Fw 190 A-5/U2
| This page is about the German fighter Fw 190 A-5/U2. For other versions, see Fw 190 (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Fw 190 A-5/U2 is a rank III German fighter with a battle rating of 4.3 (AB), 4.0 (RB), and 4.7 (SB). It has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27. "Würger" is the German nickname of this beast of a plane. It can be translated as slayer, choker, or strangler. They fit the English designation rather well, too: The "Butcher-bird".
The Fw 190s are fighters, however, this one can operate in a multi-role by loading external payloads. The added ordnance will increase the aircraft's damage dealing capability, however, it will also negatively affect the fighter weight and aerodynamics, thus its combat ability too. Using it as a fighter-bomber (German: "Jabo"(short for Jagdbomber)) is generally not advised, whereas this would typically be the duty of the 190 F-8.
The best load out for a bombing role is a single 500 kg bomb. This will allow for slight inaccuracy as the extra 50 kg bombs are usually useless except a direct hit. To attack, be 1 km (3,000 ft) above the target and dive with throttle back and combat flaps extended with the aiming recital just in front of the Target. At 300 m release the bomb and use full elevator to pull out of the dive (don't forget to retract combat flaps during pull-out). Note if the altitude is any lower without a timer when detonated, the bomb may also destroy you too. If attacking ships, attack inline with the Stern and bow to give you more of a target to hit, attacking from the port or starboard sides gives you a very small margin of error with the bomb falling short or going long past the ship.
General info
Flight performance
| Characteristics | Max speed (km/h at 6,300 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 650 | 629 | 10200 | 22.1 | 22.8 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 391 |
| Upgraded | 705 | 677 | 20.0 | 21.0 | 18.7 | 14.1 | ||
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| X | ✓ | ✓ | X | X |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 912 | 310 | - | 700 | 310 | ~14 | ~7 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 420 | < 300 | < 550 | > 320 |
Survivability and armour
- 3 mm Steel - Engine cowling
- 5 mm Steel - Engine cowling
- 6 mm Steel - Under engine plate
- 8 mm Steel - Under fuel tanks
- 5 mm Steel - Behind rear fuel tank
- 8 mm Steel - Seat plate
- 6 mm Steel - Seat plate
- 12 mm Steel - Headrest plate
- 57 mm Bulletproof glass
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Offensive armament
The Fw 190 A-5/U2 is armed with:
- 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons, wing-mounted (250 rpg = 500 total)
The two cannons are arranged with one mounted in each of the wings near the wing roots. If continuously fired, both cannons will run out of ammunition at the same time.
Suspended armament
The Fw 190 A-5/U2 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- Without load
- 4 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (200 kg total)
- 1 x 250 kg SC250JA bomb (250 kg total)
- 1 x 500 kg SC500K bomb (500 kg total)
- 2 x Wfr.Gr.21 rockets
- 1 x Flam C 250 incendiary bomb
- 1 x Flam C 500 incendiary bomb
Usage in battles
The Fw 190A-5/U2, as all the planes in this line, are some of the best "Boom and Zoomers" in the game and should be flown exclusively in this style. The performance at high speeds is excellent, as is their dive and zoom characteristics. Do not ever engage in a turn fight as this will most likely end bad. Instead fight only in the vertical. Try to have an altitude, or speed advantage over your opponents (by climbing to the side at the start of the battle and then enter the highest battle you see). But you can still win fights, when you are lower in energy than your foe.
Tactics
In the defensive, you can often just dive away from planes, such as Spitfires and La-5s, but you need at a decent altitude to gain top speed, so do not be too quick to dive after an enemy, if they fly below your plane. Unless you are higher then everybody else, or alone. Just be sure then to have the time to regain the lost altitude.
In a dive the 190 can, due its short wings, pull quite some stunts to either lose the hunter, or even make him loose his own wings! This is favourable strategy against La-5s, Yaks & Spitfires who have due their low wingloading (and partly woodenwings for the Russians), less resistance against high G manoeuvres. Again be sure to regain your energy by a zoom-climb. Just look out while doing so, many pilots die as they do not notice a second enemy aircraft approaching. German proverb:"Wenn Zwei sich streiten, freut sich der Dritte." ~ "When two quarrel, the third will reap the success." Of course this could also be you.
Counter-tactics
When facing a A5/U2 you want to start out with an energy advantage. Things that you don't want to allow are head-ons or prolonged dives, both of these favour the Fw's durable construction. Other things that you should be wary off is to never underestimate the high speed agility off the FW or its ability to sustain damage. If you can get a Fw to engage in a prolonged turnfight then you've essentially won. Fw's are going to position themselves in a way that either allows a head-on or a dive on your tail, by cutting into their dive you can force them to steepen it and most likely have to zoom out . Head-ons are best avoided unless you're in an equally well armed and armoured plane such as an F4U-1c, in which they are still risky.
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Not controllable | Controllable Auto control available |
Not controllable Not auto controlled |
Controllable Not auto controlled |
Combined | Not controllable 2 gears |
Not controllable |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Durable construction and power plant
- Great diver and can pull high-G manoeuvres
- Great energy retention
- More manoeuvrable than the normal A5 due to the removal of two cannons and two machine guns.
- Able to mount bombs or suspended armament
- Suspended armament provides devastating firepower only rivaled by some heavy or jet fighters.
- 2 x 20 mm MG151 cannons provide more than enough firepower to take down enemy aircraft.
Cons:
- Slow turn time
- Mediocre acceleration and climb rate
- Suspended armaments impact the plane's performance significantly
- Although the removal of 2 x 20mm cannons and 2 x 7.92 mm guns reduces the plane's weight and improves its manoeuvrability, their absence can be a huge drawback if you expect the same firepower of other Fw 190s.
History
The Fw 190 A-5/U2 was a modification of the Fw 190 A-5 used for ground attack during the night. Tests conducted in June 1943 were carried out with fairings attached to the engine cowling in order to dampen and obscure the exhaust flames, hiding the airplane in the night sky. An experimental A-5/U2 was flown in simulated attacks on a Ju-88A and it was discovered that the plane could only be seen at maximum engine power at high altitude.[1] Several airframes were then brought to the A-5/U2 standard with the modified engine cowling, ETC 250 bomb rack, provisions for 300L fuel tanks under the wings, a modified radio and a landing searchlight.[2]
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
External links
- Official data sheet - more details about the performance (Russian Forum)
- [Wikipedia] Focke-Wulf Fw 190
- [Air Vectors] The Focke-Wulf Fw 190
Bibliography
- Shacklady, Edward. Butcher Bird: The Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Bristol: Cerberus Publishing, 2005.
References
| Focke-Wulf Aircraft Corporation (Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau Aktiengesellschaft) | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | Fw 190 A-1 · Fw 190 A-4 · Fw 190 A-5 · Fw 190 A-5/U2 · Fw 190 A-5/U12 · Fw 190 A-5/U14 · Fw 190 A-8 |
| Fw 190 C | |
| Fw 190 D-9 · Fw 190 D-12 · Fw 190 D-13 | |
| Fw 190 F-8 | |
| Ta 152 C-3* · Ta 152 H-1* · Ta 154 A-1* | |
| Bombers | Fw 189 A-1 · Fw 200 C-1 |
| Export | ▅Fw 190 A-5 |
| Captured | ▃Fw 190 A-8 · ▂Fw 190 D-9 |
| * In 1944, the Germany Air Ministry changed new fighter aircraft designation to that of the chief designer. Kurt Tank was the chief designer at Focke-Wulf and later aircraft he designed were given the prefix of Ta. | |
| Germany fighters | |
|---|---|
| Heinkel | |
| He 51 | He 51 A-1 · He 51 B-1 · He 51 B-2/H · He 51 C-1 · He 51 C-1/L |
| He 100 | He 100 D-1 |
| He 112 | He 112 A-0 · He 112 B-0 · He 112 B-1/U2 · He 112 B-2/U2 · He 112 V-5 |
| Messerschmitt | |
| Bf 109 (Jumo) | Flegel's Bf 109 A · Bf 109 B-1 · Bf 109 C-1 · Bf 109 C-1 |
| Bf 109 (DB-601) | Bf 109 E-1 · Bf 109 E-3 · Bf 109 E-4 · Bf 109 E-7/U2 · Bf 109 F-1 · Bf 109 F-2 · Bf 109 F-4 · Bf 109 F-4/trop |
| Bf 109 (DB-605) | Bf 109 G-2/trop · Bf 109 G-2 · Bf 109 G-6 · Bf 109 G-10 · Bf 109 G-14 · Bf 109 K-4 |
| Focke-Wulf | |
| Fw 190 (early) | Fw 190 A-1 · Fw 190 A-4 · Fw 190 A-5 · Fw 190 A-5 · Fw 190 A-5/U2 · Fw 190 A-5/U14 · Fw 190 A-8 · Fw 190 C |
| Fw 190 (late) | Fw 190 D-9 · Fw 190 D-12 · Fw 190 D-13 |
| Ta 152 | Ta 152 C-3 · Ta 152 H-1 |
| Blohm & Voss | |
| BV 155 | BV 155 B-1 |
| Captured: | |
| USA | ▀P-47D-16-RE · ▀P-47D |
| USSR | ▀La-5FN · ▀Yak-1B |
| Britain | ▀Tempest Mk V |
| Italy | |
| CR.42 | ▀CR.42 · ▀Marcolin's C.R.42 CN |
| G.50 | ▀G.50 serie 2 · ▀G.50 AS serie 7 |
| C.200 | ▀C. 200 serie 3 · ▀C. 200 serie 7 |
| C.202 | ▀C. 202 |
| Finland | ▀Hawk H-75A-2 |
