Japan acquired material from Germany towards establishing domestic production of the Ta 152, but no aircraft were ever believed to have been completed.

The Fw 190's BMW 801 engine was originally designed for bomber and transport aircraft flying at medium altitudes in the 15,000–20,000 feet (4,600–6,100 m) range.

At these altitudes, the Fw 190 found itself at a disadvantage, which became acute during early 1944 when the long range P-51 Mustang arrived in quantity.

Rumours of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, which would cruise at altitudes at which no German aircraft could comfortably operate, added impetus for a dedicated high-altitude design.

The Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM, German Air Ministry) requested proposals from Focke-Wulf and Messerschmitt for a high-altitude interceptor.

[3][4] During April 1945, the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) acquired the licence, along with schemes and technical drawings, for manufacturing the Ta 152 in Japan.

Kurt Tank originally designed the Ta 152 using the 44.52 litre displacement Daimler-Benz DB 603 engine as it offered better high-altitude performance and also a greater developmental potential.

[7] The C model was designed to operate at lower altitudes than the H-model with the same armament plus two more MG 151/20 cannon synchronised as the additional autocannon for the C-model were mounted just ahead of the windscreen and above the engine's upper rear crank case.

The Ta 152C could destroy the heaviest enemy bombers with a short burst but the added weight decreased speed and rate of turn.

Kurt Tank was flying an unarmed Ta 152H in late 1944 to a meeting at the Focke-Wulf plant in Cottbus when ground controllers warned him of two P-51 Mustangs.

The enemy aircraft appeared behind Tank but he escaped by applying full power and engaging the MW 50 boost "until they were no more than two dots on the horizon".

[9] By October 1944, given the disastrous course of the conflict, RLM realised the urgency of Germany's situation and pushed Focke-Wulf to quickly put the Ta 152 into production.

III./Jagdgeschwader 301, initially a Luftwaffe Wilde Sau unit, was ordered to convert to the type in January 1945, which it did (and flew them operationally for a short time).

[10] An early Ta 152 combat occurred on 14 April 1945 when Oberfeldwebel Willi Reschke tried to intercept a De Havilland Mosquito over Stendal but failed to catch up due to engine trouble.

After attacking a train near Ludwigslust, the section split up into pairs; Wing Commander Brooker ordered the Tempests flown by Flying Officer S. J.

Three Ta 152s – flown by Reschke, Oberstleutnant Aufhammer and Oberfeldwebel Sepp Sattler – were scrambled, catching the Tempests by surprise.

Reschke recalled, As the direction of take-off was in line with the railway tracks leading straight to Ludwigslust, we were almost immediately in contact with the enemy fighters, which turned out to be Tempests.

Both pilots realised from the start that it would be a fight to the finish and used every flying trick and tactical ploy possible to try to gain the upper hand.

The enemy aircraft shuddered noticeably and, probably as an instinctive reaction, the Tempest pilot immediately yoked into a starboard turn, giving me an even greater advantage.

I pressed my gun buttons a second time, but after a few rounds my weapons fell silent, and despite all my efforts to clear them, refused to fire another shot.

It so happened that the site of Oberfeldwebel Sattler's crash, and that of the Tempest pilot, who proved to be New Zealander Warrant Officer Owen J. Mitchell, were only about one kilometre apart.

[12]It is assumed that Sattler was shot down either by Sid Short or Bill Shaw of 486 Sqn, who claimed a Bf 109 E in the same area.

[15][verification needed] The Ta 152 score at the end of the war was probably seven victories and four losses in air combat, although a degree of uncertainty about those numbers exists.

There was no contact with the Americans because the 12 Ta 152s were forced to fend off repeated attacks by the Bf 109s of another German unit, as the shape of the Ta-152 was virtually unknown to other Jagdgeschwader.