Nicknamed the "Butcher Bird," the Fw 190 was Germany's best air-to-ground fighter. Faster and more agile than the British Spitfire, it dominated the skies over Europe as a fighter and was the Luftwaffe's most important ground-attack aircraft. Controlled by the skilled hands of aces like Oberleutnant Otto Kittel, the FW-190 gained the reputation of being one of the greatest fighters of all time. This fighter-bomber and anti-tank aircraft was almost impossible to defeat until the introduction of the long-range P-51 Mustang.

The Fw 190 A-6 was developed to address shortcomings found in previous "A" models when attacking U.S. heavy bombers. Modifications of the type to date had caused the weight of the aircraft to creep up. To combat this and to allow better weapons to be installed in the wings, a structurally redesigned and lighter wing was introduced. The normal armament was increased to two MG 17 fuselage machine guns and four 20 mm MG 151/20E wing root and outer wing cannon with larger ammunition boxes. New electrical sockets and reinforced weapon mounts were fitted internally in the wings to allow the installation of either 20 mm or 30 mm (1.18 in) ammunition boxes and for underwing armament. Because the outer wing MG 151s were mounted lower than the MG/FFs new larger hatches, incorporating bulges and cartridge discharge chutes, were incorporated into the wing lower surfaces. It is believed the MG 17s were kept because their tracer rounds served as a targeting aid for the pilots. A new FuG 16 ZE radio navigation system was fitted in conjunction with a FuG 10 ZY. A loop aerial for radio navigation, mounted on a small "teardrop" base was fitted under the rear fuselage, offset slightly to port, with an additional short "whip" aerial aft of this. These aerials were fitted on all later Fw 190 variants.

The A-6 was outfitted in numerous ways with various sets, Rustsatze (field modification kits); more flexible than the factory upgrade kits for previous versions, these field upgrade kits allowed the A-6 to be refitted in the field as missions demanded. At least 963 A-6s were built from July 1943 ending in April 1944, according to Ministry of Aviation acceptance reports and Focke-Wulf production books. In late 1943, the Erla Antwerp factory designed a simpler rack/drop-tank fitting, which was more streamlined than the bulky ETC 501 and could be quickly fitted or removed. Several A-6s, A-7s and A-8s of JG 26 were fitted with these racks (one such aircraft was A-8 W.Nr.170346 Black 13 flown by Obstlt. Josef Priller during the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944.)

This particular 1:48 scale replica of a German Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-7 fighter that was piloted by Oblt. Wilhelm Krebs, then deployed to Dortmund Airfield, during January 1944. Sold Out!

Dimensions
Wingspan: 8-1/2-inches
Length: 7-1/4-inches

Release Date: October 2015

Historical Account: "Willi" - Wilhelm "Willi" Batz was born on May 21st, 1916, at Bamberg. He entered the Luftwaffe in 1935. He trained as a fighter pilot but was assigned instructing duties from 1937. He was promoted to Leutnant on November 1st, 1940. His repeated requests for a transfer to combat duty were rejected. After 5,000 flying hours instructing at the flying school at Kaufbeuren and the fighter pilot school at Bad Aibling, Batz was finally transferred to 2./Erganzung-Jagdgruppe Ost to undergo operational training on December 20th, 1942. On February 1st, 1943, Batz was appointed adjutant to Johannes Steinhoff (176 victories, RK-S) in II./JG 52 based on the Eastern front. He did not score his first victory until March 11th, 1943. He was appointed Staffelkapitan of 5./JG 52 in May 1943, by which time he had seven victories to his credit. On September 9th, he claimed his 20th victory. His 40th followed on November 16th and his 50th on November 30th. By the end of 1943, Batz had 75 victories to his credit. Batz fell ill in February 1944 and was grounded for two weeks. On his return he became spectacularly successful. He recorded his 100th victory on March 22nd, 1944. Oberleutnant Batz was awarded the Ritterkreuz on March 26th, 1944, for 101 victories. On April 19th, Batz was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 52, taking over from Major Gunther Rall (275 victories, RK-S). He was operating with such luminaries as Hauptmann Erich "Bubi" Hartmann (352 victories, RK-Br), Oberleutnant Friedrich "Fritz" Obleser (120 victories, RK) and Oberleutnant Walter Wolfrum (137 victories, RK) among the high-scoring pilots of III./JG 52 at that time.