Focke-Wulf Fw 189

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Wulf_Fw_189

The Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu ("Eagle Owl") is a German twin-engine, twin-boom,
three-seat tactical reconnaissance and army cooperation aircraft. It first flew
in 1938 (Fw 189 V1), entered service in 1940 and was produced until mid-1944.

In addition, Focke-Wulf used this airframe in response to a tender request by
the RLM for a dedicated ground-attack airplane, and later submitted an armored
version for trials. However, the Henschel Hs 129 was selected instead.

In 1937, the German Ministry of Aviation issued a specification for a
short-range, three-seat reconnaissance aircraft with a good allround view to
support the German army in the field, replacing the Henschel Hs 126, which had
just entered service. A power of about 850–900 hp (630–670 kW) was specified.
The specification was issued to Arado and Focke-Wulf. Arado's design, the Ar
198, which was initially the preferred option, was a relatively conventional
single-engined high-wing monoplane with a glazed gondola under the fuselage.
Focke-Wulf's chief designer Kurt Tank's design, the Fw 189, was a twin-boom
design, powered by two Argus As 410 engines instead of with an expected single
engine. As a "twin-boom" design like the earlier Dutch Fokker G.I from 1938, the
Fw 189 used a central crew gondola for its crew accommodation, which for the Fw
189 would be designed with a heavily glazed and framed "stepless" cockpit
forward section, which used no separate windscreen panels for the pilot (as with
many German medium bombers from 1938 onwards). Blohm & Voss, however, proposed
as a private venture something even more radical: chief designer Dr. Richard
Vogt's unique asymmetric BV 141. Orders were placed for three prototypes, each
of the Arado and Focke-Wulf designs, in April 1937.

The Fw 189 was produced in large numbers, at the Focke-Wulf factory in Bremen,
at the Bordeaux-Merignac aircraft factory (Avions Marcel Bloch's factory, which
became Dassault Aviation after the war) in occupied France, then in the Aero
Vodochody aircraft factory in Prague, occupied Czechoslovakia. Total production
was 864 aircraft of all variants.


Role
Tactical reconnaissance and army cooperation aircraft, light bomber

Manufacturer
Focke-Wulf

Designer
Kurt Tank

First flight
July 1938

Introduction
August 1941

Retired
1945

Primary users
Luftwaffe
Hungarian Air Force
Slovak Air Force

Produced
1940–44

Number built
864

Called the Fliegende Auge ("Flying Eye") of the German Army, the Fw 189 was used
extensively on the Eastern Front with great success. It was nicknamed "Rama"
("frame" in the Russian, Ukrainian and Polish languages) by Soviet forces,
referring to its distinctive tailboom and stabilizer shapes, giving it the
characteristic quadrangular appearance. Despite its low speed and fragile looks,
the Fw 189's manoeuvrability made it a difficult target for attacking Soviet
fighters. When attacked, the Fw 189 was often able to out-turn attacking
fighters by simply flying in a tight circle into which enemy fighters could not
follow.

Specifications (Fw 189 A-1)

General characteristics
Crew: three
Length: 12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 18.4 m (60 ft 4 in)
Height: 3.7 m (12 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 38 m² (409 ft²)
Empty weight: 2,680 kg (5,920 lb)
Loaded weight: 3,950 kg (8,708 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Argus As 410, 342 kW (465 PS - 459 hp) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 357 km/h at 2,600 m (222 mph at 8,530 ft)
Range: 670 km (416 mi)
Service ceiling: 8,400 m (27,550 ft)
Rate of climb: 8.3 m/s (1,640 ft/min)
Wing loading: 103.9 kg/m² (21.3 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 86.6 W/kg (0.053 hp/lb)

Armament

Guns: 2 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns mounted in the wing roots, firing
forward
1 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 15 machine gun in dorsal flexible mount position firing
to rear
1 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 15 in rear cone firing to rear (optional)

Bombs: 4 × 50 kg (110 lb) bombs



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