It was the first heavier-than-air craft to fly nonstop between Berlin and New York City, about 4,000 miles (6,400 km), making the flight from Berlin-Staaken to Floyd Bennett Field on 10/11 August 1938 in 24 hours and 56 minutes.

[3] It was originally proposed by the aeronautical engineer Kurt Tank as a long-range land-based airliner for the flag carrier Deutsche Luft Hansa.

A key feature of the Fw 200 was its ability to cruise at altitudes in excess of 3,000 m (9,800 ft), which made long distance routes more viable.

While intended for use as an airliner, the type was adapted for military purposes in response to a Japanese Navy request for a long-range maritime patrol aircraft.

[4] By mid-1941, it was being increasingly harried by long-range aircraft dispatched by RAF Coastal Command as well as Hurricane fighters being flown from CAM ships.

[5] On 14 August 1942, an Fw 200C-3 was the first German aircraft to be destroyed by USAAF pilots, after it was attacked by a Curtiss P-40C Warhawk and a Lockheed P-38F Lightning over Iceland.

On numerous occasions, senior Nazi officials, including Joachim von Ribbentrop, Heinrich Himmler, Albert Speer, Hermann Göring, and Karl Dönitz made use of special aircraft.

The Fw 200 originated from a proposal made by the aeronautical engineer Kurt Tank, the chief designer of the German aircraft manufacturer Focke-Wulf to Dr. Rudolf Stüssel of the flag carrier Deutsche Luft Hansa for the development of a landplane capable of carrying passengers across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States.

During June 1936, following discussions between Tank, Stüssel and Carl August von Gablenz, Deutsche Luft Hansa issued a specification.

Focke-Wulf responded with what would become the Fw 200, a four-engined low-winged monoplane, almost entirely constructed of metal (exceptions include the fabric-covered flight control surfaces).

At the direction of Edgar Peterson, the aircraft was adapted for long range reconnaissance and anti-shipping duties with the Luftwaffe to meet Germany's wartime needs.

[10] One unfortunate consequence of the extra weight incurred by the added military equipment, in combination with its relatively weak structure, was the loss of several early-build Fw 200s when they broke up during landing, often due to the failure of the rear spar.

[11] Some later-built aircraft were equipped with Lorenz FuG 200 Hohentwiel low UHF-band ASV radar in the nose; this apparatus permitted the Fw 200 to effectively perform blind bombing missions for the first time.

[12] In 1943, a version entered service that could carry the Henschel Hs 293 guided missile,[8] mandating fitment of the associated Funkgerät FuG 203 Kehl radio guidance gear on a Condor to steer them.

[15] However, amid the Allied bombing of Germany, Focke-Wulf's factory in Cottbus was damaged, compelling the transfer of final assembly work to rival company Blohm and Voss.

It was the first heavier-than-air craft to fly nonstop between Berlin and New York City, about 4,000 miles (6,400 km), making the flight from Berlin-Staaken to Floyd Bennett Field on 10/11 August 1938 in 24 hours and 56 minutes.

[8] German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop used a specially outfitted Condor "Grenzmark", on his two flights to Moscow in 1939, during which he negotiated and signed the "Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union", better known as the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.

The Luftwaffe used its maritime-configured Fw 200c to support the Kriegsmarine; a typical patrol flight consisted of large circuits out across the North Sea and, following the fall of France, the Atlantic Ocean.

[23] Following the debut of what would become the Luftwaffe's primary seaborne maritime patrol aircraft, the rival trimotor BV 138C flying boat in March 1941; from mid-1941,[citation needed] Condor crews were instructed to stop attacking shipping and avoid all combat in order to preserve numbers.

In August, the first Fw 200 was shot down by a CAM ship-launched Hawker Hurricane, and the arrival of the U.S.-built Grumman Martlet, operating from the Royal Navy's new escort carriers, posed a serious threat.

On 14 August 1942, an Fw 200C-3 was the first German aircraft to be destroyed by USAAF pilots, after it was attacked by a Curtiss P-40C Warhawk and a Lockheed P-38F Lightning over Iceland.

FW 200s of various types were configured as VIP transports, for the use of Hitler and his staff, other aircraft being assigned to Heinrich Himmler, Albert Speer, Hermann Göring, and Karl Dönitz.

[26][18] Royal Naval Fleet Air Arm pilot Captain Eric Brown's aircraft was seriously damaged by defensive fire during an attack he made on a Condor in 1940, and he narrowly survived.