Why were FW 190 called ‘Butcher birds’? Correct me if I’m wrong but was it because it was a better fighter than the Bf 109 due to better/superior maneuverability and armament?
A fun question for all:
If you had a choice, which would you rather fly into battle against the Allies? The FW 190 or the Bf 109?
I think the name refers to an actual pilot who had an excellent kill record, probably wrong but sounded good in my head. If I was forced to fly I think it would be…the 190, igger airframe for my fat … early radials are cool too.
For what it;s worth, this site says that it was due to the killing ability of the plane
www.historylearningsite.co.uk/focke_wulf_190.htm
The 109 is the iconic fighter,but I’d take the 190
Thanks for the link Tojo! Very interesting read.
Just remember the 190 suffered at altitude. The 109 was vastly superior at 18,000 feet on up. All the 190As really had over the 109 was better armament, and visibility. It did have better ground handling due to the wider gear.
Yeah - I noticed that…
As mentioned above, the Wurger had better ground handling, better visibility due to the canopy shape, speed and maneuvering, not to mention an excellent gun platform. My favorite is the Dora and the TA152. Those were awesome machines. The name comes from its killing ability over the foe.
They butchered pretty much everything they came up against. It’s been theorized that had the 190s been introduced earlier in the war, the Germans may have won. (?) Hard to say …
Another advantage: It’s a better-looking design (well, to me it is…).
Hi :
I have always thought ( since I built my first , All Black FW-190 kit , by AURORA ) that it looked a whole lot meaner than the 109 too .Something sinister to a kid when the plane is all black T.B. .
Actually not. That enterprise was doomed from the start when Hitlers bluffs were finally called by the likes of Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt.
The plane was named after the German word for Shrike, the raptor bird.
Kurt Tank had a second career designing early generation jet fighters in Argentina where he advanced the design of the TA-183 Huckebein, and later still in India. He’s an aeronautical engineer that I really admire.