Fw 190A3 Question

[Brews]

Were the undercarriage of Fw 190A3s fully-enclosed, like that of the Ta 152H? I find no photographic evidence so far to support this, but I don't want to dismiss the possibility out of hand.

[bad edd]

The A3 also had full enclosed undercarriage. The reason for the few clear photos is the fact that by default they were closed on ground and therefore very hard to spot. I found some pics in which the small doors can be seen:

First three from Squadron Signal "In Action" book.

[Brews]

Much appreciated!

[Hawk10]

From what I can determine, if you are building a model of a pure fighter (A-1 thru A-8), it would have the inner gear doors installed. When the first A-3s were modified in the field to the Schell (sp) bomber configuration, the installation of the centerline bomb rack resulted in the removal of the inner gear doors. FW-190s produced as Jabos (fighter bombers - F series based on the A-3 and G series based upon the A-5 and later the A-8) were delivered from the factory w/o the gear doors.

Note: There are pics out there of 190 fighter versions w/o gear doors, especially during the winter. It was apparently common practice for squadrons to remove the doors during the winter to prevent snow, slush and mud from building up in the gear well and freezing (especially on the Eastern Front)

[don f]

Were the undercarriage of Fw 190A3s fully-enclosed, like that of the Ta 152H? I find no photographic evidence so far to support this, but I don't want to dismiss the possibility out of hand.

And if you want to know all about the FW-190 landing gear in detail:

Hyperscale Article on FW-190 landing gear

and:

Hyperscale Article Fw-190 landing gear issues in 1/48 kits

Don

[David Walker]

From what I can determine, if you are building a model of a pure fighter (A-1 thru A-8), it would have the inner gear doors installed.

From everything I've read, and from photos I've looked at, the inner gear doors were eliminated from the late production A-5 and on, though there were a few A-6s that were manufactured with the doors. I've never seen a photo of an A-7 or A-8 with the inner gear doors, though if you have some I'd love to see them.

[don f]

From everything I've read, and from photos I've looked at, the inner gear doors were eliminated from the late production A-5 and on, though there were a few A-6s that were manufactured with the doors. I've never seen a photo of an A-7 or A-8 with the inner gear doors, though if you have some I'd love to see them.

David,

No images for you. Here's Jerry Crandall's comments viz the FW-190A-5:

JerryCrandall

HyperScale Forums

66.109.141.33

Fw 190 A-5

October 20 2005, 3:26 PM

Hi Chris,

Normally The A-5 was equipped with 20mm FF cannons mounted in the outboard wing positions. However, some pilots like Walter Nowotny had them removed. The inner gear doors were also standard equipment. Sometimes they were closed by the ground crews, then after take-off as the gear came up, the cycling process would open the inner doors as the landing gear retracted. There are photos that show the inner doors have been removed but that is the exception. On the A-6 the MG FF’s were replaced by MG 151 20mm cannons along with the new underwing asymmetrical cartridge case ejection ports. The inner gear doors were retained but as the ETC 501 rack became more prevalent the gear doors were phased out.

Cheers, Jerry

[David Walker]

Yes, that certainly sounds right, and I know Jerry would have the details accurate. And I expect that leads to the A-7, 8 and 9 not having the inner gear doors.

[jrallman]

as Jerry points out, it was the ETC 501 rack that necessitated the removal of the inner doors, not the particular variant of 190. There wasnt enough room for the inner doors to open when an ETC 501 was installed.

[Hawk10]

From everything I've read, and from photos I've looked at, the inner gear doors were eliminated from the late production A-5 and on, though there were a few A-6s that were manufactured with the doors. I've never seen a photo of an A-7 or A-8 with the inner gear doors, though if you have some I'd love to see them.

I went back to my references and found that both of us might be both right and wrong. At least two of them indicate that the A-8 series was the first model to be delivered from the factory sans inner gear doors. Like you, now that I really think about it, I don't remember ever having seen a pic of an A-7 with the doors. Apparently someone decided that it was quicker, easier and cheaper to leave the doors off at the factory if the units receiving them were just going to remove and throw them away. (and thinking about it, I don't think I've seen that many pics of the A-8 w/ the center line rack - there probably are but I just don't remember any)