¹⁄48

Focke Wulf Fw 190 D-13/R11

The FW 190 D-13 variant

The Fw 190 D-13, unlike the standard D-9, was equiped with a Jumo 213 E/F engine with up to 2050 HP (With MW-50 injection system). From this it resulted, among other things, that it featured an increased air intake, similar to the one of the Ta-152, and a flat top engine cowling panel. In addition it was fitted with the VS 9 propeller with broader blades which were made of wood.

The "R11" Rüstsatz (conversion kit) made the machine to a bad weather fighter with Patin PKS12 and Siemens LGW K 23 course control devices (some kind of autopilot!) as well as a heatable windshield. This hydraulically controlled steering devices were also used on the Ta-152.

Instead of the armament of the D-9 (two MG 131 over the engine and two MG 151/20 in the wings) the D-13 only had one MG 151/20 firing through the propeller hub. Therefore it had also at the lower surface (between the main landing gear wells) only one case ejection opening for the Koax cannon in place of two for the MG131. The MG 131 were deleted so there were no cowling bulges and no machine guns openings.

Further small changes are the somewhat more deeply sitting fuel filler neck (right) for the 232 l tank under the pilot, the first assistance box access door shifted to the rear as well as the more highly sitting filler neck for the starter fuel (left).

The story of "Yellow 10"

This rare Fw 190 D-13/R11 W.Nr. 836017 was flown by major Franz Götz, the last Kommodore of the JG 26. He obtained altogether 63 confirmed air victories.

Probably only 15-20 airplanes of this type of aircraft were finished and the only exemplar still existing today stand was airworthy restored by the Flying Heritage Collection in Everett.

The model

As basis I used the kit of the Fw 190 D-9 by Tamiya. In order to be able to build a D-13, I used a conversion kit of the company FM-Resin and a landing gear correction set from MDC.

In the set from FM, a new engine cowling was also included, without the MG bulges on the cowling. Unfortunately a lot of cleaning and sanding was necessary since the resin part's finish was rather crude. Therefore I only used the intake and the upper engine cowling from the set. The different filler necks were engraved.

Unfortunately, on all 1/48 scale "Langnasen Dora" kits, the landing gear bay is wrongly represented, most certainly because the manufacturers feared to represent the complex rear part of the engine. Since the wing was the same as the A-series, it was necessary to remove the inside paneling of the wheel bays because of the larger engine of the D-series. The outstanding correction set froml MDC (made in England) corrects this "errors" and for only 15 euro is a worthwhile investment. The VS-9 propeller came from the same MDC set. Some further details were added from scratch, such as tubes and wirings.

I didn't fitted my D-13 with an engine cannon although the D-13 series were so planned. It seems as if the original aircraft found by the Allies in 1945 wasn't fitted with such an armament. The cleanly printed Decals are from Eagles Cals. The pilot figure and starter cart are from Tamiya. The display base is from Mark58 and was mounted on a piece of wood.