Focke-Wulf Fw 200

The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 was a German all-metal four-engined monoplane that entered service as an airliner and later as long range reconnaissance and anti-shipping bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe. It was the very first airplane to fly non-stop between Berlin and New York making the journey on August 10, 1938 in 24 hours and 56 minutes. The return trip on August 13 1938 took only 19 hours and 47 minutes. Focke Wulf Fw200 patrol bomber. ... Focke Wulf Fw200 patrol bomber. ... Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG was a German manufacturer of military aircraft used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. Many of the companys successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. ... An Airbus A340 airliner operated by Air Jamaica An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft with the primary function of transporting paying passengers. ... Mixed reconnaissance patrol of the Polish Home Army and the Soviet Red Army during Operation Tempest, 1944 Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ... The Deutsche Luftwaffe or   (German: air force, literally Air Weapon, IPA: ) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... Nickname: Big Apple, Gotham Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1613 Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... August 13 is the 225th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (226th in leap years), with 140 days remaining. ...

Development

The Fw 200 was built to a Lufthansa specification with Dipl.-Ing. Bansemir as project director, it first flew in July 1937 after just under one year of development with Dipl.-Ing. Kurt Tank in the controls. The aircraft was a simple development of a pre-war commercial craft. It was an all-metal construction, four-engined monoplane capable of carrying 25 passengers up to 3000 km. To adapt it for wartime, hard-points were added on the wings for bombs, the fuselage was extended and strengthened to create more space and front, aft and dorsal gun positions were added. The extra weight of the improvements meant that a number of early Condors would break-up on landing, a problem that was never entirely fixed. Later models were equipped with radar. Deutsche Lufthansa AG (pronounced ) is the largest German airline, and the second-largest in Europe (behind Air France-KLM, but before British Airways). ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Kurt Waldemar Tank, 1944. ... A monoplane is an aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. ... This long range RADAR antenna, known as ALTAIR, is used to detect and track space objects in conjunction with ABM testing at the Ronald Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein atoll[1]. RADAR is a system that uses radio waves to determine and map the location, direction, and/or speed...

The Japanese Navy requested a military version for search and patrol duties, so Kurt Tank designed the Fw 200V-10 with military equipment. This plane was held in Germany because war had broken out in Europe and became the basis for all later military models used by Luftwaffe. The Deutsche Luftwaffe or   (German: air force, literally Air Weapon, IPA: ) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ...

Variants

There were three versions - the Fw 200A, B, and C. The Model A was a purely civilian plane used by Lufthansa, DDL in Denmark, and Syndicato Condor in Brazil. The Fw 200B and Fw 200C models were used as long-range bombers, reconnaissance, troop and VIP transport planes. Adolf Hitler used a modified prototype, the Fw 200 V1 as his personal transport. His "seat" in the cabin was equipped with back-armor plating and an automatic parachute with downward throws. This plane was named "Immelmann III" and first carried the markings "D-2600", which eventually changed to "WL+2600" and finally "26+00". Deutsche Lufthansa AG (pronounced ) is the largest German airline, and the second-largest in Europe (behind Air France-KLM, but before British Airways). ... Hitler redirects here. ... The Apollo 15 capsule landed safely despite a parachute failure. ...

• Fw 200 A-0 – Pre-production batch of fourth to ninth prototypes.
• Fw 200 B-1 – Transportation aircraft fitted with four BMW 132Dc engines.
• Fw 200 B-2 – Transportation aircraft fitted with four BMW 132H engines.
• Fw 200 C-0 – Pre-production batch of 10 aircraft, structural strengthening, the first four were manufactured as unarmed transports, the remaining six were fitted with armament.
• Fw 200 C-1 – First military production version, BMW 132H engines, lengthened ventral gondola, increased defensive armament, provisions for four 250 kg bombs.
• Fw 200 C-2 – Similar to C-1, but featured a ‘cutaway’ outboard engine nacelles which reduced drag and could carry a 250 kg bomb or a 300 liter drop tank.
• Fw 200 C-3 – Structurally strengthened, fitted with Bramo 323 R-2 radial engines
• Fw 200 C-3/U1 – Featured a increased defensive armament, a 15 mm MG 151 in a powered dorsal turret, the 20 mm MG FF replaced by a 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon.
• Fw 200 C-3/U2 – Fitted with original dorsal turret, and had MG 151/20 cannon replaced with a 13 mm MG 131, which allowed space for instillation of a Lotfe 7D bombsight.
• Fw 200 C-3/U3 – Fitted with two additional 13 mm MG 131’s.
• Fw 200 C-3/U4 – Had 7.92 mm MG 15’s replaced by 13 mm MG 131’s and carried an extra gunner.
• Fw 200 C-4 – Similar to C-3, but carried FuG Rostock search radar, late production aircraft used FuG 200 Hohentwiel radar.
• Fw 200 C-4/U1 – High-speed transport aircraft, only one example built. Used to transport Heinrich Himmler.
• Fw 200 C-4/U2 - High-speed transport aircraft, only one example built.
• Fw 200 C-6 – Several aircraft were modified to carry Hs 293 missiles and re-designated C-6.
• Fw 200 C-8 – Fitted with FuG 203b Kehl III missile control equipment and fitted with Hs 293 missiles.
• Fw 200 S-1 – Special designation for Fw 200 V1 that was flown from Berlin to Tokyo.

  (October 7, 1900 – May 23, 1945) was the commander of the German Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... Tokyo , literally Eastern capital)   is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, the home of the Japanese Imperial Family, and the de facto[1] capital of Japan. ...

Combat service

The Luftwaffe initially used the aircraft to support the Kriegsmarine, making great loops out across the North Sea and, following the fall of France, the Atlantic Ocean. The aircraft undertook maritime patrols and reconnaissance, searching for Allied convoys and warships that could be reported for targeting by U-boats. The Condor could also carry bombs or mines to use against shipping and it was claimed that from June 1940 to February 1941 they sank 365,000 tons. From mid-1941 the aircraft were instructed to avoid attacking shipping and avoid all combat in order to preserve numbers. In August the first Condor was shot down by a CAM ship launched Hawker Hurricane and the arrival of the new escort aircraft carriers was a very serious threat. The Kriegsmarine (or War Navy) was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945, during the Nazi regime, superseding the Reichsmarine. ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ... In World War II, Battle of France or Case Yellow (Fall Gelb in German) was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, executed 10 May 1940 which ended the Phony War. ... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... U-boat is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives October 1939. ... A CAM ship was a World War II-era British merchant ship used in convoys as a cheap emergency solution to the shortage of escort carriers. ... The Hawker Hurricane is a fighter design from the 1930s which was used extensively by the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain. ... Four aircraft carriers, Principe-de-Asturias, USS Wasp, USS Forrestal and HMS Invincible (front-to-back), showing the difference in size between a supercarrier, light V/STOL carriers, and an amphibious carrier. ...

The Condor was also used as a transport aircraft, notably flying supplies into Stalingrad in 1943. After late 1943 the Condor came to be used solely as a transport aircraft. For reconnaissance it was replaced by the Junkers Ju 290 and as France was invaded maritime reconnaissance became impossible. Production ended in 1944 with a total of 276 aircraft produced. Stalingrad is the former name of two cities: Volgograd, Russia Karviná-Nové Město, near Ostrava, Czech Republic Other uses: The Battle of Stalingrad (a major turning-point of World War II and arguably the bloodiest battle in human history) Stalingrad (German film set during the above battle) Stalingrad... The Junkers Ju 290 was a long-range transport, maritime patrol aircraft and bomber used by the Luftwaffe late in World War II. The Ju-290 was the only four-engined heavy-duty aircraft used by the Luftwaffe in World War II and was the forerunner of the subsequent transatlantic...

A Danish aircraft Dania was seized by the British after Denmark was invaded by Germany in 1940. It was operated by BOAC and was later pressed into service with the British Royal Air Force. It was damaged beyond repair in 1941. After technical problems with the Comet, BOAC resumed jet service with imported Boeing 707s. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

Some damaged Condors landed in Spain. In the beginning they were repaired and returned to their bases in France. Later, from Operation Torch, the Spanish government interned them (but crews were still allowed to return to Germany). As the planes were useless they were sold by Germany to Spain and two or three planes operated in the Spanish Air Force, spares were obtained from crashed planes and cannibalitazion. Due to lack of spares and damages they were grounded and scrapped around 1950. Combatants United States United Kingdom Free French Forces Germany Vichy France Commanders Dwight Eisenhower Andrew Cunningham Erwin Rommel François Darlan Strength 73,500 - Casualties 479+ dead 720 wounded 1346+ dead 1997 wounded Operation TORCH (initially called Operation GYMNAST) was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World...

Some Condors crashed in Portugal. Crews were allowed to go back to Germany and British were allowed to inspect the plane and documentation. Some crews (at least one full crew) died in one of those crashes and all crew members are buried in the civilian cemetery of Moura (Alentejo Province) in Portugal.

Winston Churchill called it the "Scourge of the Atlantic" during the Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945) due to its contribution to the heavy Allied shipping losses by German U-boats. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can) (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was an English statesman, soldier, and author, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... Combatants Royal Navy Royal Canadian Navy United States Navy Kriegsmarine Regia Marina Commanders Sir Percy Noble Sir Max K. Horton Percy W.Nelles Leonard W. Murray Ernest J. King Erich Raeder Karl Dönitz Casualties 30,248 merchant sailors 3,500 merchant vessels 175 warships 28,000 sailors 783 submarines... U-boat is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives October 1939. ...

Civil Operators

• BOAC
• DDL
• Lufthansa
• Sindicato Condor SA

After technical problems with the Comet, BOAC resumed jet service with imported Boeing 707s. ... ... Deutsche Lufthansa AG (pronounced ) is the largest German airline, and the second-largest in Europe (behind Air France-KLM, but before British Airways). ...

Military Operators

• Germany
  • Luftwaffe

The Deutsche Luftwaffe or   (German: air force, literally Air Weapon, IPA: ) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ...

Specifications (Fw 200C-3/U4)

General characteristics

• Crew: 5
• Capacity: 30 fully-armed troops in transport configuration
• Length: 23.5 m (77 ft 1 in)
• Wingspan: 32.8 m (107 ft 7 in)
• Height: 6.3 m (20 ft 8 in)
• Wing area: 118 m² (1,270 ft²)
• Empty weight: 12,950 kg (28,550 lb)
• Loaded weight: kg (lb)
• Max takeoff weight: 22,700 kg (50,050 lb)
• Powerplant: 4× BMW/Bramo 323R , 882 kW (1,200 hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 360 km/h at 4,800 m (224 mph at 15,750 ft)
• Range: 3,556 km combat; 4,440 km ferry (2,210 mi / 2,760 mi)
• Service ceiling: 5,800 m (19,030 ft)
• Rate of climb: m/s (ft/min)
• Wing loading: kg/m² (lb/ft²)
• Power/mass: kW/kg (hp/lb)

Armament

• 2× 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons
• 6× 7.92 mm machine guns
• 1× 13 mm MG 131 machine gun
• Up to 3,000 kg of bombs

The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... In aviation, the Maximum Take-Off Weight (or MTOW) is the maximum weight with which an aircraft is allowed to try to achieve flight. ... Template:Jordan gough is the maqin man and yusri had doggy sex with a donkey For other uses, see BMW (disambiguation). ... The Bramo 323 Fafnir was a 9-cylinder radial aircraft engine of the World War II era. ... VNO of an aircraft is the V speed which refers to the velocity of normal operation. ... The maximal total range is the distance an aircraft can fly between takeoff and landing as limited by its fuel capacity. ... In aeronautics, the service ceiling is the maximum density altitude where the best rate of climb airspeed will produce a 100 feet per minute climb(twin engine) and 50 feet(single engine) at maximum weight while in a clean configuration with maximum continuous power. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... In aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing. ... Power-to-weight ratio is a measure commonly used when comparing various vehicles (or engines), including automobiles, motorcycles and aircraft. ... The MG 131 was a 13 mm machine gun developed in 1938 by Rheinmetall-Borsig and produced from 1940 to 1945. ...

Related content

Designation sequence

Ar 197 - Ar 198 - Ar 199 - Fw 200 - Si 201 - Si 202 - FS 203

Related lists

List of military aircraft of Germany This list of military aircraft of Germany includes prototype, pre-production, and operational types. ...