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.

The Fw 190 A-6 was developed to address shortcomings found in previous "A" models when attacking U.S. heavy bombers. Modifications of the type to date had caused the weight of the aircraft to creep up. To combat this and to allow better weapons to be installed in the wings, a structurally redesigned and lighter wing was introduced. The normal armament was increased to two MG 17 fuselage machine guns and four 20 mm MG 151/20E wing root and outer wing cannon with larger ammunition boxes. New electrical sockets and reinforced weapon mounts were fitted internally in the wings to allow the installation of either 20 mm or 30 mm (1.18 in) ammunition boxes and for underwing armament. Because the outer wing MG 151s were mounted lower than the MG/FFs new larger hatches, incorporating bulges and cartridge discharge chutes, were incorporated into the wing lower surfaces. It is believed the MG 17s were kept because their tracer rounds served as a targeting aid for the pilots. A new FuG 16 ZE radio navigation system was fitted in conjunction with a FuG 10 ZY. A loop aerial for radio navigation, mounted on a small "teardrop" base was fitted under the rear fuselage, offset slightly to port, with an additional short "whip" aerial aft of this. These aerials were fitted on all later Fw 190 variants.

The A-6 was outfitted in numerous ways with various sets, Rustsatze (field modification kits); more flexible than the factory upgrade kits for previous versions, these field upgrade kits allowed the A-6 to be refitted in the field as missions demanded. At least 963 A-6s were built from July 1943 ending in April 1944, according to Ministry of Aviation acceptance reports and Focke-Wulf production books. In late 1943, the Erla Antwerp factory designed a simpler rack/drop-tank fitting, which was more streamlined than the bulky ETC 501 and could be quickly fitted or removed. Several A-6s, A-7s and A-8s of JG 26 were fitted with these racks (one such aircraft was A-8 W.Nr.170346 Black 13 flown by Obstlt. Josef Priller during the Normandy invasion on June 6th, 1944.)

This particular 1:48 scale replica of a German Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-3 fighter that was piloted by Oberlteutnant Wolfgang Kosse, who was attached to 1./Jagdgeschwader 5 "Eismeer", then deployed to Norway during October 1942. Pre-order! Ship Date: January 2027.

Dimensions
Wingspan: 8-1/2-inches
Length: 7-1/4-inches

Release Date: ?

Historical Account: "The Struggle Continues" - During the summer and autumn of 1941, the Finnish army was on the offensive, retaking territories lost in the Winter War with the Soviet Union. The Finnish army advanced even further, especially in the direction of Lake Onega, (east from Lake Ladoga), leading to the occupation of Russian East Karelia (it never had been a part of Finland - or before 1809 of Sweden-Finland). This caused Great Britain to declare war on Finland on December 6th. The German-Finnish troops in Northern Finland were less successful, failing to take the Russian port city of Murmansk.

In September 1941, the Finnish army took up defensive positions. This led to a long period of relative calm in the front line, lasting until 1944. During this period, especially after the major German defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad, intermittent peace negotiations had taken place. These negotiations did not lead to any settlement.

On June 9th, 1944, the Red Army launched a massive attack against Finland. The fact that the enemy had vast numerical superiority and had managed to surprise the Finnish army, led to a retreat approximately to the same positions as Finns were holding at the end of the Winter War. Eventually the Soviet offensive was fought to a standstill (see Battle of Tali-Ihantala) while still tens or hundreds of kilometres in front of the main Finnish line of fortifications, the Salpa Line.

The dire situation in 1944 had led to Finnish president Risto Ryti giving Germany his personal guarantee that Finland would not negotiate peace with the Soviet Union. In exchange Germany delivered weapons to the Finns. However, after the Soviet invasion was halted, Ryti resigned. Due to the war, elections could not be held, and therefore the Parliament elected Mannerheim, the Finnish commander-in-chief, as the president and charged him with negotiating a peace.

The Finnish front had became a side show for the Soviet leadership, as they were in a race to reach Berlin before the Western Allies. This, and the heavy casualties inflicted to the Red Army by the Finns, led to withdrawal of most troops from the Finnish front. On September 4th, 1944, a cease-fire was agreed upon, and the Moscow armistice was signed on September 19th. In the armistice agreement Finland was obliged to expel German troops from the country. This would lead to the Lapland War.