Arguably the best German fighter of WWII, the FW-190 combined a fairly powerful radial engine with the smallest practical airframe. The reason for the radial engine is that it would not disrupt production of the liquid cooled Bf-109. The first prototype flew in December 1939 with the second a few months later. Typical of any new aircraft, there were issues that had to be resolved. One was a lack of decent engine cooling that not only resulted in engine failures, but it also made the cockpit unbearably hot. In addition, the prototype's short wing meant that landing speeds were high and take offs were fairly long.

A series of preproduction planes were built to work out the bugs and an initial series were built to get the aircraft into the hands of pilots. Things that pilots liked were the wide track landing gear, the fairly heavy armament, and the high speed of the aircraft. The 190 had a 1,500 hp engine well before the Bf-109G. They also liked that a bullet in the engine did not cause the engine to quit from lack of coolant as there wasn't any.

Eventually the airframe was developed into a wide variety of variants and roles. Most were kept on the Western front where its impressive offensive armament was good against bombers, though some did see service in North Africa and against the Soviets.

In line with other books in this series, we are provided with the background and development of the aircraft along with a look at the various upgrades and modifications done to the type. A lot of photographs are used to illustrate the book. Since this is a special, there is no modeler's section, which is just fine with me. While many of the images are familiar, that is not always the case and I like to see something new in books. I should mention that this book only covers the radial engine versions. There are two sections of full color profiles to whet the appetite of modelers and enthusiasts alike.

In all, it is a book well worth picking up if you are a fan of the type. It reads well and has a lot of photos of the real deal. 

March 2025

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