In contrast with the
belief that the Germans are painstakingly methodical, it must be
remembered that the Nazis planned carefully for World War II as a
Blitzkrieg (lightning war) without considering the possibility that it
might last for years. A deliberate absentee from the Luftwaffe's ranks
was a large long-range bomber and ocean reconnaissance aircraft. To
some degree this stemmed from the death in 1936 of General Wever and
his replacement as Luftwaffe chief of staff by Kesselring, but it was
basic policy to concentrate on twin-engined tactical bombers (among
other things, Goering could boast to Hitler of the hundreds built). So
the Luftwaffe showed only cursory interest when the Focke-Wulf Fw 200
VI (first prototype) flew on 27 July 1937.
In fact, the Fw 200 was
the best long-range airliner in Europe, if not in the world. It
resulted from discussions held by Dipl Ing Kurt Tank, technical
director of Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau of Bremen, and the board of DLH
(Deutsche Lufthansa), the state airline, in the spring of 1936. For
some time Tank had wished to design a modern long-range airliner to
beat the Douglas DC-3 and replace the Junkers Ju 52/3m as the chief DLH
equipment on trunk routes. What Tank finally decided to build was a
four-engined aircraft with unprecedented range, able to fly the North
Atlantic non-stop. This had been far beyond the capability of any
previous payload-carrying aircraft, and Tank's objective was primarily
for propaganda purposes.
The basic requirement
was the carriage of a crew of four and 26 passengers. Over 'European'
ranges this could have been done by an aircraft of DC-3 size, but the
Fw 200 was made much larger and powered by four engines, initially by
imported Pratt & Whitney S1E-G Hornets of 875 hp (652.5. kW), each
driving two-bladed VDM-Hamilton propellers. Aerodynamically, the
aircraft was outstanding, with no excrescences and a cantilever wing
with an aspect ratio of 9.15 for high range efficiency. The wing was
built as a horizontal centre-section including the engines, with
dihedral and tapered outer panels. Structure was stressed-skin
throughout, with flush riveting, except for the fabric-covered wing aft
of the rear spar and fabric-covered control surfaces. The latter were
simple manual surfaces but with geared tabs and electrically-driven
trim tabs. The split flaps were hydraulic. Tank made a special point of
retracting all three units of the landing gear forwards, so that they
would free-fall and be locked by air drag. The main wheels were
distinctively carried ahead of the legs on swing-links with diagonal
shock struts. Split flaps were used, with skinning of Elektron
(magnesium alloy). Tank himself made the very successful maiden flight.
The Fw 200 VI had nine wide Plexiglass windows along each side of the
cabin, but was initially unfurnished and unpainted. Later it was
registered D-AERE in DLH livery, with the name 'Saarland' (which Hitler
had lately reoccupied). Right at the start of the programme Tank had
secured his board's agreement to build three prototypes and nine Fw
200A-0 production aircraft, and these followed at rapid intervals. Few
changes were needed apart from adding slight sweepback to the outer
wings, revising the tail surfaces and switching to the licensed Hornet
engine, the BMW 132 (in 132G-l form of 536.9 kW/720 hp). The Fw 200 V2
was delivered to DLH, while the Fw 200 V3 had a long career as D-2600 'Immelmann
III', Hitler's personal aircraft. Of the nine Fw 200A series, two were
sold to DDL of Denmark and two to Syndicato Condor Ltda of Rio de
Janeiro.
In early 1938 the Fw
200 VI was fitted with extra tankage and repainted as D-ACON and given
the name 'Brandenburg'. Tank had specially secured the RLM (air
ministry) number 200 for propaganda purposes, and the VI now became the
Fw 200S (special). On 10 August 1938 it took off from Berlin-Tempelhof
in the hands of Flugkapitane Henke and von Moreau. It made a remarkable
non-stop flight against headwinds to Floyd Bennett airport in New York,
covering the estimated 4,075 miles (6558 km) in 24 hours 55 minutes.
The return was flown in 19 hours 47 minutes, the average of 205 mph
(330 km/h) being just double the speed of the typical landplanes of
Imperial Airways. On 28 November 1938 the same aircraft and pilots left
to fly via Basra, Karachi and Hanoi to Tokyo, in a total elapsed time
of only 46 hours 18 minutes. On the return, in a way never publicly
explained, D-ACON ran out of fuel on the first leg and ditched near
Manila.
While in Japan, the Fw
200 created intense interest. By this time the Bremen factory was in
production with what was envisaged as the standard version, the Fw
200B, with BMW 132Dc or 132H engines of 633.8 or 618.9 kW (850 or 830
hp), and with appreciably increased weights. No orders appeared
forthcoming, however, because the Condor was too big and costly for the
predominantly short-haul DLH network. Export sales were thus eagerly
sought, five being ordered by Dai Nippon KK of Japan. This was soon
followed by an order for two by Aero O/Y of Finland. In the event World
War II prevented delivery of these aircraft, and the Fw 200Bs served in
ones and twos with DLH and with the Luftwaffe KGrzbV 105. Attrition was
high, only one aircraft, Fw 200B-2 'Pommern', surviving the war. The
penultimate DLH Condor, Fw 200B-2 'Hessen', crashed on high ground
while overloaded with the last Nazi leaders attempting to escape from
Berlin on 21 April 1945.
A captured Focke-Wulf Fw 200C Condor at Brunswick-Waggum Airfield in
Germany shortly after the end of the war
There was a secret
additional contract from Japan which called for a long-range
reconnaissance version for the Imperial navy. Tank was eager to build
this, because he was convinced such a machine could be useful to the
Luftwaffe. He therefore picked the Fw 200 V10, the B-series prototype,
for conversion. This was fitted with 60 per cent more fuel in fuselage
cabin tanks, provision for over 4,409 lbs (2000 kg) of cameras, flares,
markers, dinghies and other mission equipment, and also with three 7.92
mm (0.31 in) MG 15 machine-guns, one in a small dorsal turret above the
trailing edge and the others firing to front and rear from a ventral
gondola offset to the right. There was no bomb bay.
In spring 1939 it
suddenly looked as if Hitler's gambles might not win for ever, and that
a war was a near-term prospect. Luftwaffe Chief of Staff Jeschonnek
ordered Oberstleutnant Edgar Petersen, a very experienced pilot, to
form a squadron which could sink ships out in the Atlantic, on which
the obvious enemies, France and especially the UK, would depend on
during a war. The problem was that there was no suitable aircraft. The
intended machine, the Heinkel He 177, was years from combat duty. The
only answer seemed to be the 'Japanese' Fw 200 V10. Oberstleutnant
Edgar Petersen formed the Fernaufklärungstaffel (later 1./KG 40) and it
made its operational debut on 8 April 1940 with its first sortie
against British shipping.
As in the case of the
Ju 52/3m, Dornier Do 17 and several other types, the RLM was faced with
creating a combat aircraft from available commercial transport, which
is ironic, because British observers thought at the time the Luftwaffe
was busily developing bombers in the false guise of civil aircraft. The
Fw 200 was fundamentally unsuited to its new role because it had been
designed to operate at lighter weights and at civil load factors. The
airframe would henceforth have to operate from rough front-line
airstrips with heavy loads of fuel and weapons, and in combat would
certainly have to pull g's in tight turns or dive pull-outs, and
all at low level in dense air. The Bremen stress-men did what they
could to beef up the structure, but this consisted of a few local
reinforcements which added just 29 kg (63.9 lbs) to the airframe
weight. Ideally they should have started again, but the proposed Fw
200C-series was almost immediately accepted when it was offered in
August 1939. A pre-production batch of 10 Fw 200C-0 aircraft was
ordered just after the start of the war, and by agreement as many as
possible were modified from B-series transports already on the line.
The first four had to be delivered as Fw 200C-0 transports. Their only
modifications were to introduce twin-wheel main gears, long-chord
cowlings with gills and various internal equipment items. All four were
delivered just in time for the invasion of Norway in April 1940.
The remaining six Fw
200C-0s were given the locally reinforced structure and simple armament
comprising three 7.92 mm (0.31 in) MG 15 machine guns, one in a small
(almost hemispherical) turret behind the flight deck, one in a rear
dorsal cokcpit with a fold-over hood and the third fired from a rear
ventral hatch. An offensive load of four 551 lbs (250 kg) bombs could
be carried, two hung under the enlarged outer nacelles and the others
on racks immediately outboard under the roots of the outer wings.
Production continued immediately with the Fw 200C-l, which was planned
as the definitive version although it still had a weak structure, very
vulnerable fuel system (especially from below), no armour except behind
the captain's seat and many inconvenient features. The main addition to
the Fw 200C-1 was a ventral gondola, offset as in the Japanese Fw 200
V10 but longer in order to provide room for a weapons bay (which was
normally used to carry a cement bomb with 551 lbs (250 kg) ballistics
dropped as a check on bombsight settings). At the front of the gondola
was a 20 mm MG FF cannon aimed with a ring-and-bead sight mainly to
deter any AA gunners aboard the enemy ships. At the rear was an 7.92 mm
(0.31 in) MG 15 replacing the previous ventral gun. The only other
change was to replace the forward turret by a raised cockpit canopy
with a hand-aimed MG 15 firing ahead. The normal crew numbered five
including the pilot, co-pilot and three gunners, one of the last being
the engineer and another the overworked radio-operator/navigator. There
was plenty of room inside the airframe, and all crew stations had
provision for heating and electric light, but from the start the crews
of Petersen's new maritime unit, Kampfgeschwader (KG) 40, were unhappy
with the Condor's structural integrity and lack of armament. There is
no evidence any Condors were delivered to any prior combat unit, as
sometimes stated, but only to the transport Gruppe already mentioned.
KG 40 was henceforth to be virtually the sole Fw 200C operating unit.
There were never to be enough Condors to go round. Focke-Wulf was well
aware of the demand, and organised dispersed manufacture at five plants
with final assembly at Bremen and Cottbus, and also by Blohm und Voss
at Finkenwerder. It is thus a reflection on the frustrations of the
programme, which did not enjoy top priority, that by the termination in
February 1944 only 252 Fw 200C Condors had been built. Moreover,
because of high attrition, KG 40 never had full wing strength and
seldom had more than 12 aircraft available. Indeed, more than half the
aircraft delivered in the first year suffered major structural failure,
at least eight breaking their backs on the airfield.
The first missions by
1./KG 40 were flown from Danish bases from 8 April 1940 against British
ships. In late June, the Geschwader was transferred to Bordeaux-Merignac,
which was to be the main base until it had to be evacuated in autumn
1944. Initially, from July 1940, the Condors simply added their small
offensive weight to the Luftwaffe's assault on the UK, usually flying a
wide sweep west of Cornwall and normally west of Ireland, dropping four
bombs and heading for Norway, making the return trip a day or two
later. At least two were shot down, although a pilot of No.87 Sqn, who
unusually caught a Condor on the direct run to Plymouth, ran out of
ammunition so continued to intercept on camera-gun film only. From
August the Condors got on with their real task and within two months
had been credited with 90,000 tonnes of British shipping sunk. On 26
October they made headlines for the first time when Oberleutnant
Bernhard Jope and crew found the 38,418 tonne (42,348 ton) Empress
of Britain southwest of Donegal. Their bombs crippled the liner,
which was then torpedoed by a U-boat. By 9 February 1941 1./KG 40's
claim had reached 363,000 tonnes. By this time it had been joined by
two further Staffeln, totalling a nominal 36 aircraft.
In the winter of
1940-41, Cottbus delivered a few interim Fw 200C-2 Condors, whose main
improvement was scalloped outer nacelle racks and low-drag wing racks,
the former also being plumbed for small (300-litre/66-Imp gal) external
tanks. The big advance came with the Fw 200C-3, first flown in February
1941. This was a major redesign with a real attempt to cure the
structural problems despite even higher weights, however the attempt
did not quite succeed. Engines were BMW-Bramo Fafnir 323R-2s, with
water-injection rating of 1,200 hp (894.8 kW). The bombload was
increased by clearing the nacelles to 1,102 lbs (500 kg) each and
adding 12 SC-50 bombs (50 kg/110 lb) in the gondola. The forward dorsal
blister was replaced by an Fw 19 turret (one MG 15) and two more MG 15s
were aimed through sliding panels in each side of the rear fuselage,
the crew rising to six. The Fw 200C-3/U1 at last gave real defensive
firepower with an MG 151/15 in an HDL 151 forward turret, and the MG FF
was replaced by an MG 151/20, but the big turret reduced top speed at
sea level from some 190 mph (305 km/h) to little over 171 mph (275
km/h).
In 1941 only 58 Condors
were built, these including the Fw 200C-3/U2 with the complex but
extremely accurate Lofte 7D bombsight, which caused a prominent bulge
under the front of the gondola and necessitated replacement of the
cannon by a 13 mm (0.51 in) MG 131. Most Fw 200C-3/U2s also reverted to
the small Fw 19 turret. Next came the Fw 200C-3/U3 whose dorsal
armament comprised two MG 131s, one in an EDL 131 forward turret and
the other in the manually aimed rear position. The Fw 200C-3/U4 had
increased internal fuel, bringing maximum weight to 50,045 lbs (22700
kg), which the reinforced airframe could just manage. The beam guns
were changed for MG 131s, giving much greater firepower, but the
forward turret went back to the Fw 19.
If any Condor sub-type
can be considered 'standard' it was the Fw 200C-4, from February 1942,
which added search radar, initially the pre-production Rostock and then
the standard FuG 200 Hohentwiel, the latter giving blind-bombing
capability (the Rostock having greater range and a wider search angle
but a longer minimum range). Oddly, the Fw 200C-4 went back to the HDL
151 turret and MG 15s elsewhere except for the front of the gondola,
which had the MG 131 or MG 151/20 depending on whether or not the Lofte
7D was fitted. Two 'special' variants in 1942 inctuded the Fw 200C-4/U1
and Fw 200C-4/U2 transports, with VIP interiors and just four MG 15s.
The former, flown in 1945 at Farnborough, was Himmler's personal
transport, the Gestapo chief having a vast leather chair with heavy
armour and a personal escape hatch.
In early 1943 some Fw
200C-3s were modified to launch and guide the Hs 293A anti-ship
missile, which was hung under the outer nacelles. The associated Kehl/Strassburg
radio guidance installation was in the nose and front of the gondola.
These missile carriers were designated Fw 200C-6, and the last few
Condors to be built, in the winter of 1943-44, were Fw 200C-8s
specially designed to carry the Hs 293 and with deeper outboard
nacelles and a longer forward section to the gondola.
Had such aircraft been
available in 1940, the 'Scourge of the Atlantic' would have been much
more deadly even than it was. Fortunately, while the weak early Condors
were almost unopposed, the improved models had a very hard time, from
ship AA guns, from Grumman Martlets (Wildcats) based on escort carriers
and, not least, from the CAM (catapult-armed merchantman) Hawker
Hurricanes, which scored their first kill on 3 August 1941. Even a
Short Sutherland could catch a Condor and shoot it down, and from 1942
Condors tried never to come within the radius of Coastal Command
Bristol Beaufighters and de Havilland Mosquitoes. In addition, their
effectiveness was hampered not only by poor serviceability, but also by
repeated urgent calls to undertake transport duties in various
theatres, including Stalingrad. KG 40 was disbanded in autumn 1944, its
Biscay bases having been captured, and the few surviving Condors
finished the war as rarely used transports.
Anti-Shipping
Operations
By late 1943, the main
role of the Condor was to interdict Allied convoyes from Gibraltar,
whose departure was usually reported by German agents in Spain. The
aircraft would usually take off in fours, flying out to an initial
point at sea level and in close formation. They would then split up,
fan out and fly parallel tracks some 25 miles (40 km) apart,
periodically climbing to 1,000 ft (300 m) and making a broad circuit
while they searched for shipping using the FuG 200 Hohentwiel
radar. When contact was made the aircraft would contact the others and
all would climb to make their attacks, which were made from a minimum
altitude of 9,000 ft (2700m).
Specifications (Focke-Wulf
Fw 200C-3/U-4 Condor)
Type: Six Seat
Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance Bomber & Transport
Design: Dipl Ing
Kurt Tank
Manufacturer:
Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau GmbH at Bremen & Cottbus
Powerplant: (Fw
200C-3/U-4) Four BMW-Bramo 323R-2 Fafnir 9-cylinder air-cooled radial
engines rated at 1,000 hp (746 kW) for take-off and 1,200 hp (895 kW)
with water-methanol injection. (Fw 200C) Four 830 hp (620 kW) BMW 132H
air-cooled 9-cylinder radial engines.
Performance:
Maximum speed 224 mph (360 km/h); cruising speed 208 mph (335 km/h);
service ceiling 19,685 ft (6000 m).
Fuel: (Standard)
fuel capacity of 1,773 Imperial Gallons (8,060 Liters) with an
(Overload) fuel capacity of 2,190 Imperial Gallons (9,955 Litres).
Range: 2,212
miles (3560 km) with Standard fuel and endurance of about 14 hours.
With Overload fuel, range increased to 2,760 miles (4,440 km).
Weight: Empty
Clean 28,549 lbs (12950 kg). Empty equipped 37,490 lbs (17005 kg) with
a maximum take-off weight of 50,057 lbs (24520 kg).
Dimensions: Span
107 ft 9 1/4 in (32.85 m); length 76 ft 11 1/4 in (23.45 m); height 20
ft 8 in (3.30 m); wing area 1,290.10 sq ft (119.85 sq m).
Armament: One 13
mm (0.51 in) MG 131 machine-gun with 1,000 rounds in a hydraulically
operated FW 19 turret. The Ventral Gondola had a forward firing 13 mm
(0.51 in) MG 131 machine-gun (500 rounds per gun) or a 20 mm MG 151
cannon (500 rounds per gun) and single rear facing 13 mm (0.51 in) MG
131 machine-gun (500 rounds per gun). The Beam position had two 13 mm
(0.51 in) MG 131 machine-gun (300 rounds per gun). The Aft Dorsal
position had a single 13 mm (0.51 in) MG 131 machine-gun (500 rounds
per gun), plus up to 4,630 lbs (2100 kg) of bombs usually consisting of
two 551 lbs (250 kg) bombs, two 1,102 lbs (500 kg) and 12 SC-50 110 lbs
(50 kg) bombs. An additional 198 Imperial Gallon (900 litre) armoured
fuel tank could be carried instead of the 12 SC-50 110 lbs (50 kg)
bombs. Two 66 Imperial Gallon (300 litre) auxiliary fuel tanks could be
carried on each of the outer nacelles instead of bombs. Some aircraft
used the 7.92 mm (0.31 in) MG 15 machine-gun in the rear ventral
position and the FW 19 turret.
Variants: Fw
200A, Fw 200S (Special), Fw 200B/B-1/B-2, Fw 200C/C-0/C-1/C-2/C-3, Fw
200C-3/U1, Fw 200C-3/U2, Fw 200C-3/U3, Fw 200C-3/U4, Fw 200C-4, Fw
200C-4/U1, Fw 200C-4/U2, Fw 200C-6, Fw 200C-8, Fw 200C-8/U10.
Avionics: (Fw
200C-4) initially the pre-production FuG Rostock and then the
standard FuG 200 Hohentwiel search radar, the latter giving
blind-bombing capability. Some of these aircraft were fitted with the
Lofte 7D Bomb sight. (Fw 200C-6) FuG 203b Kehl missle control system.
History: First
flight (Fw 200 VI) 27 July 1937, last service flight (Barcelona to
Berlin) 14 April 1945; first sorties (1./KG 40) 8 April 1940; first
flight (Fw 200C-3) February 1941.
Operators:
Germany (Luftwaffe). |