Scale aviation modeller international

T

he Focke-Wulf Fw 190,

designed by Kurt Tank,

was one of the most

famous fighter aircraft of the

German Luftwaffe. The A-

variant represented the peak

of development for the radial-

engined Fw 190s and was the

most produced subtype of the ”A”

version. Its official designation

was Würger (Shrike), but it was

known almost universally by

Allied pilots as the “Butcher

Bird”, for good reasons.

For the first few years of the war,

most German night fighter units

used twin-engined aircraft like the

Messerschmitt Bf 110, Junkers Ju 88,

or Dornier Do 217. By the summer

of 1943, the Luftwaffe devised new

night interception tactics whereby

single-engined day fighters were

controlled from the ground by

radar. The system was called Wilde

Sau, and three Jagdgeschwader –

JG 300, JG 301, and JG 302 – were

formed specifically for the purpose

of night fighting. The idea was

that searchlight batteries would

provide enough illumination

to allow single-engine day

fighters to attack the bombers.

These tactics proved successful

enough to enable the Luftwaffe

to deter at least one RAF bomber

offensive on Berlin. As a result of

this Hermann Goering decided

to triple the strength of Wilde

Sau units, but events intervened

and in the spring of 1944 it was

decided that all available fighters

were needed against USAAF day

raids, and Wilde Sau units were

converted to day operations.

One of the aircraft developments

undertaken specifically for Wilde

Sau was the night fighter version

of the Fw 190. The choice was made

to equip the aircraft with FuG

Neptun J-2 or FuG218 Neptun J-

radar with external antennae. After

some experiments, an R-11 factory

conversion kit was issued for the

Fw 190A-8. It contained the radar

installation with external wing-

mounted antennae, underbelly

300-litre auxiliary fuel tank,

additional flame dampers over the

exhaust stacks, and a landing light.

Butcher of the

NIGHT

Revell 1/32 Fw 190 A-8/R11 Nightfighter

by PeteR Barker

6 • JUNE 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

BY SACCO DE VRIES

FW 190 A-8/R

BY PETER BARKER

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