Focke Wulf Fw189A-1
In 1937, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium issued a specification for a single-engined
reconnaissance aircraft with optimum visual characteristics. The preferred
contractors were to be Arado, but the request prompted the Focke-Wulf company
to work up the alternative idea of the Focke-Wulf Fw 189, a twin-boom design
with two small, French-made Argus As 410 engines and a central crew gondola,
while Blohm + Voss proposed something far more radical: chief designer Dr.
Richard Vogt's unique asymmetric Bv 141.Possibly the best reconnaissance aircraft to operate during WWII, the Fw 189 was produced in large numbers, first at the Bordeaux-Merignac aircraft factory (now the Dassault Mirage plant) in occupied France, then in the Aero Vodochody aircraft factory in Prague , occupied Czechoslovakia. Total production was 846 aircraft of all variants of the Fw 189.
Called the "Flying Eye" of the German army, the Fw 189 was used extensively on the Eastern Front with great success. Its Russian nickname was "Rama" (Frame), referring to its distinctive tailboom shape. Despite its slow speed and fragile looks, the Fw 189's maneuverability made it a difficult target for attacking Russian fighters. When attacked, the Fw 189 was often able to outturn attacking fighters by simply flying in a tight circle that enemy fighters could not follow. Its ruggedness was demonstrated when Fw 189s routinely returned to bases with one tail shot or torn off.
