Warplanes of Germany: Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor

Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Focke-Wulf Fw 200C Condor FuG 200 with Hohentwiel radar.

The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, also known as Kurier (courier) to the Allies, is an all-metal four-engined monoplane designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Focke-Wulf. It was the first heavier-than-air craft to fly nonstop between Berlin and NewYork City, about 4,000 miles (6,400 km), making the flight from Berlin-Staaken to Floyd Bennett Field on 10/11 August 1938 in 24 hours and 56 minutes.

It was originally proposed by the aeronautical engineer Kurt Tank as along-range land-based airliner for the flag carrier Deutsche Luft Hansa. A keyfeature of the Fw 200 was its ability to cruise at altitudes in excess of 3,000m (9,800 ft), which made long distance routes more viable. A specification wasissued in June 1936 and the maiden flight of the first prototype took place on27 July 1937. Civilian Fw 200 was operated by Deutsche Luft Hansa, Det DanskeLuftfartselskab, Syndicato Condor (the latter being Luft Hansa's Braziliansubsidiary), Cruzeiro do Sul, and the British Overseas Airways Corporation. Theoutbreak of the Second World War prevented the fulfilment of further civilorders for the type.

While intended for use as an airliner, the type was adapted for militarypurposes in response to a Japanese Navy request for a long-range maritimepatrol aircraft. Military versions of the Fw 200 were adopted by the Luftwaffe,which used the type as both a long-range reconnaissance and maritime patrol aircraft,anti-shipping bomber, and transport aircraft. The Fw 200 was used to supportthe Kriegsmarine in both the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It achievedsuccess as a commerce raider in the Battle of the Atlantic, contributing to theheavy Allied shipping losses.[4] By mid-1941, it was being increasingly harriedby long-range aircraft dispatched by RAF Coastal Command as well as Hurricanefighters being flown from CAM ships. On 14 August 1942, an Fw 200C-3 was thefirst German aircraft to be destroyed by USAAF pilots, after it was attacked bya Curtiss P-40C Warhawk and a Lockheed P-38F Lightning over Iceland.

By the latter half of 1943, the Luftwaffe was almost exclusively using the Fw200 as a transport aircraft. On numerous occasions, senior Nazi officials,including Joachim von Ribbentrop, Heinrich Himmler, Albert Speer, HermannGöring, and Karl Dönitz made use of special aircraft. Furthermore, Adolf Hitlerhad a single customised Fw 200 made available as his personal aircraft.Following the end of the conflict, only limited use of the type was made,largely by Spain, due to a lack of available spares. By the twenty-firstcentury, only a single complete reconstructed Fw 200 exists; it has beendisplayed at Berlin Tempelhof Airport.

The Fw 200 originated from a proposal made by the aeronautical engineer KurtTank, the chief designer of the German aircraft manufacturer Focke-Wulf to Dr.Rudolf Stüssel of the flag carrier Deutsche Luft Hansa for the development of alandplane capable of carrying passengers across the Atlantic Ocean to theUnited States. At the time, it was an unusual concept because airlinestypically opted for seaplanes on their long over-water routes. To fly longdistances economically, the Fw 200 was designed to cruise at an altitude ofover 3,000 m (9,800 ft) - as high as possible without a pressurized cabin.Existing airliners were designed to cruise at altitudes below 1,500 m (4,900ft). The Fw 200 was briefly the world's most modern airliner, until otherhigh-altitude airliners entered service: the Boeing 307 Stratoliner in 1940 andthe Douglas DC-4 in 1942. The designation "Condor" was chosenbecause, like the condor bird, the Fw 200 had a very long wingspan compared toother planes of its era, to facilitate high-altitude flight.

During June 1936, following discussions between Tank, Stüssel and Carl Augustvon Gablenz, Deutsche Luft Hansa issued a specification. Focke-Wulf respondedwith what would become the Fw 200, a four-engined low-winged monoplane, almostentirely constructed of metal (exceptions include the fabric-covered flightcontrol surfaces). It could accommodate up to 26 passengers in two cabins. TheFw 200 had a retractable landing gear; the legs of the main gear featured anunorthodox design which was to allow their deployment without any power otherthan that of the slipstream in the event of an emergency.[7] On 16 July of thatyear, Focke-Wulf were awarded an initial contract.

On 27 July 1937, the first prototype, Fw 200 V1, conducted its maiden flightwith Tank at the controls. It was powered by four American 652 kW (875 hp)Pratt & Whitney Hornet radial engines. Two further prototypes were built;these differed from the first only in that they were powered by German 540 kW(720 hp) BMW 132G-1 radials instead.

The Japanese Navy placed an order for a single militarised version of the Fw200 outfitted to conduct search and patrol duties.[10] Accordingly, Fw 200 V10was constructed with military apparatus; while completed, this Fw 200 remainedin Germany due to the outbreak of war in Europe by that point. At the directionof Edgar Peterson, the aircraft was adapted for long range reconnaissance andanti-shipping duties with the Luftwaffe to meet Germany's wartime needs.[7] Theadaptions made included the addition of hardpoints to the wings for bombs,strengthening of the fuselage (which was also extended to create more space),and the addition of fore and aft dorsal gun positions. Furthermore, anextended-length version of the Bola ventral gondola typical of Second WorldWar-era German bomber aircraft was adopted; it incorporated a central bomb bay(which was typically used for additional long-range fuel tanks), as well asheavily glazed fore and aft ventral flexible machine gun emplacements at eitherend.

One unfortunate consequence of the extra weight incurred by the added militaryequipment, in combination with its relatively weak structure, was the loss ofseveral early-build Fw 200s when they broke up during landing, often due to thefailure of the rear spar. In response to this issue, later models werestructurally strengthened. Some later-built aircraft were equipped with LorenzFuG 200 Hohentwiel low UHF-band ASV radar in the nose; this apparatus permittedthe Fw 200 to effectively perform blind bombing missions for the first time. In1943, a version entered service that could carry the Henschel Hs 293 guided missile, mandating fitment of the associated Funkgerät FuG 203 Kehl radio guidance gear on a Condor to steer them. As the threat of interception grew asthe war went on, the defensive armament on later-build Fw 200s was also bolstered.

In response to Germany's wartime demands, production of the Fw 200 climbed from26 aircraft in 1940 to a peak of 84 aircraft in 1942. However, amid the Alliedbombing of Germany, Focke-Wulf's factory in Cottbus was damaged, compelling thetransfer of final assembly work to rival company Blohm and Voss. During 1944,only four Fw 200s were completed. Production was terminated that year, at which point 276 aircraft had been produced.

The Fw 200 was operated by Deutsche Luft Hansa, Det Danske Luftfartselskab (DDL) and Luft Hansa's Brazilian subsidiary Syndicato Condor.[8] Dai Nippon KKof Japan also ordered Fw 200 airliners; these could not be delivered to Japanonce the war began, so they were delivered to Deutsche Luft Hansa instead. On14 April 1945, an Fw 200 flew Luft Hansa's last scheduled service before the end of the Second World War, flying from Barcelona to Berlin. Other airlines continued to operate the Fw 200 after the end of the Second World War.

The first prototype, Fw 200 V1, upgraded with extra fuel tanks and redesignated Fw 200 S-1, made several record flights. It was the first heavier-than-aircraft to fly nonstop between Berlin and New York City, about 4,000 miles (6,400km), making the flight from Berlin-Staaken to Floyd Bennett Field on 10/11August 1938 in 24 hours and 56 minutes. The return trip on 13 August 1938 took19 hours and 47 minutes.[8] These flights are commemorated with a plaque inBöttcherstraße, a street in Bremen. Beginning on 28 November 1938, it flew from Berlin to Tokyo via Basra, Karachi and Hanoi.

German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop used a specially outfitted Condor "Grenzmark", on his two flights to Moscow in 1939, during which he negotiated and signed the "Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union", better known as the Molotov–RibbentropPact. His aircraft bore the German civil registration of D-ACVH.

A Danish-owned Fw 200, named Dania, was seized by the British at Shoreham Airport after Denmark was invaded by German forces in 1940. It was subsequently operated by British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and was then pressed into service with the Royal Air Force. It was damaged beyond repair in 1941.

During September 1939, the Luftwaffe took delivery of a batch of tenpre-production Fw 200Cs.[20] As they were unarmed, the first four aircraft wereexclusively used as transports alongside the earlier Fw 200Bs. Amongst otherearly operations, the type was used during the German invasion of Norway.Operational sorties of the armed Fw 200Cs, however, did not take place until 8April 1940. The Luftwaffe used its maritime-configured Fw 200c to support theKriegsmarine; a typical patrol flight consisted of large circuits out across the North Sea and, following the fall of France, the Atlantic Ocean. The typewas used for maritime patrols and reconnaissance, searching for Allied convoys and warships that could be reported for targeting by U-boats. Occasionally, the type was also used to lay naval mines around port entrances across the eastcoast of England.

A maritime-configured Fw 200 could carry a 1,000-kilogram (2,200 lb) bomb loador mines to use against shipping, and it was claimed that from June 1940 toFebruary 1941, they sank 331,122 tonnes (365,000 tons) of shipping despitebeing furnished with a rather crude bombsight. These attacks were typicallycarried out at extremely low altitude in order to "bracket" thetarget ship with three bombs; this almost guaranteed a hit. Winston Churchillcalled the Fw 200 the "Scourge of the Atlantic" during the Battle ofthe Atlantic due to its contribution to the heavy Allied shipping losses.

Following the debut of what would become the Luftwaffe's primary seabornemaritime patrol aircraft, the rival trimotor BV 138C flying boat in March 1941;from mid-1941, Condor crews were instructed to stop attacking shipping andavoid all combat in order to preserve numbers. In August, the first Fw 200 wasshot down by a CAM ship-launched Hawker Hurricane, and the arrival of theU.S.-built Grumman Martlet, operating from the Royal Navy's new escortcarriers, posed a serious threat. The six Martlets operated by the Royal Navyfrom the first escort carrier HMS Audacity shot down a total of sevenCondors while escorting three convoys during her short career in the finalmonths of 1941. On 14 August 1942, an Fw 200C-3 was the first German aircraftto be destroyed by USAAF pilots, after it was attacked by a Curtiss P-40CWarhawk and a Lockheed P-38F Lightning over Iceland.

The Fw 200 was also used as a transport aircraft, notably flying supplies intoStalingrad in 1943.[25] The type was occasionally used in clandestineoperations in support of German spies.[18] After late 1943, the Fw 200 came tobe used solely for transport. In the reconnaissance role, it was replaced withthe Junkers Ju 290, and even some examples of the Heinkel He 177 Greif bombersserving with Kampfgeschwader 40. With the Allied advance into France, maritimereconnaissance by the Luftwaffe became impossible as the Atlantic coastal baseswere captured.

Several damaged Fw 200s landed in Spain during the conflict. In the beginning,they were repaired and returned to their bases in France. After Operation Torch(the Allied invasion of French North Africa), the Spanish government internedfour aircraft that arrived on Spanish territory (although their crews werestill allowed to return to Germany). Since the aircraft could not be used, theywere sold by Germany to Spain. One of the three flyable aircraft was thenoperated by the Spanish Air Force and the others used for spares. Because ofdamage and lack of spares, and for political reasons, they were grounded andscrapped around 1950.

Some Condors also crashed in Portugal. Their crews were allowed to return toGermany while the British authorities were allowed to inspect the aircraft andaccompanying documentation. Some crew members died in these crashes and wereburied in the civilian cemetery of Moura in Alentejo Province, Portugal. Theaircraft that crashed in Spain and Portugal had been based atBordeaux-Merignac, France since 1940. Before then, the operational base of theFw 200 squadrons had been in Denmark.

At the suggestion of his personal pilot Hans Baur, Adolf Hitler specified a modified and unarmed prototype Condor, the Fw 200 V3, as his personaltransport, as a replacement for his Junkers Ju 52. Originally configured as a26-passenger Luft Hansa transport (Works No. 3099), it was reconfigured as aplush two-cabin airliner. Hitler's armchair-style seat in the cabin wasequipped with a wooden table, seat-back armour plating, and a parachute in theseat cushion, with an escape hatch in the floor. In line with Hitler's aircraftpreferences, it carried the markings "D-2600" and was named"Immelmann III" in honour of the First World War flying ace MaxImmelmann. As the war progressed it changed designation to "WL+2600"and finally "26+00"; it was destroyed at Berlin Tempelhof Airport inan Allied bombing raid on 18 July 1944. FW 200s of various types wereconfigured as VIP transports, for the use of Hitler and his staff, otheraircraft being assigned to Heinrich Himmler, Albert Speer, Hermann Göring, andKarl Dönitz.

Royal Naval Fleet Air Arm pilot Captain Eric Brown's aircraft was seriously damaged by defensive fire during an attackhe made on a Condor in 1940, and he narrowly survived. After this, he studiedthe design of the Condor seriously for some time. He managed to work out thatthe forward firing machine gun positions could swivel, but could only fire in acertain arc otherwise they would hit the fuselage of their own plane. Brownworked out where the arc was, and realised this was a blind spot, if one attackedthe front of the plane. He used this to successfully destroy a Condor, theninformed his fellow squadron pilots who used the tactic to destroy others.

Variants
The ASV radar-equipped Fw 200 C-4, showing the twin-wheel main gear used forall production Fw 200Cs and enlarged dorsal turret of the C-3/U1
There were three variants of the aircraft: the Fw 200A, B, and C. The Model Awas a purely civilian variant used by Deutsche Luft Hansa, DDL in Denmark, andSyndicato Condor in Brazil. The Fw 200B and Fw 200C models were used aslong-range bombers, reconnaissance, troop and transport aircraft.
Fw 200 V1
First prototype. Converted to a Fw 200 S-1 in 1938.
Fw 200 V10
Military prototype developed for Japan, but held in Germany due to the start ofWWII. Served as the basis for the C-series.
Fw 200 A-0
Pre-production batch of fourth to ninth prototypes.
Fw 200 B-1
Transportation aircraft fitted with four BMW 132Dc engines; one built.
Fw 200 B-2
Transportation aircraft fitted with four BMW 132H engines; three built.
Fw 200 C-0
Pre-production batch of 10 aircraft, structural strengthening, the first fourwere manufactured as unarmed transports, the remaining six were fitted witharmament.
Fw 200 C-1
First military production version, BMW 132H engines, fitted with full-lengthBola ventral gondola which added a narrow bomb bay to the airframe, increaseddefensive armament, provisions for four 250 kg (550 lb) bombs.
Fw 200 C-2
Similar to C-1, but featured a recessed underside to the rear sheet metal ofeach of the two outboard engine nacelles which reduced drag, where a hardpointfor a 250 kg (550 lb) bomb or a 300 L (80 US gal) capacity, standard Luftwaffedrop tank was placed.
Fw 200 C-3
Structurally strengthened, fitted with Bramo 323 R-2 radial engines.
Fw 200 C-3/Umrüst-Bausatz 1(/U1)
Featured increased defensive armament, a 15 mm MG 151 cannon in an enlargedpowered forward dorsal turret similar to those used for the BV 138's bow turretposition, the 20 mm MG FF replaced by a MG 151/20 cannon.
Fw 200 C-3/U2
Fitted with original, "hemispherical" dorsal turret, and had the 20mm MG 151/20 at the front end of the ventral Bola gondola replaced with a 13 mm(0.5 in) MG 131 machine gun, which allowed space for the installation of aLotfe 7D bombsight.
Fw 200 C-3/U3
Fitted with two additional 13 mm MG 131s.
Fw 200 C-3/U4 Fernaufklarer
Had 7.92 mm (0.31 in) MG 15 machine gun replaced by 13 mm MG 131s and carriedan extra gunner.
Fw 200 C-4
Similar to C-3, but carried FuG Rostock search radar, late production aircraftused FuG 200 Hohentwiel low-UHF band ASV sea search radar.
Fw 200 C-4/U1 (Werk-Nr 137)
High-speed transport aircraft, only one example built with shortened Bolagondola without bomb bay. Used to transport Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler andKarl Dönitz.[28] Bore the Stammkennzeichen alphabetic code of GC + AE. Capturedby British and used as transport by them while based at Airfield B.164Schleswig, flown frequently by Eric Brown - later to RAE Farnborough with AirMin number 94[29]
Fw 200 C-4/U2 (Werk-Nr 138)
High-speed transport aircraft with similarly shortened Bola gondola (with nobomb bay) to earlier C-4/Umrüst-Bausatz 1 version, with accommodation for 14passengers, only one example built.[28]
Fw 200 C-6
Several aircraft were outfitted with an early version of the FuG 203 Kehlseries missile control transmitter, to carry Henschel Hs 293 missiles andre-designated C-6.
Fw 200 C-8
Fitted with Lorenz FuG 200 Hohentwiel low-UHF band ASV sea-search radar as withsome C-4 examples; some examples equipped with FuG 203b Kehl III missilecontrol transmitter and fitted with capability to deploy Henschel Hs 293 MCLOSguidance, rocket-boosted anti-ship missiles from the pair of outer-engine nacelle hardpoints.
Fw 200 S-1
Special designation for Fw 200 V1 that was flown from Berlin to Tokyo.
MK-200
Two Fw 200C-4 re-engined with ASh-62IR engines, operated 1947 to 1950. (Wikipedia)

(Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1978-043-02 / CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Fw 200C-3/U-2 SG+KS (later F8+AB), flown by Ritterkreuz recipient Hauptmann Fritz Fliegel of I./KG 40. He was shot down on 18 July 1941 by a lucky AA round from the merchant vessel Pilar de Larrinaga in this aircraft whilst attacking OB 346. He was posthumously promoted to Major. He sank 7 ships and damaged 6 more.

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Focke-Wulf Fw 200-3 Condo at the Blohm & Voss plant in Wenzendorf, 1941.

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(Luftwaffe Photos)

Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, transport and maritime patrol bomber in Luftwaffe Service.

(Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-2005-0011 / Unknown / CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Adolf Hitler's personal Fw 200 Condor, bearing the insignia of the Fliegerstaffel des Führers on its nose, 1941.

(Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-432-0796-07 / Kranz / CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Focke-Wulf Fw 200 C-3 (with 4x Bramo 323R 9-cylinder radial engines), with the registration number F8 + GH (white G) belonging to the 1st squadron of Kampfgeschwader 40 (1./KG 40). The "C-3" was delivered to KG 40 from the summer of 1941, with the subsequent conversion stages/variants C-3/U-1 to C-3/U-4.

(Luftwaffe Photos)

Focke-Wulf Fw 200C Condor FuG 200 Hohentwiel radar.

(Luftwaffe Photo)

Focke-Wulf Fw 200C-3 Condor, (Wk. Nr. 0034), F8+OW.  The globe-circle symbol is for KG 40l.  This aircraft landed at Chkalovskaya near Leningrad, Russia in April 1943.  The aircraft was test flown by Soviet Engineer-Major Gribakin and Colonel Kabanov in the USSR.  It was later put on display in Moscow.

Focke-Wulf Fw 200C-3 Condor, (Wk. Nr. 0063), F8+CL of 3/KG40, later transferred to 7/KG40 and coded F8+BR ditched near Trondheim, Norway on 22 Feb 1942.  Recovered in 1999, this aircraft is being restored in the Deutsches Technikmuseum, Berlin, Germany.

Focke-Wulf Fw 300, proposed version of Fw 200 (project).

Focke-Wulf Ta 400 (project), intended for long range bombardment of strategic objects in the  marine war in the Atlantic.

(Andre Gerwing Photos)

Focke-Wulf Fw 200 C-3 (c/n 0063) at Deutsches Technikmuseum Depot, Berlin, Flughafen Tempelhof.

Only one complete reconstructed Fw 200 exists today, an aircraft that ditched in February 1942 and sank to a depth of 60 m (197 ft). This aircraft was raised from Trondheim Fjord in Norway on 26 May 1999. Although the airframe disintegrated while being lowered onto a recovery platform, the remains were transported to Airbus Bremen and spent 22 years being rebuilt.[45][46] A request from the Berlin museum for a set of separate wings to be recovered from the Kvitanosi mountain near Voss in Norway to complete the rebuilding was at first denied, because the local population wanted the wings to be left in situ as a war memorial. A compromise was reached in 2008, where parts not needed for the restoration would be left on the mountain. In 2009, parts were moved down by helicopter and made ready for transport to Bremen. Other wrecks were also found, but in extremely poor conditions, one at 68 m deep. The aircraft was finished in June 2021, then dismantled and transported to the former Berlin Tempelhof Airport for final assembly as an exhibit in Hangar 7. (Wikipedia)