Focke-Wulf FW 190 Aces of the Western Front

Osprey Aircraft of the Aces #9

by John Weal

The Fw 190 was the scourge of Fighter Command from the moment it appeared on the Western Front at Abbeville in August 1941 with II./JG 26. A nimble, speedy and well-armed adversary, the 'Butcher Bird' quickly proved superior to all Allied fighters of the time, particularly at medium to low altitude. Led by Experten of the calibre of 'Pips' Priller, Heinz Bar and Walter Oesau, the handful of Fw 190-equipped Jagdgeschwader flew against overwhelming odds, firstly on the Channel coast, and then in direct defence of the Reich when the Jagdflieger took on the might of the USAAF's Eighth and Ninth Air Forces. This is their story.

Genres: Military History, Aviation, Military Fiction

100 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 1996

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

The German fighter Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was arguably the best fighter plane of the war. It was very long ranged, well armed, fast, agile, and durable, it was a fighter par excellence, and it was by far the single most dreaded adversary of the Allied bomber commands. Like most planes the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 had its problems when it first was developed. Overheating, oil lines ruptured, fuel lines leaked and many pilot scarcely dared to let the runway out of site when testing one. Many modifications were made to give it clearance to fly. Yet, this book only gives you the pilot experiences flying this fighter plane. You will read as Fw-190 pilots battle British and American forces from bombing the Fatherland. I wanted to know more about how it stacked up against fighter planes of other nations, which it never talked about. The book doesn't give much information on speed, dimensions, and armaments it used. That technical information on the Fw-190 was minimal at most. Just relying on the famous pilots who flew these planes got redundant after while. One of the highlights of the book is the superb color plated pages of a dozen different Fw-190's that were used by the German Luftwaffe in the war. That in itself is a 5 star page. If you are a model airplane enthusiast this is a great resource for you. Otherwise the book is a so-so read and just needs a little fine tuning to make it great.