Focke-Wulf Fw 187
The Fw 187 Falke (Falcon) was created in 1936 as a private project because of a suggestion of Focke-Wulf´s chief designing engineer Kurt Tank. It should use the new DB 600 engines, and the RLM (german ministry of aviation) allowed it. Detail development was the task of first designing engineer R. Blaser.
The Fw 187 had an extremely narrow fuselage and its cockpit was so small, that the engine instruments had to be mounted on the inboard sides of the engine covering. Because the DB 600 were only available in small numbers, the RLM made the demand that the much weaker Jumo 210 had to be used instead. The Fw 187 had a full retractable landing gear, which was in flight fully covered for better aerodynamics (the V-2 had a crash landing because the right main landing gear broke, so this was in the early design stage aproblem as later for the ta154, too.).
The first prototype made its first flight in late spring 1937 with Hans Sander as its pilot. 560km/h were expected with the 1000PS DB 600, but 523km/h were already reached with the 700 PS Jumo 210 in the unarmed V-1 prototype. While testing, several details changed: new props, twin wheels (as an experiment), and the rudders got a shortened profile.
Meanwhile, the guys in the RLM got crazy; they wanted this plane as a destroyer (one definition of a destroyer: two crew members, heavy armament, two engines). Of course, everybody can see that there is no place for defensive weapons, and on long range escort missions, the bombers navigate and the escorts only have to stay in relative position, but they wanted a second crew member. Although this reduced the range and the dogfight abilities.
So Focke-Wulf designed the third prototype Fw 187V-3 with two crew members, new engine covering, different fuselage structure and two 20mm MG FF. It flew first in spring 1938, and two similar planes followed. The first prototype was destroyed on 14.05.1938 (the pilot paul bauer flew too risky and stalled during a loop), but the program continued, and Focke-Wulf got two 1.000PS DB 600 engines for the sixth prototype (Fw 187V6), which reached a speed of 636km/h
(60-120km/h more than the fighters of the Battle of Britain reached in 1940 with 1050 to 1330PS engines). Next, three Fw 187A-0 (based upon the third prototype) pre-serial planes were built and used since summer 1940 as a defense for the Focke-Wulf facilities at Bremen, later in the Winter inofficially at the 13. destroyer squadron in Norway. The pilots in Norway were enthusiastic about its potential and demanded quantity production, but instead they were ordered to give the planes back to Focke-Wulf because they were only in inofficial use. Some Fw187 were also used in the aerial shooting school in Vaerlose, Denmark.
In the facility defense role, they shot down several aircraft. One Fw187 ace was killed in his aircraft.
(Sorry, I´ve lost the details, at least six kills, I believe.)
Remarkable was the great maneuvrability; the Rechlin test pilot Heinrich Beauvais was of the opinion that it circled comparable to the Bf109 and rolled only slightly slower than the Bf109, while spped and range were superior (climb rate and armamen, too; editors comment).
Kurt Tank didn't accept the decision of the high ranks in the ministry and offered further variants of the Fw187; DB601, DB605 and even the radial BMW801 engines were proposed. Stuka, nightfighter, fighter-bomber, high-altitude interceptor (with greater wingspan and lenghtened rear fuselage), but the disastrous (but good-looking) Me210 and Me410 design was preferred by the ministry - another mistake, although the wing load of the Fw187 was increased by heavier armament, armour and engines.
My comment on the Fw187:
This plane was excellent when it appeared, but ignored in favor of the Bf110. Maybe it would have been successful and taken the place in aviation history which now the Fw190 has if it appeared just after the "Battle of Britain" (where the Bf110 failed and Fw187's qualities were obviously needed but not available).
In 1940, it would have much greater engines; the 1.175PS DB601A inverted vee liquid-cooled engines with direct fuel injection. This configuration could have been in production as early as 1939 and it would have been able to take on the best fighters of 1943!
I can imagine lots of missions for this combat plane;
high-altitude interceptor (mosquito-killer!), long-range escort fighter ("Battle of Britain"-winner!), train buster (with 3cm Mk101 or 3,7cm Flak18 under belly, russian army depended on railway logistics), tank buster (with 3cm Mk101 or 3,7cm Flak18 under belly, plague for russian T-34's), heavy interceptor (with 3cm Mk101 under belly and four 2cm MG151/20 internal against B-17 and B-24), medium range high-speed (high-altitude) photo reconnaissance (window in lower bow for aiming a robotic camera behind the seat), fighter-bomber (planned C-version: up to two tons bombload with two DB605 or BMW801 engines!), Stuka (also planned, 1000kg bombload in dive attack possible), night fighter (also planned, but handicapped by low fuselage volume; optimal only for "Wilde Sau" (wild boar) nightfighter tactics; the only really capable AND suitable german air interception radar would have been the late FuG216, 217 and 218 "Neptun", which were even used for Fw190) and low-altitude raider against targets of opportunity and airfields ("Battle of Britain"-winner).
There's just one problem; the He100 was also excellent, and it needed only one engine.
With half the armament, the He100 had 2/3 of Fw187 range, and this was probably enough during the "Battle of Britain".
| specifications: | |
|---|---|
| Focke-Wulf 187 A-0 german two-seat two-engine fighter | |
| dimensions: | |
| wing span: | 15,48m |
| length: | 11,20m |
| height: | 3,85m |
| wing area: | 30,2m2 |
| weights: | |
| empty: | 3.402kg |
| maximum take-off: | 4.900kg |
| performance: | |
| maximum speed: | 545km/h at 4.600m |
| maximum speed close to earth: | 466km/h |
| climb rate close to earth: | 12,10m/s |
| service ceiling: | 10.000m |
| normal range: |
1.450km with 1100 litres german B4 aviation gasoline (all internal) |
| powerplants: | |
|
two 675PS Junkers Jumo 210G 12-cylinder inverted Vee, liquid-cooled engines | |
| armament: | |
|
two 20mm MG FF, two 7,92mm MG 17 (fixed firing forward) and one MG81 (firing backwards up, not fixed) | |
I've read this book with great interest, and it's really good! R/C modellers don't need to contact me; they should buy it.
Dipl. Ing. Ernst Neumann built a 1:5,2 R/C model of the Fw187 which behaves fine in the air; close up photos of this model are also in the book.
25€, ISBN: 3-925505-66-0 Aviatic Verlag, Oberlaching 2001 - 157 pages plus 2 pages full of sources used by the authors
Many photos in that book are much better than mine.
Other book authors that wrote about the Fw187: Gert Heumann ("Focke-Wulf 187 Falke")
and Hans Redemann ("Der Falke aus Bremen" in the journal Flug Revue 5/89)
(I really don't get anything for this "advertising"; this homepage is still strictly non-commercial!)
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links:
"Das Flugzeugarchiv", a source
Luftwaffe Resource Group, a source