A rarely-photographed Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5/U8.
The A-5/U8 was another Jabo-Rei outfitted with SC-250
centreline-mounted bombs, under-wing 300-litre drop tanks and only two MG 151s;
it later became the Fw 190 G-2.
The Fw 190 A-5 was manufactured from November 1942 until
August 1943. The U8 conversion was a long-range fighter-bomber (Jabo-Rei).
Beneath each wing is a 300-l fuel tank on a so-called “Ju 87 Rack”. The tanks
were not jettisonable and seriously reduced the aircraft’s maximum speed,
consequently this type of rack was not put into production. Beneath the
fuselage is an ETC 501, which could accommodate a bomb or auxiliary fuel tank.
When this rack was fitted, it was standard practice to lengthen the mainwheel
fairings to at least partly replace the missing wheel well doors.
The MG FF
cannon in the outer wings and the fuselage-mounted MG 17 machine-guns were
removed, and armament was limited to two MG 151 cannon in the wing roots. Note
the unusual red underside of the engine cowling. The photograph was taken in
the summer of 1943, however the unit to which the aircraft belonged is not
known. It has a factory-applied camouflage scheme of RLM 74/75/76 supplemented by
patches of 74/75 on the fuselage sides. Photo by Hauptmann Rolf Schödter III./JG
26’s technical officer
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