Fw 190 D 13

Backround:
The fw 190  was one of the most capable fighter aircraft of the mid war period . Sporting excellent speed, armament,dive capability and an exceptional roll rate the 190 was a state of the art combat aircraft. It did however have its drawbacks: Its climb rate wasnt  that impressive by 1944 and its manuverability was  really bad( in the horizontal at least) , because of its very high wing loading.  Also power rapidly fell off over 6000 metres altitude. As  the air combat over the reich reached higher and higher altitudes, the fw 190 found itself outclassed at high altitudes by mustangs and spitfires. At such altitudes the older bf 109 was superior. To counter that, the fw 190 design team decided to equip the 190 with a powerful inline engine since the development of turbocharged engines was lacking behind. The chosen powerplant was the Jump 213 engine, an inline V 12 aero engine that developed 1750 hp at takeoff. The new engine neccessitated a new cowl giving the now called fw 190 d series its characterisitc appearence. The aircraft featured an annular radiator remincescent to the ju 88 schnellbomber albeit at a much smaller diameter to keep aerodynamic drag to a minimum. The heavier engine meant that armament had to be sacrificed to keep the landing gear from overstressing, therefore the inital versions of the fw 190 d(the d-9) had 2 13mm and 2 20mm cannons instead of the 2 13mm and 4 20mm cannon of the fw 190 a8 series.  This was still some serious heavy firepower since the 13mm machine guns had a high rate of fire and had explosive ammunition and the 20mm were equipped with the fearsome minengeschoß ammunition. The new engine greatly improved performance, the speed increased to 685kph and could go over 700 with MW 50 boost, acceleration was now much better, as was the  performance at high altitude. The turning circle also shrank thanks to the improved engine power although roll rate suffered a bit. The first d or "dora " as it was called was the fw 190 D-9. The aircraft quickly proved to be a fearsome opponent, much faster than its A variant predecessor and with superior climb and maneuverability performance. Compared to the mustang the new 190 was jsut as fast with better climb rate, better dive speed and much heavier armament but still worse maneuverability while top speed was similar. The D´s were often used over me 262 airfields to protect the jets when tehy landed or took off as they were very  vulnerable in such situations. The D 13 variant was the last variant delivered to the luftwaffe. Only a handful were ever delivered. The d 13 had 3 20mm cannons, one firing throuhg the prop hub, the other 2 were located in the wing roots. each gun had 250 rounds of ammo.
Today, only one d 13 survives. It is actually in running conditions and it has run its mighty jumo engine several times on the ground tough acording to the museum that own it, it will never fl again because its the only d 13 in existence which is pretty sad since I would love to see thi machine in the air.

The kit:
Just like ym ta 152 and fw 190 d 10 this kit is from hobby boss in 1/48. It costs around 20 €

Detail: very very good detail out of the box. Like the other 190 kits of hobby boss the back of the engine is visible through the wheel wells and also the cockpit features some crisp detailling. The landing gear alos looks really really nice
*****
Quality: The kit is top quality, especially teh  canopy looks absolutely perfet. Also to note is that fragile parts have been taken extra care of by protecting them from breaking when in the package.
*****
Fitting: Fitting was ok, the fuselage fitted well as did ll the small parts but the wings made some problems
****
Decals: The decals are ok. There are plenty of them, all the little serviving inscriptions are there but the decals fold up very easily and also rip very very easily
****

Extrapoints
I really like the sliding canopy of the kit, gives you a good insight into the cockpit. laos assembly is pretty straightforward  and I also like the coloured painting instructions. Had a lot of fun assembling and especially painting this little gem
*****

Result:  An awesome model of a really cool aircraft especially in that painting scheme. Also suited for beginners. Highly recommended!
*****