"Guns before butter. Guns will make us powerful; butter will only make us fat."
- Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, Head of the German Luftwaffe
Nicknamed the "Butcher Bird", the Fw 190 was Germany's best air-to-ground fighter. Faster and more agile than the British Spitfire, it dominated the skies over Europe as a fighter and was the Luftwaffe's most important ground-attack aircraft. Controlled by the skilled hands of aces like Oberleutnant Otto Kittel, the FW-190 gained the reputation of being one of the greatest fighters of all time. This fighter-bomber and anti-tank aircraft was almost impossible to defeat until the introduction of the long-range P-51 Mustang.
This particular Focke-Wulf FW 190A-8 fighter was piloted by the Stab of Jagdgeschwader 300, Oberstleutnant Walter Dahl, then deployed to Juterbog-Waldlager, Germany, during November 1944. Ship Date: September 2010.
Dimensions:
Wingspan: 5.25 inches
Length: 5 inches
Release Date: ?
Historical Account: "Hello Dahl-y" - Walter Dahl joined the German Army in 1935 before transferring to the Luftwaffe to become a fighter pilot. Dahl claimed his first victory on June 22nd, 1941, during the German offensive against Russia. After a period with II Gruppe, he joined 4 Staffel, Jagdgeschwader 3 in December and accompanied the unit when it deployed to the Mediterranean Theatre.
Dahl was promoted to Staffelkapitan in April 1942 and in August he returned to the eastern front where he was appointed Geschwaderadjutant Jagdgeschwader 3. In December he was awarded the German Cross in Gold. On July 20th, 1943, Dahl was made Gruppenkommandeur of III./ Jagdgeschwader 3 and relocated to Munster in Germany to defend against allied bomber raids. Major Dahl was awarded the Knight’s Cross in March 1944 after recording 67 victories.
He became Kommodore of JG z.b.v. before taking command of Jagdgeschwader 300 on June 27th. Having been promoted to Oberst, Dahl was awarded the Oak Leaves in February 1945. Walther Dahl ended the war with 128 victories (including a B-17 by ramming!), achieved while flying a number of aircraft including FW190A-8 ‘Blue 13’. This model has been modified to include the A8's bulged fuselage and wings. |
