Focke-Wulf Fw 200 (Condor)

History of Focke-Wulf Fw 200 (Condor)

The German Fw 200 Condor was originally a transatlantic passenger and cargo (mail) aircraft developed in 1936 by Focke-Wulf and legendary designer Kurt Tank. Early prototypes were equipped with Pratt & Whitney Hornet radial piston engines each making 750 horsepower.

Subsequent wartime powerplants reverted to the original BMW range of radial engines, including the BMW 132G-1 and BMW 132H. The transatlantic passenger model is equipped to carry 26 flyers in two separate cabins.

The Fw 200A passenger aircraft model has been delivered to Lufthansa and airlines in Brazil and Denmark for evaluation for commercial use.

With the start of the war, the Fw 200 Condor series were used as successful maritime reconnaissance bombers and VIP transports (both Hitler and Himmler reportedly used Fw 200s for this purpose). Known for disrupting Allied shipping lanes throughout the Atlantic and Arctic, the Fw 200 Condor is armed with anti-ship weapons including anti-ship mines.

Later variants, the Fw 200C-6 and 200C-8, will be equipped with Henschel Hs 293 anti-ship missiles radio-controlled by airborne missile guidance.

Early models provided accommodation for a crew of five, which was later increased to seven. Weapons are mostly standard (with the exception of later models), including a variety of 7.92mm machine guns and 13mm cannons, as well as a 20mm cannon. Internal bomb carrying capacity is approximately 4,600 lbs. Design flaws in the rear of the fuselage (structural flaws caused many accidents) prevented the Condor from achieving legendary status like the Battle of Britain Veterans - Dornier Do 17 and Henkel He 111 (both detailed elsewhere) . side? Place).

Therefore, the system was relegated to the aforementioned supplementary role.

Ultimately, total production should be between 250 and 275. The addition of the Hs 293 missile system is a step towards the more advanced guided variants we see in bombers today.

Nonetheless, despite its shortcomings, the Fw 200 Condor found its place during World War II as a successful maritime reconnaissance aircraft for the Third Reich. By the way, Japan ordered a C-series prototype, but it was never delivered.

Appendix:

A recent email alerted us to a little known fact that the UK has acquired and nearly used a Fw 200 Condor. Email - we remain anonymous - reads as follows:

Gentlemen,

By the way, the UK got a FW 200 through the "back door" method before WWII (don't ask!). An operation was planned at Merignac airfield in occupied France to have commandos destroy these same German [aircraft] on the ground. The planning team carried out planning work "along the tunnel" in Maidstone, Kent.

The plan was for a German Condor taking off from Norway to be shot down by a Spitfire based exclusively on an airstrip called Baltasound in the northern Shetland Islands.

The plan was aborted when it was about to "move forward" as it was considered too problematic to restore the commandos at the end of [Operation].

Authority: My father, an R.A.F. S/Ldr. , who is a member of the planning team.

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