Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules
Are you still interested in those?
...
I see that the graph shows that while carrying Werfer-Granate 21 rocket launchers the aircraft reached a maximum speed of 594 km/hr (369 mph) at 6250 meters (20,505 feet), while with GM-1 a speed of 605 km/hr (376 mph) was reached at 8000 meters (26, 247 feet). Is this how you see it to be as well?
"Flat plate" is the area of a square, flat plate with the same drag as the aircraft. I tend to think it's a lousy measure, because a small aircraft with the drag profile of a barn door will have a smaller equivalent flat plate area than an efficient, larger aircraft.
Yes, case '5' is when two 'Werfer-Granate 21' rockets launchers are attached under the wings ('u. d. Fl.' - unter dem Fluegel), gun armament was two MG 131s and two MG 151/20s for the case '5'.
The other cases are for different cannon set-ups for outer guns' positions, case '3' and '4' for under-wing cannons.
...
Earlier you mentioned the 190F and G which I completely forgot about. I have always believed them to be used more for ground attack, and not so much for air to air combat. Have I been mislead at all?
The 190F was a fighter-bomber supposed to be employed as ground attacker, featuring many times increased armor. The 190F-8 featured the external air intakes so the air filters can be installed. Usualy the cowl guns were retained, outer guns deleted. Different combinations or extra armor, extra internal fuel tank and cowl guns were in use (one thing excuding another).
190G were intended for long range work, being usualy outfitted with wing drop tanks facility, so the external payload might involve either on bomb + 2 tanks, or 2 bombs + 1 tank. The 190G-8 was also featuring the extra fuselage tank, carry-over from A-8.
Both F and G versions were capable fighters once external payload was dropped (they were fighter-bombers, after all), for example Rudel claimed a number of Soviet A/C when he flew the 190F.
...
So basically what I'm seeing is the extra armor did not overtly affect handling or performance of the fighter. For the most part was this armor easy enough to remove in order to put its weight somewhere around what one would find with the A-8 model?
The 109G was considerably faster than the 109F on same power, due to having less racks and less guns (= lower drag). 109G-8 was also much lighter than F-8 or A-8, by 300 kg, all for clean condition.
WhoopsI assume these were all supposed to be 190 rather than 109?
Handling and climb were not that much affected, since it was most of the times 'item A out, install item B' procedure. However, speed was very much hurt when the 190F carried four wing racks and belly rack - a 35-40 km/h loss vs. 190A-6. Still can bag a mid-war Soviet fighter, or any 'frontline bomber' (Il-2, A-20, B-25 etc.) but will not cut it against the Typhoon, Tempest, Spitfire IX or XII, or any later US or Soviet fighter.
The 190G was considerably faster than the 190F on same power, due to having less racks and less guns (= lower drag). 190G-8 was also much lighter than F-8 or A-8, by 300 kg, all for clean condition.
The 190F was a fighter-bomber supposed to be employed as ground attacker, featuring many times increased armor. The 190F-8 featured the external air intakes so the air filters can be installed. Usualy the cowl guns were retained, outer guns deleted. Different combinations or extra armor, extra internal fuel tank and cowl guns were in use (one thing excuding another).
Hello Tomo Pauk,
Are you certain that the F-8 used external air intakes? There is a beautiful FW 190F-8 in the Udvar Hazy Smithsonian which appears to have normal intakes. Why would extra armour, cowl guns, and extra internal fuel tanks (behind cockpit?) be mutually exclusive?
One thing that hasn't been mentioned thus far is that the F and G series were originally just factory Umrustbausatz special equipment versions of standard A series fighters.
The first F series fighters were just redesignations of ground attack versions of the A-4 series and continued through to factory modifications of the A-9 series
The first G series I believe began as a renaming of ground attack A-5 series.
The FW 190A-5/U8 that was in the USN test would be designated a FW 190G-2 later in the war.
The powerplants of these Jabo were calibrated differently and may have had different equipment but so far I have not been able to find anything that does a direct comparison between a fighter and a ground attack engine. Perhaps the A-5 in the test lacked a pressurized ignition system as I have seen described in other forums. That would explain the engine cut during service ceiling test.
- Ivan.