Fw 190 A-8

Fw 190 A-8

Fw 190 A-5

Fw 190 A-5

Fw 190 A-8

Fw 190 A-5

Fw 190 A-5

Germany

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.3	5.0	5.3

Class:

Fighter

Interceptor

Research:27 000

Purchase:185 000

Show in game

This page is about the German fighter Fw 190 A-8. For other uses, see Fw 190 (Family).

Description

The Fw 190 A-8 is a rank IV German fighter with a battle rating of 5.3 (AB/SB) and 5.0 (RB). This fighter has been in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.29.

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 5,400 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
617	600	10300	24.8	25.3	9.3	11.6	450
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 5,400 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
689	652	10300	21.2	22.8	23.4	14.1	450

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
860	860	N/A	~19	~19

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 420	< 510	< 510	> 280

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
1,500 m	1,602 hp	1,954 hp
Setting 2
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
5,900 m	1,478 hp	1,804 hp

Survivability and armour

• 6 mm Steel - Fore cowl ring
• 10 mm Steel - Cowl ring
• 6 mm Steel - Under engine armour
• 8 mm Steel - Under cockpit/fuel tank armour plate
• 5 mm Steel - Rear fuel tank armour
• 8 mm Steel - Pilot's chair armour
• 6 mm Steel - Pilot's chair armour
• 12 mm Steel - Headrest armour
• 57 mm Bulletproof glass

Armaments

Offensive armament

The Fw 190 A-8 is armed with the following:

• 4 x 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon, wing-mounted (250 + 140 rpg each wing = 780 total)
• 2 x 13 mm MG 131 machine gun, nose-mounted (400 rpg = 800 total)

Suspended armament

Payload options for the Fw 190 A-8 include:

• Without load
• 2 x Wfr.Gr.21 rockets

Usage in the battles

The Fw-190 A-8 possesses far below average speed, acceleration and climb ability for its rank. It does, however, have great high-speed control and a wicked armament that will shred any fighter almost instantly. It is recommended that you climb to the side and let your teammates engage first so you can put your excellent BnZ ability to work. If you spot a bandit co-alt, a head-on attack followed by an evasive manoeuvre and then extending away to repeat the processes is a recommended tactic. If a bandit has superior E and is pressing an attack against you, try to drag them to friendlies, but don't sacrifice too much E to do so. If you are skilled enough, another tactic would be to initiate a scissors manoeuver; either rolling or flat, and then break away when he goes to yo-yo to control his overshoot. The scissors is a highly effective maneuver in the 190 A-8. If you are ballsy enough to press for a gun solution when scissoring an enemy, you could be greatly rewarded. In summary, climb to the side, BnZ like a champ, never get in a sustained turn fight, and use your rate of roll to free yourself when cornered.

Specific enemies worth noting

The premium Fw 190 A-8 sits at a high battle rating, close to the Spitfire LF Mk. IX and La-7B-20, both of which are vastly superior planes overall. It frequently faces Tempests, Fw 190 A-5, Bf 109 G-10 variants, Griffon Spitfires and F4U-1C's. Unfortunately, the A-8 is by large worse than all of these planes, but it still possesses some unique advantages and if piloted correctly is going to give anyone trouble. However, these advantages are quite predictable and easily nullified by an attentive opponent.

Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Not controllable	Separate	Not ontrollable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier		Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Radiator		Offensive 13 mm
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 13 mm MGs
III	Wings Repair	Engine		Offensive 20 mm
IV		Engine Injection	Cover	New 20 mm Cannons

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Amazing roll rate, as to be expected of the Fw 190 line

• Great energy retention
• Massive ammo pool
• Well armoured from the front
• Powerful MG 151's with access to the dreaded Minengeschoss round
• underwhelming MG FF/M's of the previous models replaced by another pair of MG 151's

Cons:

• Poor turn rate with no combat flaps effectively gets rid of any chance of Dogfighting
• Elevator has low responsibility & effect on low-medium speeds
• Extra 20 mm cannons are mounted on the wings, therefore, is inaccurate
• Maneuverability at low speeds is poor
• Generally outclassed by other 190 models when it comes to air to air combat
• Mediocre climb rate for a 190

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.

The Fw 190 A-8 entered production in February 1944, powered either by the standard BMW 801 D-2 or the 801Q (also known as 801TU). The 801Q/TU, with the "T" signifying a Triebwerksanlage unitized powerplant installation specifically for single-engined aircraft, was a standard 801D with improved, thicker armour on the front annular cowling, which also incorporated the oil tank, upgraded from 6 mm (.24 in) on earlier models to 10 mm (.39 in). Changes introduced in the Fw 190 A-8 also included the C3-injection Erhöhte Notleistung emergency boost system to the fighter variant of the Fw 190 A (a similar system with less power had been fitted to some earlier Jabo variants of the 190 A), raising power to 1,980 PS (1,953 hp, 1,456 kW) for a short time. The Erhöhte Notleistung system operated by spraying additional fuel into the fuel/air mix, cooling it and allowing higher boost pressures to be run, but at the cost of much higher fuel consumption. From the A-8 on, Fw 190s could be fitted with a new paddle-bladed wooden propeller, easily identified by its wide blades with curved tips. A new outwardly bulged main canopy glazing format, more in the manner of a Malcolm hood rather than a bubble canopy, which significantly improved vision sideways and forward, had been developed for the F-2 ground attack model, but was often seen fitted at random on A-8s, F-8s and G-8s. The new canopy included a larger piece of head armour which was supported by reinforced bracing and a large fairing. A new internal fuel tank with a capacity of 115 L (30 US gal) was fitted behind the cockpit, which meant that the radio equipment had to be moved forward to just behind the pilot.

Externally, a large round hatch was incorporated into the lower fuselage to enable the new tank to be installed, and the pilot's oxygen bottles were moved aft and positioned around this hatch. A fuel filler was added to the port side, below the rear canopy and a rectangular radio access hatch was added to starboard. Other changes included an ETC 501 under-fuselage rack which was mounted on a lengthened carrier and moved 200 mm (8 in) further forward to help restore the centre of gravity of the aircraft. This fuselage would form the basis for all later variants of the Fw 190 and the Ta 152 series. The Morane "whip" aerial for the Y-Verfahren was fitted as standard under the port wing, just aft of the wheel well. Nearly a dozen Rüstsätze kits were made available for the A-8, including the famous A-8/R2 and A-8/R8 Sturmbock models. The A-8/R2 replaced the outer wing 20 mm cannon with a 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannon. The A-8/R8 was similar but fitted with heavy armour including 30 mm (1.18 in) canopy and windscreen armour and 5 mm (.2 in) cockpit armour. The A-8 was the most numerous of the Fw 190 As, with over 6,655 A-8 airframes produced from March 1944 to May 1945. A-8s were produced by at least eight factories during its lifetime.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

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

• Fw 190 A-8 (USA), the Premium American version.

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• page on aircraft encyclopedia;
• other literature.