"ArtKramr" wrote in message
...
Subject: WWII FW190's, how good were they in dogfights?
From: nt (Krztalizer)
Date: 5/20/04 9:03 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id:


I saw something (I think) in here not too long ago, where someone
had
asked the
late Adolf Galland about the fact that (on paper) the FW190 was
superior
to the
109. Galland gained most of his victories in the latter, and
IIRC, his
comment was
that the 109 was much more 'comfortable' to fly, whereas the FW190
needed more
attention from the pilot to just flying the aeroplane. I have
always
understood that
manouvreability and stability in a fighter aircraft was a
balancing act,
too stable and
it lacked agility, too agile and it was 'twitchy' and could be
unpleasant to fly. Perhaps
the 190 was on the edge of that envelope?

Lots of folks flew both and comparisons between the two are all
over the
board.
For some like Novotny, a 109 was an antiquated and poorly laid out
has-been;
he
felt the 190's brilliantly thought out "T"-shaped instrument panel
made his
job
far more instinctual than in the more labor intensive Messerschmitt
cockpit.
Others like Rall and Barkhorn felt that the small size of the 109
led one to
feel as if they were "wearing" the Me, so movements were
practically
reflexive
and coordinated between pilot and airframe. I think the
demarcation between
factions is frequently set at when that particular pilot began to
fly German
fighters -- 1942 and earlier, the pilots generally preferred the
nimble 109,
even after fighters of a better class were introduced. Conversely,
the "young
lions" that came along after the 109's heyday felt no great
affinity for it
when offered the technologically advanced Focke Wulf fighter. I
guess once
they survived into 1944 and 45, each group were entitled to latch
onto
whatever
superstition had kept them alive when so many of their comrades had
fallen.
Look at Rudel - that frickin' Nazi started the war in a flight of
Stukas, at
one point transitioned to CAS FW-190s, then ended the war back in a
flight of
Stukas - at a time in the war when daylight operations in the Ju 87
were
considered absolute suicide by Allied and most German airmen alike.
Go
figure.

v/r
Gordon


Of the many German fighter pilots I spoke to in the Hofbrau Haus in
Munich
shortly after the war the majority opted for the ME 109. The Emil
or "E "
model seemed the number one choice. Many were saddened because the
Emils were
replaced by what they considered models that were not quite as good.
These
discussions were in the summer of 1945.

In a bad landing at night the pug nosed FW190A could over nose and end
up on its back. As the pilot was in a bubble canopy he could easily
be killed and frequently was.

The Me109 with its long nose, burried cockpit and famously weak
undercarriage which simply collapsed was a virtue in these
circumstances and the crews prefered it for this reason.

Several of these aircraft were fitted with neptune radars with the
intention of chasing Mosquitos. They worked well but after staring
at the phosphors the pilot lost his precious night vision and the idea
was dropped.