Monthly Archives: June 2026

Fighter, Fighterbomber, Trainer, Liason

Focke-Wulf Fw 190S-5 (A-5/U1), MPM Models

Gallery

TYPE: Trainer, Liaison aircraft

ACCOMMODATION:  Crew of two

POWER PLANT:  One BMW 801D-2 radial engine, rated at 1.677 hp

PERFORMANCE: 405 mph at 19,420 ft

COMMENT: The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was a German single-seat, single-engined, 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 Supermarin e 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 late 1942 and early 1943 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.
During 1943, work had begun on the design of a tandem two-seat fuselage to meet the Luftwaffe requirement of a conversion trainer for the re-training of former Junkers Ju 87 pilots. By October that year, the Schlachtgeschwader were converting from Ju 87 to the Fw 190 at a rate of a Gruppe (Wing) every three weeks, and although the anticipated problems did not arise, three Fw 190A-8 airframes were converted to two-seaters, the itension being that these should serve as pattern aircraft for foreward maintenance units to rebuilt existing aircraft as two-seaters under the designation Fw 190S (the „S“ suffix indicating Schulflugzeug (trainer aircraft)).
A second cockpit  was inserted immediately aft of the standart cockpit, this occupying the space previously taken by the radio and other equipment. The rear fuselage decking was rised, and the two cockpits covered by a continous canopy, the foreward cockpit  for the pupil being enclosed by a section higing to starboard, and the aft cockpit for the instructor being covered by a section slid rearward. Rudimentary dual controls and instrumentation were provided in the rear cockpit, and as Fw 190A-8/U1, the first of three conversions flew in January 1944. The conversion was applicable to any A-series airframe, but apart from the three Fw 190A-8/U1 two seaters only about 55 Fw 190S-5 and -8 (respectively derived from Fw 190A-5 and A-8) trainers were completed, and these were mostly used for high-speed liaison tasks (Ref.: 7, 24).

Fighter, Fighterbomber, Fighter-Torpedobomber

Yakolev Yak-3, Régiment de Chasse Normandie-Niémen, (Airfix Models)

Gallery

TYPE: Fighter

ACCOMMODATION:  Pilot only

POWER PLANT: One Klimov VK-105PF2 liquid-cooled piston engine, rated at 1,290 hp

PERFORMANCE: 401 mph at 13,500 ft

COMMENT: The Yakovlev Yak-3 was a single-engine single-seat World War II Soviet front line fighter aircraft. Robust and easy to maintain, it was much liked by pilots and ground crew alike. It was one of the smallest and lightest major combat fighters fielded by any combatant during the war. Its high power-to-weight ratio gave it excellent performance. It proved a formidable dogfighter. World War II ace pilots, who flew the Yak-3, considered it a superior aircraft when compared to the North American P-51 Mustang and the Supermarine Spitfire.
The origins of the Yak-3 went back to 1941 when the I-30 prototype was offered along with the I-26 (Yak-1)) as an alternative design. The I-30, powered by a Klimov M-105P engine, was of all-metal construction, using a wing with dihedral on the outer panels. Like the early Yak-1, it had a 20 mm ShVAK cannon firing through the hollow-driveshaft nose spinner and twin 7.62 mm synchronized ShKAS machine guns in cowling mounts.
During the Battle of Stalingrad, Luftwaffe fighters exhibited significant speed, climb rate, and armament advantages over those of the VVS (Soviet Air Forces). The Yak-1 then in service was understood to be in urgent need of a modernization were it to fight on equal footing against the latest models of German fighters, as well as better energy retention and higher firepower.
Then, in 1943, a group of designers headed by Alexander S. Yakovlev designed the Yak-3, a further development of the proven Yak-1 aimed at improving survivability, flight characteristics and firepower, which required a lower weight, a higher-power engine and therefore, faster speed.
Lighter and smaller than the Yakovlev-9 but powered by the same engine, the Yak-3 was a forgiving, easy-to-handle aircraft loved by both novice and experienced pilots. It was robust, easy to maintain and a highly successful dog-fighter. It was used mostly as a tactical fighter, flying low over battlefields and engaging in dogfights below 13,000 ft.
The new aircraft began to reach frontline units during summer 1944. Yak-3 service tests were conducted by 91st IAP of the 2nd Air Army in June–July 1944. The regiment had the task of gaining air superiority. The Luftwaffe issued an order to “avoid combat below five thousand metres with Yakovlev fighters lacking an oil cooler intake beneath the nose!” Luftwaffe fighters in combat with the Yak-3 tried to use surprise tactics, attacking from above. Unresolved wartime problems with the Yak-3  included plywood surfaces delamination when the aircraft pulled out of a high-speed dive, short range and poor engine reliability. The pneumatic system for actuating landing gear, flaps and brakes, typical for all Yakovlev fighters of the time, was troublesome. Though less reliable than hydraulic or electrical alternatives, the pneumatic system was preferred owing to the weight saving.
By the end of WW II 4,848 Yakovlev Yak-3 fighter aircraft were built. Primary users were the Soviet Air Forces but also, in 1944, the French Normandie-Niemen Group was re-equipped with the Yak-3, scoring the last 99 of their 273 air victories against the Luftwaffe.
The Normandie-Niemen Fighter Regiment (French: Régiment de Chasse Normandie-Niémen has adopted a number of formations and designations since 1942. Originally formed as Groupe de Chasse Normandie 3 in 1942, it was re-designated as a regiment (with and without the “Niemen” designation) in 1944.
The squadron, which served on the Eastern Front of the European Theatre of WW II with the Soviet 1st Air Army. It was the only Western Allied unit which fought with Soviet forces until the end of the war in Europe (Ref.: 24).