Focke-Wulf Fw 200

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The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 was a German all-metal four-engined monoplane that entered service as an airliner and later as long range reconnaissance and anti-shipping bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe. It was the very first airplane to fly non-stop between Berlin and New York making the journey on August 10, 1938 in 24 hours and 56 minutes. The return trip on August 13 1938 took only 19 hours and 47 minutes.

1 Development
2 Variants
3 Combat service
4 Civil Operators
5 Military Operators
6 Specifications (Fw 200C-3/U4)
7 Related content

[edit] Development

The Fw 200 was built to a Lufthansa specification with Dipl.-Ing. Bansemir as project director, it first flew in July 1937 after just under one year of development with Dipl.-Ing. Kurt Tank in the controls. The aircraft was a simple development of a pre-war commercial craft. It was an all-metal construction, four-engined monoplane capable of carrying 25 passengers up to 3000 km. To adapt it for wartime, hard-points were added on the wings for bombs, the fuselage was extended and strengthened to create more space and front, aft and dorsal gun positions were added. The extra weight of the improvements meant that a number of early Condors would break-up on landing, a problem that was never entirely fixed. Later models were equipped with radar.

The Japanese Navy requested a military version for search and patrol duties, so Kurt Tank designed the Fw 200V-10 with military equipment. This plane was held in Germany because war had broken out in Europe and became the basis for all later military models used by Luftwaffe.

[edit] Variants

There were three versions - the Fw 200A, B, and C. The Model A was a purely civilian plane used by Lufthansa, DDL in Denmark, and Syndicato Condor in Brazil. The Fw 200B and Fw 200C models were used as long-range bombers, reconnaissance, troop and VIP transport planes. Adolf Hitler used a modified prototype, the Fw 200V-1 as his personal transport. His "seat" in the cabin was equipped with back-armor plating and an automatic parachute with downward throws. This plane was named "Immelmann III" and first carried the markings "D-2600", which eventually changed to "WL+2600" and finally "26+00".

[edit] Combat service

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 undertook maritime patrols and reconnaissance, searching for Allied convoys and warships that could be reported for targeting by U-boats. The Condor could also carry bombs or mines to use against shipping and it was claimed that from June 1940 to February 1941 they sank 365,000 tons. From mid-1941 the aircraft were instructed to avoid attacking shipping and avoid all combat in order to preserve numbers. In August the first Condor was shot down by a CAM ship launched Hawker Hurricane and the arrival of the new escort aircraft carriers was a very serious threat.

The Condor was also used as a transport aircraft, notably flying supplies into Stalingrad in 1943. After late 1943 the Condor came to be used solely as a transport aircraft. For reconnaissance it was replaced by the Junkers Ju 290 and as France was invaded maritime reconnaissance became impossible. Production ended in 1944 with a total of 276 aircraft produced.

A Danish aircraft Dania was seized by the British after Denmark was invaded by Germany in 1940. It was operated by BOAC and was later pressed into service with the British Royal Air Force. It was damaged beyond repair in 1941.

Some damaged Condors landed in Spain. In the beginning they were repaired and returned to their bases in France. Later, from Operation Torch, the Spanish governement interned them (but crews were still allowed to return to Germany). As the planes were useless they were sold by Germany to Spain and two or three planes operated in the Spanish Air Force, spares were obtained from crashed planes and cannibalitazion. Due to lack of spares and damages they were landed and scrapped around 1950.

Some Condors crashed in Portugal. Crews were allowed to go back to Germany and British were allowed to inspect the plane and documentation. Some crews (at least one full crew) died in one of those crashes and all crew members are buried in the civilian cemetery of Moura (Alentejo Province) in Portugal.

Winston Churchill called it the "Scourge of the Atlantic" during the Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945) due to its contribution to the heavy Allied shipping losses by German U-boats.