190A/F boosts

[Crumpp]

Great questions Angus.

Sorry I missed these questions in all the fuss over nothing.

So there was a vast performance difference between pure fighters and jabos?

Yes, Angus.  There is as much as 50kph difference in Jabo-einsatz's speed.  The Jabo-einsatz's were heavier and much more draggy due to hard points.  The weight increase not only came about from extra armour but the extra equipment (hard points/bombing controls).  In short they were optimized for ground attack and not really a "fighter-bomber".  The jabo-einsatz's were ground attack aircraft that might be able to defend themselves if an emergency arose.  They primarily relied on escorts to defend them from allied fighters.

This is why they did not have a priority for rated engines.

Now that is not to say the FW-190A did not have true fighter-bombers.  Those would found in the Jabostafflen of the Jagdgeschwaders.  They were simply fighters with the ETC 501 rack and the standard equipment to operate the rack.  It is very much like mounting a bomb on the spit or a P51.

How common would this usage be in tattered Germany?

I have the engine production figures.  The reality is that the Luftwaffe had almost 700 crated power eggs delivered and waiting for aircraft at the end of the war.  Engines and aircraft were fairly plentiful.  Trained pilots to fly them were in short supply.

Maybe allright on paper, but in reality?

What you do see in reality is many of the jabo-einsatz's being converted back into jagd-einsatz's at the unit level by the end of the war.  This is the case with White 1.  White 1 started life as an FW-190F8.  On the day she crashed, White 1 was an FW-190A8.  The Grossebombenelectrik had been removed, the armour stripped back to FW-190A8 standards, hard points removed and faired over again, and a rated power egg installed.  This is not only backed up by the current condition of the aircraft but by her pilot as well.

Hope that helps!  

Crumpp

[Angus]

It does, Thanks.
From the Allied pilots view, the often could not tell what was what, especially in swift combat. A FW was a FW.
Much like a Spit V could be a Spit IX+25 in the eyes of a LW pilot. Not enough time and closure to spot the details who did the difference.
Now many allied planes primarily made for ground attack were used as multi-role when needed. And poor performers were sometimes assigned as ground attack just because they could hardly live on their own where they were. (I.e. P40 in the Western theater)
So, it all comes to the same pond. Use what you have for what it's best at, or not worst at, if there is a choice..