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Germany's Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor reconnaissance bomber1,2,3
Focke-Wulf 200 Condor with Lufthansa in New York:
Focke-Wulf 200 Condor:
Focke-Wulf 200 Condor:
Focke-Wulf 200 Condor:
Focke-Wulf 200 Condor:
Focke-Wulf 200 Condor:
Focke-Wulf 200B-1 Condor:
Design
The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor started out as a 26 passenger commercial airliner that had many long distance flights and records.2,3 It was originally designed by Kurt Tank in 1936.2
The fuel connections were on the underside of the wings which made the Fw 200 vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire.1
Many of the Fw 200 Condors had radar installed with the antennas in the nose and wings.1 The most command was the FuG 200 Hohentwiel.1
Prototype
First flew after 12 months of development.1
The Fw 200 prototype flew on July 27, 1937.3 It was powered by four BMW 139 (license built Pratt & Whitney Hornet) engines.3
The Fw 200C prototype first flew in January 1940.3
Production
From 1940 to 1944 252 Fw 200 Condors were produced.2
- Fw 200C-0: 10.2 Delivered in September 1939.2
- Total: 2522, 2763
Variants
- Fw 200C-0: Pre-production model2
- Fw 200C-1: Used BMW 132 H engines (830 HP each).2 Carried four 551 lb / 250 kg bombs.2
- Fw 200C-3: Used Bramo 323R-2 engines (1,000 HP each).2
- Fw 200C-6: Could carry two Henschel Hs 293 missiles with a FuG 203b control radio.2
- Fw 200C-8: Had a longer ventral gondola with an accurate bombsight.1 Could carry two Henschel Hs 293 missiles with a FuG 203b control radio.2
Usage
In 1938 a Fw 200 took 42 hours and 18 minutes to fly from Berlin to Tokyo.1
The last Lufthansa airline flight was from Barcelona to Berlin on April 14, 1945.1
Finland and Brazil each received one Fw 200.1 Japan ordered five but they were never delivered.1
Personal Transports
Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler each used a Fw 200 as a personal transporter.2
Early Use
In 1940 the I./KG 40 received some Fw 200Cs.2
Some Fw 200C-1s were used for mine laying in English waters in 1940.2 They could deploy two 2,205 lb / 1,000 kg mines per mission.2
Stalingrad
Eighteen Fw 200s were used by the Kampfgruppe zur besonderen Venwendung 200 to flying into Stalingrad.2
Churchill
Winston Churchill called the Fw 200 "the scourge of the Atlantic."3
| Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor3 | Focke-Wulf Fw 200C Condor3 | Focke-Wulf Fw 200C-3 Condor1 | Focke-Wulf Fw 200C-3/U4 Condor2 | Focke-Wulf Fw 200C-6 Condor3 | Focke-Wulf Fw 200C-8 Condor3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Reconnaissance bomber and transport3 | Maritime reconnaissance bomber1 | Maritime reconnaissance bomber2 | |||
| Crew | 63 | 71 | 72 | |||
| Engine (Type) | 4: BMW Bramo Fafnir 323R-23 | 4: BMW-Bramo 323 R-2 Fafnir1 | 4: BMW-Bramo 323R-2 piston2 | |||
| Cylinders | Radial 93 | Radial1 | Radial2 | |||
| Cooling | ||||||
| Net HP | 1,200 each3 | 1,200 each1 | 1,000 each2 | |||
| Propeller blades | 3 each3 | 3 each1 | ||||
| Dimensions | ||||||
| Span | 108' 3"3 33 m3 |
107' 9"1 32.85 m1 |
107' 9.5"2 32.84 m2 |
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| Length | 78' 3"3 23.85 m3 |
77'1 23.45 m1 |
76' 11.5"2 23.85 m2 |
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| Height | 20' 8"3 6.3 m3 |
20' 8"1 6.3 m1 |
20' 8"2 6.3 m2 |
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| Wing area | 1,290 ft2 1 119.85 m2 1 |
1,290 ft2 2 118 m2 2 |
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| Weight | ||||||
| Empty | 31,020 lb3 14,070 kg3 |
28,000 lb1 13,000 kg1 |
37,478 lb2 17,000 kg2 |
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| Loaded | 50,045 lb3 22,700 kg3 |
51,000 lb1 23,000 kg1 |
50,044 lb2 22,700 kg2 |
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| Performance | ||||||
| Speed | 220 mph1 360 kph1 |
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| Speed at sea level | 190 mph3 306 kph3 |
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| Speed @ 13,000' / 3,960 m |
240 mph3 386 kph3 |
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| Speed @ 15,420' / 4,700 m |
224 mph2 360 kph2 |
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| Cruising speed | 155 mph3 250 kph3 |
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| Endurance | ||||||
| Climb | 656'/minute3 200 m/minute3 |
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| Service ceiling | 19,000'1, 19,030'3 5,800 m3, 6,000 m1 |
19,685'2 6,000 m2 |
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| Range | 2,700 miles1, 2,759 miles3 4,400 km1, 4,440 km3 |
2,211 miles2 3,560 km2 |
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| Armament | 1: 20 mm3 4: 13 mm MG3 1: 7.9 mm MG3 |
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| Dorsal - forward | 1: 7.92 mm MG2 | |||||
| Dorsal - rear | 1: 13 mm2 | |||||
| Beam | 2: 13 mm2 | |||||
| Dorsal and beam | 4: 13 mm MG 131 MG1 | |||||
| Ventral gondola | 1: 13 mm MG 131 MG1 OR 1: 20 mm MG 1511 |
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| Ventral | 1: 20 mm2 | |||||
| Ventral - aft | 1: 7.92 mm2 | |||||
| Bombs in gondola and under wings | 4,600 lb1 2,100 kg1 |
4,630 lb2 2,100 kg2 |
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| Bombs | 3,307 lb3 1,500 kg3 |
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| Missiles | 2: Hs 2933 | 2: Hs 2933 |
Sources:
- Aircraft of WWII, General Editor: Jim Winchester, 2004
- Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Editor: Karen Leverington, 1995
- Aircraft of WWII, Stewart Wilson, 1998
