The FW 190, one of Germany's best fighter airplanes of WW II, made its first flight on June 1, 1939. It appeared in action over north-western France in September 1941 and rapidly proved its superiority over the Spitfire Mark V, Britain's best fighter of the period.

Most FW 190s were the "A" series, powered by a BMW radial engine. Late in 1943, however, the "D" series appeared in action against U.S. bombers, powered by the Jumo 213 inline, liquid-cooled engine. With its more powerful engine, the "D" had better performance than the "A" but because of the lengthened nose, a 20-inch section had to be added to the fuselage just forward of the tail. During its lifetime, more than 20,000 FW 190s of all types were built.

This FW 190D was assigned to the JG3 "Udet" Geschwader, one of the Luftwaffe's most famous fighter units which was named for Ernst Udet, Germany's leading ace to survive WW I . The airplane was captured and brought to the U.S. for testing at the end of WW II.

Specification for Focke-Wulf FW-190A-8