Focke-Wulf Fw 191

History

The Fw 191 was a Focke-Wulf template for the Luftwaffe's 1939 "Bomber B" program. The authorities were convinced of the concept of high-speed bombers ("Schnellbomber") and envisioned this middle-class fleet. Multi-engine planes flew across the English Channel from German bases to all parts of England, able to evade and pursue enemies. The Fw 191 was undoubtedly a solid design, although the technical issues required (many of its airframes were electric) and engines delayed the project until it was ultimately doomed along with the B bomber program itself.

Only three prototypes were completed.

Several major German companies were involved in the Bomber B request, including Arado, Dornier, Junkers, and Focke-Wulf. The concept of Arado was dropped from the competition while the Dornier template was slowly being edited. Only the proposals of Juncker and Fokker-Wolf were seriously promoted. German requirements call for special features such as pressurized cabins for the crew, remote-controlled weapons, a completely new engine design (by Junkers or Daimler-Benz), a top speed of 600 km/h and excellent endurance on land and water , and an internal/external ammunition load of up to 8,800 lbs.

Focke-Wulf, known for their superb single-seat, single-engine World War II Fw 190 fighter, presented their Fw 191 - a twin-engine, multi-crew product that incorporated many of the concepts the Luftwaffe was looking for.

Externally, the Fw 191 featured a pencil-shaped, streamlined fuselage with a cockpit that blended into the airflow, as seen in the German Heinkel He 111 medium bomber (and later the American Boeing B-29 Superfortress). This allows for a fully glazed nose section with no cockpit "steps" to break the design.

This stepless cockpit approach allows for excellent crew communication and relatively good cockpit visibility as the crew gathers at the front of the aircraft. The hull is tapered at the stern and covered by two vertical outboard fins. The wings were placed in the center of the design and mounted high for good ground clearance. The engines are housed in a streamlined nacelle along the leading edge of each wing, which sweeps over the trailing edge. The landing gear is fully retractable to maintain strong airflow around the aircraft.

The configuration includes two single-wheel main legs and one single-wheel rear leg. An internal bomb bay is located in the center of the fuselage, while each engine nacelle has hardpoints.

Since most of the defensive armament was remotely controlled from the fuselage, the dorsal and ventral turrets and rear-facing guns were located aft of each engine nacelle. A tail turret was placed between the two vertical stabilizers at the extreme end of the fuselage to deal with any pursuit threats. A chin-mounted turret cannon is also optional, protecting the vulnerable frontline from enemy frontal attack.

Armament will consist of a set of 7.92mm MG 81 machine guns (2 chin, 1 per nacelle), 13mm MG 131 machine guns (2 dorsal turrets, 2 ventral turrets) and MG 151/20 cannons ( 1 back turret, 1 x belly turret).

The Fw 191 fuselage itself was a strong contender for the bomber Plan B, demonstrating speed through its basic appearance. However, heavy use of electricity requires an equally heavy reliance on generators and electric motors.

Not only does this add weight to growing designs, but it also leads to more complex technical end products. The design eventually evolved through a simplification process, including the traditional manned artillery position (the nacelle gun was completely abandoned), and the proven hydraulic and mechanical capabilities began to replace the intended electronic powerplant.

Despite the lighter design, the aircraft still underperformed - the Junkers Jumo 222 series engines were not up to the task (the Daimler-Benz bid was eventually abandoned). These program limitations ended up bringing only three Fw 191 prototypes to the web, which were simply identified as "V1", "V2" and "V6". Other prototypes were also envisioned to address several key issues, but none came to fruition.

By this point in the war, the situation in Germany had deteriorated and other, more defensive plans were committed. With the end of the B bomber program, the Fw 191 gradually faded into the military aviation background, joining numerous other promising German WWII designs.

Performance estimates for the Fw 191 (prototype V6) include a top speed of 620 km/h and a range of 2,240 miles - both within the B bomber's claimed range. The airframe had a service limit of about 31,800 feet, and pressurized cabins could help the crew reach that limit, although later rewrites of the project eventually abandoned complex pressurization equipment altogether.

The Fw 191 will deploy 9,240-pound internal and external artillery, including conventionally dropped bombs and possibly torpedoes - the latter for sea-at-sea attack missions.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes