Effect of operational Fw187s during the Battle of Britain

[Shortround6]

30 to 40mph faster then other fighter aircraft during 1940. Superior climb and firepower too plus three times the internal fuel capacity of Me-109 and Spitfire.

It had the speed but the fuel advantage is quite as good as you make out. Yes, 3 times the fuel but with two engines instead of one you sure don't get 3 times the range or endurance.

Did the prototypes have protected tanks? Increase in weight and/or decrease in capacity?

Why are people splitting hairs over Fw-187 aerial performance? It's fantastic compared to contemporary fighter aircraft when powered by normal DB601 engines.

It also had a major problem in 1940 in regards to armament. With the MG 151 not ready it is limited to the MG FF cannon and the 60 round drums. The rear seat guy in the 110 could change drums. The Fw 187 either needs a rear seat man (and space for the drums) or it's combat duration is no longer than a 109 with MG FFs in the wings. it could carry either 2 or 4 7.9mm machine guns with 1000 rounds each compared to the 109s 2 7.9mm mgs with 1000rpg.

You have flight performance but for a long range escort fighter to be reduced to just 2 to 4 MG 17s after 8 seconds firing time?

 

[wuzak]

Why are people splitting hairs over Fw-187 aerial performance? It's fantastic compared to contemporary fighter aircraft when powered by normal DB601 engines.

Because it is largely theoretical performance?

 

[wuzak]

On discovering that there were Fw 187s with Db 601 engines being produced, the RAF put in place a couple of emergency programs.

First, was the aforementioned Whirlwinds, so experimentally being equipped with Merlins.

Secondly was the plan to put the Griffon in the Spitfire, but the engine wasn't ready. So Rolls-Royce got all the Buzzards they could find and converted them into detuned R engines, and called them Griffon Is. Spitfires with Griffon Is became known as the Spitfire 1G. They go from having 1000-1200hp to around 1800hp....

 

[wuzak]

Wikipedia gives 3700 kg, empty, for the Fw-187A-0 (Jumo 210), 3300 seem pretty low for DB version.

That was the two seater version with the extra weight being for the extra crew member (100kg about with his weight, clothing, and gear), the extra armor, the rebalancing of the aircraft after extending the cockpit, and the greater overall size of the cockpit in the two seat version.

Tomo specified empty weight, so the weight of the crew member and his equipment is irrelevant.

 

[davebender]

2 x 20mm FF cannon plus 4 MG (all on centerline) worked just fine for Me-110C. It will work just fine for early production Fw-187 too.

Belt feed MG151/20 cannon was a game changer for Germany just as Hs.404 cannon was a game changer for Britain. 1941 and later Fw-187s can expect a serious firepower increase.

 

[Aozora]

On discovering that there were Fw 187s with Db 601 engines being produced, the RAF put in place a couple of emergency programs.

First, was the aforementioned Whirlwinds, so experimentally being equipped with Merlins.

Secondly was the plan to put the Griffon in the Spitfire, but the engine wasn't ready. So Rolls-Royce got all the Buzzards they could find and converted them into detuned R engines, and called them Griffon Is. Spitfires with Griffon Is became known as the Spitfire 1G. They go from having 1000-1200hp to around 1800hp....

There were plans in place for a Whirlwind II with belt fed Hispanos and uprated Peregrines able to use 100 Octane fuel and +12 lbs boost (original Peregrines were limited to 87 octane fuel and +6lbs boost). With the developed Peregrines top speed was c. 380-400 mph. There was no way the Whirlwind could take Merlins without an extensive redesign.

 

[Shortround6]

2 x 20mm FF cannon plus 4 MG (all on centerline) worked just fine for Me-110C. It will work just fine for early production Fw-187 too.

It would but you need the the second crewman. The 110 carried two spare drums for each cannon. 180 rounds per gun, 20-24 seconds firing time. You also need room for the drums and room for the second crewman to work. Granted at times there may be only one cannon loaded but that is still better than no cannon loaded.

This is not exactly a deal breaker but the plane has to be taken as a package, you cannot select the good points and ignore the bad.


How good the Fw 187 would or not have been in 1941-42 has got nothing to do with the BoB.

 

[Shortround6]

There were plans in place for a Whirlwind II with belt fed Hispanos and uprated Peregrines able to use 100 Octane fuel and +12 lbs boost (original Peregrines were limited to 87 octane fuel and +6lbs boost). With the developed Peregrines top speed was c. 380-400 mph. There was no way the Whirlwind could take Merlins without an extensive redesign.

Much as I personally like the idea of a MK II Whirlwind, there is little the British can do during Aug-Nov IF the Fw 187 takes them by surprise. It takes too long to change things. IF, on the other hand, the FW 187 is used in Poland or featured in German propaganda in the Fall or winter of 1939, there is time for the British to shuffle priorities a bit, Not full MK II but something.

I am afraid the Buzzard idea is a none starter. About 100 built, They are now 9-10 years old and there are considerable differences between the Buzzard and the "R", Time spent rebuilding and redesigning these old engines is time NOT spent on currant engines.

 

[wiking85]

Much as I personally like the idea of a MK II Whirlwind, there is little the British can do during Aug-Nov IF the Fw 187 takes them by surprise. It takes too long to change things. IF, on the other hand, the FW 187 is used in Poland or featured in German propaganda in the Fall or winter of 1939, there is time for the British to shuffle priorities a bit, Not full MK II but something.

I am afraid the Buzzard idea is a none starter. About 100 built, They are now 9-10 years old and there are considerable differences between the Buzzard and the "R", Time spent rebuilding and redesigning these old engines is time NOT spent on currant engines.

Assuming the Fw187 continues development without interruption, it won't be combat operational until February or March 1940. It would enter production in 1939, but it takes months to prepare a unit around a new piece of equipment.

 

[nuuumannn]

This is an interesting thread since my knowledge of the Fw 187 is limited to references in books on LW aircraft, so I'll put a few queries to those of you who know more about it than me. Firstly, would a production Fw 187 be fitted with armour plating, self sealing tanks etc? What about cooling? An increase in engine output offered by two DB 601s would require larger radiators, otherwise the engines would overheat faster. That would make the big boxy radiators even bigger, thereby increasing drag, which, as we know increases by the square. My point is, the possible speed increase to just below 400 mph seems a bit of an exaggeration because of these things I've raised. I think that figure is way too high. Fw would need to clean up those engine nacelles in order to get close to that speed. A possible solution might be slim line radiators along the inboard leading edges a la Mosquito, Hornet and Firefly, although this would introduce structural changes, which would slow production, meaning not so many in service for the BoB.

Secondly, since the Fw 187 was intended for production, what happened to that space required once the RLM decided it wasn't going to be put into production? Was it used to build Fw 189s or 190s or something else? Which aircraft numbers would be reduced to accommodate the Fw 187? Okay, this is straying away from BoB time, but if it was the Fw 190, the impact of this might be considerable in the future. Would it have been a smart move overall?

Thirdly, the Air Ministry's resonse to the Fw 187 if its performance was better than the Spitfire's and Hurricane's. You can bet your bottom dollar that if the increase was a significant worry like the Fw 190's was over the Spit V that some emergency programme, whcih hs been hinted at earlier in this thread would have been put into place. Could we have seen a 60 Series Merlin in a Spitfire sooner than when we actually did? Actual timelines probably say no, but had the Air Ministry been aware that the new Fw Twin had outstanding performance that was better than the RAF's premier front line fighter during the Battle of France or earlier, the probability is that emergency measures within Rolls Royce would have been taken to get the more powerful Merlin and the Griffon into service quicker. Remember, in wartime, for every action, there is an equal (or greater) and opposite reaction.

A small point about getting German aircraft designations right. We've mentioned Bf and Me, but on official German aircraft documents you'll notice a complete absense of any full stop or hyphen between the manufacturer's designation and the type number, eg; Bf 109, NOT Bf-109 or Bf.109 (I have raised this before), although what does it matter, since I don't think everyone's paying attention to what Steve raised anyway.

 

[stona]

??? Please provide some references - apart from an unreferenced Wikipedia article - to prove this one.

The RLM kept changing its mind about what should be fitted with the DB 601 N.
Mankau and Petrick's Bf 110/Me 210/Me 410 covers the saga with minutes from various meetings.

24/5/40
1,000 of the new engines are expected by January 1941 and the possibility of extending the use of the new engine from the Bf 109 F-1 and F-2 is discussed.

31/5/40
Only the Bf 109 F will be powered by the new engine,later production of the DB 601 N for the Bf 110 will be explored at a later date.

7/6/40
New program adopted in which both the Bf 109 and Bf 110 are to be powered by the DB 601 N.

1/7/40
Bf 110 C W.Nr.2143 is serving as the prototype for the installation of the DB 601 N.

19/7/40
The 601 N engines in stock are to be used to convert the Bf 110s currently in front line service. This stops conversion of Bf 109 E units. The Bf 109 F series retains the DB 601 N.

26/7/40
Further conversion to the 601 N,other than for zerstorer groups already undergoing conversuion is halted. The decision as to whether refitting can occurr at a later date is not expected until the end of August.

9/8/40
That decision is taken. 70 engines per month are to be allocated for monthly production of 30 replacement Bf 110s and 10 Bf 109s. This is in conjunction with the mandated refitting of three Bf 110 zerstorer groups and one Bf 109 group already reengined.
In addition a rotating reserve of 30 engines is to be maintained in reserve,roughly 10% of the 280 engines currently installed on operational aircraft

[my italics,your 300 Fw 187 don't even have one engine each!]

10/8/40
The Luftwaffe reports a strength of 444 zerstorer aircraft

[with 280 DB 601 N fitted,some on Bf 109s,it is obvious that most Bf 110s could not have had the new engine fitted]

30/8/40
The RLM wants 45 DB 601 N engines in reserve for September,35 in October and then 30 a month until a total reserve of 180 engines is built up to supplement the 280 'active'engines.

14/9/40
Ob.d.L. reports total Bf 110 strength as 332.

27/9/40
The Chief of the General Staff has decided to maintain four Bf 110 groups with the 601 N. The remaining 601 N engines will be distributed 1/3 for rotating stock and 2/3 for fitting to Bf 109 airframes.

18/10/40
Not possible to fit any more Bf 109 E aircraft with the DB 601 N other than the group already converted.
The current 601 N production run is prioritised as follows:
1 Fitting to Bf 109 F
2 Fitting in all newly built Bf 110s
3 Installation in 40 Bf 109 E (conversions) to maintain the existing converted group's strength.
4 Rotating reserve supply for 1-3 above.

6/11/40
The DB 601 N is to be primarily fitted to the Bf 109 E. The November and December production of Bf 110s will be fitted with the DB 601 A engine. Engines will be allocated as follows:
1 Bf 109 E production
2 replacement engines for III./ZG 26 and EpGr. 210.
If insufficient engines are available then II./ZG 26 and II./ZG 76 may have their DB 601 N engines swapped for DB 601 As.

22/1/41
A message on the C3 fuel situation suggests fitting the DB 601 A to the Bf 110. This seems to have been ignored.
As of 1/1/41 there were 432 operational DB 601 N engines reported by units. This is for all types,including for example the He 111 P and Do 215.
153 Bf 110s of all types are reported as being fitted with the DB 601 N,slightly less than half the reported total strength.
The plan for 1/4/41 was to have 850 operational DB 601 N engines,a total stock of 1230. C3 fuel was to be allocated accordingly.

I think this now takes us beyond the period in question. With a decision making process like this it's incredible that Germany managed to carry on until 1945

Cheers
Steve

 

[tomo pauk]

Great stuff, thanks for the effort to find type it.

added: when one has the 'silver bullet', it need to be operating that way.
Even if we agree that Fw-187 with DBs would be able to do 380 mph, such a plane adds no telling advantage if it's employed as a close escort. Ie. LW need to do everything 'right' in order to crush RAF, one plane that is better than another ones will not make it on it's own. We can check out Tigers and Panthers vs. plain vanilla T-34s, plus German crews being better than Soviet, yet we know how the thing unfolded. Or - the most common LW fighter that was way faster than most common RAF fighter, flying in figer four formation vs. Vic formation, yet there is no great deal of evidence the Hurricanes suffered so much vs. Bf-109s in BoB.

 

[Tante Ju]

With a decision making process like this it's incredible that Germany managed to carry on until 1945

Cheers
Steve

 

[jim]

Mr Shortround 6
1)It s very much preferableto have 60 rpg and the performance to do something good with them, than have 180 rpg and be useless because you have not the performance to point them at the enemy or to just survive
2) 8 sec are plenty of time to explode 2 Spits.
3) Do you believe that Bf 110 gunners were able to change drums during a high G s dogfight?

To everyone that doubts Fw187 performance
Mr DonL has answered all the questions you raise,in previus threads. Do some searching in the forum s archieve s
Fw 187 ,single seat, could not only grossly out perform the current british fighters. It s power and wing loadings suggest that its sustained turning rate should be very competitive, especially at higher altitudes. Also its rate of roll was near that of 109
However , winning a campaign, is not just a matter of aircraft types. Fw 187 would cause great increase in RAF casualties, but germany overall could not bomb england into submission. At least not as long as the atlantic communications with america were open.
And i think that we all agree that , even if LW managed air superiority over the invation beaches , the very moment that a german soldier would put his feet on enland soil, America would attack germany.

 

[stona]

It's all very hypothetical.
It is also pointless to transpose the performance of any aircraft established by experienced test pilots flying in ideal test conditions onto an aircraft in front line squadron service flown by a very different type of pilot.
We have no idea what tactics the Luftwaffe would have developed for the Fw 187,nor those which might have been developed by the RAF to counter it.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Shortround6]

Mr Shortround 6
1)It s very much preferableto have 60 rpg and the performance to do something good with them, than have 180 rpg and be useless because you have not the performance to point them at the enemy or to just survive

While that is true it doesn't quite solve the problem for an escort fighter unless you have an awful lot of them. Being a smaller aircraft the FW 187 should have better performance than the 110 even with a rear seater.

2) 8 sec are plenty of time to explode 2 Spits.

If you have an experten flying the plane you are quite right, if not??? and what happens when the next group of Spitfires shows up?

3) Do you believe that Bf 110 gunners were able to change drums during a high G s dogfight?

No I don't, but then an escort fighter is not going to be in a continuous dogfight from the moment it crosses the coast until it gets back to the Channel. It is 111 miles from from Southampton to Birmingham or 125 miles from Ipswich to Derby. An hour to an hour and half round trip depending on cruising speed of the bombers, dog legs and lining up for the bomb run. Some people have talked about bombing Liverpool. Somewhere in there there should be a few minutes of straight and level flight to reload the cannon.

To everyone that doubts Fw187 performance
Mr DonL has answered all the questions you raise,in previus threads. Do some searching in the forum s archieve s
Fw 187 ,single seat, could not only grossly out perform the current british fighters. It s power and wing loadings suggest that its sustained turning rate should be very competitive, especially at higher altitudes. Also its rate of roll was near that of 109
However , winning a campaign, is not just a matter of aircraft types. Fw 187 would cause great increase in RAF casualties, but germany overall could not bomb england into submission..

I have been in a few of those discussions and have one of the books he uses as a source: "Focke-Wulf FW 187, an Illustrated History" by Dieter Herman Peter Petrick.

Unfortunately what we have is the data from the "A" series prototypes with the Jumo 210 engines, A speed run with DB 600 series engines ( sources differ on which exact engine but they may be DB601H engines which were experimental engines using a sort of steam cooling. Mr DonL has gone over this before and there may be some problems with the exact translation of the terms, The Merlin also used a sort of steam cooling (at least to begin with) in that a small quantity of the coolant was allowed to turn to steam and was re-condensed in the header tank,*. The FW 187 book says this engine was good for 1350hp for one minute at ground level. Apparently at the time of the publication of the book little data remains for the "B" series of the FW 187 which was to be powered by the DB 601 engines, like calculated weights or performance.
After that the book skips to the "C" series of the FW 187 which were entirely paper exercises using both DB 605 and BMW 801 engines. These projects were projected to weigh more empty (no guns, radio auto, pilot, safety rescue equip.) than the "A" series did loaded. gross weight without bombs was 7200kg (DB 605 version), wings were modified slightly and the fuselage was modified.

It gets a little hard to estimate performance for a hypothetical "B" version with "normal" DB 601 engines from this.

* I am not making any claims as to who invented what or when. AND steam cooling can cover quite a range of designs as can surface radiators. Does the design allow for 5-10% of the coolant to flash to steam or 40-50% or ??? are a few steam bubbles turned back into liquid in the header tank or are larger quantities handled in separate condensers? Surface radiators can use either liquid coolant or steam. Without more inforamtion as to a particular design we are just speculating. I only bring it up to point out that the 394mph figure for the Fw 187 was not done with "production" DB 601 engines.

 

[davebender]

Luftwaffe is unlikely to crush an enemy who has ground control radar and can put up twice as many fighter sorties over England.

Back to a more realistic strategy.
Three jagdeschwader equipped with Fw-187s would sweep the RAF from the Mediterranean during 1940.....

 

[Glider]

With what the RAF had in the Med in 1940 a bunch of second hand Me109D's would do the job

 

[delcyros]

Hmmm,

while I like the view of the Falke, I have my doubts to whether or not it may have been a benefit in BoB.
Principal reasons:

[A] - timeline.
prototype with jumo-210:
Bf-110A0 prototype first flight (with Jumo-210): june 1936
Fw-187V prototype first flight (with Jumo-210): june 1937

prototype with Db-600:
Fw-187V first flight (with Db-600): may 1939
Bf-110V first flight (with Db-600): May 1936 (previous to Jumo-210 equipped -110)
for comparison:
Me-210 prototype first flight (with Db-601): Sep 1939

Service evaluation:
Fw-187A0: 1940
Bf-110C0: 1938
for comparison:
Ekdo-210: 1940

-thus, in my opinion, the Fw-187 seems to be capable of replacing the Me-210 in timeline but not the older Bf-110. I have severe doubts that any number of Fw-187 could be aviable at BoB times other than a small, combat evaluation unit in the latter stage of BoB with roughly inconsequential effect -and that only if given a high priority by RLM.

tactical use
In BoB, Fw-187 replacing Bf-110 would be primarely assigned to close escort for bombers. Remember, we are changing A/C, not tactics. Used in this capacity, the airplane would be tied to slow bombers, exposing it´s rather poor low speed handling, large target size, poor initial acceleration and low speed roll rate. This is approximately the same tactical limitation which assured the complete failure of the Bf-110. Instead of doing high cover at it´s high cruise speed, exhibiting zoom-climbs, superior dive capabilities and playing the strength of it´s stable weapon platform with concentrated heavy armement, the Fw-187 finds itselfe in no better position than the Bf-110, arguably even in a worse one because the Bf-110 has a rear gunner to at least cover some blind arcs and give opportunity of warning from beeing jumped.
Thus, in my opinion, the presence / absence of the Fw-187 has no effect unless the tactics are drastically changed. It´s not the best plane for dogfighting a single engined A/C like the Hurricane and Spitfire, either. Keep in mind, a twin engined fighter A/C has to be limited in agility compared to a single engined one.
The solution to BoB is not another, more expansive twin engined fighter but

[A] rejection of close escort tactics
a larger number Bf-109, equipped with drop tanks to increase range and endurance

 

[wiking85]

Hmmm,

while I like the view of the Falke, I have my doubts to whether or not it may have been a benefit in BoB.
Principal reasons:

[A] - timeline.
prototype with jumo-210:
Bf-110A0 prototype first flight (with Jumo-210): june 1936
Fw-187V prototype first flight (with Jumo-210): june 1937

prototype with Db-600:
Fw-187V first flight (with Db-600): may 1939
Bf-110V first flight (with Db-600): May 1936 (previous to Jumo-210 equipped -110)
for comparison:
Me-210 prototype first flight (with Db-601): Sep 1939

Service evaluation:
Fw-187A0: 1940
Bf-110C0: 1938
for comparison:
Ekdo-210: 1940

-thus, in my opinion, the Fw-187 seems to be capable of replacing the Me-210 in timeline but not the older Bf-110. I have severe doubts that any number of Fw-187 could be aviable at BoB times other than a small, combat evaluation unit in the latter stage of BoB with roughly inconsequential effect -and that only if given a high priority by RLM.

tactical use
In BoB, Fw-187 replacing Bf-110 would be primarely assigned to close escort for bombers. Remember, we are changing A/C, not tactics. Used in this capacity, the airplane would be tied to slow bombers, exposing it´s rather poor low speed handling, large target size, poor initial acceleration and low speed roll rate. This is approximately the same tactical limitation which assured the complete failure of the Bf-110. Instead of doing high cover at it´s high cruise speed, exhibiting zoom-climbs, superior dive capabilities and playing the strength of it´s stable weapon platform with concentrated heavy armement, the Fw-187 finds itselfe in no better position than the Bf-110, arguably even in a worse one because the Bf-110 has a rear gunner to at least cover some blind arcs and give opportunity of warning from beeing jumped.
Thus, in my opinion, the presence / absence of the Fw-187 has no effect unless the tactics are drastically changed. It´s not the best plane for dogfighting a single engined A/C like the Hurricane and Spitfire, either. Keep in mind, a twin engined fighter A/C has to be limited in agility compared to a single engined one.
The solution to BoB is not another, more expansive twin engined fighter but

[A] rejection of close escort tactics
a larger number Bf-109, equipped with drop tanks to increase range and endurance

There are some issues with your timeline; first, as per the OP the FW187 would fly with the Db600 in May 1937, as the two seater version with the Jumo 210 would not be tested. The Bf110 would be cancelled in favor of the Fw187, so that would mean that the Fw187 would be tested with the Db601s in 1938. They would be production ready by May 1939, so would take about six months to get combat operational, so would be ready by early 1940. Development of aircraft usually took two years in WW2, so May 1939 would be exactly 24 months.

Also remember that initially the Germans used far escorts instead of close, so the Fw187 would get a chance to prove its mettle on 'freijagd'. If they could keep the casualties lower in this role they won't be tied to the bombers later on. Also, even with close escorts being ordered, the high speed of the Fw187 would make it too difficult to tie them to bombers, so if anything they would just operate as top cover in heavily escorted bomber missions:

Battle of Britain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Luftwaffe tactics were influenced by their fighters. The Bf 110 proved too vulnerable to the nimble single-engined RAF fighters. This meant the bulk of fighter escort duties fell on the Bf 109. Fighter tactics were then complicated by bomber crews who demanded closer protection. After the hard-fought battles of 15 and 18 August, Göring met with his unit leaders. During this conference, the need for the fighters to meet up on time with the bombers was stressed. It was also decided that one bomber Gruppe could only be properly protected by several Gruppen of 109s. In addition Göring stipulated that as many fighters as possible were to be left free for Freie Jagd ("Free Hunts": a free-roving fighter sweep preceded a raid to try to sweep defenders out of the raid's path). The Ju 87 units, which had suffered heavy casualties, were only to be used under favourable circumstances.[89] In early September, due to increasing complaints from the bomber crews about RAF fighters seemingly able to get through the escort screen, Göring ordered an increase in close escort duties. This decision shackled many of the Bf 109s to the bombers and, although they were more successful at protecting the bomber forces, casualties amongst the fighters mounted primarily because they were forced to fly and manoeuvre at reduced speeds.[90]

The Luftwaffe consistently varied its tactics in its attempts to break through the RAF defences. It launched many Freie Jagd to draw up RAF fighters. RAF fighter controllers, however, were often able to detect these and position squadrons to avoid them, keeping to Dowding's plan to preserve fighter strength for the bomber formations. The Luftwaffe also tried using small formations of bombers as bait, covering them with large numbers of escorts. This was more successful, but escort duty tied the fighters to the bombers' slow speed and made them more vulnerable.

By September, standard tactics for raids had become an amalgam of techniques. A Freie Jagd would precede the main attack formations. The bombers would fly in at altitudes between 16,000 feet (4,900 m) and 20,000 feet (6,100 m), closely escorted by fighters. Escorts were divided into two parts (usually Gruppen), some operating in close contact with the bombers, and others a few hundred yards away and a little above. If the formation was attacked from the starboard, the starboard section engaged the attackers, the top section moving to starboard and the port section to the top position. If the attack came from the port side the system was reversed. British fighters coming from the rear were engaged by the rear section and the two outside sections similarly moving to the rear. If the threat came from above, the top section went into action while the side sections gained height to be able to follow RAF fighters down as they broke away. If attacked, all sections flew in defensive circles. These tactics were skilfully evolved and carried out, and were extremely difficult to counter.[91]

Adolf Galland noted:

We had the impression that, whatever we did, we were bound to be wrong. Fighter protection for bombers created many problems which had to be solved in action. Bomber pilots preferred close screening in which their formation was surrounded by pairs of fighters pursuing a zigzag course. Obviously, the visible presence of the protective fighters gave the bomber pilots a greater sense of security. However, this was a faulty conclusion, because a fighter can only carry out this purely defensive task by taking the initiative in the offensive. He must never wait until attacked because he then loses the chance of acting.

We fighter pilots certainly preferred the free chase during the approach and over the target area. This gives the greatest relief and the best protection for the bomber force.[92]

Note too that the Bf110s were not used for close escorts, only the Me109s. So the Fw187s would also not be used that way, especially as they were not as maneuverable as the Me109 close in so were poorly suited to this type of activity, which is also why the Bf110 was not used that way.