Subject: WWII FW190's, how good were they in dogfights?
From: nt (Krztalizer)
Date: 5/21/04 11:43 AM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id:

Also almost all Lufttwaffe pilots I spoke to in those mid-1945 conversations
hated the "K: model. Said they were unreliable.

Although its aethetically one of the more attractive of the 109s, I haven't
heard of anyone being a fan of them. You'd think with that big tail and all
the other "end-time" improvements that they'd be good ships, but by then
quality was down quite a bit.

And one even said it was
designed to beat the P-51, which it could never do. But only one guy ever
said
that.

I'm sure that was Willi's intent, but it never worked out that way - the P-51
was simply superb in a fight; add in the quality of our pilots and the K-4
was
never going to be good enough. The 109 was inadequate after 1943 and should
not have remained in production.

But, Speer didn't ask my opinion.

v/r
Gordon

====(A+C====
USN SAR


It was clear to me just to hear these guystalk that as the war raged on they
developed a sense of hopelessness. That is a tragic way to fight a war. We were
gung ho and they were fighting but without conviction or hope of any success.
And I think it was the beer that made them relax and talk frankly about how
they felt. And they sure could hold their beer. I still remember those days in
the Hofbrau Haus in Munich 60 long years ago. Like it was yesterday. BTW, that
same Hofbrau Haus just opened a branch here in Las Vegas. Be funny if I walked
in and found those same Luftwaffe guys in there waiting for me swinging their
steins as I came in.. (sigh)


Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer