Manufacturer: MPM
Scale: 1/72
Additional parts: from sprare part box
Model build: Sep - Oct 2013
Luftwaffe Focke Wulf FW-190T
MPM
1/72
1/72
Faster, Stronger!
0:00
Made with Suno
Convoy
The icy wind whipped Lieutenant Franz Schmidt's face as he surveyed the churning North Sea from the deck of the Graf Zeppelin. October, 1943. The once mighty carrier, a testament to German ambition, now felt more like a floating steel coffin. The Luftwaffe's failures in the Battle of Britain had cast a long shadow, and the carrier's first complement of planes - the lumbering Ju 87s and underpowered Me 109Ts - had proven woefully inadequate.
But today, a glimmer of hope. Franz climbed into the cockpit of his new steed, the FW-190T – a sleek adaptation of the land-based Fw 190. It wasn't perfect; the single torpedo it carried meant less range than the Fi 167s it replaced, and landing on the carrier with a bomb dangling was a white-knuckle affair. But its speed and firepower were a welcome change.
Suddenly, the klaxon wailed. Enemy convoy spotted! Adrenaline surged through Franz. He taxied into position, the captured American Corsair parked beside him a stark reminder of the war's shifting tides. As the deck lurched under catapult launch, Franz gripped the controls, the FW-190T roaring to life.
Emerging from the mist, they found the convoy – a fat merchant vessel flanked by a pair of lumbering freighters, escorted by a lone British destroyer. Franz led the charge, his wingman a veteran pilot named Erich. The destroyer opened fire, puffs of black smoke blooming around them. Ignoring the flak, Franz lined up on the lead merchant ship. He released the torpedo, a heartbeat later feeling the shudder as it left the plane.
Erich banked sharply, dodging a hail of anti-aircraft fire. Suddenly, a glint of metal caught Franz's eye – two Spitfires diving in on their tail. His heart hammered. The Spitfires may have been older, but they were nimble and well-armed. Franz jinked right, pulling the FW-190T into a tight turn, the g-forces pushing him into his seat. Erich wasn't so lucky. A burst of tracers ripped across his cockpit, sending his plane into a fiery spiral towards the sea.
Grief threatened to overwhelm Franz, but he shoved it down. He had to survive. He weaved through the dogfight, adrenaline blurring the world around him. He caught a flash of sunlight on a Spitfire wing, lining up the shot. A burst of his cannons, and the Spitfire shuddered, trailing smoke as it peeled away.
But victory was short-lived. Fuel gauge dipped towards empty. Torn, Franz knew he wouldn't make it back to the carrier. He glanced towards the Norwegian coast, a sliver of grey on the horizon. One last option. He banked towards the mainland, praying for a Luftwaffe airfield within reach.
The minutes stretched into an eternity as Franz nursed his battered FW-190T. Finally, his prayers were answered – a tiny speck of white on the ground resolved into a runway. He landed with a screech of tires, collapsing out of the cockpit, a mixture of exhaustion and relief washing over him.
The war raged on, and the Graf Zeppelin's days were numbered. But on that day, Franz had taken a gamble and lived to fight another one. He knew the FW-190T wasn't a perfect solution, but it was a step forward, a flicker of hope in the gathering darkness.
When the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin was put into service in mid 1942, it was equipped with Me 109T, Ju 87T and Fi 167.
In the following six months those aircraft showed that they were not optimal for this usage: The Me 109T, based on the Me 109E showed lack of performance compared to allied fighter planes. And its narrow landing gear made it hard to land on the carrier.
The slow Ju 87 had prooven its vulnerability during the Battle of Britain, but there was no real replacement available. Similar could be said for the Fi 167: despite its good slow flying capabilities, lack of defensive armament and slow cruising speed made those torpedo bombers very vulnerable.
As a replacement, the FW190T was introduced in October 1943, at the same time when the captured Corsairs were put on board of the Graf Zeppelin.
Based on the FW 190V14, the FW190T was able to carry a single torpedo, but could also be used as a fighter after it has dropped its payload. Altough the range was slower than the one of the Fi 167, the much higher speed of the FW 190T was a huge improvement. However, during the final approach on the target, the plane was more difficult to control than the Fi 167.
The FW190T were used on the Graf Zeppelin until the end of the war, abut their number were reduced in late 1944 as torpedo planes were of not such a big usage for the mission profile in the Baltic Sea.
The model shows a FW-190T on the Graf Zeppelin in October 1943, stationed in Trondheim.
It is a MPM 1/72 scale model of the FW 190V14. Basically an Academy kit, it contains additional parts like the torpedo, and a modified hull (which was not used for the model as those parts were damaged too much).
Painted in a four color camo scheme, it was build out-of-the-box, the only addition was the arrestor hook. I used the decals of the MPM model which were quite ok.
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