Hobby Master Archive

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.

Schlachtgeschwader 1 (SchlG 1) was formed on January 13, 1942 as a ground- attack unit. In 1943 the Schlachtgeschwader 1 was renamed SG 1. In April, 1943 SG. 1 converted to the Fw- 190A-5 but it wasn’t until late 1944, early 1945 that the Fw-190F-9 was put into action. At this point in time there were critical shortages of material so wood was being used for some parts such as tails, flaps and ailerons. The green Tech Chevron markings suggest this aircraft belonged to the Technical Officer for II/SG1 at Munchen-Neubiberg, a major location for aircraft supply to Italy during the war.

The FW-190F-9 was different from the FW-190F-8: Visible Differences Some aircraft received the enlarged wooden vertical tail from the Ta 152 aircraft A-9 airframe Blown Canopy Braced armored headrest with cushion 2 x MG 131 machine gun in fuselage 2 x MG151 machine gun inboard wing positions with protruding barrels and wing root blisters but none in the outer wing Center-line ETC 501 bomb rack, optional ER 4 adapter to carry 4 x 50 kg SC 50 bombs Two ETC 50 bomb racks or Panzerblitz rocket launch rails under each wing Internal Differences A new 2,000 hp BMW-801TS/TH engine with a 14-blade cooling fan replacing the earlier 12- blade fan Engine cowling was extended 30 mm (0.024 inches in 1/48 scale) A 3,500 mm (11.48 ft) diameter broad-chord wooden VDM propeller but many A 9s were fitted with the standard VDM 9 12067A metal propeller and some had a VDM 9 12153A metal propeller with external, bolt on balance weights Specifications Focke-Wulf Fw-190F-8 Variant Role - Single Seat Specialized Ground Attack Variant First Battlefield Availability - March 1944 Users - German Luftwaffe and RHAF (Royal Hungarian Air Force)

Performance Engine 1 X 1,700 hp (1268 kw) BMW 801D-2 14 cylinder air-cooled radial engine Or 1 X 2,100 hp (1566 kw) with MW-50 methanol/water injection in emergency situations.

Maximum Speed - 408 mph (653 km/h) with boost on Initial Climb Rate - 2,350 ft (720 m) per minute Service Ceiling - 37,400 ft (11410 m) Range Using Internal Tanks Only - 560 miles (900 km)

Weight Empty - 7,055 lbs (3200 kg) Maximum Take-Off - 10,800 lbs (4900 kg)

Dimensions Wing Span - 34 ft 5.5 in (10.50 m) Length - 33 ft 5.5 in (10.2 m) Height - 11 ft 0 in (3.35 m) Wing Area - 196.99 sq ft (18.30 sq m)

Armament 2 X 13 mm (0.51 in) MG 131 machine guns above the engine 2 X 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon in the wing roots 2 X MG 151/20 or MK 108 cannon in outer wings Plus 1 X 3,968 lbs (1800 kg) centerline bomb Or 1 X 1,102 lbs (500 kg) SC500 centerline bomb And 2 X 551 lbs (250 kg) bombs on wing racks

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA7416 FW190 F-9 Munich, Germany, 1945

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.