft

COMMENT: The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed Würger (Shrike) was a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Fw 190 became the backbone of the Jagdwaffe (Fighter Force) of the Luftwaffe. The twin-row BMW 801 radial engine that powered most operational versions enabled the Fw 190 to lift larger loads than the Bf 109, allowing its use as a day fighter, fighter-bomber, ground-attack aircraft and to a lesser degree, night-fighter.
The Fw 190A started flying operationally over France in August 1941 and quickly proved superior in all but turn radius to the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.V, the main front-line fighter of the Royal Air Force (RAF), particularly at low and medium altitudes. The Fw 190 maintained its superiority over Allied fighters until the introduction of the improved Spitfire Mk.IX. In November/December 1942, the Fw 190 made its air combat debut on the Eastern Front, finding much success in fighter wings and specialised ground-attack units (Schlachtgeschwader, Battle Wings or Strike Wings) from October 1943.
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. The Fw 190 first tested combat on the Western Front in August 1941, where it proved superior to the Spitfire Mk V Spitfire. The Spitfire’s main advantage over the Fw 190, and the Bf 109 as well, was its superior turn radius. Beyond that, the Fw 190 outperformed the Spitfire Mk. V in most areas, such as roll rate, speed, acceleration, and dive performance. The addition of the Fw 190 to the Jagdwaffe allowed the Germans to fight off RAF attacks and achieve local air superiority over German skies until the summer of 1942, when the improved Spitfire Mk. IX was introduced.
The Fw 190 was well-liked by its pilots. Some of the Luftwaffe’s most successful fighter aces claimed many of their kills while flying it. The Fw 190 had greater firepower than the Bf 109 and, at low to medium altitude, superior manoeuvrability, in the opinion of German pilots who flew both fighters. It was regarded as one of the best fighter planes of World War II.
The Fw 190F groung-attack configuration was originally tested in a Fw 190 A-0/U4, starting in May 1942. The A-0 testbed aircraft was outfitted with centerline and wing-mounted bomb racks. The early testing results were quite good, and Focke-Wulf began engineering the attack version of the Fw 190. New armor was added to the bottom of the fuselage, protecting the fuel tanks and pilot, the engine cowling, and the landing gear mechanisms and outer wing mounted armament. This attack configuration with additional armor and an ETC 501 centerline bomb rack was officially designated Umrüst-Bausatz kit 3 (abbreviated as /U3). It was first used on the A-4, the 18 known A-4/U3 were later redesignated Fw 190 F-1. The Fw 190 F-2s were renamed Fw 190 A-5/U3s, of which 270 were built according to Focke-Wulf production logs and Ministry of Aviation acceptance reports.
The Fw 190 F-8 differed from the A-8 model in having a slightly modified injector on the compressor which allowed for increased performance at lower altitudes for several minutes. The F-8 was also fitted with the improved FuG 16 ZS radio unit, which provided much better communication with ground combat units. Armament of the Fw 190 F-8 was two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon in the wing roots and two 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns above the engine. In the Fw 190 F-8/R1 two ETC 50 bomb racks were installed under each wing, capable of holding one 50 kg bomb each. In 1945 the ETC 50 was replaced with the ETC 70, capable of holding 70 kg bombs. According to Ministry of Aviation acceptance reports, at least 3,400 F-8s were built, and probably several hundred more were built in December 1944 and from February to May 1945. Dozens of F-8s served as various testbeds for anti-tank armament, including the WGr.28 280 mm air-to-ground missile, probably based on the projectiles from the Nbw 41 (Nebelwerfer 41, Smoke mortar 41) heavy ground-barrage rocket system, and the 3.5 in Panzerschreck 2 rockets, Panzerblitz 1 and R4M rockets.
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190F-8 shown here was modified as a carrier for the Blohm & Voss Bv 246 glide bomb. Note vertical bars beneath wings exerting tension of Bv 246 wings to project bomb away from the aircraft on release (Ref.: 7, 24).

Blohm & Voss Bv 246 Hagelkorn

The Blohm & Voss Bv 246 Hagelkorn (Hailstone) was a guided glide bomb developed to bomb specific targets (bridges, ships, etc.).
This glider was designed by Richard Vogt, at first under the designation of Bv 226, which was later changed to its definitive designation Bv 246 on December 1943.
It was intended to be dropped from a Junkers Ju 88 or a Heinkel He 111 bomber, either of which could carry up to three of the weapons, and was to be dropped from a height of 23,000 ft at a speed of 340 mph, giving it a range of up to 130 mi. In a slight dive the Bv 246 could reach a speed of 560 mph. Also, experiments were done with a varity of other carrier planes, including the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and and other projected aicraft such as the Blohm & Voss Bv 204.
The construction of the Bv 246 avoided the usual aircraft techniques and strategic materials, so it could be mass-produced. It had clean aerodynamics, with high aspect ratio wings that made possible a glide ratio of 25:1. The wings were made of magnesite cement, formed around a steel spar. It had a cruciform tail in an early version and a double vertical tail mounted on the sides of a wide horizontal stabilizer in a later version. It had a length of 11.6 ft and a wingspan of 21 ft. Its total weight was 1,610 lb, of which 959 lb was the explosive warhead.
Initial tests revealed that the basic design was workable, but that the weapon was very inaccurate and because of this it was rejected. However, work was restarted in 1943, with 11 different versions being planned, due to its simple and inexpensive construction, and the new development contract was awarded to the Karlshagen test centre. A series of tests was begun to improve the weapon’s accuracy, with air drops performed by KG 101 (Kampfgeschwader, Bomber Group). Despite unpromising results, the RLM (Reichsluftfahrtministerium, Ministry of Aviation nevertheless issued the order to commence mass production on December 1943. In February 1944 the contract was cancelled due to the success of the Fieseler Fi 103 V-1 flying bomb.
The weapon was revived a further time, in early 1945, as an early form of antiradiation weapon, using the Radieschen (Garen radish) passive seeker which was designed to home in on Allied radar transmitters. Around 1,000 units were produced but never used operationally (Ref.:24).

 

Fighter, Fighterbomber

North American P-51D-5 Mustang, 343rd FS, 55th, FG, 8th USAAF (Eduard Models)

Gallery

TYPE: Long-range fighter and fighter bomber

ACCOMMODATION:  Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Packard (Rolls Royce) V-1650-7 Merlin liquid-cooled engine, rated at 1,720 hp at WEP (War Emergency Power)

PERFORMANCE: 440 mph

COMMENT: The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission. The commission approached NAA to build Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Rather than build an old design from another company, NAA proposed the design and production of a more modern fighter. The prototype NA-73X airframe was completed on September 1940, 102 days after contract signing, achieving its first flight on October same year.
The Mustang was designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine without an export-sensitive turbosupercharger or a multi-stage supercharger, resulting in limited high-altitude performance. The aircraft was first flown operationally and very successfully by the RAF as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber (Mustang Mk I). In mid 1942, a development project known as the Rolls-Royce Mustang X, replaced the Allison engine with a Rolls-Royce Merlin 65 two-stage inter-cooled supercharged engine. During testing, it was clear the engine dramatically improved the aircraft’s performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft without sacrificing range. Following receipt of the test results and after further flights by a number of USAAF pilots, the results were so positive that North American began work on converting several aircraft developing into the P-51B/C (Mustang Mk III) model, which became the first long range fighter to be able to compete with the Luftwaffe‘s fighters. The definitive version, the NAA P-51D Mustang, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the two-speed, two-stage-supercharged Merlin 66, and was armed with six .50 caliber AN/M2 Browning machine guns. Over twenty variants of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter were produced from 1940, when it first flew.
Following combat experience the P-51D series introduced a “teardrop”, or “bubble”, canopy to rectify problems with poor visibility to the rear of the aircraft. In the United States, new moulding techniques had been developed to form streamlined nose transparencies for bombers. North American designed a new streamlined plexiglass canopy for the P-51B which was later developed into the teardrop shaped bubble canopy. In late 1942, the tenth production P-51B-1-NA was removed from the assembly lines. From the windshield aft the fuselage was redesigned by cutting down the rear fuselage formers to the same height as those forward of the cockpit; the new shape faired in to the vertical tail unit. A new simpler style of windscreen, with an angled bullet-resistant windscreen mounted on two flat side pieces improved the forward view while the new canopy resulted in exceptional all-round visibility. Wind tunnel tests of a wooden model confirmed that the aerodynamics were sound. The new model Mustang also had a redesigned wing; alterations to the undercarriage up-locks and inner-door retracting mechanisms meant that there was an additional fillet added forward of each of the wheel bays, increasing the wing area and creating a distinctive “kink” at the wing root‘s leading edges.
Other alterations to the wings included new navigation lights, mounted on the wingtips, rather than the smaller lights above and below the wings of the earlier Mustangs, and retractable landing lights which were mounted at the back of the wheel wells; these replaced the lights which had been formerly mounted in the wing leading edges. The engine was the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 60 series, fitted with a two-stage, two-speed supercharger.
The P-51D became the most widely produced variant of the Mustang. The P-51D started arriving in Europe in mid-1944 and quickly became the primary USAAF fighter in the theater. It was produced in larger numbers than any other Mustang variant. Nevertheless, by the end of the war, roughly half of all operational Mustangs were still P-51B or P-51C models.
The aircraft shown here belonged to the  343rd FS, 55th, FG, 8th USAAF, stationed at Wormingford, Essex, United Kingdom, in September 1944 (Ref.: 24).