From The Archives: 80 Years Ago In Aviation Week - Design Analysis No. 9 / Focke-Wulf 190

A priceless prize fell into the hands of Allied forces near Naples in early 1943: an “almost intact” Focke-Wulf 190. The U.S. troops immediately shipped the Luftwaffe’s arguably most advanced fighter during World War II to Wright Field, Ohio for a full analysis.  

After the Army Air Corps experts finished, something else remarkable happened. The Army opened the captured specimen to a detailed inspection by the editors of Aviation, as Aviation Week & Space Technology was then known, who produced a 26-page, richly illustrated report in our Oct. 1, 1944 issue. 

The editors marveled at some of the FW-190’s most puzzling features. Focke-Wulf’s designers crafted the FW-190 without a hydraulic system. Instead, electric motors operated the landing gear and flaps. 

The rudder trim tab could be adjusted only on the ground. A single structure formed the entire wing skin from tip to tip. A “brain box” near the cockpit automatically adjusted the fuel mixture as the pilot moved the throttle. 

 The combination presented a “simple, yet sturdy, construction, paralleled by highly complex components,” the editors concluded. 

Read the full article from page 127 through to page 152. The feature includes illustrations and sketches of various parts of the aircraft including a control switch junction box located to the left of the pilot's seat. 

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