The Focke-Wulf FW190F-8" Wurger "

FW-190F-8

The very positive results of the introduction into service of the Fw 190A fighter plane, forced the RLM to consider the possibility of using the plane for other roles than dedicated fighter. The greatest hope was placed in adaptation of the Fw 190As a fighter-bomber. It was seen as a replacement of the aged biplane Henschel 123 and, in part, of the Junkers 87 dive bomber that were still providing useful service in modified form, especially on the eastern front.

In early 1942, the RLM widened the specifications for the Fw 190A and ordered development of attack and close support (Schlachtflugzeug) versions of the plane. A special project study of the modified Fw 190 airframe, designated Ra-2 (Rechnerische Ankundigung 2), was prepared containing different variants of the Fw 190 fighter plane. In May 1942, previously planned tests were conducted with the modified Fw 190A-0/U4 (W.Nr. 0008) plane. This airframe received under wing and fuselage store stations for ETC 50 bomb racks that provided for 50 kg bomb carriage. Results were so promising that development work was continued. From the beginning, the most serious problem was large air plane weight increases. This came about not only as a result of the additional bombs load, but due to the need to introduce additional armor to protect the plane from ground fire. This armor consisted of plates protecting the fuel tanks, engine and undercarriage firings from below. Previously planned armor plates in the cockpit side walls were abandoned. This decision was made because the worsening overweight condition lead to a marked performance reduction. For the same reason, new strengthened undercarriage struts were not introduced, instead the pressure in shock absorbers was increased.

In connection with the mass production of the Fw 190A fighter aircraft, early development work on the attack version was restricted to A-3, A-4 and A-5 airframe modifications. These planes, already introduced in Luftwaffe service units, were fully suited to fighter-bomber tasks. However, the increased weight forced a reduction the armament suite (removal of the one pair of wing mounted MG FF cannons), that could result in only slightly poorer performance in spite of increased weight.

The Fw 190F-8 was produced in greatest numbers of the all of the F series planes. It was produced based on the A-8 plane airframe. Production started in March 1944 in the Arado factory in Warnemunde and in the April 1944 in the NDW-Wismar factory. The Fw 190F-8 was powered by a BMW 801 D-2 engine variant adapted for C3 (96 octane) fuel. An additional injector in the left supercharger inlet for emergency short term (10-15 min) engine power increase during flight under 1000 m altitude was standard equipment. Most of the equipment was the same as in the Fw 190A-8. From April 1944, the FuG 16 ZS radio set, adapted for direct communication with units on the battlefield was introduced in place of the FuG 16 ZY . Only a few planes (compared with previous versions) had a desert equipment including an anti-dust filter. In the second half of 1944, a widened rear cockpit canopy was added with the A-8 plane. The purpose of this modification was to improve the pilot's side-forward visibility, important during fighterbomber missions. Armament consisted of two 13 mm MG 131 machine guns mounted in the fuselage and two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons in the wings.

Most of the early production series F-8 planes had the additional armor used since the F-3 airframes. For weight reduction and improvement in flight characteristics it was not used in later F-8s. These planes had only the standard Fw 180 A-8 armor. Because the under-fuselage ETC 501 bomb rack was a standard item in A-8 planes all F-8 planes got it as well but without the stabilizers for the dropable fuel tank.

In the beginning of 1944, due to the difficult situation on the Eastern Front, the Luftwaffe was in desperate need of an attack plane with armament capable of destroying armored vehicles including heavily armored tanks (heavy tanks). In this situation, it became vital to arm Fw 190F planes with offensive armaments other than bombs. This was not an easy task, because the Luftwaffe had not developed weapon systems adaptable for mounting in light fighter planes. The only way to solve this problem was by trial and error until the proper armament could be find. First tested on the Fw 190F was the 280 mm mortar W.Gr. 28/32 with high explosive warhead. This missile was judged as unusable because of it's unstable and highly curved flight path that made it impossible to aim them into the targets. Next tested was the Panzerschreck 1 missile launcher combined into two three barreled units mounted under wings on ETC 50 or ETC 70 bomb racks. Each missile had a hollow-charge warhead. They were soon replaced by the more modern Panzerschreck 2 (PD 8.8) launchers combined in units consisting of two launchers with 88 mm missiles with hollow-charge warheads that could be fired individually or in salvos. Equipped in this manner, a Fw 190F-8 (W.Nr. 580383) was tested by Major Eggers at Udetfeld Air Base. The results obtained were satisfactory but there were also some disadvantages like the missile's short (137 m) range and limited accuracy. Despite this, in October 1944 a small number of Panzerschreck 2 equipped planes were delivered to service units on the Eastern Front.

In December 1944, the highly efficient missile Panzerblitz 1 (Pb 1) system consisting of six and, more often, eight R4M air-to-air missiles. They were adapted for tank destroying by mounting an 80 mm M8 type warhead for an armor penetration of up to 90 mm. Using the Pb 1 unit it was possible to destroy tanks at a 200 m distance. The only limitation was a maximum speed of 490 km/hr, not to be exceeded during missile firing (in a salvo of eight or in pairs). Up to February 1945 the Luftwaffe received 115 Fw 190F-8/Pb 1 planes.

The successor to the Pb 1 unit was the Panzerblitz 2 (Pb 2) unit. The main difference between them was the replacement of the M8 warhead by a hollow-charge warhead able to penetrate up to 180 mm armor. Also developed was the new missile system Panzerblitz 3 (Pb 3) with a 210 mm hollow-charge warhead, but it was not operational by the end of the war. The same situation applied with the AG 140 (Abschussgerat 140) missile system consisting of units with two 210 mm missile launchers different from Pb 3. The AG 140 system was tested on the following three Fw 190F-8 planes designated as prototypes: V78 (W.Nr. 551103), V79 (W.Nr. 583303) and V80 (W.Nr. 586600).