HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 ''Condor'', also known as ''Kurier'' to the Allies (
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
: Courier), was a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
all-metal four-engined
monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
originally developed by
Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG () was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It is one of the ...
as a long-range
airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...
. A Japanese request for a long-range
maritime patrol {{Unreferenced, date=March 2008 Maritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities. Maritime patrol refers to ac ...
aircraft led to military versions that saw service with the ''
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'' as long-range
reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
and anti-shipping/maritime patrol
bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...
aircraft. The Luftwaffe also made extensive use of the Fw 200 as a transport aircraft. It achieved success as a
commerce raider Commerce raiding (french: guerre de course, "war of the chase"; german: Handelskrieg, "trade war") is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than enga ...
until mid-1941, by which time it was being harried by long-range
RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...
aircraft and the
Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
fighters being flown from CAM ships.


Design and development

The Fw 200 resulted from a proposal by
Kurt Tank Kurt Waldemar Tank (24 February 1898 – 5 June 1983) was a German aeronautical engineer and test pilot who led the design department at Focke-Wulf from 1931 to 1945. He was responsible for the creation of several important Luftwaffe aircraft of ...
of
Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG () was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It is one of the ...
to Dr. Rudolf Stuessel of
Deutsche Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
to develop a landplane to carry passengers across the Atlantic Ocean to the US.Karl-Dieter Seifert "Der Deutsche Luftverkehr 1926 - 1945" Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn 1996 (in German) p. 303-304 At the time, it was an unusual concept because airlines used
seaplanes A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
on long over-water routes. To fly long distances economically, the Fw 200 was designed to cruise at an altitude of over - as high as possible without a
pressurized cabin Cabin pressurization is a process in which conditioned air is pumped into the cabin of an aircraft or spacecraft in order to create a safe and comfortable environment for passengers and crew flying at high altitudes. For aircraft, this air is ...
. Existing airliners were designed to cruise at altitudes below . The Fw 200 was briefly the world's most modern airliner, until other high-altitude airliners started operating: the
Boeing 307 Stratoliner The Boeing Model 307 Stratoliner (or Strato-Clipper in Pan American service, or C-75 in USAAF service) is an American stressed-skin four-engine low-wing tailwheel monoplane airliner derived from the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, which entered com ...
in 1940 and the
Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s ...
in 1942. The designation "Condor" was chosen because, like the
condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vult ...
bird, the Fw 200 had a very long wingspan relative to other planes of its era, to facilitate then high-altitude flight. Deutsche Lufthansa issued a specification in June 1936 after discussions between Tank, Stüssel and
Carl August von Gablenz Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...
. The plane was designed by Ludwig Mittelhuber with Wilhelm Bansemir as project director. The first prototype, the Fw 200 V1, made its first flight after just over one year of development on 27 July 1937 with Tank at the controls. It was an all-metal, four-engined
monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
powered by four American
Pratt & Whitney Hornet The Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet was a widely used American aircraft engine. Developed by Pratt & Whitney, 2,944 were produced from 1926 through 1942. It first flew in 1927. It was a single-row, 9-cylinder air-cooled radial design. Displacemen ...
radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...
s, and intended to carry 26 passengers in two cabins for up to . Two further prototypes were powered by German BMW 132G-1 radials."Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II" Compiler: David Mondey, Temple Press Aerospace 1984 p. 73-74 The
Japanese Navy , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...
requested a military version of the Fw 200 for search and patrol duties, so Tank designed the Fw 200 V10 with military equipment. This Fw 200 was held in Germany because war had broken out in Europe by that time. This aircraft became the basis for all later military models used by the ''
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
''. To adapt it for wartime service,
hardpoint A hardpoint is an attachment location on a structural frame designed to transfer force and carry an external or internal load. The term is usually used to refer to the mounting points (more formally known as a weapon station or station) on the ...
s were added to the wings for bombs, the fuselage was strengthened and extended to create more space. Fore and aft dorsal gun positions were added, in addition to an extended-length version of the ''Bola'' ventral gondola typical of World War II German bomber aircraft; incorporating a central
bomb bay The bomb bay or weapons bay on some military aircraft is a compartment to carry bombs, usually in the aircraft's fuselage, with "bomb bay doors" which open at the bottom. The bomb bay doors are opened and the bombs are dropped when over th ...
(usually used for additional long-range fuel tanks), as well as heavily glazed fore and aft ventral flexible
machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
emplacements at either end. The extra weight introduced by its military equipment meant that some early Fw 200 aircraft broke up on landing, a problem that was never entirely solved. Later models were equipped with Lorenz FuG 200 ''Hohentwiel'' low UHF-band ASV
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
in the nose. In 1943 a version entered service that could carry the
Henschel Hs 293 The Henschel Hs 293 was a World War II German radio-guided glide bomb. It is the first operational anti-shipping missile, first used unsuccessfully on 25 August 1943 and then with increasing success over the next year, ultimately damaging or sink ...
guided missile, mandating fitment of the associated ''Funkgerät'' FuG 203 ''Kehl'' radio guidance gear on a Condor to steer them.


Operational history

The Fw 200 was operated by
Deutsche Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
, DDL and Lufthansa's Brazilian subsidiary Syndicato Condor. Dai Nippon KK of Japan also ordered Fw 200 airliners. These could not be delivered to Japan once the war began, so they were delivered to Deutsche Lufthansa instead. On 14 April 1945 an Fw 200 flew Lufthansa's last scheduled service before the end of World War II, from Barcelona to Berlin. Other airlines continued to operate the Fw 200 after the end of World War II. The first prototype, the Fw 200 V1, upgraded with extra fuel tanks and redesignated Fw 200 S-1, made several record flights. It was the first heavier-than-air craft to fly nonstop between
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, about , making the flight from
Berlin-Staaken Staaken () is a locality at the western rim of Berlin within the borough of Spandau. Geography Staaken borders on the localities of Spandau proper, Falkenhagener Feld and Wilhelmstadt. In the west it shares border with the Brandenburg municipalit ...
to Floyd Bennett Field on 10/11 August 1938 in 24 hours and 56 minutes. The return trip on 13 August 1938 took 19 hours and 47 minutes. These flights are commemorated with a plaque in
Böttcherstraße Böttcherstraße is a street in the historic centre of Bremen, Germany. Only about 100 m (330 ft) long, it is famous for its unusual architecture and ranks among the city's main cultural landmarks and visitor attractions. Most of its bui ...
, a street in
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
. Beginning on 28 November 1938 it flew from Berlin to Tokyo via Basra, Karachi and Hanoi. The German Foreign Minister,
Joachim von Ribbentrop Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop (; 30 April 1893 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. Ribbentrop first came to Adolf Hitler's not ...
, used a specially outfitted Condor "Grenzmark", on his two flights to Moscow in 1939, during which he negotiated and signed the "Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union", better known as the
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg , image_width = 200 , caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...
. His aircraft bore the German civil registration of D-ACVH. A Danish-owned Fw 200 aircraft named ''Dania'' was seized by the British at Shoreham Airport after Denmark was invaded by German forces in 1940. It was subsequently operated by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and was then pressed into service with the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
. It was damaged beyond repair in 1941. The ''Luftwaffe'' initially used the aircraft to support the ''
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
'', making great loops out across the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
and, following the
fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second World ...
, the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
. The aircraft was used for maritime patrols and reconnaissance, searching for
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
convoys and warships that could be reported for targeting by
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
s. The Fw 200 could also carry a bomb load or naval mines to use against shipping, and it was claimed that from June 1940 to February 1941, they sank 331,122 tonnes (365,000 tons) of shipping despite a rather crude bombsight. The attacks were carried out at extremely low altitude in order to "bracket" the target ship with three bombs; this almost guaranteed a hit.
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
called the Fw 200 the "Scourge of the Atlantic" during the
Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...
due to its contribution to the heavy Allied shipping losses. Following the debut of what would become the Luftwaffe's primary ''seaborne'' maritime patrol aircraft, the rival trimotored BV 138C flying boat in March 1941; from mid-1941, Condor crews were instructed to stop attacking shipping and avoid all combat in order to preserve numbers. In August, the first Fw 200 was shot down by a CAM ship-launched
Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...
, and the arrival of the U.S.-built Grumman Martlet, operating from the Royal Navy's new
escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...
s, posed a serious threat. The six Martlets operated by the Royal Navy from the first escort carrier shot down a total of seven Condors while escorting three convoys during her short career in the final months of 1941. On 14 August 1942, an Fw 200C-3 was the first German aircraft to be destroyed by USAAF pilots, after it was attacked by a
Curtiss P-40C Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was a WWII fighter aircraft that was developed from the P-36 Hawk, via the P-37. Many variants were built, some in large numbers, under names including the Hawk, Tomahawk and Kittyhawk. Allison-engined Model 75 XP ...
and a Lockheed P-38F Lightning over
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
. The Fw 200 was also used as a transport aircraft, notably flying supplies into
Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...
in 1942. After late-1943, the Fw 200 came to be used solely for transport. For reconnaissance, it was replaced by the Junkers Ju 290, and even some examples of the
Heinkel He 177 Greif The Heinkel He 177 ''Greif'' (Griffin) was a long-range heavy bomber flown by the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. The introduction of the He 177 to combat operations was significantly delayed, by both problems with the development of its ...
bombers serving with Kampfgeschwader 40. With the Allied advance into France, maritime reconnaissance by the Luftwaffe became impossible as the Atlantic coast bases were captured. Production ended in 1944 with a total of 276 aircraft produced. Several damaged Fw 200s landed in
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
during the war. In the beginning, they were repaired and returned to their bases in France. After
Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...
(the Allied invasion of
French North Africa French North Africa (french: Afrique du Nord française, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is the term often applied to the territories controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In ...
), the Spanish government interned four aircraft that arrived (although their crews were still allowed to return to Germany). Since the aircraft could not be used, they were sold by Germany to Spain. One of the three flyable aircraft was then operated by the
Spanish Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December , equipment ...
and the others used for spares. Because of damage and lack of spares, and for political reasons, they were grounded and scrapped around 1950. Some Condors also crashed in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. Their crews were allowed to return to Germany while the British authorities were allowed to inspect the aircraft and accompanying documentation. Some crew members died in these crashes and were buried in the civilian cemetery of Moura in
Alentejo Province Alentejo Province () is one of the six historical provinces of Portugal. The province took its name from the Portuguese ''além Tejo'', meaning "Beyond the (River) Tagus". It covers the historical and cultural region Alentejo. It was created in ...
, Portugal. The aircraft that crashed in Spain and Portugal had been based in Bordeaux-Merignac, France since 1940. Before then, the operational base of the Fw 200 squadrons had been in Denmark.


Hitler's personal transport

At the suggestion of his personal pilot
Hans Baur Hans Baur (19 June 1897 – 17 February 1993) was Adolf Hitler's pilot during the political campaigns of the early 1930s. He later became Hitler's personal pilot and leader of the ''Reichsregierung'' squadron. Apprehended by the Soviet Union a ...
,
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
specified a modified and unarmed prototype Condor, the Fw 200 V3, as his personal transport, as a replacement for his
Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German Aeros ...
. Originally configured as a 26-passenger ''Lufthansa'' transport (Works No. 3099), it was reconfigured as a plush two-cabin airliner. Hitler's armchair-style seat in the cabin was equipped with a wooden table, seat-back armour plating, and a parachute in the seat cushion, with an escape hatch in the floor. In line with Hitler's aircraft preferences, it carried the markings "D-2600" and was named "Immelmann III" in honour of World War I flying ace Max Immelmann. As the war progressed it changed designation to "WL+2600" and finally "26+00"; it was destroyed at
Berlin Tempelhof Airport Berlin Tempelhof Airport (german: Flughafen Berlin-Tempelhof) was one of the first airports in Berlin, Germany. Situated in the south-central Berlin borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg, the airport ceased operating in 2008 amid controversy, leav ...
in an Allied bombing raid on 18 July 1944. FW 200s of various types were configured as VIP transports, for the use of Hitler and his staff, and also other aircraft assigned to Heinrich Himmler,
Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, he ...
, Hermann Göring, and
Karl Dönitz Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government follo ...
.


Variants

There were three variants of the aircraft: the Fw 200A, B, and C. The Model A was a purely civilian variant used by
Deutsche Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
, DDL in
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
, and '' Syndicato Condor'' in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. The Fw 200B and Fw 200C models were used as long-range bombers, reconnaissance, troop and transport aircraft. ;Fw 200 V1 :First prototype. Converted to a Fw 200 S-1 in 1938. ;Fw 200 V10 :Military prototype developed for Japan, but held in Germany due to the start of WWII. Served as the basis for the C-series. ;Fw 200 A-0 :Pre-production batch of fourth to ninth prototypes. ;Fw 200 B-1 :Transportation aircraft fitted with four BMW 132Dc engines; one built. ;Fw 200 B-2 :Transportation aircraft fitted with four BMW 132H engines; three built. ;Fw 200 C-0 :Pre-production batch of 10 aircraft, structural strengthening, the first four were manufactured as unarmed transports, the remaining six were fitted with armament. ;Fw 200 C-1 :First military production version, BMW 132H engines, fitted with full-length ''Bola'' ventral gondola which added a narrow
bomb bay The bomb bay or weapons bay on some military aircraft is a compartment to carry bombs, usually in the aircraft's fuselage, with "bomb bay doors" which open at the bottom. The bomb bay doors are opened and the bombs are dropped when over th ...
to the airframe, increased defensive armament, provisions for four 250 kg (550 lb) bombs. ;Fw 200 C-2 :Similar to C-1, but featured a recessed underside to the rear sheet metal of each of the two outboard engine nacelles which reduced drag, where a hardpoint for a 250 kg (550 lb) bomb or a 300 L (80 US gal) capacity, standard Luftwaffe drop tank was placed. ;Fw 200 C-3 :Structurally strengthened, fitted with Bramo 323 R-2 radial engines. ;Fw 200 C-3/''Umrüst-Bausatz'' 1(/U1) :Featured an increased defensive armament, a 15 mm MG 151 cannon in an enlarged powered forward dorsal turret similar to those used for the BV 138's bow turret position, the 20 mm
MG FF The MG FF was a drum-fed, blowback-operated, 20 mm aircraft autocannon, developed in 1936 by Ikaria Werke Berlin of Germany. It was a derivative of the Swiss Oerlikon FF F cannon (its ''FF'' suffix indicating ''Flügel Fest'', for a fixed ...
replaced by a
MG 151/20 cannon The MG 151 (MG 151/15) was a German 15 mm aircraft-mounted autocannon produced by Waffenfabrik Mauser during World War II. Its 20mm variant, the 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon, was widely used on German Luftwaffe fighters, night fighters, figh ...
. ;Fw 200 C-3/U2 :Fitted with original, "hemispherical" dorsal turret, and had the 20 mm MG 151/20 at the front end of the ventral ''Bola'' gondola replaced with a 13 mm (0.5 in) MG 131 machine gun, which allowed space for the installation of a Lotfe 7D bombsight. ;Fw 200 C-3/U3 :Fitted with two additional 13 mm MG 131s. ;Fw 200 C-3/U4 ''Fernaufklarer'' :Had 7.92 mm (0.31 in)
MG 15 machine gun The MG 15 was a German 7.92 mm machine gun designed specifically as a hand-manipulated defensive gun for combat aircraft during the early 1930s. By 1941 it was replaced by other types and found new uses with ground troops. History The MG 1 ...
replaced by 13 mm MG 131s and carried an extra gunner. ;Fw 200 C-4 :Similar to C-3, but carried FuG ''Rostock'' search radar, late production aircraft used FuG 200 ''Hohentwiel'' low-UHF band ASV sea search radar. ;Fw 200 C-4/U1 (Werk-Nr 137) :High-speed transport aircraft, only one example built with shortened ''Bola'' gondola without bomb bay. Used to transport Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler and
Karl Dönitz Karl Dönitz (sometimes spelled Doenitz; ; 16 September 1891 24 December 1980) was a German admiral who briefly succeeded Adolf Hitler as head of state in May 1945, holding the position until the dissolution of the Flensburg Government follo ...
. Bore the ''Stammkennzeichen'' alphabetic code of ''GC + AE''. Captured by British and used as transport by them while based at Airfield B.164 Schleswig, flown frequently by Eric Brown - later to RAE Farnborough with Air Min number ''94''Brown 2006, p. 115. ;Fw 200 C-4/U2 (Werk-Nr 138) :High-speed transport aircraft with similarly shortened ''Bola'' gondola (with no bomb bay) to earlier C-4/''Umrüst-Bausatz'' 1 version, with accommodation for 14 passengers, only one example built. ;Fw 200 C-6 :Several aircraft were outfitted with an early version of the FuG 203 ''Kehl'' series missile control transmitter, to carry
Henschel Hs 293 The Henschel Hs 293 was a World War II German radio-guided glide bomb. It is the first operational anti-shipping missile, first used unsuccessfully on 25 August 1943 and then with increasing success over the next year, ultimately damaging or sink ...
missiles and re-designated C-6. ;Fw 200 C-8 :Fitted with
Lorenz Lorenz is an originally German name derived from the Roman surname Laurentius, which means "from Laurentum". Given name People with the given name Lorenz include: * Prince Lorenz of Belgium (born 1955), member of the Belgian royal family by h ...
FuG 200 ''Hohentwiel'' low-UHF band ASV sea-search radar as with some C-4 examples; some examples equipped with FuG 203b ''Kehl'' III missile control transmitter and fitted with capability to deploy
Henschel Hs 293 The Henschel Hs 293 was a World War II German radio-guided glide bomb. It is the first operational anti-shipping missile, first used unsuccessfully on 25 August 1943 and then with increasing success over the next year, ultimately damaging or sink ...
MCLOS guidance, rocket-boosted anti-ship missiles from the pair of outer-engine nacelle hardpoints. ;Fw 200 S-1 :Special designation for Fw 200 V1 that was flown from Berlin to
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
. ;MK-200 :Two Fw 200C-4 re-engined with ASh-62IR engines, operated 1947 to 1950.


Operators


Civil operators

; Brazil * Cruzeiro do Sul * Syndicato Condor - Serviços Aéreos Condor ; Denmark *
Det Danske Luftfartselskab Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S or DDL, trading in English as Danish Air Lines, was Denmark's national airline from 1918 until it merged to create Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) in 1951. DDL was established on 29 October 1918, but started its f ...
; *''
Deutsche Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
'' ; United Kingdom *
BOAC British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...


Military operators

; *''
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
'' ; *
Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
(post-war captured) ; Spain *
Spanish Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December , equipment ...
(Interned) ; United Kingdom *
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
(one aircraft interned)


Accidents and incidents

* On 6 December 1938, a Deutsche Lufthansa Fw 200S-1 (D-ACON, ''Brandenburg'') ditched in Cavite Bay, Philippines following a loss of engine power due to a broken fuel line; all six on board survived, but the aircraft was written off. The aircraft was on a Berlin–
Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
–Tokyo publicity flight. * On 22 April 1940, Luftwaffe Fw 200S-10 "CB+FB" of I/KG 40 (former Deutsche Lufthansa D-ABOD ''Kurmark'') crashed during the
invasion of Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. * On 20 July 1940, two Deutsche Luftwaffe Fw 200C
KG 40 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 40 (KG 40) was a Luftwaffe medium and heavy bomber wing of World War II, and the primary maritime patrol unit of any size within the World War II Luftwaffe. It is best remembered as the unit operating a majority of the four-eng ...
were lost-one (F8-EH) shot down over
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
(Crew 3 lost/2 POW); the other lost off Northern Ireland to cause unknown (Crew 2 Killed/3 POW) * On 20 August 1940, Luftwaffe Fw 200C-1 "F8+KH" of I/KG 40 crashed at Faha Ridge, Cloghane, Ireland; all six on board survived and were interned in Ireland. * On 22 October 1940, Luftwaffe Fw 200C-1 "F8+OK" of I/KG 40 went missing over the
Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
. Possibly unknown bomber which sank the Irish Vessel "Kerry Head" in the Atlantic Ocean off
Cape Clear Island Clear Island or Cape Clear Island (officially known by its Irish name: Cléire, and sometimes also called Oileán Chléire) is an island off the south-west coast of County Cork in Ireland. It is the southernmost inhabited part of Ireland and ha ...
,
County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
, Ireland;: reportedly the bomber was brought down in explosion; no survivors from either ship or plane. * On 15 June 1941, Luftwaffe Fw 200A-0 "F8+CU" (former Lufthansa D-ADHR) burned out at
Aalborg Airport Aalborg Airport ( da, Aalborg Lufthavn) is a dual-use (civilian/military) airport located in Nørresundby, Aalborg Municipality, Denmark, which is northwest of Aalborg. Facilities The airport is at an elevation of above mean sea level. It h ...
following an engine fire. * On 23 July 1941, a Deutsche Luftwaffe Fw 200C of KG 40 was lost in the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland, after being shot down by a Lockheed Hudson Mark V of No. 233 Squadron RAF. * On 22 October 1942, Luftwaffe Fw 200C-4/U3 "F8+EK" of 1.(F)/120 and I./KG 40 was shot down by two USAAF P-38 Lightning fighters and crashed at Kleppatagl, Iceland, killing all seven on board. * On 9 July 1943, a Luftwaffe Fw 200 of III/KG 40 was shot down by a British fighter and struck a cliff near Aljezur, Portugal, killing all seven on board. * On 18 July 1944, Adolf Hitler's personal Fw 200 V3 6+00was destroyed in bombing * On 27 September 1944, a Deutsche Lufthansa Fw 200D-2 (D-AMHL) en route to Spain was shot down by an RAF
Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...
night-fighter of No. 415 Squadron and crashed at Saint-Nicolas-lès-Cîteaux, France, killing all nine on board. * On 29 November 1944, a Deutsche Lufthansa Fw 200A-0/S-5 (D-ARHW, ''Friesland'') en route from Berlin to
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, was accidentally shot down by a German patrol boat and crashed off
Måkläppen Måkläppen is a nature reserve that protrudes from the Falsterbo peninsula in southwestern Sweden. It was created by sandbanks built on top of a moraine core. The Måkläppen nature reserve and nature conservation association was formed in 1899 ...
, Sweden, killing all ten on board. * On 11 October 1944, Luftwaffe Fw 200C-4 (radio code F8+ES, ''Werknummer'' 0163) of 8./
KG 40 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 40 (KG 40) was a Luftwaffe medium and heavy bomber wing of World War II, and the primary maritime patrol unit of any size within the World War II Luftwaffe. It is best remembered as the unit operating a majority of the four-eng ...
crashed at Kvanntoneset, Norway due to tail separation while flying over Lavanger fjord, killing all 21 on board. * On 21 April 1945, a Deutsche Lufthansa Fw 200KB-1 (D-ASHH, ''Hessen'') crashed near Piesenkofen, Germany, killing all 21 on board. * On 4 September 1946, a
Danish Air Lines Det Danske Luftfartselskab A/S or DDL, trading in English as Danish Air Lines, was Denmark's national airline from 1918 until it merged to create Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) in 1951. DDL was established on 29 October 1918, but started its f ...
(DDL) Fw 200A-5 (OY-DEM, ''Jutlandia'') crashed at Northolt Airport after landing in crosswinds; there were no casualties, but the aircraft was written off. * On 13 December 1946, a Polyarnaya Aviatsiya ('Polar Aviation', a division of Aeroflot) Fw 200C-3 (СССР-N400) force-landed off Ostrov Litne due to engine problems; all 21 on board survived, but the aircraft was written off. * On 8 March 1947, a Cruzeiro do Sul Fw 200A-0 (PP-CBI, ''Abaitara'') was struck by a Panair do Brazil
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
(PP-PCK) that was landing at Santos-Dumont Airport, there were no casualties, but the Fw 200 was written off. * On 23 April 1950, a Polyarnaya Aviatsiya MK-200 (СССР-N500) overran the runway and crashed at Yakutsk Airport due to crosswinds; all nine on board survived, the aircraft was written off.


Surviving aircraft

Only one complete reconstructed Fw 200 exists today, an aircraft that ditched in February 1942 and sank to a depth of 60 m (197 ft). This aircraft was raised from
Trondheim Fjord The Trondheim Fjord or Trondheimsfjorden (), an inlet of the Norwegian Sea, is Norway's third-longest fjord at long. It is located in the west-central part of the country in Trøndelag county, and it stretches from the municipality of Ørland in ...
in Norway on 26 May 1999. Although the airframe disintegrated while being lowered onto a recovery platform, the remains were transported to Airbus Bremen and spent 22 years being rebuilt. A request from the Berlin museum for a set of separate wings to be recovered from the Kvitanosi mountain near
Voss Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, Opphe ...
in Norway to complete the rebuilding was at first denied, because the local population wanted the wings to be left ''in situ'' as a war memorial. A compromise was reached in 2008, where parts not needed for the restoration would be left on the mountain. In 2009, parts were moved down by helicopter and made ready for transport to Bremen. Other wrecks were also found, but in extremely poor conditions, one at 68 m deep. The aircraft was finished in June 2021, then dismantled and transported to the former Berlin Tempelhof Airport for final assembly as an exhibit in Hangar 7.


Specifications (Fw 200 C-3/U4)


See also


Notes


References


Notes


Bibliography

* . * Brown, Eric. ''Wings On My Sleeve: The World's Greatest Test Pilot tells his Story''. London: Orion Books. 2006, . * . * . * . * Poolman, Kenneth. ''Focke-Wulf Condor: Scourge of the Atlantic''. London: MacDonald and Jane's, 1978. . * . * * *


External links


Fw 200 C-3 operating instructions

YouTube German footage of Fw 200 A 'Grenzmark'

German newsreel of a Fw 200 attck on shipping









October 2021-released YouTube video (in German) of the sole surviving Fw 200 under restoration
{{Authority control
Fw 200 The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 ''Condor'', also known as ''Kurier'' to the Allies (English: Courier), was a German all-metal four-engined monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner. A Japanese request for a long-range maritime p ...
1930s German airliners 1930s German patrol aircraft World War II patrol aircraft of Germany Four-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1937 Four-engined piston aircraft