Warplanes of Germany: Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw 189

Focke-Wulf Fw 189

(Luftwaffe Photo)

The Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu (Owl) is atwin-engine twin-boom tactical reconnaissance and army cooperation aircraftdesigned and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Focke-Wulf. It wasone of the Luftwaffe's most prominent short range reconnaissance platformsduring the Second World War.

The Fw 189 was developed during the late 1930s to fulfil a specification issuedby the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) for an advanced short-rangereconnaissance aircraft to succeed the Henschel Hs 126 in the tactical supportrole provided by the Luftwaffe to the Wehrmacht. While Arado had responded withthe conventional Ar 198, Focke-Wulf's design team, headed by the aeronauticalengineer Kurt Tank, produced the unconventional Fw 189, a twin-boom aircraftwith a central crew gondola with a highly glazed stepless cockpit. During July1938, the first prototype performed its maiden flight; early flight testing ofthe Fw 189 demonstrated its superiority over the Ar 198, and thus the RLMbacked its development and subsequent quantity production.

During 1940, the Fw 189 entered service with the Luftwaffe. It would see heavyuse on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union, where it would not only beused in the intended reconnaissance role but also in a limited capacity as alight bomber and a night fighter. The Fw 189 would also see some use on otherfronts. Production of the type took place at Focke-Wulf's Bremen facility, theBordeaux-Merignac aircraft factory in occupied France, and the Aero Vodochodyaircraft factory in Prague, occupied Czechoslovakia. Further development andproduction of the type continued through to mid-1944, at which point productionwas terminated to concentrate on fighters instead.

Work on what would become the Fw 189 can be traced back to February 1937 andthe issuing of a specification by the German Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM)that called for a short-range reconnaissance aircraft that had a three-man crewand provided good all-round visibility; it was also specified that the aircraftshould possess about 850–900 hp (630–670 kW) of power. At that time, one of theprimary functions of the Luftwaffe was to provide tactical support to theWehrmacht; the envisioned aircraft was intended to be an advanced successor tothe Henschel Hs 126, which had only just started service trials.[1] Thisspecification was issued to both Arado and Focke-Wulf.

Arado opted to respond with the relatively conventional Ar 198, which was asingle-engined high-wing monoplane with a glazed gondola underneath thefuselage.[1] In contrast, Focke-Wulf's chief designer Kurt Tank had opted for adistinctive twin-boom configuration for what would become the Fw 189; it wasalso powered by a pair of Argus As 410 engines instead of the expected singleengine. As a "twin-boom" design, akin to the earlier Dutch FokkerG.I, the Fw 189 used a central crew gondola for its crew accommodation, whichfor the Fw 189 would be designed with a heavily glazed and framed steplesscockpit forward section, which used no separate windscreen panels for the pilot(as with many German medium bombers from 1938 onwards). The Fw 189 had as partof its defensive armament, an innovative rear-gun emplacement designed by theIkaria-Werke: a rotating conical rear "turret" of sorts, manuallyrotated with a metal-framed, glazed conical fairing streamlining its shape,with the open section providing the firing aperture for either a single ortwin-mount machine gun at the unit's circular-section forward mount.[3] Blohm& Voss proposed as a private venture something even more radical: chiefdesigner Dr. Richard Vogt's unique asymmetric BV 141.

Both the BV 141 and Fw 189 submissions were reportedly received by RLMofficials with a degree of unease due to their non-traditional approaches.[1]During April 1937, orders were placed for three prototypes each of the Aradoand Focke-Wulf designs.[4][1] That same month, construction of the firstprototype Fw 189 commenced. In July 1938, it performed its maiden flight, thepilot being Tank. From the onset, the aircraft possessed favourable flightcharacteristics. One month later, it was followed by the second prototype, theprincipal difference between the two being that the second prototype was armed,carrying two MG 17 and three MG 15 machine guns across various locations alongwith underwing bombracks capable of carrying up to four 50 kg bombs.[5] Thethird prototype was outfitted with specially-designed Argus variable-pitchpropeller that automatically changed pitch via the vanes on the spinner. Incontrast to the smooth testing of the Fw 189, the Ar 198 exhibitedcomparitively cumbersome and unsatisfactory performance.

Recognising the Fw 189 as the winner, Focke-Wulf received a developmentcontract from the RLM for four additional prototypes.[6] The first of thesefour aircraft was representative of the production standard Fw 189A, beingpowered by a pair of Argus As 410A-1 V-12 inverted piston engines, capable ofgenerating up to 465 PS (459 hp; 342 kW) and a reduced defensive armamentcomprising only two machine guns. The next aircraft prototype was a forerunnerof the Fw 189B, featuring more refined aerodynamic shaping of the fuselagealong with a more conventional stepped cockpit.[6] In mid 1939, the RLM orderedanother 13 aircraft, all of which were delivered to the Luftwaffe by March1940.

During late 1939, Focke-Wulf withdrew the first prototype from the flight testprogramme in order to adapt it into their response to a request from the RLMfor a dedicated close air support aircraft.[7] The original fuselage nacellewas replaced by a compact armoured counterpart; largely due to the increasedweight, it handled poorly. While this version was formally evaluated; however,the competing Henschel Hs 129 was selected instead, partly due to its smallersize and reduced production cost.

The Fw 189 was produced in large numbers, being not only manufactured at theFocke-Wulf factory in Bremen, but also at the Bordeaux-Merignac aircraftfactory (Avions Marcel Bloch's factory, which became Dassault Aviation afterthe war) in occupied France, as well as at the Aero Vodochody aircraft factoryin Prague, occupied Czechoslovakia. By mid-1942, production of the Fw 189 atBremen had effectively ended as resources were concentrated on the Focke-WulfFw 190 fighter instead.[9] While the company's design team continued to work onadvanced variants of the Fw 189 into early 1944, production of the type waspermanently ended in mid-1944 in response to Germany's declining militarysituation, which compelled the termination of various aircraft programmes inorder to concentrate resources.[10] Total production of the type came to 864aircraft of all variants.

During early 1940, Luftwaffe pilots commenced familiarisation training on thetype, initially using the preproduction Fw 189s exclusively and supplemented byfive-seat Fw 189B-1 trainers from the summer of 1940 onwards.[12] Whileoperational trials of the type were quite successful, Luftwaffe officialsconcluded that there was little advantage to withdrawing the existing Hs 126sin favour of Fw 189s. Instead, the service decided to introduce the typerelatively slowly, thus the Fw 189 was not operational at any meaningfulquantity until the summer of 1942.[13] This delay did allow for somerefinements to the aircraft, particularly its airframe, to be performed during1941; modifications around this time included desert survival gear and floats.The first unit to re-equip with the type being on the Eastern Front.

Called the Fliegendes Auge (Flying Eye) of the German Army, the Fw 189 was usedextensively on the Eastern Front. By September 1942, 172 Fw 189s werereportedly operational on this front, making up the majority of all short rangereconnaissance aircraft present.[15] It was nicknamed "Rama"("frame" in the Russian, Ukrainian and Polish languages) by Sovietforces, referring to its distinctive tailboom and stabilizer shapes, giving ita quadrangular appearance.[citation needed] Despite its low speed and fragilelooks, the Fw 189's manoeuvrability made it a difficult target for attackingSoviet fighters. The Fw 189 was often able to out-turn attacking fighters byflying in a tight circle into which enemy fighters could not follow. The Fw 189also saw service on other fronts, including the Middle East.

Night Reconnaissance Group 15, attached to the 4th Panzerarmee in southernPoland during late 1944, carried out nocturnal reconnaissance and light bombingsorties with a handful of Fw 189A-1s. These aircraft typically lacked the mainmodel's rear dorsal machine gun.[citation needed] Small numbers of A-1s wereused as night fighters in the closing weeks of the conflict – the aircraft weremodified by having their reconnaissance equipment removed and then fitted withFuG 212 AI radar in the nose and a single obliquely-firing 20 mm MG FFautocannon in the common Schräge Musik upwards/forward-firing offensive fitmentalso used for heavier-airframed German night fighters, like the Bf 110G. Forthe Fw 189 the installation was in the crew nacelle in the space where the reardorsal gun was normally housed. The majority of the nachtjager Fw 189s wasoperated by NJG 100, were based at Greifswald. Chronic fuel shortages and enemyair superiority over the Fw 189 defence area (chiefly Berlin) meant that fewaircraft were shot down by these craft

Variants
The main production model was the Fw 189A reconnaissance plane, built mostly intwo variants, the A-1 and A-2. Unless otherwise stated all aircraft werepowered by two Argus As 410 engines of 465 PS (459 hp, 342 kW).
Fw 189A-0: Ten preproduction aircraft for operational tests and trials.
Fw 189A-1: Initial production version, armed with two flexible 7.92 mm (.312in) 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 couldcarry an Rb 20/30 or an Rb 50/30 aerial camera.
Fw 189A-1 trop: Tropicalised version of the Fw 189 A-1, fitted with air intakefilters and survival equipment. Conversion from A-1s.

Close up view of a rotatable, Ikaria-designed twin barrel machine gun mountingin the crew nacelle's tail cone.
Fw 189A-1/U2: VIP transport version of the Fw 189 A-1.
Fw 189A-1/U3: VIP transport version of the Fw 189 A-1.
Fw 189A-2: The flexible MG 15s were replaced by twin-barrel 7.92 mm (0.312 in)MG 81Z.
Fw 189A-3: Tropicalized production version of the Fw 189 A-2, fitted with airintake filters and survival equipment.
Fw 189A-4: Light ground-attack version, armed with two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannonsin each wing root, fitted with armour protection for the underside of thefuselage, engines and fuel tanks. No production known.
The Fw 189B was a five-seat training aircraft; only 13 were built.
Fw 189B-0: Three preproduction aircraft.
Fw 189B-1: Five-seat training version. ten built.
The Fw 189C was conceived as a heavily armoured ground-attack, close-supportvariant, in competition with the Henschel Hs 129. But its two prototypes (V1band V6) were not satisfactory, and it was not produced.
Fw 189D: Proposed twin-float trainer floatplane. Not built.
Fw 189E: Prototype only, powered by two 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW) Gnome-Rhone 14Mradial engines.
Fw 189F-1: Re-engined Fw 189 A-1 aircraft, powered by two 600 PS (592 hp, 441kW) Argus As 411 engines.
Fw 189F-2: Fitted with electrically-operated landing gear, increased fuelcapacity and additional armour plating, powered by two 600 PS (592 hp, 441 kW)Argus As 411 engines. (Wikipedia)

Fw 189 V7+1H (Werk Nr. 2100) is the onlysurviving Fw 189. It was part of 1./Nahaufklärungsgruppe 10, with V7 originallythe Geschwaderkennung code for Heeres-Aufklärungsgruppe 32 based atPontsalenjoki (due east of Kuusamo, and within the south-central area of modernRussia's Republic of Karelia) and took part in its first mission on 4 May 1943.The mission was to photograph the Loukhi-3 airbase from an altitude of 6,000 m(20,000 ft), then to continue north along the Murmansk-Leningrad railway.Approximately 31 minutes after taking off V7+1H was attacked and damaged byLend-Lease-acquired Soviet Hawker Hurricane fighters. The aircraft dived toescape the fighters, but, owing to the damage suffered, could not pull out intime and it struck the treetops. The tail was torn off and the crew nacelleleft hanging upside down within the trees. The pilot, Lothar Mothes, survivedbut one crewman was killed in the crash and the third died from blood loss as aresult of a severed leg. Mothes survived two weeks in sub-zero temperatures,evading Soviet patrols while eating bark and grubs as he walked back to hisbase. He spent the next nine months in a hospital recovering from severefrostbite before returning to the front line, eventually to fly another 100missions.
In 1991 the wreckage of V7+1H was found in the Russian forest where it hadremained for 48 years. The aircraft was purchased by a group of Britishaircraft enthusiasts and was shipped to the United Kingdom, arriving atWorthing, West Sussex in March 1992. The Focke Wulf 189 Restoration Society wasformed to restore the aircraft to flying condition. Her former pilot, LotharMothes, met up again with his aircraft at the 1996 Biggin Hill Airshow.
It was reported that this aircraft was acquired by Paul Allen’s Flying HeritageCollection and was in rebuild atDuxford to an airworthy condition, but as of August 1 2021 was listed for sale. (Wikipedia)