The ubiquitous German flying eye - Focke-Wulf.189

The Focke-Wulf Fw 189
Uhu ("Owl") is a German twin-engine, twin-boom, three-seat tactical reconnaissance and army cooperation aircraft. It made its first flight in 1938 (Fw 189 V1), entered service in 1940 and was produced until mid-1944.

Additionally, Focke-Wulf used this airframe in response to the RLM's tender request for a dedicated attack aircraft, and later introduced an armored version for testing. However, the Henschel Hs 129 was chosen instead.

History of the FW.189

Focke-Wulf.189 began his career in 1937.
Then the German leadership instructed several manufacturers to design a new reconnaissance aircraft capable of adjusting artillery fire. The army of Hitler's Germany in those days was very powerful. Such superiority was achieved due to the well-established economic component, leading engineering minds and the thoughtfulness of each combat action.

In many ways, reliably functioning intelligence played a decisive role in the success of most military operations. That is why a lot of time and effort was devoted to reconnaissance aircraft.

Three factories immediately became involved in the implementation of the new task: Arado, Focke-Wulf and a little later Hamburger Flugzeugbau. The military leadership saw the main requirement as a noticeable improvement in the technical characteristics of the new vehicles compared to Henschel.

This was dictated by the fact that it was necessary to increase the crew from two to three people so that the new reconnaissance aircraft could perform a wider range of tasks, including bombing enemy positions

Another important task was to achieve a good overview for more effective intelligence activities

Arado did not offer any special innovations. Yes, their Ar.198 was technically better than Henschel, but it was still a single-engine model with a fixed landing gear. The glass-covered lower part of the fuselage earned the aircraft the nickname “flying aquarium.”

The Hamburger Flugzeugbau plant produced a prototype of the Ha.141. This single-engine aircraft, on the contrary, looked unconventional. It was asymmetrical, with a glass cockpit on the left side and the engine and tail unit on the right. Producing such an aircraft was difficult both from an engineering point of view and from an economic point of view.

But during testing, the Focke-Wulf FW.189 “Uhu” reconnaissance aircraft proposed by engineers K. Tank and E. Kozel turned out to be noticeably better and easier to manufacture (Uhu means “owl” in German, although in some sources it appears as "owl").

It must be said that a noticeable advantage of this machine was that on its basis it was possible to create different types of aircraft: a reconnaissance fire spotter, a training version, and even a light and maneuverable attack aircraft.

Attempts have been made to use the Focke-Wulf for passenger transport and for transporting goods.

The design of the aircraft was not new. A little earlier, similar aircraft (the Fokker GI fighter, the experimental G-37 and K-7) had already taken to the air. But the engineers proposed a model that turned out to be easier to manufacture, and was also distinguished by its survivability and dense layout.

Focke-Wulf demonstrated a vehicle that had two engine nacelles that extended to the tail and were connected there by a horizontal tail. Each engine nacelle provided space for the engine, as well as fuel and oil tanks.

The new cockpit provided a very wide viewing angle for the crew. This allowed for the most effective reconnaissance, and also added a significant advantage to the aircraft in the fight against enemy fighters.

It was impossible to approach the FW.189 unnoticed, and the scout’s maneuverability made it possible to always keep the attacking enemy in the rear hemisphere, which was protected by the rear firing point.

The two engines were located so well that the failure of one of them made it possible to easily reach the airfield on the other, which survived.

Germany was delaying the commissioning of the new FW.189; it was necessary to train the crews; in addition, the effectiveness of the new aircraft was still in question. In 1941, Henschels were still used in the first battles on the Eastern Front.

They did not do the job and suffered significant losses, so after a few months they were replaced by reconnaissance aircraft of the Focke-Wulf company, which then for a long time, with minimal losses, brought intelligence information about the movements of the Soviet armed forces and the deployment of individual units.

Recommendations

Bibliography

• Brown, Captain Eric (CBE, DSC, AFC, RN) (1978). Wings of the Luftwaffe
  . Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co. ISBN 0-385-13521-1.,
• Green, William (1979). Military aircraft of the Third Reich
  (fourth impression ed.). London: Macdonald and Jane. ISBN 0-356-02382-6.,
• ,
• Kucera, Pavla (1996). Focke-Wulf Fw 189
  (in Czech and English). Prague, Czech Republic: MBI. ISBN 80-901263-6-7.,
• Punka, George (1993). Focke-Wulf Fw 189 in action (Aircraft number 142)
  . Carrollton, TX: Squadron/Signal. ISBN 0-89747-310-8.,
• Smith, J Richard (1973). Focke-Wulf, aircraft album
  . Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0425-0.,
• Smith, J Richard; Kay, Anthony (1978), German aircraft of the Second World War
  , London (third impression ed.): Putnam & Co, ISBN 0-370-00024-2,
• Wood, Anthony "Tony"; Gunston, William 'Bill' (1977). Hitler's Luftwaffe: A Visual History and Technical Encyclopedia of Hitler's Air Force during World War II
  . London: Salamander. ISBN 0-86101-005-1.,

Options

The main production model was the Fw 189A

The aircraft is a reconnaissance aircraft, built mainly in two versions, the
A-1
and
A-2
. Unless otherwise specified, all aircraft were powered by two Argus B 410 465 PS engines (459 hp, 342 kW).

• Fw 189 A-0
  : Ten pre-production aircraft for operational trials and testing.
• Fw 189 A-1
  : ​​Initial production version, armed with two flexible 7.92 mm (.312) MG 15 machine guns in the dorsal and rear positions, one 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 17 machine gun in each wing root, plus four 50 kg (110 lb) bombs. It can carry Rb 20/30 in or Rb 50/30 air chamber.
• Fw 189 A-1 Trop
  : Tropicalized version of the Fw 189 A-1, equipped with air intake filters and rescue equipment. Transition from A-1s.

A close-up view of Icarium's designed dual-barrel vehicle installation in the tail cone of the crew cannon nacelle.

• Fw 189 A-1/U2
  : VIP transport version of the Fw 189 A-1.
• Fw 189 A-1/U3
  : VIP transport version of the Fw 189 A-1.
• Fw 189 A-2
  : The flexible 15s MG was replaced by the twin barrel 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 81Z.
• Fw 189 A-3
  : Tropicalized version of the production Fw 189 A-2, equipped with air intake filters and rescue equipment.
• Fw 189 A-4
  : light attack version, armed with two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons in each wing root, equipped with armor protection for the underside of the fuselage, engines and fuel tanks. No production known.

Fw 189B

there was a five-seat aircraft training; only 13 were built.

• Fw 189 B-0
  : Three pre-production aircraft.
• Fw 189 B-1
  : five-seat training variant. ten were built.

Fw 189с

was intended as a heavily armed assault, close support variant, in competition with the Henschel Hs 129.
But its two prototypes ( V1B
and
V6
) were not satisfactory and it was not produced.

• Fw 189D
  : Proposed twin float coach seaplane. Not built.
• Fw 189E
  : Prototype only, equipped with two 700 hp. (690 hp, 515 kW) Gnome-Ron 14M radial engines.
• Fw 189 F-1
  : Re-engined Fw 189 A-1 aircraft, powered by two 600 PS (592 hp, 441 kW) Argus B 411 engines.
• Fw 189 F-2
  : Features electrically controlled landing gear, increased fuel capacity and additional armor, powered by two 600 PS (592 hp, 441 kW) Argus As 411 engines.

Training aircraft

The second prototype Fw-189V-5 was built in a training version. The crew nacelle on this aircraft was completely redesigned to give it the shape of a "normal" aircraft with a forward fuselage and a normal canopy. The Fw-189V-5 was equipped with dual controls and its cabin could accommodate five people. The aircraft made its first flight at the beginning of 1939.

The program for launching the Fw-189 into serial production was not considered a priority, and the plant was able to fully concentrate on assembling three pre-production Fw-189B-0 (W.Nr. 0008 “BQ + AX”, W.Nr. 0009 “BQ+AY”, W .Nr. 0010 "BQ+AZ") and ten production training aircraft Fw-189B-l. All pre-production and three first production aircraft were built before the end of 1939, the seven remaining production aircraft were delivered in January-February 1940. After passing tests in Rechlin, all aircraft were transferred to combat units, where they were used not only for training crews, but also as communications, transport, etc.

The instructor and cadet were seated shoulder to shoulder in the cockpit. The cockpit equipment corresponded to that of a “normal” aircraft - a steering wheel with a column, pedals and an instrument panel in the traditional place below the canopy. Some of the instruments were not duplicated and were placed in the center of the instrument panel, from where both the cadet and the instructor could read their readings. On the reconnaissance aircraft, a number of controls, in particular the engine throttle sectors, were located to the left of the pilot; on the Fw-189B they were located on the central panel between the instructor and cadet seats. In the central part of the crew gondola, directly behind the pilots’ seats, there were additional seats. There was glazing in the central part of the cabin only on the left side. The rear part of the gondola differed little in shape from the reconnaissance gondola, but was made of metal. The mast of the loop radio antenna was mounted on the top of the cockpit canopy. The crew got inside the vehicle through a sliding segment of the cockpit canopy. The landing gear differed little from similar devices of the first Fw-189 aircraft. The wheels of the main landing gear had small wings that reduced splashing with mud during taxiing and takeoff/landing from muddy airfields. The only difference is that the profile of the wing consoles on training vehicles was rectangular, on reconnaissance aircraft it was semicircular. The training aircraft did not carry weapons.

Information sources

#i Manual 1943 edition. #i

The German reconnaissance aircraft Focke-Wulf.189 (FW.189), which, it should be noted, did not join the Luftwaffe from the very beginning of World War II, turned out to be one of the most successful aircraft of Nazi Germany. Its extraordinary survivability and unique design solutions made it possible to very effectively carry out assigned tasks on all fronts where it was deployed. They were afraid of him, since the flight of a reconnaissance spotter over positions often foreshadowed an imminent air or artillery strike.

The Red Army soldiers nicknamed the plane “the frame” for its distinctive appearance, and Soviet fighter pilots disliked the FW.189 because it was incredibly difficult to shoot down. It is known that there were cases when the Focke-Wulf was successfully grounded even after an air ram was used against it.

Surviving aircraft[edit]

One Fw 189 has survived to this day. Its history began on May 4, 1943, when the Fw 189 V7 + 1H

(
Werk Nr. 2100
), from 1./Nahaufklärungsgruppe
10
, with
V7
originally
being

Geschwaderkennung
code for Heeres-Aufklärungsgruppe 32, based at Pontsalenjoki (east of Kuusamo, within the south-central region of the modern Russian Republic of Karelia) took off with the purpose photograph Louhi 3 Air Base from 6,000 m (20,000 ft) and then continue north along the Murmansk–Leningrad railway.
About 31 minutes after takeoff, V7+1H
came under attack by Soviet Hawker Hurricane fighters purchased under Lend-Lease. The plane dived to escape the fighters, but due to the damage it had already received, it did not have time to take off and hit the treetops. The tail was torn off, and the crew gondola was left hanging upside down among the trees. The pilot, Lothar Mothes, survived, but one crew member died in the crash and a third bled to death as a result of his severed leg. Incredibly, Motes was able to survive two weeks in sub-zero temperatures, evading Soviet patrols by eating bark and larvae, returning to his base. Motes spent the next nine months in the hospital recovering from severe frostbite. before returning to the front line, eventually completing 100 more missions.

In 1991, the wreckage of V7+1H

were discovered in a Russian forest, where they had been for 48 years. The aircraft was purchased by a group of British aviation enthusiasts and shipped to the UK, arriving in Worthing, West Sussex in March 1992. The Focke Wulf 189 Restoration Society was formed to restore the aircraft to flying condition. Its former pilot, Lothar Mothes, reunited with his aircraft at the 1996 Biggin Hill Airshow.

It was reported that this aircraft was acquired by Paul Allen's Flying Heritage Collection. [ citation needed

] It is currently being rebuilt in Duxford.

Design and development

In 1937, the German Air Ministry issued a specification for a short-range, three-seat reconnaissance aircraft with good support for the all-round German army in the field, replacing the Henschel Hs 126, which had just entered service. The indicated power is about 850-900 hp. (630-670 kW). The specification was issued by Arado and Focke-Wulf. The ARADO design, the Ar 198 which was initially the preferred option, was a relatively conventional single-engine high-wing monoplane with a glass nacelle under the fuselage. Focke-Wulf's chief designer Kurt Tank's design, the Fw 189, was a twin-boom design, powered by two Argus-like 410 engines instead of the expected single engine. As a "twin-boom" design, like the earlier Dutch Fokker GI from 1938 the Fw 189 used a central crew nacelle for its crew accommodation, which for the Fw 189 would be designed with a heavily glazed and framed "stepless" cockpit forward section that did not use a separate windshield panel for pilot signal (as in many German medium bombers since 1938). Blohm & Voss, however, proposed as a private venture something even more radical: chief designer Dr. Richard Vogt's unique asymmetrical BV 141. Orders were placed for three prototypes, each of the Arado and Focke-Wulf designs, in April 1937.

The Fw 189 was produced in large numbers, at the Focke-Wulf plant in Bremen, at the Bordeaux-Merignac aircraft factory (Avions Marcel Bloch's factory, which became Dassault Aviation after the war) in occupied France, then at the Aero Vodochody aircraft factory in Prague, occupied Czechoslovakia . Total production was 864 aircraft of all variants.

Combat use

In the German Air Force (Wehrmacht), the Fw 189 aircraft was called the “Flying Eye” (“Flugauge”). The Soviet troops nicknamed him “Rama” for his characteristic appearance. The aircraft was intensively used in the Eastern European theater of operations, where it excelled significantly as a tactical reconnaissance aircraft and gunner. The FW-189 was also used against Soviet partisans in Belarus and Ukraine. This type of aircraft was practically not used on the Western Front.

Soviet soldiers had a sign: a “frame” has arrived - wait for the bombers. As a rule, immediately after the reconnaissance aircraft flew over the detected targets, an artillery or bomb strike was carried out.

Despite its fragile appearance and frankly low speed, the Fw 189 had good maneuverability at high altitudes and was a very difficult target for fighters there. The aircraft pilot could easily evade fighter attacks by performing horizontal maneuvers that could not be followed by ascending fighters. Thanks to excellent visibility and large sectors of fire, the reconnaissance air gunners had every opportunity to shoot down the attacking fighter. Soviet aviation instructions recommended not to fight with the “frame” on turns, but to carry out separate attacks, preferably from the clouds or from the direction of the sun.

The aircraft's survivability was also excellent. For example, on May 19, 1942, over Taman at an altitude of about 4 thousand meters, a pair of MiG-3s attacked a single Fw 189A. Soviet fighters hit the left engine of the unusual enemy, watching with satisfaction as, after several bursts, it fell off the plane. Confident of the victory, the MiGs retired, but the heavily damaged aircraft still “limped” to its forward airfield. It happened that a plane returned from a mission having been hit by a ram and having lost part of its vertical tail.

At the end of March 1945, a small number of Fw 189A were still retained in the night reconnaissance formations 1.(N)/31, 1.(N)/12, 1.(N)/13 and some others. They continued to fly combat missions almost until the last day of the war in Europe, although on a very limited basis. So, on the night of April 17, 21 aircraft from air groups NAGr.2 and 15 took part in the raid on the positions of Soviet troops, sixteen of which were “frames”. The raid on April 19 involved two Fw 189As along with several Bf 109s and Bf 110s from NAGr. 15. On the southern sector of the Eastern Front, until the very end of the war, “frames” from formation 1.(N)/41 operated. The last loss of the "frame" in a combat mission was recorded on May 8, 1945 - it was an aircraft that belonged to the headquarters of the NAGr.5 air group.

History of operations[edit]

Fw 189, called Fliegende Auge

("flying eye") of the German Army, was widely used on the Eastern Front with great success.
Soviet troops nicknamed it " Rama
" ("frame" in Russian, Ukrainian and Polish) due to the distinctive shape of the tail boom and stabilizer, giving it a distinctive quadrangular appearance.
[ citation needed
] Despite its slow speed and fragile appearance, the Fw 189's maneuverability made it a difficult target for attack by Soviet fighters. When attacking, the Fw 189 could often outflank the attacking fighters by simply flying in a tight circle that enemy fighters could not follow.

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 – video

https://youtube.com/watch?v=0DDLQQMaFb8

The authorities and designers considered the second option more promising and ultimately opted for a radial engine. The first prototype of the new aircraft took off in June 1939. In 1940, a version of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-0, equipped with a new 14-cylinder radial BMW 801, was tested at the airfield in Rechlin. The first large batch of aircraft entered service with the Luftwaffe. , bore the index Fw 190A-1 and were equipped with 1194 kW (1600 hp) BMW 801C engines (by May 1941, the flight units received 100 units of Fw 190A-1). However, despite the fact that the pilots appreciated the flight characteristics of the machine, its simplicity and ease of operation - the Fw 190A-1 was superior to the Spitfire V available to the RAF - they criticized the fighter for its insufficiently powerful armament, which consisted of only four 7.9 mm machine guns.

The designers hastened to correct the mistake. This is how the A-2 modification appeared, equipped with two 20-mm MG FF cannons installed in the root parts of the wings and two MG 17 machine guns, which, however, had to be paid for by some reduction in the maximum speed, which now amounted to 614 km/h. In what appeared at the beginning In the 1942 version of the A-3, the trend of increasing armament continued: the vehicle received two more guns; a more powerful engine was also used - 1269 kW (1700 hp) BMW 801DG. At the same time, the attack aircraft version, A3/U1, appeared. The A-4, which entered service with the Luftwaffe in the fall, reached a speed of 670 km/h thanks to the 1567 kW (2100 hp) BMW 801D-2 engine, boosted by water injection into the suction pipes. The Spitfire IX and the newly appeared Typhoon could not compete with the Fw 190A-4, which as a result cost the RAF 92 fighters that were lost during the Dieppe operation. The Fw 190 was increasingly used as fighter-bombers, armed with bombs, rockets and even torpedoes (Fw 190A-5/U-15), although Focke-Wulf did not forget his main specialty - the interceptor.

The Fw 190 series "B" and "C" were not particularly successful, but the "D" series, especially the D-9 version, equipped with a 1323 kW (1776 hp) in-line Junkers Jumo 213A-1 engine, became the best German fighter, mass produced during the Second World War. The Dora Nine was armed with two 20 mm MG 151 cannons and two 13 mm MG 131 machine guns, which allowed it to surpass the P-51 Mustang in firepower. However, the aircraft that appeared in August 1944 could no longer save the situation and return air supremacy to Germany, which was desperately suffering from a shortage of strategically valuable materials for the military industry and a lack of pilots. The F and G series vehicles were conceived and developed as specialized attack aircraft to directly support the actions of ground units on the battlefield. The latest modification bore the index Ta 152 and was a variant of the high-altitude interceptor Fw 190 series “D” with a larger wingspan, reinforced weapons and a forced-up Yumo 213E/B engine (the maximum speed of this model was 760 km/h at an altitude of 12,500 m), called Ta in honor of its designer Kurt Tank.

Bombers

In the West, Fw-190s were used over the beaches of Dieppe in August 1942 and in hit-and-run raids over southern England. In these operations, Fw-190 fighter-bombers

JG 26 attacked railway depots, factories and gas substations, targeting six coastal reservoirs. The installation of outboard underwing tanks allowed the aircraft to fly far into southern England.

Fw-190A-4/"Trop"

– modification of the fighter for tropical conditions of use in the Mediterranean zone.
It was equipped with protective dust filters on the engine air intakes. The aircraft was equipped with bomb racks for hanging a 250 kg bomb under the fuselage. Fw-190A-5/U15
- experimental torpedo bomber with a suspension device to accommodate a 1000-kg LT 950 torpedo.
Fw-190A-4/U16 -

. Fw-190A-
was created for training. 8/U1 with two seats; the aircraft made its first flight on January 23, 1944.

Statistics of serial production of Focke-Wulf FW-190 aircraft of various modifications1

CONTENT

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3

“Owl”, which became “Frame”………………………………………………………. 4

1941………………………………………………………………………………………. 9

1942…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 15

1943……………………………………………………………………………………….. 25

Appendix 1…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 38

Appendix 2………………………………………………………………………………………..44

List of abbreviations used

And Russian-German correspondences………………………………………………………………..46

Sources…………………………………………………………………………………………………………49

DESIGN FEATURES of the Focke-Wulf FW-190

• The all-metal tail unit is cantilevered with an in-flight adjustable stabilizer;
• The sliding part of the cockpit canopy is made of a whole piece of plexiglass, the fixed visor of the canopy is equipped with 57 mm armored glass. The total weight of the armor installed on the aircraft is 110 kg;
• Two synchronized 13 mm MG-17 machine guns are installed under the engine hood;
• Air-cooled engine BMW-801D with a power of 1700 hp. With.;
• Metal three-blade adjustable pitch propeller VDM, the operation of the propeller group is automated thanks to the use of a central command device-regulator;
• Synchronized (at the wing root) and non-synchronized 20-mm MG 151/20 cannons. their rate of fire was up to 900 rounds per minute, the supply of shells was 170-200 per barrel;
• The all-metal wing consoles consisted of two halves - upper and lower, each assembled by high-performance riveting of skin panels to the frame;
• The semi-monocoque fuselage consisted of three pressurized compartments: the engine, tail and cockpit compartments;
• The engine compartments were supplied complete with the engine by the engine-building plant; the cockpit and tail sections were manufactured by the aircraft plant, where the final assembly of the aircraft was carried out;

Technical characteristics (Fw 189 A-1) [edit]

Data from

Die Deutsche Luftrüstung 1933–1945 Vol.2 - Flugzeugtypen Erla-Heinkel, [6] German aircraft of World War II [7]

General characteristics

• Crew:
  3
• Length:
  11.9 m (39 ft 1 in)
• Wingspan:
  18.4 m (60 ft 4 in)
• Height:
  3.1 m (10 ft 2 in)
• Wing area:
  38 m2 (410 sq ft)
• Empty weight:
  2,690 kg (5,930 lb)
• Gross weight:
  3950 kg (8708 lb)
• Powerplant:
  2 × Argus As 410A-1 V-12 piston engines with reverse air cooling 465 hp (459 hp, 342 kW)
• Propellers:
  Argus 2-blade variable pitch propellers

Play

• Top speed:
  344 km/h (214 mph, 186 kn) at 2,500 m (8,202 ft)
• Cruise speed:
  317 km/h (197 mph, 171 kn)
• Landing speed:
  120 km/h (75 mph; 65 kn)
• Range:
  940 km (580 mi, 510 mi)
• Service ceiling:
  7,000 m (23,000 ft)
• Rate of ascent:
  5.17 m/s (1,018 ft/min)
• 
  Climb
  time :
  4000 m (13.123 ft) in 8 minutes 18 seconds

Armament

• Weapon:

• 2 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 17 machine guns mounted in the wing roots, firing forward
• 1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 15 machine gun in a dorsal flexible mount, firing towards the rear
• 1 × 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 15 in rear cone, rear firing (optional)

• Bombs:

• 4 × 50 kg (110 lb) bombs

Design

The Focke-Wulf 189 was a technologically advanced aircraft of its time. Light metal alloys were used in the production of the machine. The airframe, tail unit, and engine nacelles were made of metal. Only the rudders and ailerons were covered with canvas, but this did not in the least prevent the FW.189 from remaining a very durable machine.

Built on the principle of installing removable panels of flat glass, it provided sufficient visibility for reconnaissance.

The pilot's seat was strongly shifted to the left side, since on the right hand, slightly behind, there was a place for the navigator-radio operator. He could drop bombs on enemy positions using an optical sight.

The only drawback for the navigator was the seat without a backrest, so sitting for a long time was quite problematic. In addition, when repelling enemy attacks, the navigator-radio operator was assigned the functions of a gunner, since he could fire from the upper firing point of the aircraft.

In the rear of the cabin, there was a place on the mattress for the gunner-flight mechanic. He was responsible for protecting the rear hemisphere from attacks by enemy fighters.

The cabin was most vulnerable when attacked from below.

The plane's landing gear was retracted immediately after takeoff. The two front wheels were hydraulically folded and retracted into the engine nacelles. The landing gear niches were closed with flaps for better aerodynamics of the airframe. The rear wheel went to the left and was located on the horizontal tail section.

The aircraft were equipped with 12-cylinder V-shaped engines of the Argus brand. Air cooling, developed power at takeoff is 465 horsepower. In flight, the engines developed a power of 380 horsepower.

Behind each of the engines there were oil (19 liters) and fuel tanks (220 liters) protected by fire barriers. The most important characteristic of the new reconnaissance aircraft was the ability to rise to high altitudes.

The stated figures were 7300 meters, but if necessary the plane could rise to 8000 meters, so the cabin was supplied with an oxygen system. Oxygen cylinders were located in the wing behind the machine guns.

Armament of FW.189:

1. MG-15 machine guns of 7.92 mm caliber in lens mounts. The firing points were located on top of the central gondola and behind it. The rear hemisphere was especially well protected, so turning the aircraft away from a frontal attack could be considered the best defensive position. An Ikaria turret was installed in the rear of the cockpit, with electrical guidance, but aiming was carried out manually.
2. Two MG-17 machine guns, chambered for 7.92 mm, were mounted motionless in the center section. They were used to support ground forces and in air combat.
3. Focke-Wulf.189 could carry 4 bombs weighing up to 50 kilograms. It is known that the aircraft could be used as a bomber, so in addition to bombs, pouring devices (for example, for a chemical attack) or containers with . The FV.190 could also carry two 100 kg caliber bombs.

With the FW.189-A2, the defensive armament consisted of more advanced twin machine guns MG.81Z; they had a higher rate of fire than the MG15 and significantly increased the spotter’s defense capability against fighter attacks.

The FW.189 was primarily developed for use as a reconnaissance and spotter. For this reason, a number of photographic equipment for aerial photography could be installed in the interior of the central gondola: Rb 20/30, Rb 50/30. Rb 21/18 or Rb 15/8. It was not uncommon for one of the crew members to operate a Hk 17.5 or Hk 19 hand-held camera.

Close Scout

Focke-Wulf

© Mikhail Bykov

Fw 189A of one of the reconnaissance units based in Finland (no exact data), 1942.

The Fw-189 is a tactical short-range reconnaissance aircraft, according to the design - a twin-fuselage monoplane with a fully glazed cockpit in the central gondola.

In July 1938, 15 months after receiving the design assignment, the chief designer and chief test pilot of the Focke-Wulf company, Kurt Tank, flew the first prototype of the Fw-189 V-1 (V - Versuchsmuster, experimental) in air, the aircraft had civil registration D-OPVN.

The engines of pre-production aircraft had two-blade wooden propellers. The propellers had a fixed pitch, which caused the efficiency of the power plant to drop significantly. The second prototype Fw-189V-2 (D-OPHD) took off at a monthly interval, followed in September by the Fw-189V-3 (W.Nr. 1999, D-ORMH, later changed to military registration GJ+RT).

The prototypes fully justified the hopes placed on the aircraft; soon the aircraft received its own name “Oul” (owl), which in mass production was replaced by “Ukhu” (eagle owl).

The second prototype was equipped with defensive weapons - MG-15 machine guns of 7.92 mm caliber, two machine guns were fired by a radio operator, who also served as a bombardier. Another machine gun mounted in the rear conical turret was controlled by a gunner-flight mechanic. Two fixed MG-17 machine guns were mounted in the center section, fired by the commander; these machine guns were intended primarily to destroy ground targets. The bomb load - four 50 kg bombs - was suspended on four ETS-50 bomb racks, which were mounted on the lower surfaces of the wing planes between the crew nacelle and the fuselage beams. The third prototype had no weapons, but it had variable pitch propellers. These propellers were supplied as a single unit with Argus As-410 engines starting in late 1939 and are easily identified by the distinctive impeller on the spinner. Similar engines and propellers were used on the Arado Ag-96B training aircraft.

Later, the Fw-189V-1 was converted into an experienced attack aircraft, which turned out to be unsuccessful.

After the successful completion of flight tests of the first three prototypes, the Ministry of Aviation ordered the construction of four more prototypes in four versions: reconnaissance aircraft, attack aircraft, trainer and naval trainer. The fourth prototype Fw-189V-4 (D-OSNO) marked the beginning of a small series of FW-189A reconnaissance aircraft. The fourth prototype was completed by the end of 1938; it differed from the third prototype in the shape of the air intake fairings of the engine cooling system. The Fw-189V-4's armament was limited to two machine guns, one in the hatch mount (B-Stand), the second on the rear turret (H-Stand). Other external distinctive features of the fourth prototype were small wings on the wheels of the main landing gear and a tail wheel of increased diameter. After completion of factory flight tests, the Fw-189V-4 was used to test specialized military equipment, in particular the S-125 smoke production equipment, and devices for spraying chemical reagents of weapons of mass destruction.

At the beginning of 1940, production of a pre-production batch of ten Fw-189A-0 began at the Bremen plant. Structurally, the airframes of the pre-production aircraft did not differ, with the exception of the main landing gear, from the fourth experimental aircraft Fw-189V-4. At the end of the summer of 1940, the plant prepared to switch to the production model Fw-189A-l; 38 aircraft of this modification were manufactured before the end of 1940 (some sources speak of 20 Fw-189A-1 aircraft produced in 1940). Among the personnel of the reconnaissance units, Aufklarungsstaffeln (H), stationed in France and Poland, the new vehicles quickly gained a high reputation. The Fw-189 took the position of one of the most reliable aircraft of the Luftwaffe; in the Wehrmacht these machines were nicknamed “Der fliegende Auge” - the flying eye. The Focke-Wulf "frame" was distinguished by higher survivability compared to the outdated high-wing reconnaissance aircraft Henschel Hs-126, which were widely used during the campaign in France.

The Luftwaffe needed more and more reconnaissance aircraft, but the Bremen plant, in parallel with the development of the Fw-189, was preparing to develop the Fw-190A fighters, so the decision was made to establish production of the population, which made it risky to establish the production of first-line combat aircraft here. It was decided to build training, multi-purpose and other “light” aircraft at Czech aircraft factories.

The consequence of this decision was the deployment of the modern all-metal Arado Ag-96 training aircraft and the Fw-189 reconnaissance aircraft at the Avia plant in Prague. It is no coincidence that these two aircraft began to be built at the same plant: the Ag-96 and Fw-189 were equipped with the same 12-cylinder air-cooled Argus As-410 engines with variable pitch propellers. These motors were built under license from the Walter company at the plant in Prague-Žinonic.

FW 189 at the Air Force Research Institute.

The collection “German Aircraft at the Red Army Air Force Research Institute”, published in March 1944, gave characteristics and descriptions of the main types of aircraft in service with the Luftwaffe. The section devoted to the twin-engine reconnaissance aircraft Fw 189 is worthy of attention. Built according to the type of the Dutch Fokker G-1 fighter, this aircraft was successfully used as a short-range reconnaissance aircraft, artillery fire spotter, and training aircraft. The Focke-Wulf, nicknamed “the frame” by our fighters, had good visibility, stability and controllability, and could confidently continue flying on one engine. Despite its low speed (up to 300 km/h) and the dominance of Soviet fighters in the air, the German aircraft continued to carry out combat missions in the second half of the war. The collection contains a reasoned justification for the effective actions of the FW 189 crews: “Excellent visibility from the aircraft reduces the possibility of unexpected fighter attacks. High maneuverability allows gunners to prepare to repel an attack, if only the attacking aircraft is spotted in a timely manner. When turning, the fighter will always be in the firing zone of its rear firing points. The FW 189 can turn at speeds of 180-200 km/h. The usual maneuver used by the Focke-Wulf crews to disengage from combat was to spiral out to low altitudes and fly low.”

Engineer Major M.S. Dmitriev, who studied the FW 189 in detail, also noted the high comfort that was created for the work of the entire crew: a thoughtful arrangement of navigation instruments and a radio station, the placement of a navigator next to the pilot, which facilitated joint work without an intercom, and effective heating of the cabin. The plane could also serve as a light bomber; it was easy to aim at the target.

1947 in the USSR by the design bureau P.O. Sukhoi developed the artillery spotter and reconnaissance aircraft Su-12. It was also made according to a two-beam design and had a gondola with a large glazing area. Engine power ASh-82FN 2×1850hp. (versus 2x465hp German) made it possible to equip the aircraft with everything necessary. Protected by anti-fragmentation armor over the entire surface, the aircraft had four armored backs, four B-20E cannons with 700 rounds of ammunition, and a wealth of day and night aerial photography equipment. Unfortunately, it was possible to build the “Soviet frame” only at the end of 1947 and the aircraft was not produced in series.

Main model

became the Fw-189A, produced in several versions: the basic Fw-189A-1, the Fw-197A-2 with two machine guns, the training Fw-189A-3 with duplicate controls, and the Fw-189A-4 tactical support aircraft with lower hull armor and 20 mm cannon instead of two machine guns.

Fw 189 reconnaissance aircraft were used on the Eastern Front from November 1941 in cooperation with bomber aircraft. With the massive appearance of high-speed Soviet fighters in the air in the second half of the war, the effectiveness of using the Fw 189 steadily decreased. These aircraft were increasingly used as night reconnaissance aircraft and light attack aircraft to fight partisans. In addition to using several radar-equipped Fw 189s in the German air defense system, they were also used to combat Soviet Po-2 night bombers. In addition to the Luftwaffe, 30 Fw 189A-2 aircraft were delivered to the Hungarian Air Force and 14 Fw 189A-1 to the Slovak Air Force. Romanian pilots also flew them. Production of the Fw 189 in Germany ceased in 1942, but in France it continued until January 1944 and in Czechoslovakia until 1945.

A total of 848 vehicles of this type were manufactured, not counting 16 prototypes and pre-production vehicles.
Characteristics

Design and production

In 1937, the German Air Ministry ( Reichsluftfahrtministerium

) has released technical specifications for a tactical reconnaissance spotter aircraft with optimal visibility capabilities. The contractors were Focke-Wulf and Hamburger Flyugzeugbau. Focke-Wulf developed an alternative design for the aircraft, called the Fw 189. The aircraft was created by engineer E. Kozel, headed by designer K. Tank, using a number of standard design solutions that improve visibility, manufacturability, aerodynamics, versatility and reliability of the aircraft. It was decided to use two small French-made Argus 410 engines and install them on the wing console. The two tail booms were made into an aerodynamic extension of the engine nacelles of these engines. The tail booms ended in keels, between which there was a horizontal tail unit. The central gondola was intended for the crew. It was teardrop-shaped, almost entirely glazed. Under the abbreviation BV 141, she proposed her project for a reconnaissance aircraft, distinguished by radical ideas for an asymmetrical airframe, a powerful, scarce engine and, in addition, Blomm+Voss was significantly behind Focke-Wulf in the production of pre-production samples, which became the reason for the abandonment of its mass production release. To test the assault version, the first prototype was used. At the end of 1938, it was removed from flight testing and returned to the factory, where the central nacelle was replaced with a new, much smaller one. In essence, it was an armored capsule that could barely accommodate the pilot and gunner, sitting back to back. The pilot looked forward through the tiny armored glass in the tilt-back canopy. The shooter fired an MG-15 machine gun through a small loophole using an armored sight. The modified prototype was designated Fw 189V1b. The visibility from the pilot's seat was unsatisfactory, and the gunner did not see the attacking fighter even at the tail of his plane! As a result, the Fw 189V1 b was returned to the factory for modifications. The glass area of ​​the pilot's cockpit was increased, and the gunner's sight was replaced with an embrasure, which improved visibility to the rear, but visibility to the sides remained unsatisfactory. After the changes were made, the Fw 189V1ta was tested alongside its competitors, the Hs 129V2 and V3. These flights showed that the very compact single-seat Henschel aircraft was a smaller target for air defense, but its visibility from the pilot's workplace was even worse than that of the 189th Focke-Wulf, and if the controllability of the Fw 189V1b was poor, then in Hs 129 it was completely disgusting. As a result, the Technical Directorate recognized the Hs 129 as the winner, but the story of the Fw 189 assault variant did not end there. At the end of 1942, a kind of “ersatz attack aircraft” Fw189A-4 appeared, produced in small quantities. This vehicle retained the glass reconnaissance nacelle, but the wing-mounted MG17 machine guns were replaced by two 20 mm MG FF cannons. In addition, the engines, fuel tanks and part of the cockpit were covered from below with thin armor.

The Fw 189 was produced in large quantities; the choice fell on the Aero plant in Prague-Vysočany, which already in 1941 became the main enterprise for the production of tactical reconnaissance aircraft. That year, the Bremen plant produced 99 Fw 189A, and the Prague plant produced 151 aircraft. At the same time, it also produced training Ar 96s, equipped with the same As 410 engines. The production of engines was established locally - they were produced by the Walter company in Prague-Jinonice. Two more companies located in Prague and its environs supplied components: the Praga plant of the ČKD concern (during the occupation of Böhmisch-Mährische Maschinenfabrik AG) - center wings, ailerons, flaps, wing mechanization control rods, and the Letov company (Letnany) - tail booms and plumage. The first Fw 189A assembled in Prague (Wr. Nr. 2051) was ready on March 12, 1941. And on June 4, the plane was personally flown by Kurt Tank, who had specially arrived at the plant. A total of 864 Fw 189s were built.

Versions for night reconnaissance and night fighters[edit]

The 15th Night Reconnaissance Group, attached to the 4th Panzer Army in southern Poland in late 1944, carried out night reconnaissance and light bombing missions with a handful of 189A-1s. These aircraft usually lacked the main model rear dorsal machine gun. A small number of A-1s were used in the night fighter role in the final weeks of the war - the aircraft were modified for this new duty by removing their reconnaissance equipment and then equipped with a FuG 212 AI radar in the nose and one 20 mm MG FF autocannon with a scythe shooting in the usual Schräge Musik

offensive up/forward firing equipment was also used for heavy-hulled German night fighters such as the Bf 110G, but for the Fw 189; in the crew nacelle in the space where the rear dorsal gun would normally be located. Most Nachtjager 189s were operated by NJG 100, flying from Greifswald Air Base. Chronic fuel shortages and enemy air superiority over the 189s' defense area (mainly Berlin) meant that very few engagements were carried out with their assistance.