The Fw 190A started flying operationally over France in August 1941 and quickly proved superior in all but turn radius to the Spitfire Mk.

These high-altitude developments eventually led to the Focke-Wulf Ta 152, which was capable of extreme speeds at medium to high altitudes (755 km/h [408 kn; 469 mph] at 13,500 m [44,300 ft]).

[7] While these "long nose" 190 variants and the Ta 152 derivative especially gave the Germans parity with Allied opponents, they arrived too late to affect the outcome of the war.

Some of the Luftwaffe's most successful fighter aces claimed many of their kills while flying it, including Otto Kittel, Walter Nowotny and Erich Rudorffer.

The Fw 190 had greater firepower than the Bf 109 and, at low to medium altitude, superior manoeuvrability, in the opinion of German pilots who flew both fighters.

Although the Bf 109 was an extremely competitive fighter, the Ministry was worried that future foreign designs might outclass it, and wanted to have new aircraft under development to meet these possible challenges.

[citation needed] Tank was not convinced of this, having witnessed the successful use of radial engines by the U.S. Navy, and felt a properly streamlined installation would eliminate this problem.

He outlined the reasoning: The Messerschmitt 109 [sic] and the British Spitfire, the two fastest fighters in the world at the time we began work on the Fw 190, could both be summed up as a very large engine on the front of the smallest possible airframe; in each case armament had been added almost as an afterthought.

I felt sure that a quite different breed of fighter would also have a place in any future conflict: one that could operate from ill-prepared front-line airfields; one that could be flown and maintained by men who had received only short training; and one that could absorb a reasonable amount of battle damage and still get back.

One was to reduce any extra aerodynamic drag of the oil radiator, in this case largely eliminating it by placing it within the same cowling as the engine.

(The Bf 109's narrow-track, outwards-retracting landing gear hinged on its wing root structure to help lower weight, but this led to inherent weakness and many failures and ground loops.

The tailwheel's retraction mechanical design possessed a set of pulleys to guide the aforementioned cable to the top of the tailwheel's oleo strut, pulling it upwards along a diagonal track within the fin, into the lower fuselage;[18] this mechanism was accessible through a prominently visible triangular-shaped hinged panel, on the left side in the fin's side sheetmetal covering.

[c][20] On some versions of the Fw 190 an extended tailwheel oleo strut could be fitted for larger-sized loads (such as bombs or even a torpedo) beneath the fuselage.

The cables tended to stretch, resulting in the sensations of "give" and "play" that made the controls less crisp and responsive, and required constant maintenance to correct.

[22] The design team also attempted to minimize changes in the aircraft's trim at varying speeds, thus reducing the pilot's workload.

Small, fixed tabs were fitted to control surfaces and adjusted for proper balance during initial test flights.

The introduction of vacuum forming, led to the creation of the "bubble canopy" which was largely self-supporting, and could be mounted over the cockpit, offering greatly improved all-round visibility.

The B-17's eventual deployment in combat box formations provided formidable massed firepower from a hundred or more Browning AN/M2 .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns.

[citation needed] The Fw 190, designed as a rugged interceptor capable of withstanding considerable combat damage and delivering a potent "punch" from its stable gun platform, was considered ideal for anti-bomber operations.

The A-6/R6 was fitted with twin heavy calibre Werfer-Granate 21 (BR 21) unguided, air-to-air rockets, fired from single underwing tubular launchers (one per wing panel).

The A-8/R2 was the most numerous Sturmbock aircraft, some 900 were built by Fiesler at Kassel with 30 mm MK 108s installed in their outer wing panel mounts.

[citation needed] While formidable bomber-killers, the armour and substantial up-gunning with heavier calibre firepower meant the Fw 190 was now cumbersome to maneuver.

[31]Richard Franz commented: When we made our attack, we approached from slightly above, then dived, opening fire with 13mm and 20mm guns to knock out the rear gunner and then, at about 150 metres, we tried to engage with the MK 108 30mm cannon, which was a formidable weapon.

[citation needed] Three such installations were outlined The Fw 190 participated on every major combat front where the Luftwaffe operated after 1941, and did so with success in a variety of roles.

[66] In June 1942, Oberleutnant Armin Faber of JG 2 landed his Fw 190 A-3 at a British airfield, allowing the RAF to test the Mk.

[citation needed] In 1997 a German company, Flug Werk GmbH, began manufacturing new Fw 190 models as reproductions.

[citation needed] The nearly intact wreck of an Fw 190 A-5/U3 (Werknummer 151 227) that had crashed in a marsh in a forest near Leningrad, Soviet Union, 1943 was located in 1989.

[72] Following the successful test flight, the aircraft was then trucked up to the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Washington, where it was reassembled in April 2011 and returned to airworthy condition.

[73][better source needed] At least five surviving Fw 190A radial-engined aircraft are known to have been assigned to the Luftwaffe's JG 5 wing in Herdla, Norway.

According to the Hürriyet Daily News, all of the retired Fw 190s were saved from scrapping by wrapping them with protective cloths and burying them in the soil near the Aviation Supply and Maintenance Center at Kayseri.