Here is some text from an article I wrote for an aviation magazine some years ago and was published. The article was called 'The RAF's Bogeyman, the Fw 190 Butcher Bird Goes To War'. I won't quote the whole thing, just snippets. Being a general thing, it's not overly long nor detailed, so don't expect too much, but it outlines a little of the Fw 190's early history.
"An Unexpected Arrival
At 8:35 pm on 23 June 1942, Oberleutnant Arnim Faber, Gruppen-Adjutant of III/Jagdgeschwader 2 'Richthofen' inadvertently landed his Fw 190A-3 single-seat fighter at at RAF Pembry in Wales. Having mistaken the Bristol Channel for the English Channel, he followed a reciprocal heading and ended up in enemy hands. The implications of his error immediately dawned on him once Pembry's duty pilot for the day, Sgt Jeffries leaped on the wing of his taxying fighter and waved a Very signal pistol in his face; Faber had just delivered an intact example of the much vaunted Focke Wulf Fw 190 to the British.
This sudden and unexpected arrival was a stroke of good fortune for the RAF, whose fighter squadrons were suffering at the hands of this new Luftwaffe fighter. Since its first combat with Spitfires in September 1941 it was ominously apparent that the German machine was more than a match for the RAF's premier front line fighter; the Fw 190 was superior to the Spitfire Mark V in every respect except turning circle. As one exasperated pilot exclaimed when this quality of the Spitfire was pointed out to him; "turning doesn't win battles!"
Tank's Masterpiece
Conceived by Dipl-Ingenieur Kurt Waldemar Tank in 1937, the Fw 190 was to the Luftwaffe "ein zweites eisen im feuer" – a second iron in the fire to Willi Messerschmitt's famed Bf 109. Widely regarded as one of history's greatest combat aircraft, the Fw 190 saw use in every theatre the Luftwaffe found itself fighting in. A masterful example of the designer's art, it combined pleasing aesthetics with functional simplicity and technical excellence; it was at the time of its development the most advanced fighter in the world. Its principal systems were electrically actuated with the push of an array of button switches, which caused British test pilot Eric 'Winkle' Brown to muse over the fact that the aircraft's designers; "...never had to think in terms of those massive leather flying gauntlets issued as standard to British pilots and guaranteed to convert their hands into bunches of bananas..." At the heart of its engine management system was a device called the Kommandgerät, which combined the functions of altering fuel mixture, boost and RPM into one simple lever, with propeller pitch actuated by a push-button on the side of its handle.
An outstanding trait of the best combat aircraft of the World War Two era was versatility of purpose and the Würger or "Butcher Bird", as Tank named his fighter after a species of shrike, was no exception to this. Tank's intent was to produce a versatile fighter that was easy to build and maintain;
"The Fw 190 was designed to be built by a great number of small sub-assemblers. We designed it with ease of maintenance in mind, plus quick replacement of entire sections. It was a sturdy machine and extremely versatile. Although conceived as a fighter, it did double duty as an attack bomber and, in fact, throughout most of the war, was the only reliable light attack bomber we possessed in numbers."
The decision to power the Fw 190 with a radial engine set it apart from its contemporaries and Tank initially had difficulty convincing technical staff in the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM; German Air Ministry) of the wisdom of his decision;
"When we designed the Focke Wulf 190 in the summer of 1937, there were many in the RLM who believed our fighter had little chance against the concepts then coming from Messerschmitt. But because we chose a radial engine that would not conflict with the short supply of the liquid cooled powerplants earmarked for aircraft then in production, yet one that promised a great deal more horsepower than available at the time, several of our friends in procurement persuaded the technical bureau to give us a chance."
Initially however, the fighter's manufacturers had much difficulty with cooling its tightly cowled 14 cylinder radial engine. On the prototype's first flight on 1 June 1939, Focke Wulf's Chief Test Pilot Flugkapitän Hans Sander described his experience as "...like sitting with both feet in the fireplace", having experienced temperatures as high as 55 degrees Celsius. Both airframe and engine manufacturer blamed the other for the over-heating engines and the decision by the Bayerische Motoren Werk to discontinue production of the under-performing BMW 139 engine almost brought about the promising little fighter's premature demise.
Fortunately for Tank and his team, after a demonstration in front of senior RLM staff, including Reichsmarschall Herman Göring, an order for pre-production airframes was placed in early 1940. Despite the installation of the new 1,660 hp BMW 801 engine, the over-heating issue persisted, even once a cooling fan had been fitted ahead of the engine. Pilots test flying the Fw 190A-0 pre-production aircraft from Rechlin rarely strayed from within eyesight of the airfield and as one witness to the activities of the Erpobungsstaffel (Operational Test Squadron) 190 put it, the fighters flew back and forth, "...smoking and stinking like bees with their backsides on fire." Nevertheless, those that had flown the Fw 190 were convinced of its future by its exceptional performance and pleasant handling characteristics.
The RAF's Bogeyman
With their BMW 801 engines still overheating, the first Fw 190A-1 production models equipped II/JG 26 at Le Bourget, Paris in August 1941. Although impressed with their new fighter's superb control harmony and excellent performance, the former Bf 109 drivers still regarded them with some caution, particularly their tendency to catch fire. Less than a month after re-equipping however, JG 26's Butcher Birds were in action against RAF Spitfires.
The new fighter's ascendency over its enemy began almost immediately, with Luftwaffe units equipping with Fw 190s devising tactics to take full advantage of their superior performance over the Spitfire V. Since the Spitfire's tight turning circle was well known, engaging the British fighter in the horizontal plane was dangerous and to be avoided. With superior dive and climb speed to the Spitfire, the Fw 190 was best flown in the vertical plane, diving upon enemy aircraft from altitude in high speed slashing attacks, followed by zoom climbs back to altitude. Best of all was the Fw 190's ability to out run its opponent, which gave its pilots the advantage of breaking off from combat at will.
With the RAF's first encounter with Fw 190s in September 1941, which were tentatively misidentified in combat reports as a "Curtiss Hawk", Fighter Command's fortunes reached a low ebb; the previous six months of cross-channel operations had seen losses soar to as many as 416 fighters during 20,495 sorties flown. Some 700 enemy aircraft were claimed in that period, but actual Luftwaffe losses were as low as 103 fighters.
Occupying the job of Fighter Command C-in-C since Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh 'Stuffy' Dowding was ousted after the Battle of Britain, Air Marshal William Sholto Douglas had initiated his squadrons' offensive charges into enemy territory, carrying out 'Circusses' and 'Rhubarbs', quaint code names for luring enemy aircraft into combat by attacking random targets of opportunity on the ground. Despite favourable reports however, losses suffered during these dangerous missions were taking their toll and the RAF was forced into the disagreeable situation of maintaining a more defensive stance by curtailing cross-channel ops. Once the Fw 190 arrived on the scene, the Air Staff issued a Directive on 13 November 1941 halting all RAF operations over northern Europe.
Aircrew morale within Fighter Command plummeted. News of successful enemy action, such as the "Channel Dash" of 12 February 1942, where the Kriegsmarine battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and their destroyer escort steamed brazenly through the English Channel in broad daylight gave them even more reason to fret.
Operation Cerberus-Donnerkeil was the first combined operation the Fw 190 was engaged in. Organisation of air cover was the responsibility of celebrated German fighter leader Oberst Adolf 'Dolfo' Galland, who had relinquished command of JG 26, the first Luftwaffe unit to convert to the new fighter, to become Inspecteur der Jagdflieger (Fighter Pilot Inspector). Paltry attacks by Royal Navy Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers, gallantly led by Lt Cdr Eugene Esmonde were violently opposed by JG 26's Butcher Birds, whose pilots found themselves frantically pushing buttons to lower flaps and undercarriage to slow their fighters to attack the antiquated biplanes. Sadly, all of Esmonde's charges were shot down and not a single torpedo struck home. Esmonde was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his unfailing courage during the hopeless attack.
"What would be the result if a Merlin 60 was installed in a Spitfire?"
Throughout the first half of 1941, the Spitfire Mk.V fitted with a 1,230 hp single-stage supercharged Rolls Royce Merlin 45 proved a tractable fighter that was believed to be able to counter the new Messerschmitt Bf 109F adequately, despite the latter's superior altitude performance. It was minuted by the Air Staff that, "The aircraft has a superior initial climb and dive to that of the Spitfire, but it is considered that the Spitfire could easily out-turn the Me 109F, especially at high speed.". In practise however, the 'F model Messerschmitt was proving a headache and was largely responsible for the high losses of fighters in the first six months of 1941. The appearance of the Butcher Bird changed attitudes toward Fighter Command's failing cross-channel campaign, however.
Three weeks after the Fw 190 entered service, on 27 September 1941 Spitfire Mk.III N3297 took to the air powered by a new variant of the Merlin engine. The Merlin 60 was originally intended for the Vickers Wellington Mk.VI, a high altitude version of the famous bomber fitted with a pressurised cabin. With two modified single stage blowers coupled together, fitted with an intercooler and mounted on a basic Merlin 45, the new 60 Series offered greater power at height compared to the earlier engine. It was Lord Hives of Rolls-Royce who asked the pertinent question as to whether one could be fitted to a Spitfire.
Following successful trials with N3297, enthusiasm for a production 60 Series Merlin Spitfire was high within the Air Staff, which prompted the Air Ministry's Director of Technical Development Air Cdre Reynell Verney to minute on 6 November 1941;
"I want to recommend to the Air Staff for adopting a new version of the Spitfire engined with the Merlin 61. The airframe is essentially the Spitfire Mk.III. It is essential that the immediate aim would be to transfer all Spitfire production by Supermarine from the Spitfire Mk.V to the new aircraft and production deliveries could begin by mid-1942."
Three new Spitfire variants were immediately investigated by the Boffins at Vickers-Supermarine's. These were the high altitude HF.VII, fitted with extended wing tips and a pressurised cockpit, and the aircraft intended as the next standard production variant, the Spitfire Mk.VIII; essentially a Mk.VII without a pressurised cockpit. The third was the machine prompted by Verney in his minutes to the Air Staff; a stop-gap specifically to counter the Fw 190 by fitting a 1,280 hp Merlin 61 to Mk.V airframes currently occupying Spitfire production lines. This was the Spitfire Mk.IX, which, although intended as an interim until the Mk.VIII entered service, was built in greater numbers than any other Spitfire variant and according to its pilots, was the nicest of all Spitfires to fly."
