Number 3: The Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 solidified the career of German aircraft engineer Kurt Tank.
by Staff Writer

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Synopsis: Of Kurt Tank design, the small and nimble Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter became Germany's best fighter of the Second World War, supplanting the aged but equally-effective Messerschmitt Bf109. The fighter was responsible for the downing of hundreds of Allied bombers and fighters and became the mainstay in the defense of the Third Reich in the later years of the war. So successful became the design that the system produced a myriad of offshoots to push the airframe capabilities to new heights. Many experts put the Fw 190's capabilities on par with that of the equally awesome North American P-51 Mustang.

The Focke-Wulf Ta 152 represented a modified high-altitude interceptor of the base Fw 190 airframe, easily identified by its long wings and pencil like fuselage. The "Ta" in that designation takes on the first two letters of Kurt Tanks last name, such was his reward for designing the fabled Fw 190 aircraft.

Pros: Maneuverability and top speed when compared to its counterpart - the Supermarine Spitfire V; armament consisting of twin 13mm machine guns and a central 20mm cannon helped make it feared among the Allies. American aviation hero Chuck Yeager thought it as good as the Mustang. Chuck Yeager said that!

Notoriety: The best overall design of the German piston-engine aircraft of the war; destroyed hundred upon hundreds of Allied bombers and fighters.

Total Production: 19,500

Variants: Focke-Wulf Ta 152

Operators: France, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Romania and Turkey.

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