Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Wulf_Fw_200_Condor

The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, also known as Kurier to the Allies, was a German
all-metal four-engined monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a
long-range airliner. A Japanese request for a long-range maritime patrol
aircraft led to military versions that saw service with the Luftwaffe as
long-range reconnaissance and anti-shipping/maritime patrol bomber aircraft. The
Luftwaffe also made extensive use of the Fw 200 as a transport.

It achieved success as a commerce raider until mid-1941, by which time it was
being harried by long-range RAF Coastal Command aircraft and the Hurricane
fighters being flown from CAM ships.

The Fw 200 resulted from a proposal by Kurt Tank of Focke-Wulf to Dr. Rudolf
Stuessel of Deutsche Lufthansa to develop a landplane to carry passengers across
the Atlantic Ocean to the USA. At that time this was unusual, as airlines used
seaplanes on long over-water routes. To fly long distances economically, the Fw
200 was designed to cruise at an altitude of over 3,000 m (9,800 ft) - as high
as possible without a pressure cabin.

The Fw 200 was briefly the world's most modern airliner, until other
high-altitude airliners started operating: the Boeing 307 in 1940 and the
Douglas DC-4 in 1942. The designation "Condor" was chosen because, like the
condor bird, the Fw 200 had a very long wingspan, to facilitate high-altitude
flight.

To adapt it for wartime service, hardpoints were added to the wings for bombs,
the fuselage was strengthened and extended to create more space, and front, aft
and dorsal gun positions were added, in addition to an extended-length version
of the Bola ventral gondola typical of World War II German bomber aircraft; for
the Fw 200's militarization this incorporated a bomb bay as well as heavily
glazed forward and aft flexible defensive machine gun emplacements at either
end. The extra weight introduced by its military fitments meant that a number of
early Fw 200 aircraft broke up on landing, a problem that was never entirely
solved.


Role
Airliner, reconnaissance, bomber, transport aircraft and maritime patrol
aircraft

Manufacturer
Focke-Wulf

First flight
27 July 1937

Primary users
Luftwaffe
Deutsche Lufthansa
Syndicato Condor

Produced
1937 - 1944

Number built
276

The Fw 200 was operated by Deutsche Lufthansa, DDL Danish Airlines and
Lufthansa's Brazilian subsidiary Syndicato Condor. Dai Nippon KK of Japan also
ordered Fw 200 airliners. These could not be delivered to Japan once the war
began, so they were delivered to Deutsche Lufthansa instead. On 14 April 1945 an
Fw 200 flew Lufthansa's last scheduled service before the end of World War II,
from Barcelona to Berlin. Other airlines continued to operate the Fw 200 after
the end of World War II.

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 was used for maritime patrols and reconnaissance,
searching for Allied convoys and warships that could be reported for targeting
by U-boats. The Fw 200 could also carry a 900-kilogram (2,000 lb) bomb load or
naval mines to use against shipping, and it was claimed that from June 1940 to
February 1941, they sank 331,122 tonnes (365,000 tons) of shipping despite a
rather crude bombsight. The attacks were carried out at extremely low altitude
in order to "bracket" the target ship with three bombs; this almost guaranteed a
hit. Winston Churchill called the Fw 200 the "Scourge of the Atlantic" during
the Battle of the Atlantic due to its contribution to the heavy Allied shipping
losses.

From mid-1941, Condor crews were instructed to stop attacking shipping and avoid
all combat in order to preserve numbers. In August, the first Fw 200 was shot
down by a CAM ship-launched Hawker Hurricane, and the arrival of the U.S.-built
Grumman Martlet, operating from the Royal Navy's new escort carriers, posed a
serious threat. On 14 August 1942, an Fw 200C-3 was the first German aircraft to
be destroyed by USAAF pilots, after it was attacked by a P-40C and a P-38F over
Iceland.

At the suggestion of his personal pilot Hans Baur, Adolf Hitler specified a
modified and unarmed prototype Condor, the Fw 200 V3, as his personal transport,
as a replacement for his Junkers Ju 52. Originally configured as a 26-passenger
Lufthansa transport (Works No. 3099), it was reconfigured as a plush two-cabin
airliner.

Specifications (Fw 200C-3/U4)

General characteristics
Crew: five
Capacity: 30 fully armed troops in transport configuration
Length: 23.45 m (76 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 32.85 m (107 ft 9 in)
Height: 6.30 m (20 ft 8 in)
Wing area: 119.85 m² (1,290 ft²)
Empty weight: 17,005 kg (37,490 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 22,714 kg (50,057 lb)
Powerplant: 4 × BMW/Bramo 323R-2 nine-cylinder single-row air-cooled radial
engine, 895 kW (1,200hp) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 360 km/h (195 knots, 224 mph) at 4,800 m (15,750 ft)
Cruise speed: 335 km/h (181 knots, 208 mph) at 4,000 m (13,100 ft) (Max cruise)
Range: 3,560 km (1,923 nmi, 2,212 mi)
Endurance: 14 hrs
Service ceiling: 6,000 m (19,700 ft)

Armament

Guns:
1 × 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon in forward gondola
4 × 13 mm MG 131 machine gun (dorsal and waist positions)

Bombs: Up to 5,400 kg (11,905 lb) of bombs





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