Friday, September 22, 2023

Into the Sunset

 


14 comments:

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    1. Yep. History fawns over the Messerschmitt 109, but from what I've read the Focke-wulf was the superior airplane

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    2. The ME-109 was the preferred mount of most all the high kill number pilots, those with 100+ air kills.
      According to them, the 109 handled better when pushed to the limit, but the average pilot felt more confidant in the Fw-190 type. Also, the Fw was often used as a ground attack plane, and the 109 was seldom used as such, due to weight issues and being liquid cooled. Ground attack did not give a good pilot any advantage over the average one, so the good pilots avoided CAS.

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  2. I can't identify that bird but that photograph is extremely good.

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  3. Lange Nase Dora

    Bayouwulf

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  4. TA152 which was a stretched FW190D fuselage with a water-methanol boosted engine. Less than 50 built in the last months of the war.
    Al_in_Ottawa

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  5. Newbie question, but what are the guy-wires from the tail to the cockpit for?

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    1. Those aren't guy wires, they're a radio antenna

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    2. Ah... makes sense, thank you!

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  6. There was a FW190 D Model that used a turbo charged V12 for better high altitude (25,000-30,000ft) performance and had an extended nose. It saw extensive action and was feared by the P47 and P51 pilots because of it’s superior performance over the standard radial engine FW190.

    The Ta152 was being developed off the D Model as a higher altitude 35-40,000 ft interceptor in case the B-29 was send to Europe.

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  7. The "TA" was for Kurt Tank, Focke-Wolf's brilliant designer.

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  8. You can see one at the Boeing Museum of Flight in Tukwilla, Wa., just south of Seattle. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na-b2GiMgUE

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  9. That appears to be an FW-190D-9 "Dora". The C and later 190's were powered by V12 water cooled engines instead of the BMW radial of the earlier models like the A model "Anton".

    The TA-152 was intended to be an effective high altitude interceptor where the Bf-109 and older model 190's lacked performance at altitude. The 152 never reached widespread deployment due to issues center of gravity and the high and low superchargers needed to effectively combat bombers at high altitude and perform well at low altitude. The plane was never effective due to the rush to get it into production and the never resolved issues as mentioned. The 152 was only ever deployed with one squadron near the end of the war and had very limioted success.

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