Hobby Master Archive

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA7415 FW190 A-8 5/II/JG300, Unteroffizier Ernst Schroder Nov 1944

1/48 scale pre-finished Die-cast metal with a minimum of plastic. Professionally painted. All markings pad applied for superb results. Cockpit slides open. Comes with a pilot that can be removed. Comes with display stand. Can be displayed with landing gear up or down.

In 1937 even though the Me-109 was a very capable fighter the Reichsluftfahrtministeriun (RLM) or Reich Air Ministry was worried that future foreign designs might surpass its performance so they called for submissions of designs. Kurt Tank won the competition with his radical use of an air-cooled radial engine that he dubbed the Fw-190 Wurger (Butcher Bird). There were many skeptics who believed this new aircraft would surpass the performance of the Me-109. However when the Fw-190 entered combat in the summer of 1941 it already was Germany’s premiere piston- powered WWII fighter. Over 20,000 of all variants of the Fw-190 were built with 13,291 of these being of the 9 different “A” variants.

Ernst Schroder joined the Luftwaffe in 1941 and became an He-111 mechanic. In May 1943 he transferred to pilot school and in January 1944 he received his pilot wings and joined JG.101 for fighter training. In June 1944 Schroder first flew the Fw-190 and was assigned to 5.JG.300. The Fw-190 he received was WNr. 172733 Red 19, fresh from the factory at Cottbus and this aircraft remained his personal aircraft until November 27, 1944 when he did a belly-landing after a fight with a P-51.

Specifications for the Focke-Wulf Fw-190A-8 Dimensions Wingspan - 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in) Wing Area - 18.3 m (197 sq ft) Length - 8.96 m (29 ft 5 in) Height - 3.96 m (13 ft)

Weight Empty - 3,470 kg (7,650 lb) Maximum - 4,900 kg (10,800 lb)

Performance Engine - BMW 801D 1,700 hp 14-cylinder radial engine Maximum Speed - 657 kph (408 mph) (335 kts) Service Ceiling - 10,300 m (33,800 ft) Range - 800 km (500 mi) (435 nmi)

Armament (2) 13 mm Machine Guns plus (4) 20 mm cannon or (2) 20 mm cannons plus (2) 30 mm cannons