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-3 fighter that was attached to 8/Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen", then deployed to Brest-Guipavas, France, during January 1943. Pre-order! Ship Date: Late December 2024.

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

Release Date: ?

Historical Account: "Richthofen" - Jagdgeschwader 2 was the main Luftwaffe unit to see action against Allied Air Forces during the D-day landings on June 6th, 1944. Stationed at Cormeilles-en-Vexin 60 kilometres from the coast, I./JG 2 was one of the nearest fighter units to the Allied beachheads. JG 2 commander Major Buhlingen shot down a P-47 Thunderbolt over the Orne before the unit became embroiled in a dogfight with RAF Typhoons near Caen. Six were claimed, and JG 2 claimed 18 kills for the day without loss (Total Luftwaffe claims were 24 shot down). The superiority of the Allied forces soon took effect, with veteran pilots being lost in combat.

Towards the year's end, JG 2 received the first examples of the Fw 190D-9 'Dora'. Stab and III. Gruppe were first to convert and before the end of 1944 JG 2 was operating from near Frankfurt.

Unternehmen Bodenplatte was a mass fighter attack against the Allied airfields in the Low Countries and France on New Years Day 1945. It was hoped it would help regain temporary aerial superiority for the new German offensive through the Ardennes, but instead it delivered crippling losses to the Luftwaffe. Numerically, of all the fighter units JG 2 suffered most in this poorly conceived operation, suffering 37 pilots killed and nearly 40% losses. It took several weeks for JG 2 to regain operational status.

As the end of war drew near, all units of JG 2 were equipped with Fw 190D-9 'Dora'. During winter and spring JG 2 moved from the Rhine area into Bavaria. Following the German surrender, the wing was formally disbanded near Munich on May 7th, 1945.