German fighter Focke-Wulf FW 190 A-3 COBI 5741 - World War II

You know that:

• The aircraft factory was founded in 1924 by Henri Fock and George Wulf in Bremen, Germany.
• When in 1931 G. Wulf and H. Fock hired the extremely capable Polish-born designer Kurt Tank, they probably made the best decision of their lives. It was this designer who was behind the development of Germany's most successful aircraft, and thus the Fw 190 was born.
• The first flight took place on 1 June 1939.
• After the first deployment in 1941 over the French Graveline, it was clear that this was an extremely powerful machine with good manoeuvrability, good visibility and strong armour.
• However, the aircraft also had one drawback caused by the BMW 801 engine, which lost breath at altitudes above 6,000 m. The new Daimler-Benz engine solved all that.
• The Fw 190 A-3 version brought several improvements. Finally, the designers managed to solve the engine overheating and increase the accuracy of shooting by installing the Revi C/12 D reflex sight.
• Czechoslovak pilots serving in the RAF also got into the fray with the Fw 190. After a dogfight with František Trejtnar in June 1942, the Fw 190 pilot had to land in England and the British acquired a flyable specimen.
• In total, over 20,000 were produced in various versions.

Technical parameters:

• dimensions: span 10.51 m, length 9.0 m, height 3.95 m
• weight 3 450 kg (empty), maximum take-off weight 4900 kg
• power plant BMW 801 C-2 radial engine with a power of 1147 kW
• maximum speed 610 km/h
• climb rate 12 m/s
• maximum flight level 11 400 m
• range 800 km
• armament 4x MG 151 cannon 20 mm calibre + 2 x MG 17 machine gun 7,92 mm calibre +suspended aerial bomb or additional tank
• crew 1

Lieutenant Detlev Rohwer:

He flew the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft and served in the 6./JG1 (Jagdgeschwader 1) unit, which was one of the most successful German fighter units. Detlev Rohwer scored 38 kills during his service in the Luftwaffe, making him one of Germany's great fighter aces. Among his most notable kills was the downing of an American B-17 bomber over Germany on July 29, 1943. At the time, Detlev Rohwer was already a recipient of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaf Clusters, a high award for his combat merit. Detlev Rohwer was killed on 30 March 1944 in an aerial engagement with British fighters. He was only 26 years old.