Fw 190 D-9
| This page is about the German fighter Fw 190 D-9. For the Soviet version, see Fw 190 D-9 (USSR). For other versions, see Fw 190 (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Fw 190 D-9 is a rank III German fighter with a battle rating of 5.0 (AB/RB) and 5.7 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.37.
The Fw 190 D-9 is an average plane at its BR. With its decent climb, high speed, responsive high speed controls and firepower, it is able to zoom in, get shots on target, and then escape in a dive. It may have bad overall manoeuvring at low speeds, but it is overall a decent aircraft in good hands.
General info
Flight performance
The Fw 190 D-9 is a decent addition Germany's fighter lineup. The new inline inverted V-12 Jumo 213A is smaller and more aerodynamic than a BMW radial, and also has more power (2,114 hp in the D-9 versus 1,874 hp in the A-8). The Fw 190 D-9 has a similar list of traits to previous 190s, decent top speed, climb, roll and armament, but bad manoeuvrability.
Acceleration is good across the entire speed range, but most notably at low-medium speeds and likewise for altitudes. The D-9 goes an average sustained 585 km/h IAS at sea level without overheating, which is better than the most Spitfires (but not Tempests) and Japanese planes (except Ki-84s and J7Ws), some Soviet planes (except La-7 / La-9 and Yak-3 VK107) but slower than all american planes such as P-47s, F4Us, F8Fs, or any P-51.
Climb rate is good, time to 1,000 m - 0:56, to 3,000 m - 2:30, and to 6,000 m - 5:10. Dive acceleration and maximum diving speed are both strong traits of the D-9. Airframe / wing rip redline is about 900 km/h IAS, which is high comparing to other planes it faces. At the start of an RB match, you can WEP for about 5-6 minutes before engine heat will give you trouble. The engine overheats at 120°C and the oil at 90°C. Engine heat decreases at a relatively slow rate while at 100% throttle and the MW-50 lasts for a total of 30 minutes.
It is widely considered that manoeuvrability is how well a plane can turn, which is the D-9's case as its turning is generally poor. The D-9's turn rate is best above 500 km/h, where it can swing its nose around at decent speed. At speeds below 400 km/h, the D-9 is one of the worst turners in the game. It is important to keep speeds relatively high to maximise your turn rate and manoeuvring potential Energy conserving manoeuvres like yo-yos should be utilised to make the most out of your precious energy reserve. Never get in sustained turning engagements, always disengage early if you find yourself losing too much speed. While the D-9 may be a bad turner, it can make up for it with its high rate of roll. Fw 190s have always been known to dominate in this area, and the D-9 continues the tradition. The rate of roll is best utilised by more experienced pilots, in combination with takeoff flaps when on the defensive when an enemy is behind you, to try to get them to overshoot past you. The 190's traits suit a more Boom & Zoom/slash attack style of play; keeping responsive controls up to breakneck speeds combined with the roll rate and high speed turn ability makes it a decent in this role. It is for this reason the D-9 is the preferred ride for veterans, but can be hard for new players.
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 4,800 m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | 680 | 655 | 12000 | 21.6 | 22.4 | 11.3 | 11.3 | 453 |
| Upgraded | 745 | 710 | 19.3 | 20.4 | 22.0 | 15.8 | ||
Details
| Features | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear |
| X | ✓ | ✓ | X | X |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 912 | 310 | N/A | 700 | 310 | ~13 | ~6 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 420 | < 300 | < 550 | > 320 |
Survivability and armour
Front
- 11 mm (5°) Steel - Engine cowl armour
- 57 mm (77°) Bulletproof glass - Cockpit front window
Rear
- 12 mm Steel - Headrest armour
- 8 mm (25°) + 5 mm (24°) Steel - Pilot's seat back armour
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
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Armaments
Offensive armament
The Fw 190 D-9 is armed with:
- 2 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons, wing-mounted (250 rpg = 500 total)
- 2 x 13 mm MG 131 machine guns, nose-mounted (400 rpg = 800 total)
The Fw 190 D-9 carries a strong weapon set with two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons in the wing roots and two 13 mm MG-131 in the cowling, with a generous ammunition load, packing 250 rounds per 20 mm and 400 rounds per 13 mm. However, this combination has average muzzle velocity, thus shooting at closer ranges should be a priority unless in a head-on. The best 20 mm belt is the "Air Targets", as it's a good mix between tracers and stealth ammo, also features mine shells in a 2/3 ratio. The best 13 mm belts are either IAI, which contain an explosive filler and can be used as tracers, or Stealth. The bulk of the firepower here are the cannons, so maximizing your mineshell (Minengeschoß) count is important. The best combination overall is Air Targets for the 20 mm cannons and Stealth for the 13 mm MGs. Stealth belts for the 13 mm make your 20 mm hard to see from far, as the tracer component of the Air Targets belt is very low, but at the same time it also makes it easier for you to track your 20 mm shots, as the can tracers help. The MG 151s feature higher fire rate than its contemporaries, but a average muzzle velocity, so therefore you should lead your shots further. As a whole, the D-9's weapons allow good snapshot ability while retaining a lot of firing time, making it a well rounded and powerful armament.
Suspended armament
The Fw 190 D-9 can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
| 1 | 2 | 3 |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 kg SC50JA bombs | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| 250 kg SC250JA bombs | 1 | |||
| 500 kg SC500K bombs | 1 | |||
| Flam C 250 incendiary bombs | 1 | |||
| Flam C 500 incendiary bombs | 1 |
| Default weapon presets | |
|---|---|
| |
Usage in battles
The Fw 190 D-9 should utilise its good climb rate to reach high altitudes in order to perform Boom-n-Zoom runs on enemy fighters or to hunt bombers. Although it has the powerful cannons mounted close to the centre of the aircraft, head-on engagements are usually not recommended unless facing a superior, higher BR enemy plane. Try to use the aircraft's decent energy retention and engine power to outclimb your opponents. It would be unwise to turnfight enemy fighters, however you should be able to outmanoeuvre most strike aircraft / attackers.
- Specific enemies worth noting
Unfortunately the D-9 is forced to face many post war planes which outclass it in every way like the F2G and F8F.
- USA - P-47s, F4Us, F8Fs, and P-51s are all faster and turn better, and sometimes even climb better too (P-47M, F4U-4, F2G, F8F, P-51-H-5)
- USSR - All out turn you, most climb better, and sometimes faster too (La-7 / La-9 and Yak-3 VK107)
- Britain - Spitfires out turn and sometimes out climb you (Mk 14 / XIV), Tempests and Wyverns are faster than you
- Japan - All out turn and out climb you, and sometimes even faster too (Ki-84, J7W)
- Italy - All out turn you, but are all also slower than you, only the G.56 and Re. 2005 out climb you
Manual Engine Control
| MEC elements | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mixer | Pitch | Radiator | Supercharger | Turbocharger | ||
| Oil | Water | Type | ||||
| Not controllable | Controllable Auto control available |
Not controllable Not auto controlled |
Controllable Not auto controlled |
Combined | Not controllable 2 gears |
Not controllable |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Good climb rate
- Excellent roll rate
- Good armament with plenty of ammo
- Good at Boom & Zoom manoeuvres
- Decent top speed, dive and airframe limit
- Strong flaps with a high rip speed (700 km/h)
- WEP is pretty much infinite and MEC is not necessary
Cons:
- Average jack of all traits performance, can be slower, climb worse, or worse manoeuvrability depending on the enemy you're facing
- Stiff manoeuvrability
- Bad high altitude handling, above 5,000 m, the plane starts losing engine power and manoeuvrability
- Bad stall control
History
Kurt Tank, the designer of the venerable Fw 190 line-up quickly realised by 1943 that the field of aerial warfare was changing rapidly. The world had moved on beyond dive bombers, and the allies had begun forming massive, four-engine bomber wings that devastated Axis ground troops and factories. At the time, Fw 190's played similar roles to the American P-47 Thunderbolts, serving as ground attack planes and low altitude interceptors. Fw 190's retained air superiority over allied forces all the way up to the introduction of the British Spitfire F Mk IX. Despite this impressive service record, Fw 190's had one flaw, which would soon usher in the need of the "Dora" series. Their performance was hindered drastically at higher altitudes, where aerial warfare was now moving towards. Germany, in desperate need of fighters to engage and stop these massive bomber raids had turned to Messerschmitt and Focke-Wulf to produce a high altitude interceptor, and Kurt Tank's response was the Fw 190 D-9.
Unlike previous models, the "Dora" series boasted an improved engine. Specifically, a Jumo 213A bomber engine, more commonly used in the Ju-88. This much larger engine required for the hull of the Fw 190 to also be extended in the front, and for balancing reasons, the tail as well. The D-9 also sacrificed its 4 x 20 mm MG 151 cannons previously used in previous Fw 190's for two 20 mm MG 151 cannons, and a twin set of 13 mm's over the previous models' MG 82's. With an impressive 700+ km/h top speed, the D-9 proved to be one of the fastest interceptors to be rolled off a German assembly line. Despite this, the D-9 was instead used for ground attack roles and fighter interception, using its speed to drop its payload and vanish long before enemy flak had the time to line up a shot.
| Archive of the in-game description | |
|---|---|
|
The Great Patriotic War had already ended when the Soviet Air Forces Research Institute (SAFRI) began testing the German piston-engine aircraft in service with the Luftwaffe at the culmination of the war. To begin with, Soviet engineers studied an Fw 190 D-9 with the assembly number W.Nr.210251. On the model D-9, the Jumo 213A liquid-cooled in-line engine replaced the BMW 801D air-cooled engine. This slightly increased the aerodynamics of its engine-propeller unit and increased the plane's length by 80 cm. The more powerful engine promised to make the new vehicle superior to the Fw 190 A in speed and climbing rate. According to leading specialists at the SAFRI, the modified FW.190D-9 could not go up against the Soviet Yak-3, Yak-9U and La-7 on equal terms at low and medium altitudes. The Focke-Wulf's low-altitude speed was inferior to theirs by at least 24 km/h, and at 5,000 m, by more than 10 km/h. The German fighter's insufficient horizontal and vertical manoeuvrability also put it at a disadvantage. The Soviet Union was interested in manufacturing the plane mainly due to its convenient arrangement of engine and powertrain parts, high maximum oil temperature during engine operation and well-designed automatic water temperature regulator. It was also noted that over its entire testing period from the 11th to the 26th of May 1945, all of the parts in the German plane's special equipment remained operational. It could fire all its weapons at once without this affecting its trajectory, and the pilots could barely feel the weapons' recoil. It could fire the cannons and machine guns separately. The extensive electrically-powered equipment made the pilot's work easier. A mock aviation battle between the Fw 190 D-9 and La-7 fighters showed the full superiority of the Soviet aircraft. SAFRI pilots came to the conclusion that the new German fighter's ability to go up against the Lavochkins was no greater than that of its predecessor, the Fw 190 A-8. Having begun the "battle" on a head-on course, the Soviet fighter easily got on the German plane's tail after three banked turns or two chandelles. It's worth noting, however, that these "battles" took place without using the engine's methanol-water injection WEP system. | |
Media
- Skins
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 fighters | |
|---|---|
| Heinkel | |
| He 51 | He 51 A-1 · He 51 B-1 · He 51 B-2/H · He 51 C-1 · He 51 C-1/L |
| He 100 | He 100 D-1 |
| He 112 | He 112 A-0 · He 112 B-0 · He 112 B-1/U2 · He 112 B-2/U2 · He 112 V-5 |
| Messerschmitt | |
| Bf 109 (Jumo) | Flegel's Bf 109 A · Bf 109 B-1 · Bf 109 C-1 · Bf 109 C-1 |
| Bf 109 (DB-601) | Bf 109 E-1 · Bf 109 E-3 · Bf 109 E-4 · Bf 109 E-7/U2 · Bf 109 F-1 · Bf 109 F-2 · Bf 109 F-4 · Bf 109 F-4/trop |
| Bf 109 (DB-605) | Bf 109 G-2/trop · Bf 109 G-2 · Bf 109 G-6 · Bf 109 G-10 · Bf 109 G-14 · Bf 109 K-4 |
| Focke-Wulf | |
| Fw 190 (early) | Fw 190 A-1 · Fw 190 A-4 · Fw 190 A-5 · Fw 190 A-5 · Fw 190 A-5/U2 · Fw 190 A-5/U14 · Fw 190 A-8 · Fw 190 C |
| Fw 190 (late) | Fw 190 D-9 · Fw 190 D-12 · Fw 190 D-13 |
| Ta 152 | Ta 152 C-3 · Ta 152 H-1 |
| Blohm & Voss | |
| BV 155 | BV 155 B-1 |
| Captured: | |
| USA | ▀P-47D-16-RE · ▀P-47D |
| USSR | ▀La-5FN · ▀Yak-1B |
| Britain | ▀Tempest Mk V |
| Italy | |
| CR.42 | ▀CR.42 · ▀Marcolin's C.R.42 CN |
| G.50 | ▀G.50 serie 2 · ▀G.50 AS serie 7 |
| C.200 | ▀C. 200 serie 3 · ▀C. 200 serie 7 |
| C.202 | ▀C. 202 |
| Finland | ▀Hawk H-75A-2 |
