The Focke-Wulf Ta 152 is a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
German high-altitude
fighter-
interceptor
Interceptor may refer to:
Vehicles
* Interceptor aircraft (or simply "interceptor"), a type of point defense fighter aircraft designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft
* Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, a police car
* ...
designed 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 ...
and produced 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 ...
.
The Ta 152 was a development of the
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, ...
aircraft. It was intended to be made in at least three versions—the Ta 152H ''Höhenjäger'' ("high-altitude fighter"); the Ta 152C designed for medium-altitude operations and
ground-attack
In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movem ...
, using a
Daimler-Benz DB 603
The Daimler-Benz DB 603 was a German aircraft engine used during World War II. It was a liquid-cooled 12-cylinder inverted V12 enlargement of the DB 601, which was in itself a development of the DB 600. Production of the DB 603 commenced in ...
and smaller wings; and the Ta 152E fighter-
reconnaissance aircraft
A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as ...
with the engine of the H model and the wing of the C model.
The first Ta 152H entered service with the Luftwaffe in January 1945. The Ta 152 was produced too late and in insufficient numbers to have a significant role in the war.
Development
Fw 190
The Fw 190's
BMW 801
The BMW 801 was a powerful German air-cooled 14-cylinder-radial aircraft engine built by BMW and used in a number of German Luftwaffe aircraft of World War II. Production versions of the twin-row engine generated between 1,560 and 2,000 PS ( ...
engine was originally designed for bomber and transport aircraft flying at medium altitudes in the range. In keeping with this role it used a relatively simple single-stage
supercharger
In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement.
The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...
that lacked performance above altitude. This presented a problem for fighter use, where high-altitude performance was desirable. Through careful tuning, the Fw 190 instead emerged as a powerful medium altitude design. Several experimental models of the 190 with different engines were tested with improved high altitude performance, but these were not high priority projects.
Allied
heavy bomber
Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larges ...
s and
escort fighter
The escort fighter was a concept for a fighter aircraft designed to escort bombers to and from their targets. An escort fighter needed range long enough to reach the target, loiter over it for the duration of the raid to defend the bombers, and r ...
s began flying operations at higher altitudes, around . At these altitudes, the 190 found itself at a disadvantage, becoming acute in early 1944 when the long range
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
arrived in quantity. This led to the introduction of the
Fw 190D-9, mounting the
Junkers Jumo 213
The Junkers Jumo 213 was a World War II-era V-12 liquid-cooled aircraft engine, a development of Junkers Motoren's earlier design, the Jumo 211. The design added two features, a pressurized cooling system that required considerably less cooling ...
E engine. This engine had a two-stage supercharger and much better altitude performance. However, the rest of the aircraft's design, especially the relatively short wings, made it difficult to fly at high altitudes. While the D-9 upgrade was expedient, it was not ideal.
High-altitude fighters
Rumours of the
B-29
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fly ...
, which would cruise at altitudes at which no German aircraft could comfortably operate, added impetus for a dedicated high-altitude design. The ''
Reichsluftfahrtministerium
The Ministry of Aviation (german: Reichsluftfahrtministerium, abbreviated RLM) was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany (1933–45). It is also the original name of the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus building on the Wilhelmstrasse ...
'' (German Air Ministry, or "RLM") requested proposals from both Focke-Wulf and Messerschmitt for a high-altitude interceptor. Messerschmitt answered with the
Bf 109H, and Focke-Wulf entered a range of designs; the Fw 190 ''Raffat-1'' (Ra-1) fighter would replace the existing 190D series, the Ra-2 was a dedicated high altitude fighter, and the Ra-3 was a
ground-attack aircraft.
These designs developed into the Fw 190 V20 (Ta 152A), V21 (Ta 152B) and V30 (Ta 152H)
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
s, all based on the 190D-9 but with varying degrees of improvement. The V20 used the same Jumo 213E engine as the Fw 190D-9, while the V21 used the DB 603E. Neither of these offered any significant improvement over the 190D-9, and further development of the Ta 152A and B was cancelled. The V21 airframe, however, was further modified as the V21/U1 and became the prototype for the Ta 152C.
[Nohara Shigeru 2001.]
Japanese version
The
IJAAF acquired, in April 1945, the licence, schemes and technical drawings for manufacturing the Ta 152 in Japan. During the last stages of the conflict in Germany, with the plight of the Japanese armed forces growing ever bleaker, a large volume of the latest aviation technology Germany had to offer was given to or bought by both the Japanese army and naval air arms in the hopes that it would stem the tide of defeats and ever increasing pressure by the superior Allied air forces.
Design
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 ...
originally designed the Ta 152 using the 44.52 litre displacement
Daimler-Benz DB 603
The Daimler-Benz DB 603 was a German aircraft engine used during World War II. It was a liquid-cooled 12-cylinder inverted V12 enlargement of the DB 601, which was in itself a development of the DB 600. Production of the DB 603 commenced in ...
engine as it offered better high-altitude performance and also a greater developmental potential. The DB 603 had been used in the Fw 190C prototypes but had many problems and was considered too difficult to fit in the Ta 152 by RLM officials. With this in mind, Tank focused his efforts on the 213E as the Ta 152H engine. He insisted that the DB 603 be retained for the Ta 152C versions and as an option for later versions of the Ta 152H.
In 1944, the (German Air Ministry) decided that new fighter aircraft designations must include the chief designer's name. The aircraft design was therefore given the prefix Ta.
The Ta 152's
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
was an extended version of the Fw 190D-9 fuselage with wider-chord fixed vertical tail surfaces (especially the top half), and hydraulic rather than electrically controlled
undercarriage
Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include:
*The landing gear of an aircraft.
*The ch ...
and
flaps. Due to the changes in the
center of gravity
In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weight function, weighted relative position (vector), position of the distributed mass sums to zero. Thi ...
and overall balance, the nose was also lengthened.
[Shimoda Ken-ichi 2001.] The D-9 retained the wingspan of the original pre-war Fw 190 models, but this was slightly extended for the C model to , and greatly extended for the H model to , which gave it much better control at high altitudes at the cost of speed at lower altitudes.
Due to the war's impact on
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
availability, the wing was built around two steel
spars, the front extending from just past the landing gear attachment points, and the rear spar spanning the entire wing. The wing itself was designed with 3° of
washout, from the root to the flap-
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
junction, to prevent the ailerons from stalling before the centre section of the wing.
The Ta 152 also featured the FuG 16ZY and FuG 25a radio equipment
(some aircraft were issued with FuG 125 Hermine D/F for navigation and blind landing, LGW-Siemens K 23
autopilot
An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...
, and a heated armoured glass windscreen for bad-weather operations).
High-altitude features
To reach higher altitudes, a
pressurized cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
was added to the H models. The
canopy
Canopy may refer to:
Plants
* Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests)
* Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes
Religion and ceremonies
* Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...
was sealed by a circular tube filled with rubber foam which was inflated by a compressed air bottle, while the engine compartment was also sealed from the cockpit with a rubber foam ring. A Knorr 300/10
air compressor
An air compressor is a pneumatic device that converts power (using an electric motor, diesel or gasoline engine, etc.) into potential energy stored in pressurized air (i.e., compressed air). By one of several methods, an air compressor forces ...
provided the pressure, maintaining the cockpit at 0.37 Bar (5.29 psi) above 8,000 m (26,250 ft). To prevent fogging, the windscreen was of a double-glazed style with a 6 mm (.236 in) thick outer pane and a 3 mm (.118 in) inner pane with a 6 mm (.236 in) gap. The gap was fitted with several
silica gel
Silica gel is an amorphous and porous form of silicon dioxide (silica), consisting of an irregular tridimensional framework of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms with nanometer-scale voids and pores. The voids may contain water or some other l ...
capsules to absorb any moisture forming between the panes.
The cockpit was not pressurized in the C models.
Armament
The H model had heavy armament to allow it to deal quickly with enemy aircraft. It had three weapons: one 30 mm (1.18 in)
MK 108
The MK 108 (German: ''Maschinenkanone''—"machine cannon") was a 30 mm caliber autocannon manufactured in Germany during World War II by Rheinmetall‑Borsig for use in aircraft.
The cannon saw widespread use as an anti-bomber weapon during t ...
''Motorkanone'' cannon centered within the propeller hub and two 20 mm
MG 151/20 cannons,
synchronised to fire through the propeller, located in the wing roots. The C model was designed to operate at lower altitudes than the H-model with the same armament plus two more MG 151/20 cannon synchronised as the additional autocannon for the C-model were mounted just ahead of the windscreen, and above the engine's upper rear crankcase. The Ta 152C could destroy the heaviest enemy bombers with a short burst but the added weight decreased speed and rate of turn.
Performance
The Ta 152H-1 was among the fastest piston-engined fighters of the war, with a top speed comparable to the twin-engined
Dornier Do 335
The Dornier Do 335 ''Pfeil'' ("Arrow") was a heavy fighter built by Dornier for Germany during World War II. The two-seater trainer version was called ''Ameisenbär'' ("anteater"). The ''Pfeil''s performance was predicted to be better than other ...
. It was capable of at using the
GM-1
{{unreferenced, date=September 2008
GM-1 (''Göring Mischung'' 1) was a system for injecting nitrous oxide (laughing gas) into aircraft engines that was used by the ''Luftwaffe'' in World War II. This increased the amount of oxygen in the fuel mi ...
nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or nos, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula . At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has a ...
boost and at sea level using the
MW 50
MW 50 (Methanol-''Wasser'' 50) was a 50-50 mixture of methanol and water (German: ''Wasser'') that was often sprayed into the supercharger of World War II aircraft engines primarily for its anti-detonation effect, allowing the use of increased bo ...
methanol-water boost. It used the MW 50 system mainly for altitudes up to about and the GM-1 system for higher altitudes, although both systems could be engaged at the same time. Kurt Tank was flying an unarmed Ta 152H in late 1944 to a meeting at the Focke-Wulf plant in
Cottbus
Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exten ...
when ground controllers warned him of two P-51 Mustangs. The enemy aircraft appeared behind Tank, but he escaped by applying full power and engaging the MW 50 boost "until they were no more than two dots on the horizon".
Operational history
![Focke-Wulf Ta 152 H (15247074656)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Focke-Wulf_Ta_152_H_%2815247074656%29.jpg)
By October 1944, the war was going poorly for Germany. RLM realised the urgency pushing Focke-Wulf to quickly have the Ta 152 into production. As a result, several Ta 152 prototypes crashed early into the test program. It was found that critical systems were lacking sufficient quality control. Problems arose with superchargers, pressurised cockpits leaked, the engine cooling system was unreliable at best due in part to unreliable
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
temperature monitoring, and in several instances the landing gear failed to properly retract. A total of up to 20 pre-production Ta 152 H-0s were delivered from November 1944 to ''
Erprobungskommando
An ''Erprobungskommando'' (EKdo) ("Testing-command") was a variety of Luftwaffe special-purpose unit tasked with the testing of new aircraft and weaponry under operational conditions. Similarly-named ''Erprobungs-''prefixed squadron ''(staffel)'' ...
'' Ta 152 to service test the aircraft. It was reported that test pilots were able to conduct a mere 31 hours of flight tests before full production started. By the end of January 1945, only 50 hours or so had been completed.
III./
''Jagdgeschwader'' 301, initially a Luftwaffe ''
Wilde Sau
''Wilde Sau'' ( Lit. wild sow; generally known in English as "Wild Boar") was the term given by the ''Luftwaffe'' to the tactic used from 1943 to 1944 during World War II by which British night bombers were engaged by single-seat day-fighter airc ...
'' unit, was ordered to convert to the type in January 1945, which it did (and flew them operationally for a short time). In the end, Ta 152s were pooled in a special JG 301, first based at Alteno Air Base near
Luckau
Luckau ( Lower Sorbian: ''Łuków'') is a city in the district of Dahme-Spreewald in the federal state of Brandenburg, Germany. Known for its beauty, it has been dubbed "the Pearl of Lower Lusatia".
Origin of the name
The name appears to be a loc ...
, then at
Neustadt-Glewe
Neustadt-Glewe is a German town, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in the district of Ludwigslust-Parchim.
History
Neustadt-Glewe was mentioned for the first time in a document in 1248.
Hans Axel Holm, a Swedish writer and journalist, documente ...
in Mecklenburg. The never had more than 15 Ta 152Hs available, both H-0s and H-1s. Since the usual transfer system had broken down, replacement parts became nearly impossible to obtain.
An early Ta 152 combat occurred on 14 April 1945 when
Willi Reschke
Willi Reschke (3 February 1922 – 5 July 2017) was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II, credited with 27 aerial victories in 70 missions. In 1999, Reschke recounted his wartime experiences i ...
tried to intercept a
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...
over Stendal but failed to catch up due to engine trouble. On the evening of that same day, Reschke was to demonstrate that the Ta 152H could be used as a low altitude fighter. A section of four
Hawker Tempest
The Hawker Tempest is a British fighter aircraft that was primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest, originally known as the ''Typhoon II'', was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to ...
Vs of
486 (NZ) Squadron were out on patrol. After attacking a train near
Ludwigslust
Ludwigslust () is a central castle town of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 40 km south of Schwerin. Since 2011 it has been part of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district.
Ludwigslust is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The former royal re ...
, the section split up into pairs;
Wing Commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...
Brooker ordered the Tempests flown by
Flying Officer S. J. Short and
Warrant Officer
Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...
Owen J. Mitchell to make their own way back to base. On the way back, this pair, which was strafing targets along the railway tracks near Ludwigslust, was spotted by lookouts posted at Neustadt-Glewe. Three Ta 152s – flown by Reschke, Aufhammer and Sepp Sattler – were scrambled, catching the Tempests by surprise. Reschke recalled:
It is assumed that Sattler was shot down either by Sid Short or Bill Shaw
[Shores and Thomas 2006, p. 486.] of 486 Sqn, who claimed a Bf 109 E in the same area.
Operational missions were flown in April 1945 from Neustadt, mostly escorting close support aircraft to the
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II.
After the Vistula– ...
. Reschke claimed two
Yakovlev Yak-9
The Yakovlev Yak-9 (russian: Яковлев Як-9) is a single-engine, single-seat multipurpose fighter aircraft used by the Soviet Union and its allies during World War II and the early Cold War. It was a development of the robust and successf ...
s near Berlin on 24 April, while Obfw.
Walter Loos
Walter Loos (11 April 1923 – 27 October 2004) was a former Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. During his career, he was credited with 38 aerial victories in 66 missions.
World Wa ...
, claimed four air victories on 24, 25 and 30 April.
The Ta 152 score at the end of the war was probably seven victories and four losses in air combat, although a degree of uncertainty about those numbers exists. Four victories were achieved by Josef Keil, from 1 March 1945 to 21 April 1945, and at least three victories were achieved by Willi Reschke. The Ta 152 was delivered to JG 301 on 27 January 1945 and the first Ta 152 mission against American bombers took place on 2 March 1945. There was no contact with the Americans because the 12 Ta 152s were forced to fend off repeated attacks by the Bf 109s of another German unit, as the shape of the Ta-152 was virtually unknown to other . There were no losses, as the climbing ability and manoeuvrability of the Ta 152s enabled them to evade these attacks.
The four losses in air combat were: Hptm. Hermann Stahl, killed on 11 April 1945; Obfw. Sepp Sattler, killed on 14 April 1945; two unknown JG11 pilots, downed by Spitfires in the last days of April 1945 during transfer from Neustadt-Glewe to
Leck airfield.
Production
The total number of Ta 152 aircraft produced is unknown.
[Lowe 2008, p. 38.] Malcolm Lowe notes:
By February 1945, all Ta 152 production had ceased.
[Ethell 1990, p. 33.] According to Peter Rodeike, 44 Ta 152 H-0/V and 25 Ta 152 H-1 were built; total Ta 152 production is unknown.
Variants
;Ta 152 C-0
:Pre-production aircraft, 1 prototype built
powered with 2,100-hp (1566 kW) Daimler Benz DB603LA engine. The extra length of this engine, as with the
Jumo 213-powered Fw 190D-9, required a compensating rear fuselage plug and enlarged tail surfaces, and wing span was increased to 36 ft 1 in (11 meters). All "C" variants were intended for low to medium-altitude operations.
[Mondey 2006, p. 76.][Rickard, J (6 May 2019), Focke-Wulf Ta 152C, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_focke-wulf_Ta_152C.html]
;Ta 152 C-1
:Standard wing (11.00 m (36 ft 1 in)), armed with one engine-mounted ''Motorkanone'' 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannon and four 20 mm synchronized MG 151/20 cannons (two above the engine, two in the wing roots).
;Ta 152 C-2
:Standard wing (11.00 m (36 ft 1 in)), equipped with an improved radio.
;Ta 152 C-3
:Standard wing (11.00 m (36 ft 1 in)), armed with one engine-mounted ''Motorkanone'' 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 103 cannon and four 20 mm synchronized MG 151/20 cannons (two above the engine, two in the wing roots).
;Ta 152 E-1
:Photographic reconnaissance version of the Ta 152C, with standard wing (11.00 m (36 ft 1 in)).
;Ta 152 E-2
:High-altitude photographic reconnaissance version, powered by a Junkers Jumo 213E engine and with the H-series wing (14.44 m (48 ft 6 in)). Only a single prototype was completed.
;Ta 152 H-0
:20 pre-production aircraft, H-series wing (14.44 m (48 ft 6 in)). All "H" variants were intended for medium to high altitude operations.
;Ta 152 H-1
:The only production version.
H-series wing (14.44 m (48 ft 6 in)), armed with one engine-mounted ''Motorkanone'' 30 mm (1.18 in) MK108 cannon and two 20 mm synchronized MG 151/20 cannons in the wing roots, additional fuel tanks located in the wings.
Surviving aircraft
There is only one surviving Ta 152, a 152 H-0 variant flown by III./ 301, a Luftwaffe unit. The aircraft is housed at the
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility
The Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility, also known colloquially as "Silver Hill", is a storage and former conservation and restoration facility of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, located in Suitland, Ma ...
in
Suitland, Maryland
Suitland is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, approximately one mile (1.6 km) southeast of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 census, its population was 25,839. Prio ...
, United States, where it is expected to be restored.
The aircraft is believed to be Werk-Nummer (serial number) 150020, which was a pre-production H-0 model transitioning to full production Ta 152H-1 series aircraft. It was probably built at Focke-Wulf's production facility at Cottbus, Germany, in December 1944, and delivered to Erprobungskommando Ta 152 at
Rechlin
Rechlin is a municipality in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, around 100 km (60 mi) northwest of Berlin. The town's airport has a long history and was the Luftwaffe's main testing ground for new aircraft designs in Nazi Germany. ...
, Germany, for service testing.
"Focke-Wulf Ta 152 H-0/R11."
''NASM.'' Retrieved: 12 March 2011.
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 ...
''
Specifications (Ta 152 H-1)
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
* Angelucci, Enzo. ''The Rand McNally Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft, 1914-1980.'' San Diego, California: The Military Press, 1983. .
* Donald, David, ed. ''Warplanes of the Luftwaffe''. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1994. .
* Ethell, Jeff. ''Ta 152'' (Monogram Closeup 24). Sturbridge, Massachusetts: Monogram Aviation Publications, 1990. .
* Harmann, Dieter. ''Focke-Wulf Ta 152: The Story of the Luftwaffe's Late-War High-Altitude Fighter.'' Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 1999. .
* Hermann, Dietmar. ''Focke-Wulf Ta 152: Der Weg zum Höhenjäger'' (in German). Oberhaching, Germany: AVIATIC Verlag GmbH, 1998. .
* Lowe, Malcolm. ''Focke-Wulf Ta 152''. Prague: 4+ Publications (Mark I Ltd.), 2008. .
* Lowe, Malcolm. ''Production Line to Front Line #5, Focke-Wulf Fw 190''. London: Osprey, 2003. .
* Mondey, David. ''The Hamlyn Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II''. London: Bounty Books, 2006. .
* Nohara, Shigeru, ''Focke-Wulf Fw 190D & Ta 152 Modeling Guide''. Tokyo, Japan: Model Art Co. Ltd., 2001.
* Myhra, David. ''Focke-Wulf Ta 183 ''(X Planes of the Third Reich). Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, 1999. .
* Reschke, Willy, ''Jagdgeschwader 301/302 "Wilde Sau": In Defense Of The Reich With The Bf 109, Fw 190 And Ta 152''. Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag, 1998. .
* Shimoda, Ken-ichi, ''Military Aircraft Vol. 65''. Tokyo, Japan: Delta Publishing Co. Ltd., 2001.
* Shores, Christopher and Chris Thomas. ''2nd Tactical Air Force. Volume III: From the Rhine to Victory: January to May 1945''. Hersham, UK: Ian Allan Publishing, 2006. .
* Sortehaug, Paul. ''The Wild Winds; The History of Number 486 RNZAF Fighter Squadron with the RAF''. Dunedin, New Zealand: Otago University Print, 1998. .
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Ta 152
1940s German fighter aircraft
World War II fighter aircraft of Germany
Low-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Ta 152
Aircraft first flown in 1944