Focke-Wulf Fw BMW802 (Fw 190)

Focke-Wulf Fw BMW802 (Fw 190) History

Even with World War II (1939-1945) in full swing in 1941, German design research engineers attempted to demand additional power and performance from existing fighter types. A viable candidate was the classic piston engine Focke-Wulf Fw 190, which was just unveiled in August of that year, and the studies aimed to further determine the fate of the German war.

An offshoot of this aircraft was an attempt to demonstrate the use of the still-in-development BMW 802 series, 18-cylinder supercharged, twin-row, air-cooled radial piston engine in place of the original radial mount (at the core was the new engine, which was essentially a 18-cylinder version of earlier 14-cylinder products). However, the project - often referred to as the Fw "BMW 802" - never made it past the paper stage.

The Fw BMW 802 proposal retains the entire rear fuselage section, tail, landing gear and cockpit of the original Fw 190 production fighter. The most significant changes affected the nose and wings of the main aircraft. The nose now houses the powerful new engines, which will take up a lot of space and cause the nose section to have to extend beyond the cockpit, which has been pushed further back in the design - reducing forward visibility.

Since the new engine is still air-cooled, the air intake features a truncated nose, and the whole thing drives a conventional tractor-style three-blade (variable pitch) propeller setup. Conventional trailing gear will be used for ground operations.

The main plane of the wing has been redesigned to support the dihedral (upper corner) outside the shell of the main gear legs. Additionally, these members were lengthened due to the expected performance of the new, faster fighter aircraft (similar to the Focke-Wulf Ta 152 high-altitude fighter seen before the end of the war).

The leading edge of the wing is slightly curved back, tapering from the trailing edge to a rounded tip. Since these members are also positioned in front of the pilot, the frontal view is more obstructed.

In terms of armament, no weapon group has been completed, although it can be assumed that there will be a permanent conversion to full-barreled cannons, possibly mounted in pairs on the wings, to give the fighter excellent lethality and to clear the air front of the large engines. In addition, it can be speculated that its ability to carry bombs is limited - almost all fighter jets in war can use the typical three installations - a point under the fuselage and a position under each wing.

In addition, these hardpoints are likely to be designed for disposable fuel tanks if the aircraft's operational range needs to be extended.

The promising fuel-injected BMW 802 initially offered up to 2,600 hp and settled at nearly 1,600 hp, and has the potential to truly improve all performance aspects of the Fw 190 fighter. However, it did not start operating until 1943 as its development process proved tedious and lengthy, which eventually led to it being abandoned in favor of promoting turbojet technology.

Therefore, any advanced fighter form suitable for the BMW 802 was abandoned.

The upgraded version of the Fw BMW 802, named "P. 8011", was designed to install a modified version of the same BMW 802 engine in the nose to drive a counter-rotating propeller unit.

Many of the qualities of the original Fw BMW 802 should have carried over into this entry, but none have evolved into anything of value.

In any case, the role of high-performance, high-altitude aircraft was eventually filled by types such as the Ta 152 (described in detail elsewhere on this site).

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes