Fw 189 A-1

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Fw 189 A-1
fw-189a-1.png
GarageImage Fw 189 A-1.jpg
Fw 189 A-1
Show in game
MARKET

Description

The Fw 189 A-1 is a premium gift rank I German bomber with a battle rating of 2.0 (AB), 2.3 (RB), and 1.7 (SB). It was introduced during Update 1.61 "Road to Glory" in the "Operation S.U.M.M.E.R." event of 2016 that lasted from 22 July to 22 August after obtaining 18 pilot Marks of Distinction. It was next available in the 2017-18 Special Festive Quest from 22 December 2017 until 22 January 2018 that required 10 Christmas toys and also 500,000 Christmas lights accumulated between all players. As a rare vehicle, it is only obtainable through the Gaijin Marketplace.

General info

Flight performance

Max speed
at 2 600 m359 km/h
Turn time16 s
Max altitude8 000 m
Engine2 х Argus AS 410
TypeInline
Cooling systemAir
Take-off weight4 t
Fw 189 A-1 flying over Sinai

The Fw 189 is somewhat under powered, this makes its climbing and acceleration after takeoff somewhat lacklustre, although thankfully this lack of performance is a minimal problem due to its bomber spawn. The Fw 189 does however excel when it comes to manoeuvrability, being able to easily out perform most fighters in this regard.

Characteristics Max Speed
(km/h at 2,600 m)
Max altitude
(metres)
Turn time
(seconds)
Rate of climb
(metres/second)
Take-off run
(metres)
AB RB AB RB AB RB
Stock 337 329 8000 17.2 17.9 5.9 5.9 300
Upgraded 382 359 14.9 16.0 12.6 8.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps Take-off flaps Landing flaps Air brakes Arrestor gear
X X
Limits
Wings (km/h) Gear (km/h) Flaps (km/h) Max Static G
Combat Take-off Landing + -
525 190 243 233 185 ~8 ~4
Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons Rudder Elevators Radiator
< 380 < 360 < 390 > 280

Survivability and armour

Crew3 people
Speed of destruction
Structural0 km/h
Gear190 km/h
  • 8.5mm of steel in front of lower cockpit
  • 8.5mm of steel in pilot's seat, in between pilot and dorsal gunner
  • Fuel tanks behind engines, at middle of fuselage

Modifications and economy

Repair cost
AB189 Sl icon.png
RB270 Sl icon.png
SB329 Sl icon.png
Crew training450 Sl icon.png
Experts3 000 Sl icon.png
Aces45 Ge icon.png
Research Aces220 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
Talisman.png 2 × 20 / 40 / 80 % Sl icon.png
Talisman.png 2 × 100 / 100 / 100 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Flight performance Survivability Weaponry
Mods aerodinamic fuse.png
Fuselage repair
Mods radiator.png
Radiator
Mods armor frame.png
Airframe
Mods compressor.png
Compressor
Mods aerodinamic wing.png
Wings repair
Mods new engine.png
Engine
Mods armor cover.png
Cover
Mods metanol.png
Engine injection
Mods engine extinguisher.png
EFS
Mods ammo.png
mg_belt_pack
Mod arrow 0.png
Mods weapon.png
mg17_new_gun
Mods ammo.png
mg_turret_belt_pack
Mod arrow 0.png
Mods turret gun.png
mg15_turret_new_gun

Armaments

Offensive armament

Ammunition1 000 rounds
Fire rate1 200 shots/min
Fw 189 A-1 with a User Skin (https://live.warthunder.com/post/484997/en/)
Main article: MG 17 (7.92 mm)

The Fw 189 A-1 is armed with:

  • 2 x 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns, wing-mounted (500 rpg = 1,000 total)

The pilot controlled guns are a pair 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns, while the individual rounds are fairly ineffective they do posses a good rate of fire allowing for a reasonable amount of damage to be dealt to targets over a short period of time.

Suspended armament

List of setups (1)
Setup 14 x 50 kg SC50JA bomb
Main article: SC50JA (50 kg)

The Fw 189 A-1 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

  • 4 x 50 kg SC50JA bombs (200 kg total)

These 50 kg bombs are fairly weak so are mostly useless against enemy bases, but they can have their uses in ground battles against lighter ground targets

Defensive armament

Turret7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun
Ammunition450 rounds
Fire rate1000 shots/min
Turret7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun
Ammunition750 rounds
Fire rate1000 shots/min
Main article: MG 15 (7.92 mm)

The Fw 189 A-1 is defended by:

  • 1 x 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun, dorsal turret (450 rpg)
  • 1 x 7.92 mm MG 15 machine gun, tail turret (750 rpg)

These two 7.92 mm MG 15's have a good level of coverage from their individual turrets and also output rounds at a good rate (1050 rounds/min), they are perfectly adequate for defence against most enemy aircraft.

Usage in battles

Fw 189 A-1 parked after a mission

In most cases, you'll be using the Fw 189 as a heavy fighter despite it being classified as a light bomber. Fortunately the aircraft can be flown like any other turn fighter in-game due to its impressive manoeuvrability which allows it to competitively combat most fighters that it encounters.

The Fw 189 is best described as a multi-purpose heavy fighter. Thanks to the light airframe, large wingspan and large elevator, the Fw 189 is an incredibly manoeuvrable plane, rivalling that of early rank Spitfires and Hurricanes. Thus, in war thunder, the Fw 189 fulfils the roles of a light bomber, ground attacker, heavy fighter, and reconnaissance in EC/ combined battles. It's extremely adaptive to whatever role you play as (except for bombing bases), a rare trait in War Thunder lower tiers where many aircraft only excel at a single role.

The Fw 189 can start matches by either engaging enemy bombers thanks to its bomber airspawn, or engaging enemy fighter aircraft which would still be well below you when you reach them allowing for a significant advantage in initial engagements.

In Ground Battles the Fw 189 can be used to engage enemy ground vehicles using its 7.92 mm MGs and 50 kg bombs, although these armaments are somewhat weak against most tanks even at lower tiers they can often provide means of gaining a few ground vehicle frags before you need to return to base, although being a somewhat large aircraft you should be careful when flying close to enemy ground units or terrain as these could knock the aircraft out if you are not careful.

While the Fw 189 can continue to fly after the loss of a single engine it will be severely under powered so a return to base in an 'engine out' situation is advisable.

While the pilot controlled 7.92 mm MG 17s of the Fw 189 are somewhat weak when attacking enemy aircraft they do have a good fire rate and a good amount of ammunition (500 rpg), so if your shots can continue to hit an enemy aircraft you will shortly be able to knock out some critical components and down the enemy aircraft.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer Pitch Radiator Supercharger Turbocharger
Oil Water Type
Not controllable Controllable
Not auto controlled
Not controllable
Not auto controlled
Controllable
Auto control available
Combined Not controllable
1 gear
Not controllable

Pros and cons

Fw 189 A-1 with a user made skin (https://live.warthunder.com/post/484988/en/)

Pros:

  • Durable airframe overall
  • Great visibility (Sim)
  • Manoeuvrable at all speeds
  • Effective defensive armament, fast firing MG 15s and wide coverage of tail turret
  • Bomber airspawn
  • Is able to fly on one engine (Although will be under powered)

Cons:

  • Big cockpit is prone to pilot snipes from frontal attacks
  • Mediocre offensive armament with acceptable amounts of ammunition
  • Average energy retention
  • Poor acceleration overall
  • Very small payload
  • Tail prone to control surface damages

History

Around 1937, the German Air Ministry wanted a short-ranged, three-seated reconnaissance plane with great visibility act as an army co-operation aircraft. Two aircraft manufacturers wanted the contract: Arado and Focke-Wulf (Blohm & Voss participated but it was a private venture). The Fw 189 prototype had an unusual twin-boom twin engine design so that there would be no engine blocking the front of the cockpit which offered maximum visibility and good speed. It was powered by two Argus As 410 engines and utilized a heavily glazed "stepless" cockpit; an all glass windscreen for the pilot to improve vision, which is similar to cockpits found on most German medium bombers. It was extremely successful not only because it was fast, but also because it was an extremely manoeuvrable aircraft. One trick utilized when a fighter came to intercept it was to start turning in a tight circle, which the pursuing fighter could not match. Later in the war, this aircraft was retrofitted for a variety of tasks which included light ground attack and a night fighter variant.

Media

Skins
Videos

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

  • reference to the series of the aircraft;
  • links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links


Focke-Wulf Aircraft Corporation (Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau Aktiengesellschaft)
Fighters  Fw 190 A-1 · Fw 190 A-4 · Fw 190 A-5 · Fw 190 A-5/U2 · Fw 190 A-5/U12 · Fw 190 A-5/U14 · Fw 190 A-8
  Fw 190 C
  Fw 190 D-9 · Fw 190 D-12 · Fw 190 D-13
  Fw 190 F-8
  Ta 152 C-3* · Ta 152 H-1* · Ta 154 A-1*
Bombers  Fw 189 A-1 · Fw 200 C-1
Export  ▅Fw 190 A-5
Captured  ▃Fw 190 A-8 · ▂Fw 190 D-9
  * In 1944, the Germany Air Ministry changed new fighter aircraft designation to that of the chief designer. Kurt Tank was the chief designer at Focke-Wulf and later aircraft he designed were given the prefix of Ta.

Germany bombers
Arado  Ar 196 A-3
Blohm & Voss  BV 138 C-1 · BV 238
Dornier  Do 17 E-1 · Do 17 Z-2 · Do 217 E-2 · Do 217 E-4 · Do 217 K-1 · Do 217 M-1
Focke-Wulf  Fw 189 A-1 · Fw 200 C-1
Henschel  Hs 123 A-1
Heinkel  He 111 H-3 · He 111 H-6 · He 111 H-16 · He 115 C-1 · He 177 A-5
Junkers  Ju 87 B-2 · Ju 87 R-2 · Ju 87 R-2 Libya · Ju 87 D-3 · Ju 87 D-5 · Ju 88 A-1 · Ju 88 A-4 · Ju 188 A-2 · Ju 288 C
Messerschmitt  Me 264
Savoia-Marchetti  ▀S.M.79 serie 1 · ▀S.M.79 B · ▀S.M.79 serie 4 · ▀S.M.79 serie 8
  ▀S.M.79 AS · ▀S.M.79 bis/N · ▀S.M.79 bis/T.M
Trophies  ▀Wellington Mk Ic

Germany premium aircraft
Fighters  He 51 B-2/H · BV 155 B-1
He 112  He 112 B-1/U2 · He 112 B-2/U2
Bf 109  Flegel's Bf 109 A · Bf 109 E-7/U2 · Bf 109 G-2
Fw 190  Fw 190 A-5/U14 · Fw 190 C · Fw 190 D-13
Captured  ▀Marcolin's C.R.42 CN · ▀Hawk H-75A-2 · ▀Yak-1B · ▀La-5FN · ▀P-47D-16-RE · ▀P-47D · ▀Tempest Mk V
Twin-engine fighters  Bf 109 Z-1 · Ju 388 J · Ta 154 A-1
Jet fighters  ◄Sea Hawk Mk.100 · ◄G.91 R/4 · ◄MiG-21 SPS-K · ◊MiG-21 "Lazur-M"
Strike aircraft  Hs 129 B-2 (Romania) · ▀IL-2 (1942) · Bf 110 C-6 · Do 335 B-2 · He 219 A-7 · ◄Tornado IDS WTD61
Bombers  Ar 196 A-3 · BV 238 · Fw 189 A-1 · Ju 87 R-2 Libya · Ju 288 C · ▀Wellington Mk Ic

Winter events
2022  Winter Quest
Pilot stars  Late 298D · ◄Tornado IDS MFG
Tanker stars  T-80UM2
Sailor stars  USS Newport News
2021  Operation W.I.N.T.E.R.
Pilot stars  C. 202D · ◊MiG-23MF
Tanker stars  A.C.I · AGS
Sailor stars  IJN Hayanami · MPK Pr.201K
2020  Operation W.I.N.T.E.R.
Pilot stars  Ro.57 Quadriarma · MiG-21PFM
Tanker stars  E.B.R. (1954) · Class 3 (P)
Sailor stars  Type K-8 No.13 · USS Baltimore
2019  Operation F.R.O.S.T.
Pilot stars  TIS MA · J6K1
Tanker stars  QF 3.7 Ram · ▃Merkava Mk.2B
Sailor stars  PT-811 · Jaguar
2018  Festive Quest
Pilot stars  M.B.152C1 · Fw 190 C
Tanker stars  SU-85A · T30
Christmas Lights  P-43A-1 · Comet I "Iron Duke IV"
2017  Festive Quest
Pilot christmas toys  P-40C · NC.900
Tanker christmas toys  AEC Mk II · Ersatz M10
Christmas Lights  Fw 189 A-1 · KV-2 (1940)
2016  Winter Holiday
Pilot stages  Ki-21-I hei · Me 262 A-2a
Tanker stages  ▃LVT(A)(4) (ZIS-2) · ▂Type 62
2015  War Thunder Fulfills Your Wishes!
Pilot reward  ▂P-63C-5
Tanker reward  VK 45.01 (P)
2014  Holiday War Thunder Marathon!
Pilot reward  I-301
Tanker reward  M8A1 GMC