Focke Wulf Fw 189A "Owls over the Eastern Front"

In 1937, the Reich Air Ministry (RLM) issued specifications for a new Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft. Companies participating in the tender included Blohm & Voss with the asymmetric BV 141, Arado with the single-engine Ar 198, and Focke-Wulf with the Fw 189 project. Focke-Wulf emerged as the winner.
Like the BV 141, the Fw 189 was distinguished by an unusual technical design.
Chief designer Kurt Tank designed the aircraft with a central fuselage pod and two tail booms extending from the engine nacelles. This provided the three-man crew with excellent visibility. The prototype flew for the first time in July 1938, and the pre-production Fw 189 A-0 aircraft were delivered in September 1940. Production continued with the first series version, the Fw 189 A-1. This was manufactured at the Focke-Wulf plant in Bremen, though production there was soon halted in favor of the Fw 190. From March 1941, the Aero plant in Prague supplied the Fw 189 (production ended in 1943). Additional Fw 189 units were manufactured until 1944 at French plants in Bordeaux-Mérignac. In the second half of 1941, the A-1 version was superseded in production by the A-2 version, which featured heavier armament. In addition, a small batch of the B variant (intended for training and liaison duties) was built; this differed in the shape of the fuselage pod and other details. A version designated Fw 189 C, intended for ground-attack missions, was tested at the prototype stage; The first prototype, the Fw 189 V1, crashed, and the modified prototype, the Fw 189 V-6, also failed to impress.
The majority of Fw 189 aircraft saw service on the Eastern Front. The Focke-Wulf Fw 189 A proved capable of operating from unpaved airfields and was distinguished by its excellent maneuverability and reliability. Some Fw 189 A-1s were even equipped with FuG 212 Lichtenstein C-1 radar and upward-firing armament, serving as night fighters in Romania in 1944. The Fw 189 also flew with the air forces of Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania.

Plastic model kit

• Includes  resin parts and a photo-etched fret, and a masking set.
• The decals allow for the depiction of two German aircraft, a captured Soviet aircraft, and a Norwegian aircraft. The latter—originally a German machine from the Eastern Front—had been flown to Norway shortly before the end of the war and was subsequently used by the Norwegian Air Force.

Scale 1:72

unbuilt / unpainted

Paint and glue not included