Focke Wulf Fw190F-8 by Trimaster
1/48 scale
Kit No. MAB-105:3800
Retail: $32.00
Decals: Two versions
Comments: Engraved panel lines, recessed rivet detail, detailed cockpit, white metal pilot’s seat and main landing gear, extra canopy provided, multi-part engine cowling, photo-etch details for cockpit include main and side instrument panels, armored seat back and bomb fins, option for two wing-mounted bombs or two Ruhrstahl X-4 anti-aircraft missiles
History
The Fw190, considered by many to be the finest Luftwaffe fighter of the war, was first flown in June 1939, and swiftly proved that single-seat fighters powered by air-cooled radial engines could still take on the best of the in-line-engined fighters. When the Fw190 appeared in combat over France in September 1941 claiming three Spitfires, it was bad news for the RAF whose Mk. V Spitfire had ruled the sky since its appearance the previous February. The 190 was more maneuverable than the Spitfire V, except in its turning circle, and had a higher top speed. It was the only radial-engined fighter of the war fielded by Germany, and the only fighter of the war with electrically operated landing gear and flaps.
The Focke Wulf had a considerable period of domination in the skies over the Western Front and only faced a serious challenge when the Spitfire Mk. IX appeared in quantity in the Autumn of 1942. In February 1942 the Fw 190A made its combat debut, providing air cover for the German battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Price Eugen as they made a run for north German ports. In one engagement, Fw 190’s destroyed six attacking Royal Navy Swordfish torpedo bombers.
From 1942 on, the Fw 190 began to appear in numbers on all fronts, and in the West served in both the air defense and fighter-bomber roles. Fw 190’s were in the thick of one of the fiercest air battles of WWII over the British and Canadian landings at Dieppe on August 19, 1942. The Focke Wulfs were in action throughout the day, by the end of which their pilots had claimed a total of 97 RAF aircraft destroyed. One pilot along, Josef Wurmheller, claimed seven Spitfires.
The A model was constantly improved, carrying successively heavier armament and equipped with water-methanol or nitrous-oxide injection to boost engine performance. Over 30 different variants appeared from the simple fighter to torpedo bombers, and it was often the platform of choice for RLM experimentation with new weapons such as glide bombs and guided rockets — including the Blohm und Voss Bv246 Hagelkorn guided bomb.
In the later war years, the Fw 190 became the standard home defense fighter for Germany and was in constant action against the Allied bomber streams. On August 17, 1943, the date of the famous Allied raid against a Messerchmitt factory and a ball bearing plant in the Regensburg-Schweinfurt area, a USAAF bomber force was intercepted by over 300 Fw 190 fighters that accounted for 60 American bombers destroyed and 100 damaged. Some of the 190’s were specially equipped with 210mm (8.19 inch) rockets used to blow the defensive bomber formations apart, making the bombers easier targets for the conventionally armed Fw190’s that were able to attack without fear of the bombers’ concentrated defensive machine gun fire.
In June 1943 a dedicated Fw190 nightfighter unit was formed, but the aircraft were not fitted with radar, instead relying on intercepting bombers over targets illuminated by flares, searchlights, or the light of the fires below. Over 200 RAF heavy bombers are believed to have been destroyed by these aircraft.
In 1943, the Luftwaffe was confronted with an urgent need for fighters with better high altitude performance to face not just the threat of Allied bombers encountered up to that time, but also the new American B-29 that was known to be coming into service. (Note: While the B-29 was never deployed to Europe during the war in a combat role, had the war continued into 1946, there is a strong likelihood that it would have been. But Allied air superiority had been achieved by the time of the June 1944 Normany invasion, and after the costly Operation Bodenplatte, the Luftwaffe’s last gasp at effective offensive capability in January 1945, Allied air supremacy was assured).
The Fw 190 was thought to be incapable of intercepting the new B-29, so Focke Wulf, under the leadership of Kurt Tank, undertook the development of a high altitude version of the Fw 190 to meet the threat. The result was the long-nosed D model, or “Dora,” with the first production version being the Fw 190D-9, which began rolling off the assembly line in the early Summer of 1944. The Fw 190D was the first production Fw 190 fitted with a liquid-cooled engine and was a very effective high altitude interceptor, equal to the P-51D or the Spitfire Mk. XIV, without the altitude limitations of the Fw 190 A.
The F-8
The Fw 190 proved to be a lethal fighter through WWII, evolving into a powerful “F” model employed as a dedicated fighter-bomber or “Jabo.” Close air support roles were greatly expanded by the introduction of this extraordinary aircraft. The Luftwaffe immediately threw the aircraft into combat, supporting ground troops of the Wehrmacht that were under heavy pressure from the Red Army on the Eastern Front.
Based on the A-8 Fighter, the F-8 had a slightly modified injector on the compressor which allowed for increased performance at lower altitudes for several minutes. Armament of the Fw 190 F-8 was two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon in the wing roots and two 13 mm (0.51 in) MG 131 machine guns above the engine. It was outfitted with an ETC 501 Bomb rack as centerline mount and four ETC 50 bomb racks as underwing mounts.
The Kit
Trimaster’s Focke Sulf Fw 190 F-8 is injection molded in grey plastic and consists of 100 parts, including five clear parts for the windscreen, canopy, gun sight, and two wing lights. There is an option for two different canopies with corresponding parts for different types of headrest. The cockpit is well detailed with a separately mounted control yoke, white metal seat, and photo-etch parts for the main and side instrument panels (featuring raised relief), seat straps and rudder pedals. There is also a pilot figure with separately mounted arms.
The highly detailed, boxed-in wheel well for the main landing gear is a single part to be cemented into the center of the bottom half of the wing assembly. The engine cowling consists of seven parts, three of them for the engine exhaust arrays, and the airscrew assembly features separately mounted propeller blades and spinner. Holes will have to be drilled in the bottom half of the wing for the center-line-mounted pylon which will carry either a belly tank or a bomb, which features photo-etch bomb fins.
The landing gear are richly detailed, featuring raised details on both the landing gear door interiors in addition to the wheel well. Modelers will have the option of using underwing hard points to carry either bombs or the Ruhrstahl X-4 anti-aircraft missile. If you opt for the latter, bear in mind your Fw 190 will be a test aircraft, since per the instructions, the X-4 was reportedly reserved for the Me 262 and Fw 190’s only carried them in the testing mode — with the possible exception of the Regensburg-Schweinfurt raid cited in the History section above.
Markings
The kit includes decals for two different versions of the Fw 190, although no detail is provided on the respective units, referred to only as SG 2 and SG 4. Both aircraft have a camouflage scheme of RLM 70 and RLM 75 on the upper surfaces, with RLM 76 (Hellblau) under surfaces and tail section, and a mottling scheme of RLM 75 along the fuselage sides and tail. The SG 4 aircraft bears a large black letter E with white outlines on its nose, and another smaller E within the chevron on the fuselage sides.
Conclusion
The is an exquisitely detailed kit of a mid- to late-war Fw 190, attractive for its fine tooling as well as the optional canopies and choice of bombs or X-4 anti-aircraft missiles for the under wing armament. Highly recommended.
References
- A Handbook of Fighter Aircraft by Francis Crosby; Copyright 2003 Anness Publishing Limited, Hermes House; London.
- www.americanheritagemuseum.org
- www.airandspace.si.edu
- www.wikipedia.org