Focke-Wulf Fw 190

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 is a German single-seat fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank and entering Luftwaffe service in 1941, powered by an air-cooled radial engine rather than the liquid-cooled inline engine used in Germany's other main fighter, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, giving the Fw 190 greater resistance to combat damage in its engine along with heavy cannon armament and excellent maneuverability at low to medium altitudes. Its appearance over the Western Front in 1941 initially outclassed contemporary Allied fighters such as the Spitfire Mark V, prompting a period of Luftwaffe air superiority that lasted until improved Allied fighter variants were introduced, and the type was subsequently adapted into a dedicated ground-attack version, the Fw 190F, used extensively on the Eastern Front. Along with the Bf 109, the Fw 190 formed the backbone of German fighter strength for the remainder of the Second World War, and a later high-altitude variant with a liquid-cooled inline engine, the Fw 190D, addressed the type's weaker performance at very high altitude.