Bryan McDermott has recently published ’FW190 Radial Engine Paint, Markings, and Production: NDW’, Tim looks at the digital edition

The author aims are quite ambitious in creating the Ultimate Guide to the paint, markings and production, of the radial engine Fw 190. Quite sensibly with such a massive undertaking the author has broken down the narrative into specific manufacturers. This volume deals with the Fw 190A/F built by the Norddeutschen Dornier Werk [NDW].  

The research begins with a look at the various locations of numerous NDF manufacturing sites. The political and military background is discussed and the not insignificant irritation of Allied actions in destroying Luftwaffe aircraft and disrupting production. The latter resulting in the widespread dispersion of manufacturing. The author locates the dispersed manufacturing sites of NDW were the various components of the Fw 190 were manufactured. The book includes many maps, aerial photographs, and reports from occupying Allied forces of the manufacturing sites and airfields associated with NDW. 

The NDW production of the Fw 190 is split into variants: 

  • FW 190 A-6 
  • FW 190 F-8, F-9, A-8, A-9 

The production is further broken down according to the werke number of the aircraft series:

  • NDW FW 190 F-8 930161-931999 production series.
  • NDW FW 190 F-8 932170-932299, 932500-932650  production series.
  • NDW FW 190 F-8 933000-933099, 933200-933299, 933300-933375, and 933400-933475 production series
  • NDW FW 190A-8 960280-960330, 960450-960560, and 960640-960730 production series
  • NDW FW 190 A-8 961050-961250 Production series.
  • NDW FW 190 A-9 980150-230, 980360-380, 980540-590 production series.
  • NDW FW 190 A-8 961601-961700 production series.
  • NDW FW 190 A-8 961930-961970 production series.
  • NDW FW 190 F-9 440121-130, 440301-420, 440540-590 production series.
  • NDW FW 190 405000 production series.

The various separately manufactured sub-assemblies such as, fuselage weapon cowl, wings, fuselage, and tail assemblies are all looked at, with the differences in appearance noted. Also, as many of these sub-assemblies were pre-painted, this adds even more interest to the completed aircraft creating a patchwork look.  The size and positioning of markings as well as stencils are discussed. There are numerous images that the author has acquired over the last thirty years, some of which that have not been seen before. The author has picked out individual aircraft as subjects for further study. The studies include a short history, component identification, camouflage and marking. Included are colour profiles and photographs of the subject.  There are several additional illustrations depicting the various upper wing, vertical and horizontal tail, and fuselage camouflage patterns.  These provide an excellent visual cue, though there are no indications on the illustrations of the paints used, though it is noted in the body of the text. There is a look at the BMW 801 engine including notes on development to increase the performance.

A constant throughout the book is the quantity of primary resources that the author has acquired. The written documentation from the manufacturers, Luftwaffe, Allied Air Forces, etc, is very impressive and much of which is reproduced in the book. Equally impressive are the many photographs.

Future publications by Bryan McDermott will feature other Fw 190 production factories including Arado, Fiesler and AGO.

Conclusion

This is such a well-researched and fascinating look at the production and the paint work of the Fw190 A/F at NDW. It presents the reasons for the difficulty producing the Fw 190 with a host of satellite factories producing parts. It explains well the reasons why the parts of the Fw 190 had such mismatched looking painted parts as well as the subtle variations in the airframes. As a modeller it certainly makes me look again at how I finish future WWII Luftwaffe projects. Highly recommended for modeler and historian alike.

Publisher: ‎ Independent Publisher (27 Dec. 2022)

Author: Bryan McDermott

Language: ‎ English

Paperback: ‎ 150 pages

ISBN-13: ‎ 979-8987377901

Available in print or digitally on Kindle from Amazon

Thanks to Bryan McDermott for the review sample.

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