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Description
Focke Wulf Fw 190A-4 of IV/JG1 as flown by Oberleutnant Günther Witt, based at Münchengladbach, October 1942.

Almost as soon as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 entered service, the RLM tendered a contest for a future fighter design, worried that the Bf 109 might be outclassed by future foreign designs. Among the designs sent in was one by Kurt Tank of Focke Wulf, who had previously designed and unsuccesfully submitted the Fw 159 as a competitor for the Bf 109.

Unlike rival designs of the Bf 109 - the Heinkel He 100 and Focke Wulf Fw 187 - the new design submitted by Kurt Tank did not use the Daimler-Benz DB601 engine, which was already in short supply due to the requirements on the German aviation industry put down by Bf 109 and Bf 110 production. Instead, it was designed around the BMW 139 radial engine. Kurt Tank's design philosophy on the Fw 190 was that, rather than a pure-breed "race horse" like the Bf 109, his Fw 190 should be a "workhorse", rugged enough to cope with conditions in combat, yet easy enough to maintain. Problems with the BMW 139 engine led to its eventual replacement by the BMW 801 radial engine, and after a number of different prototypes had been built, production started with the Fw 190A-0, a pre-production version which was armed with 6 MG 17 7.92-mm machine guns (28 built). These were followed by a batch of 102 Fw 190A-1 fighters, which saw the outer wing-mounted pair of machine guns replaced by 20-mm MG FF/M cannons following criticism by pilots during operational trials.

The Fw 190A-2 featured a new BMW 801C-2 engine, as well as revisions to the exhausts and cooling system to resolve a number of severe engine cooling problems which had plagued the earlier versions, resulting in numerous threats for the troubled Fw 190 program to be terminated by the RLM. Another modification to the Fw 190A-2 variant saw the wing-mounted armament change from a pair of MG 17 machine guns and a pair of MG FF/M cannons to two pairs of 20-mm cannons.

The subsequent Fw 190A-3 variant saw the BMW 801C-2 engine replaced by a more powerful BMW 801D-2, which required a higher octane fuel. The A-3 was the first Fw 190 variant capable of conversion into a fighter-bomber; in all, some 910 Fw 190A-2s and A-3s were built.

The Fw 190A-4 variant retained the A-3's engine and armament, but featured a new water/methanol engine boost system, and improved radio equipment with a stub aerial mounted on the tail, visually differing from the earlier variants' tail-mounted antenna anchor point. The A-4 variant also saw the introduction of factory-installed conversion sets (Umrüst-Bausätze), rather than the field conversion kits (Rüstsatz) used on earlier versions. In all, 976 Fw 190A-4s were built before production switched to the Fw 190A-5, a new variant with a longer fuselage.

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Oberleutnant Günter Witt was a two-kill pilot of the German Luftwaffe; he was credited with a kill over a French Air Force Curtiss Hawk-75A south of Reims, on 9 June, 1940, and a second kill over a Supermarine Spitfire I near London on October 20th 1940. He started out his war flying Messerschmitt Bf 109E's with 5/JG 52 before converting to the Focke Wulf Fw 190A, flying the type with IV/JG 1 and 10/JG 11, before converting to the Messerschmitt Bf 109G which he flew with 7/JG 1.

Oblt. Günther Witt was shot down over Marbehan, Belgium on February 8th 1944, bailing out of his stricken Messerschmitt (Wknr. 15406 'Weisse 2'), but unfortunately succumbing to his injuries later that same day at the St Elisabeth hospital in Luxembourg.

1/72 Zvezda 7304
Inventory number 1002 - purchased April 6th 2013
Fourth model completed in 2016

Description
Focke Wulf Fw 190A-4 of IV/JG1 as flown by Oberleutnant Günther Witt, based at Münchengladbach, October 1942.

Almost as soon as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 entered service, the RLM tendered a contest for a future fighter design, worried that the Bf 109 might be outclassed by future foreign designs. Among the designs sent in was one by Kurt Tank of Focke Wulf, who had previously designed and unsuccesfully submitted the Fw 159 as a competitor for the Bf 109.

Unlike rival designs of the Bf 109 - the Heinkel He 100 and Focke Wulf Fw 187 - the new design submitted by Kurt Tank did not use the Daimler-Benz DB601 engine, which was already in short supply due to the requirements on the German aviation industry put down by Bf 109 and Bf 110 production. Instead, it was designed around the BMW 139 radial engine. Kurt Tank's design philosophy on the Fw 190 was that, rather than a pure-breed "race horse" like the Bf 109, his Fw 190 should be a "workhorse", rugged enough to cope with conditions in combat, yet easy enough to maintain. Problems with the BMW 139 engine led to its eventual replacement by the BMW 801 radial engine, and after a number of different prototypes had been built, production started with the Fw 190A-0, a pre-production version which was armed with 6 MG 17 7.92-mm machine guns (28 built). These were followed by a batch of 102 Fw 190A-1 fighters, which saw the outer wing-mounted pair of machine guns replaced by 20-mm MG FF/M cannons following criticism by pilots during operational trials.

The Fw 190A-2 featured a new BMW 801C-2 engine, as well as revisions to the exhausts and cooling system to resolve a number of severe engine cooling problems which had plagued the earlier versions, resulting in numerous threats for the troubled Fw 190 program to be terminated by the RLM. Another modification to the Fw 190A-2 variant saw the wing-mounted armament change from a pair of MG 17 machine guns and a pair of MG FF/M cannons to two pairs of 20-mm cannons.

The subsequent Fw 190A-3 variant saw the BMW 801C-2 engine replaced by a more powerful BMW 801D-2, which required a higher octane fuel. The A-3 was the first Fw 190 variant capable of conversion into a fighter-bomber; in all, some 910 Fw 190A-2s and A-3s were built.

The Fw 190A-4 variant retained the A-3's engine and armament, but featured a new water/methanol engine boost system, and improved radio equipment with a stub aerial mounted on the tail, visually differing from the earlier variants' tail-mounted antenna anchor point. The A-4 variant also saw the introduction of factory-installed conversion sets (Umrüst-Bausätze), rather than the field conversion kits (Rüstsatz) used on earlier versions. In all, 976 Fw 190A-4s were built before production switched to the Fw 190A-5, a new variant with a longer fuselage.

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Oberleutnant Günter Witt was a two-kill pilot of the German Luftwaffe; he was credited with a kill over a French Air Force Curtiss Hawk-75A south of Reims, on 9 June, 1940, and a second kill over a Supermarine Spitfire I near London on October 20th 1940. He started out his war flying Messerschmitt Bf 109E's with 5/JG 52 before converting to the Focke Wulf Fw 190A, flying the type with IV/JG 1 and 10/JG 11, before converting to the Messerschmitt Bf 109G which he flew with 7/JG 1.

Oblt. Günther Witt was shot down over Marbehan, Belgium on February 8th 1944, bailing out of his stricken Messerschmitt (Wknr. 15406 'Weisse 2'), but unfortunately succumbing to his injuries later that same day at the St Elisabeth hospital in Luxembourg.

1/72 Zvezda 7304
Inventory number 1002 - purchased April 6th 2013
Fourth model completed in 2016