A rarely-photographed Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5/U8. 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
Source :
"Luftwaffe im Focus", Spezial No.1 - 2003
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