| Fw 200
Condor
The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor was the only
four-engined, long-range aircraft in service with
the Luftwaffe during WW II.
The aircraft was a simple development of a
pre-war commercial craft. First flown in 1937 it
was an all metal construction, four-engine
monoplane capable of carrying 25 passengers up to
3000 km, it flew from Berlin to New York in
twenty hours without stopping. To adapt it for
wartime, hard-points were added on the wings for
bombs, the fuselage was extended and strengthened
to create more space and front, aft and dorsal
gun positions were added. The extra weight of the
improvements meant that a number of early Condors
would break-up on landing, a problem that was
never entirely fixed. Later models were equipped
with radar.
The Luftwaffe intially used the aircraft in
conjunction with the Kriegsmarine, making great
loops out across the North Sea and (following the
fall of France) the Atlantic Ocean, the aircraft
undertook maritime patrols and reconnaissance,
searching for Allied convoys and warships to be
reported and targetted by U-boats. The Condor
could also carry bombs or mines to be used
against shipping and it was claimed that from
June 1940 to February 1941 they sank 365,000
tons. From mid-1941 the aircraft were instructed
to avoid attacking shipping and avoid all combat
in order to preserve numbers, but the arrival of
the new escort aircraft carriers was a very
serious threat.
The Condor was also used as
a transport aircraft, notably flying supplies
into Stalingrad in 1943. After late 1943 the
Condor came to be used solely as a transport
aircraft. For reconnaissance it was replaced by
the Junkers Ju 290 and as France was invaded
maritime reconnaissance became impossible.
Production ended in 1944 with a total of 276
aircraft produced.
Military Fw 200-C3 Specifications
Wing span: 33 m
Length: 23.8 m
Engines: 4 BMW Bramo 132H, 850 hp each
Max Speed: 384 km/hr (at 4000 m)
Ceiling: 5900 m
Range: 3550 km, 14 hours
Max weight: 24500 kg (fully loaded)
Crew: 5
Armament: 2 20 mm cannon, 4 13 mm machine gun;
1500 kg of bombs or mines.
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