An Interesting read from a Fw 190 pilot of JG 300

[titanic3]

   Fw 190A-8 (WNr. 172733) as flown by Unteroffizier Ernst Schroder of 5. Staffel/II. Gruppe/JG 300.

This "Panzerbock" Fw 190A-8 was used in "Defense of the Reich" operations between August and December of 1944. JG 300 was one of only two Jagdgeschwaders, JG 301 being the other, that performed these duties full time on the western front. All other western front Jagdgeschwaders, at one time or another, performed the dual role of "Defense of the Reich" duties while supporting the ground war effort. In fact, during the Ardennes Offensive, JG 300 and JG 301 were the only Luftwaffe fighter units that were not redeployed to support the ground offensive. They alone defended the homeland against the bombers of the USAAF and RAF during this crucial period of the war on the western front.

Because of this focused role of defending Germany against the daily attacks from Allied medium and heavy bombers, JG 300 and JG 301 were all weather units. Their planes were equipped with a full complement of radios and landing aids available to the Luftwaffe at the time. The pilots of JG 300 and JG 301 were also trained specifically for this role. This equipment and training allowed the units to adapt "Wilde Sau" night fighting tactics against enemy bombers as well.

Red 19, like the other A-8 "Panzerbocks" of JG 300, mounted a 300 liter drop tank mounted in an ETC 501 center line store rack. It also carried the full A-8 armament complement of four long-barreled 20mm MG 151 cannons in the wings (two per wing) and twin MG 17 machine guns above the engine.

   *A letter from a Fw 190 pilot to a newsletter in March 2001*

file:///C:/Program%20Files/Jane's%20Combat%20Simulations/WWII%20Fighters/Data/Fw190A-8Red19/Red%20%2019%20Background%201.jpg

   *Section two of the reading*

file:///C:/Program%20Files/Jane's%20Combat%20Simulations/WWII%20Fighters/Data/Fw190A-8Red19/Red%20%2019%20Background%202.jpg

    *A picture of Enrst's aircraft*

file:///C:/Program%20Files/Jane's%20Combat%20Simulations/WWII%20Fighters/Data/Fw190A-8Red19/Red19_01.jpg



*Note: Simply open a new tab, copy and paste the link, click enter, and you're good to go.

[Noir]

   *A letter from a Fw 190 pilot to a newsletter in March 2001*

file:///C:/Program%20Files/Jane's%20Combat%20Simulations/WWII%20Fighters/Data/Fw190A-8Red19/Red%20%2019%20Background%201.jpg

   *Section two of the reading*

file:///C:/Program%20Files/Jane's%20Combat%20Simulations/WWII%20Fighters/Data/Fw190A-8Red19/Red%20%2019%20Background%202.jpg

    *A picture of Enrst's aircraft*

file:///C:/Program%20Files/Jane's%20Combat%20Simulations/WWII%20Fighters/Data/Fw190A-8Red19/Red19_01.jpg



*Note: Simply open a new tab, copy and paste the link, click enter, and you're good to go.

these addresses refer to files located on your hard drive, not accessible to us.

 

[titanic3]

my bad.... so how do i get it a picture up? because it is in .jpg format.. 

[titanic3]

 here's a link ....

http://www.ww2fighters.org/downloads/190/Fw190A-8Red19.zip

its a simple 10 second download (maybe even less). The pictures is included in the files.

Click on "Red 19 Background 1" and "Red 19 Background 2"

"Red 19_01" is the aircraft.

[BigPlay]

   Fw 190A-8 (WNr. 172733) as flown by Unteroffizier Ernst Schroder of 5. Staffel/II. Gruppe/JG 300.

This "Panzerbock" Fw 190A-8 was used in "Defense of the Reich" operations between August and December of 1944. JG 300 was one of only two Jagdgeschwaders, JG 301 being the other, that performed these duties full time on the western front. All other western front Jagdgeschwaders, at one time or another, performed the dual role of "Defense of the Reich" duties while supporting the ground war effort. In fact, during the Ardennes Offensive, JG 300 and JG 301 were the only Luftwaffe fighter units that were not redeployed to support the ground offensive. They alone defended the homeland against the bombers of the USAAF and RAF during this crucial period of the war on the western front.

Because of this focused role of defending Germany against the daily attacks from Allied medium and heavy bombers, JG 300 and JG 301 were all weather units. Their planes were equipped with a full complement of radios and landing aids available to the Luftwaffe at the time. The pilots of JG 300 and JG 301 were also trained specifically for this role. This equipment and training allowed the units to adapt "Wilde Sau" night fighting tactics against enemy bombers as well.

Red 19, like the other A-8 "Panzerbocks" of JG 300, mounted a 300 liter drop tank mounted in an ETC 501 center line store rack. It also carried the full A-8 armament complement of four long-barreled 20mm MG 151 cannons in the wings (two per wing) and twin MG 17 machine guns above the engine.

   *A letter from a Fw 190 pilot to a newsletter in March 2001*

file:///C:/Program%20Files/Jane's%20Combat%20Simulations/WWII%20Fighters/Data/Fw190A-8Red19/Red%20%2019%20Background%201.jpg

   *Section two of the reading*

file:///C:/Program%20Files/Jane's%20Combat%20Simulations/WWII%20Fighters/Data/Fw190A-8Red19/Red%20%2019%20Background%202.jpg

    *A picture of Enrst's aircraft*

file:///C:/Program%20Files/Jane's%20Combat%20Simulations/WWII%20Fighters/Data/Fw190A-8Red19/Red19_01.jpg



*Note: Simply open a new tab, copy and paste the link, click enter, and you're good to go.

What about JG 7 , JG 400 , JV 44 and JG 3 to name a few?  I was under the impression that these squadrons were also for defence of the Reich.The had defense bands on their fuselages JG 3 had a ramsjager unit within the squadron. Two squadrons would in no way be enough to defend against hundreds of bombers and fighters

[titanic3]

   According to my post, I've said that these 2 squadrons, JG 300 and JG 301, were the only two that supported the ground offensive during a certain period of time, other squadrons were fighting against Allied fighters and bombers. For a period of time, the JG 300 and 301 was fighting the Allied ground forces for a short amount of time, all by themselves, after this period of time, other air squadrons either assisted them or replaced them.

[moot]

It mentions cowl 131's removed to save weight.  That'd be nice, perked or something.

[Xasthur]

The heavily armoured 190s you refer to were not called 'Panzerbock' they were called 'Sturmbock'. The units who employed the armoured 190s against the American daylight raids were called the 'Sturmgruppen'.

I'll double check the spelling and add any necessary German characters later, mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut.


M00t, they only removed the cowl guns of offset the weight penalty incurred by the additional cockpit armour, thicker armoured forward glass and additional 30mm thick armored glass panels on the sides of the canopy.

If anything, the weight difference was small and the CoG would move back. It's probably not something we would want for the 190A8. It would, however, make it nearly impossible to get pilot wounds.

Here is a good photo of the 30mm armored, square glass panels added to the sides of the canopy. They were often referred to as 'blinders' by the pilots (who often had them removed because of their tendency to ice up and make it impossible to see sideways).



You can see the additional cockpit armor here (note that blinders have been removed in this case), an external metal panel:

[moot]

Strange they didn't think of emptying the lumen between the glass plates.. That said, I'll take the armor and removed cowl guns over what we have, anytime.

[Krusty]

We might already have the weight of a fully armored 190a8, as our 190a8 seems overweight compared to several historical tests for standard 190a8s. However we don't have the armor modeled in (too bad, really).

Wish they'd adjust the weight or add the bullet resistance that comes with it, either way.

[Xasthur]

Of all the accounts I've read of the 190 in all models, none of the AH representations meet them. I'd go so far as to say that the entire 190 planeset is badly under modelled.

Of course, I only have anecdotal evidence to support this so I won't make a real stand on it.... I just find the disparity between the real pilots' accounts of the 190 (the Dora in particular) and what we have in AH to be severely different.

It could be a case of rose-coloured glasses but performance comparisons of Dora pilots put the Dora on the level with Tempests and the Ta 152 considered superior to the Tempest in low level fights.

 

[Cthulhu]

these addresses refer to files located on your hard drive, not accessible to us.

 

Sorry to pile on, but that is funny.

[Cthulhu]

Of all the accounts I've read of the 190 in all models, none of the AH representations meet them. I'd go so far as to say that the entire 190 planeset is badly under modelled.

Of course, I only have anecdotal evidence to support this so I won't make a real stand on it.... I just find the disparity between the real pilots' accounts of the 190 (the Dora in particular) and what we have in AH to be severely different.

It could be a case of rose-coloured glasses but performance comparisons of Dora pilots put the Dora on the level with Tempests and the Ta 152 considered superior to the Tempest in low level fights.

 

Xasthur, I'm inclined to agree with you to a certain degree, even though what's probably the most memorable compliment for the Dora came from Chuck Yeager, and people who have met Yeager almost universally agree that he is completely full of sh*t.

[Wolfala]

I'd be curious about one thing with all weather operations in this type of airplane. Seeing how squirmy it is, an IFR climbout with such a thin wing - wouldn't that load up with ice faster then a redneck going downhill inside of a good year? Can't image they being equipped with any type of weeping wing glycol anti ice solution for these types of trips.

[Krusty]

Much like planes now, I bet they can spray *some*thing on the wings before takeoff, but keep in mind "all weather" is relative. They wouldn't fly when it was snowing or hailing or there was no end to the cloud cover. They didn't have avionics like we have now. All their installed aids only helped the pilot, but he still relied on his own eyes and judgement.

Keep in mind the biggest invasion of all history (D-Day) was delayed because the weather meant no air cover. When the weather was bad, planes simply didn't fly.



P.S. This is why I find grotesquely over-blown weather in the SEA to be stupid: Most planes wouldn't fly if it's as bad as some setups in there had it.