This skin was done by request for Vraciu - it's been a long time coming.
Fw 190A-8/R2 flown by Klaus Bretschneider of 5./Jg 300 in late 1944. The R2 package indicates that the weapon suite includes 30mm cannons in the outer wing stations and the 13mm machine guns in the cowl are removed, with the channels faired over. Also seen is the fuselage armor of the R8 package, but not additional armored glass for the canopy that is also part of the R8 kit.
Bretschneider made his combat debut in July 1943 as part of the newly formed Jg 300, created specifically as a single engine night fighter unit. Over the course of his first year, he downed 14 RAF bombers and risen to the post of commander of 5./Jg 300. By that point, Jg 300 was transitioning into a day-fighter unit against American bombers and Bretschneider continued to score victories against the heavys. On one occasion, he even took the nickname of the up-armored R8's "Sturmbock" (Storm Ram) literally, downing a B-17 by ramming it. Bretschneider ultimately achieved 34 victories and had been awarded the Knight's Cross - an unusual feat for a pilot who exclusively flew Defense of the Reich missions. His noteworthy run would come to a tragic end on Dec. 24, 1944 when he was shot down and killed near Kassel, Germany by a P-51 of the 357th FG. The 24 year old Bretschneider was just one of the eleven Jg 300 pilots to be killed in action that day.
The markings of Bretschneider's final 190 have long been debated, with some early depictions going so far as to have the prop spinner and lower cowl painted red - they were not painted this way in reality. The spinner was black-green RLM 70 and the lower cowl RLM 04 yellow. The "Rauhbautz VII" (meaning "Tough Guy") inscription on the fuselage was indeed painted red, but misinformation about it being painted yellow persists to this day. The side number, Gruppe bar, and tail band were all painted dark red, but there are many depictions with the number and bar in a lighter red - it is my opinion based on photos that the red was the same as the tail band. Another detail from my depiction that is not commonly seen in most others is the fuselage cross being filled with RLM 70 instead of the gray green RLM 74 camouflage color. A photo of the side shows the cross as being filled with a darker color than the dark gray, which must be RLM 70. Also seen are some spot repairs covered in red-brown primer.
