World War II Support Aircraft

SECTION 06 CARD 08 YEARS 1938-1945

Focke-Wulf
Nazi

Fw 189 Uhu Luftwaffe ‘flying eye’

Germany

Eastern Front markings

Possessing only modest performance but offering great agility and strength,
the Fw 189 operated almost exclusively over the Eastern Front and provided
the Luftwaffe with an exceptional tactical reconnaissance capability in
Wearing yellow Eastern Front tactical markings, this Fw 189A-2 of 2./NAGr. 16 was captured support of the German army. Serving in the East, this example wears the
theatre markings of yellow bands around the boom and wingtips.
by US forces at Graz-Thalerhof, Austria, in 1945.The slender wing, thin booms and small Argus
engines of the Fw 189 did not give rise to much optimism when viewed for the first time, yet
the type achieved an enviable reputation with its pilots. The Fw 189A-2 variant introduced
the MG 81Z twin machine-gun installation to both dorsal and tailcone positions.
Reconnaissance camera pack
One Rb 20/30 camera was normally installed, but
2./NAGr. 16 optional installations were the Rb 50/30, Rb 21/18
NAGr was the Luftwaffe’s abbreviation for Nahaufklärungsgruppe or tactical or Rb 15/18 cameras, and a hand-held HK 12.5 or
reconnaissance unit. The second staffel or flight of NAGr 16 was formed in Crew HK 19 camera was usually carried.
Russia in October 1942, and served in the southern sector. In 1944 it fell back The Fw 189 had a crew of three, consisting of
with the retreating Wehrmacht through Bessarabia, being based at Kishinev a pilot sitting to port, with a navigator beside
(today Chisinau, the Moldovan capital) for much of the spring and summer. him on a swivelling seat that gave access to the
The subsequent retreat took the unit through Hungary and into Austria. glazed nose and to the twin defensive MG 81Z
7.9-mm (0.31‑in) machine-guns mounted in the
rear part of the main canopy. A dedicated gunner
manned the Ikaria tailcone turret, with its second
pair of MG 81 machine-guns.

Fw 189 roles
Kurt Tank designed the
Configuration Fw 189 to be a modular SPECIFICATION
The Fw 189 featured two small engines, with aircraft, with interchangeable Armament
interchangeable oval-section twin booms fuselage nacelles to allow Focke-Wulf Fw 189A-2 Although intended for the
supporting the tail unit, and with a central crew the basic design to fulfil a reconnaissance role, the
Undercarriage variety of roles. An Fw 189B Production Type: three-seat tactical reconnaissance and
nacelle. Of all-metal construction, the Fw 189 Fw 189 was surprisingly well
The Fw 189’s tailwheel retracted had a three-spar stressed-skin wing, with a was schemed as a five-seat Production of the Fw 189 army co-operation aircraft
at Bremen built up rapidly, armed. In addition to the
to port to lie within the tailplane, rectangular centre-section supporting the crew trainer, while the Fw 189C Powerplant: two Argus As 410A-1 two pairs of 7.9-mm (0.31-
while the main undercarriage units was designed with a small, but attrition of the Hs 126A
nacelles and tail boom/engine nacelles, and with in France was such that a 12-cylinder inverted-Vee engines, each rated at in) MG 81Z machine-guns
retracted aft into the engine nacelle/ tapering outer panels. The fabric-covered split heavily armoured nacelle in the crew nacelle (single
tail boom junctions. housing pilot and gunner second production line was 465 hp (347 kW) for take-off
trailing-edge flaps were electrically operated, set up at the former Aero MG 15s of the same calibre
while the fabric-covered, metal-framed ailerons, for the assault role. Neither Performance: maximum speed 217 mph in the Fw 189A-1), the
version was selected for factory in Prague. Production
rudders and elevator were manually operated. at Bremen tailed off during (350 km/h) at 7,875 ft (2400 m); maximum cruising aircraft had a pair of 7.9-mm
major production. The
Fw 189A was intended as a 1941, as a result of the plant’s speed 202 mph (325 km/h) at 7,875 ft (2400 m); eco- MG 17 machine-guns in the
Easy to start commitment to Fw 190 nomical cruising speed 189 mph (305 km/h); nor- wing roots and bomb racks
reconnaissance type for the for up to eight 50-kg (110‑lb)
The Fw 189’s Aufklärungsstaffeln (H). production, and jigs were mal range 416 miles (670 km); endurance 2 hours
transferred to Mérignac in SC 50 bombs. The final
cockpit layout 10 minutes; service ceiling 23,950 ft (7300 m) major production version, the
was basically France, which became the sole
simple, and after source of Fw 189 production Weights: empty 6,239 lb (2830 kg); normal Fw 189A-4, had increased
ensuring that the during early 1943. A total of loaded 8,708 lb (3950 kg); maximum loaded 9,193 lb armour protection and
canopy hatches 828 production Fw 189s was (4170 kg) introduced 20-mm MG FF
were secured, the produced, 293 of them from cannon in the wing roots.
fuel safety cock Mérignac and 337 from Prague. Dimensions: wingspan 60 ft 4½ in (18.40 m);
levers checked, length 39 ft 5 ½ in (12.03 m); height 10 ft 2 in
the main power (3.10 m); wing area 409.04 sq ft (38.00 m2)
supply switched
on, and the Armament: two 7.9-mm (0.31-in) MG 17 fixed
temperature and forward-firing machine-guns in the wing roots,
pressure gauges two 7.9-mm MG 81 trainable rearward-firing
working, the single machine-guns in the dorsal position, and two
cockpit switch 7.9-mm MG 81 trainable rearward-firing machine-
automatically guns in tail of the fuselage nacelle, plus four 50-kg
controlling the (110-lb) SC 50 bombs on ETC 50/VIIId underwing
Argus two-blade racks
vane-operated
controllable-pitch
propellers was set
to start.

Powerplant
The Fw 189 was powered by a pair of Argus
As 410A-1 air-cooled inverted Vee-12 engines. Each Uhu nicknames
was rated at 465 hp (347 kW) and drove a variable- The Fw 189’s cockpit, where ‘one was literally
pitch, two-blade Argus propeller. A distinctive cocooned in glass’, resembled the compound eye Codes
feature of the engine was a finned spinner ahead of an insect, and the propaganda department of the This Fw 189 has its individual aircraft letter painted in red
of the propeller; driven by the airflow as a windmill, RLM nicknamed the type ‘das Fliegende Auge’ (‘the and outlined in white, indicating its assignment to a second
this was used to power the propeller actuator. The flying eye’). The Russian nickname ‘Rama’, meaning Staffel (2., 6., 10. or 14. Staffel), while the last letter – K –
As 410 also powered the Arado Ar 96 trainer. frame, came from its distinctive tail boom shape. denotes the I Gruppe, narrowing it down to 2. Staffel.
World War II Support Aircraft

Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu Luftwaffe ‘flying eye’ Comparison From the cockpit
Left: At the time of
its appearance, the
Fw 189 represented Armament “…Once settled into cruis-
a radical solution to
providing a battlefield Compared to Focke-Wulf Henschel ing flight, the Fw 189 gave
reconnaissance type, the Hs 126, its Fw 189A-1 Hs 126B-1
with Luftwaffe officials predecessor with the
Westland
Lysander Mk I
a delightful armchair ride”
being familiar with Luftwaffe’s tactical
reconnaissance 06 19 Among the most experienced and distin-
more conservative SECTION CARD

single-engined designs. squadrons, the guished test pilots of his generation,

In terms of defensive Fw 189 boasted far Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown of the
firepower, it was superior defensive Royal Navy flew numerous examples
notably well armed. and offensive of captured German aircraft at the end
firepower. With a of World War II. Postwar, he regularly
well-trained crew, used an Fw 189 as a personal transport
Below: The Fw 189 was the Uhu could put between Germany and the UK, and recalls
capable of absorbing up defensive fire the type with a certain fondness:
the worst that the to dissuade the
Russian winter could attentions of enemy
throw at it, as well as fighters. The British
being agile enough to Lysander could
escape the attentions of carry 500 lb (227
many enemy fighters. kg) of bombs on
Sturdy landing gear its optional spat-
eased operations from mounted stub wings,
unprepared airstrips. compared to the
Uhu’s typical load of
four 50-kg (22.7-kg) 4 x 7.9-mm machine-guns, 3 x 7.7-mm machine-guns, 2 x 7.9-mm machine-guns,
bombs underwing. 440 lb (200 kg) of bombs 500 lb (227 kg) of bombs 110 lb (50 kg) of bombs

Good visibility from the flying glasshouse

Briefing He 46 and Henschel Hs 126 were
conventional, single-engined, high-
The Fw 189 was designed
from the outset as a battlefield
reconnaissance machine.
wing monoplanes, the Fw 189 Accordingly it offered a remarkable
introduced a far more advanced field of view in all directions except

S
oon dubbed ‘the flying eye’ configuration, with t win t ail directly downward for the crew of
(‘das fliegende Auge’) after it booms, twin engines and a central
“M
three, which comprised (from front
y first impression on climbing
was publicly revealed in 1941, fuselage nacelle conferring excel- to rear) a pilot, navigator and flight
mechanic/rear gunner. Almost all into the cockpit was that the
the Focke-Wulf Fw 189 was one lent visibility, useful performance view surely must be terrific, as one was
of the central nacelle was covered
of the most versatile, reliable and and all-round defensive cover. heading its tactical reconnaissance Aufklärungsstaffeln on the Russian with flat Plexiglas planels; those in literally cocooned in glass, but a disap-
popular aircraft to enter Luftwaffe The Uhu was designed in squadrons, this type suffered dur- front. It was the war in the East the pointed tailcone were curved. pointment was in store for, in flight, the
service. response to a requirement to suc- ing the French campaign, and Uhu in which the Uhu made its name. The entire nose was glazed, giving view forward was to prove somewhat
The type otherwise known as ceed the Hs 126 and its initial tri- production was assigned high-pri- In the Russian campaign, the agile the pilot an excellent view of the poor. The cockpit layout was basically
Uhu (owl), represented little short als in summer 1938 soon demon- ority status in summer 1940. Fw 189 had supplanted the Hs 126 battlefield situation below. simple. Engine starting was easy and
of a revolution in the design of strated the aircraft’s considerable The first examples were deliv- by the end of 1942, and proved to reliable, which must have been a boon
tactical reconnaissance and battle- potential. ered to service units that autumn, be capable of operating in the most on the Eastern Front.
field co-operation aircraft. While its While the Luftwaffe entered and by spring 1942 the Fw 189 adverse conditions and of absorb- ”Climb at 112 mph (180 km/h) was a
predecessors, such as the Heinkel World War II with the Hs 126 spear- was appearing in the ranks of the ing considerable punishment. steady plod and by the time 10,000  ft
(3,280  m) had been reached I had
With black-painted Fw 189 plan view usually had enough, but once settled
undersides, this into cruising flight, the Fw 189 gave a
Fw 189A-2 flew with The Fw 189’s heavily glazed nacelle provided
the crew with a cumulative field of view of delightful armchair ride at a speed of
Stab/NAGr. 15, which about 180 mph (290 km/h).
operated in the night 360° on the horizontal plane. The crew’s view
to the sides were partially obscured by the ”One drawback that I encountered
reconnassiance role
from Naglowice in engine nacelles and wings. with the Fw 189 while using it for cross-
German-occupied Channel operations was a certain
Poland during The view in the vertical plane was unpleasantness in bad visibility. In fact,
October 1944. Earlier, equally impressive, although the type’s view ahead through the sloping glass
the Gruppe had pilots often found that the forward view panels left something to be desired as
parented a specialist Fw 189 lateral view was distorted by the flat glass panels. these tended to produce a refraction
Nachtkette for effect and distorted ones vision.”
nocturnal operations.

Timeline 1938 1939 1940-41 1941 1941 1941-45

Initial prototype
The Fw 189 V1 (D-OPVN) began its flight test
programme in July 1938, with a maiden flight
in the hands of Kurt Tank. The first three proto-
types (V1 to V3) were followed by four more tri-
als aircraft, the first of which was a production
prototype for the initial A-series.
Fw 189 Uhu trainers
First flown in 1939, the Fw 189B featured a re-
designed fuselage and dual controls for service
as a crew trainer; it was ordered into production
before the Fw 189A. A pre-production batch of
three aircraft was followed by 10 Fw 189B-1s,
and these entered service with the Luftwaffe.
Early production
Initial production version of the Uhu was the
Fw 189A-1, essentially similar to the V4 pro-
totype, albeit with aerodynamic refinements
and As 410A-1 engines. The first batch of 20
A-1s came off the Bremen line by late 1940,
and the A-1 was in production until mid-1941.
Foreign manufacture
The high priority assigned to Fw 189 deliver-
ies, and the demands of Fw 190 manufacture,
saw Uhu production undertaken at a second
assembly line at the Aero factory in Prague,
Czechoslovakia (pictured). Assembly was also
undertaken at Bordeaux-Mérignac in France.
Improved armament
The Fw 189A-2 was the second production
version and differed from its predecessor in
having strengthened defensive armament of
two twin 7.9-mm (0.31-in) machine-gun in-
stallations. This example was operational in
the Demyansk area in the summer of 1942.
Later war service
The Fw 189 began reaching Luftwaffe units
in strength in 1942. Later it served with the
Slovakian and Hungarian air forces. Late in the
war 30 A-1s were converted as night-fighters
(above) with upward-firing guns and FuG 212
Lichenstein C-1 intercept radar in the nose.