I found this thread on the FW-189 and Erich has a few comments about it.

http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewt...581572f034fee0

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I was trying to find a better picture of the night fighter version but this version is interesting also. It looks like it has all the charms of a He-177.

http://www.airwar.ru/enc/aww2/fw189c.html

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Still, I wonder why the information on these versions is so nebular and not as forthcoming as other versions. Of the sites that, with the exception of one or two, I've found on the Uhu version most are for plastic models.

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How about the DUKW?
An inspired, straightforward & incredibly useful device that assisted enormously in many of the great amphibious assaults (some naval officers feeling that Sicily simply would not have worked without them). Wrecked harbours bypassed, vital supplies taken straight to troops, ability to handle remarkably rough seas & even some weapon carrying capability, with a military lifespan that ran into the 70's and 80's.

All from a design process of c.3 months with another 42 days to build the first prototype.


Cheers,
Adam.

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"Wars cannot be fought with dream stuff" - Sir Percy Hobart.

I have to readily agree with you VonP. A very good weapon. I rode in one several years ago. I rolled like a block-wheeled wagon.

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Best Regards,
JW

I read somewhere, that it was made or used some parts of the deuce and 1/2. Is that true?

True indeed.
It pretty much is a Jimmy with a boat hull wrapped around it. Certainly a tough enough basis to build on. 21,147 built by wars end, not bad for what's essentially an extemporised design.

Top Truck.

Cheers,
Adam.

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"Wars cannot be fought with dream stuff" - Sir Percy Hobart.

Hmmm. That picture........think I'd be hanging my head over the side with those waves. Poor fellas.'

Reminds me of my days on these little aluminum canoes. Tip: If you've never been offshore, don't eat a full plate of butter beans just before you go 100+ miles into the Gulf in 10+ foot seas for 18 hours.

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When you called Ralph, did he have the courtesy to answer?

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Best Regards,
JW

I remember holding onto the handrails and bracing myself against the walls as I hurled. Some went in the commode, most all over the walls and me. Sleep wasn't any good either since the crew quarters were right in the bow. Whoever designed that must have been smoking something. That was a 90' boat called American River. I had better times on the 155 footers like Battle River. Company was called Trico Marine Operators and all of their boats were named after American Rivers.

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Are these the types of boats you are talking about ? Looks like they would be fun like riding a PT boat.

http://crewboats.leefelterman.com/

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I think the difference lies in the fact that PT boats did around 30-40 knots, which would have them slicing through the waves. Most crewboats working in the oilfields (the ones I were on anyway) do less than 20, which ride the waves up and down. A steel hulled supply boat would hardly feel the seas due to its weight and size. A crew boat, on the other hand, is much lighter (like the PT boat) and you feel the waves much more. Those smaller boats (65 +/- feet), like the ones on that website, are used for short runs to platforms 10-20 miles out and do not weather strong seas.

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Back to the Fw 189 night fighter..........This is purportedly? a picture of the night fighter version, the 20mm canone visible in place of the defensive gun turret. Besides reports that this version was used exclusively on the Eastern Front I can't, for the life of me, find much information on it. Does anyone else know of a somewhat reputable web site?

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From that Angle, it looks like a JU-88...

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Alright William !! I looked and looked for a picture like that and struck out.
Even has the jazz music cannon installation and radar.

Give yourself a pat on the back for finding that much !

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Thanks TA 152! Tried to post a pic here but, it was just too big. Anyway, I found these sites.....*Unless you understand Spanish you may have to re-type the first site and click "translate" to get the English version.....sorry.....

www.europa1939.com/luftwaffe/apoyo/fw189.html

www.wp.scn.ru/en/ww2/s/219/2/1

Although I found conflicting information (which means any one of them could be spurious) on the Schrage Musik installations, I.e., two 15mm, one 15mm and one 20mm, it is the 20mm version that looks most likely to have been the one used. Notwithstanding the above, all Schrage Musik armed Fw 189 seem to have been employed within I NJG/100 on the Eastern Front. A particular aircraft with this unit is on the bottom website with the serial number W7+WM. Another aircraft (in a book I have) has the fuesalage number W7+CB which also has a single mounted 20mm? Schrage Musik. It's easy to distinguish what would be the Schrage Musik installation because of the forward slanting attitude of the gun as opposed to the dorsal turret installation which did not rotate? a full 360 degrees. Does anyone know where to look up aircraft serial numbers on the net? This might solve the question.

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http://www.cieldegloire.com/njg_100.php

This is my first search find for Nachtjagdgeschwader 100 (may need to be translated).

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More.....

http://www.luftwaffe39-45.historia.n...aero/fw189.htm

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That colored formation picture is priceless ! The pictures of the gunner in the tail position and the twin gun turret are great also. I am starting to like this plane alot.

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I'll add the Norton Bomb Sight.

The previously mentioned proximity fuse was a very big deal as well.

To a lesser degree the airborn radar caused the enemy to change tactics (shipborn as well - didn't the USS George Washington pound a Japanese battleship at night due to that?)

The Me-262 was impressive, but too little too late. There weren't any pilots anyway. The Allies were close, if not surpassing it with their own designs (although the 262 looked cooler).

Later!

That's a most interesting photo of the Fw189 Nachtjager, wilconqr....something new to me.....

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