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Focke-Wulf Fw 187 Falke (Falcon)

1937 WORLD WAR 2

History

Although the Focke-Wulf product Fw 187 Falke (or "Falcon") displayed some impressive performance statistics on the underpowered engine, it never became a production model. Similar in design and range to the Messerschmitt Bf 110, the Fw 187 was considered more of a "Tweener" type aircraft - neither a fighter nor a true destroyer, although the aircraft had some very clear advantages.

Nonetheless, the design is noteworthy because it is a powerful system with impressive firepower and good flight characteristics, and with only a few production aircraft delivered, it was used to defend against the local Bremen Focke-Wulf factory.

The design of the Fw 187 was the norm for twin-engine fighter jets at the time. The ever-increasing performance of the piston engine led to more radical airframe designs, resulting in the idea of ??a multi-engine fighter jet. The Fw 187 had two Junkers Jumo 12-cylinder engines flanking the cockpit and mounted on low-mounted monoplane wings. Upward and directional visibility is considered good because the cockpit is positioned very forward and is accomplished only by the wing area and engines.

The greenhouse-style cockpit is housed in a sleek, slender fuselage terminated by a traditional T-tail. The aircraft's formidable offensive armament is a mix of cannon and machine gun, culminating in a turret of 2 x 20mm cannons and a series of 4 x 7.92mm machines - an impressive weapon capable of taking down Any bomber or fighter.

The Jumo engine performed better than expected, with a top speed of 329 mph. The achievable upper limit of service is well in excess of 32,000 feet, although many sources do not know the optimal operating range of the aircraft.

Despite these statistics, the Fw 187 was resolved by RLM's in-house engineering, so the Messerschmitt BF 110 "destroyer" received the green light against the Fw 187 design. Only three of the seven pre-production Fw 187A-0 models ordered were delivered.