3 July 1939 Air Demonstration

tikilal · Feb 11, 2009

I was reading along and found mention of a "infamous magic show" at Rechlin for Hitler. In trying to find out what made this show so infamous I have come up empty I found a couple of references to the famous show, and the awesome demonstration but nothing about what was actually flown or why it was so historical or anything. Can anyone help me here.

LRusso216 · Feb 11, 2009

I'm not sure if this is what you are looking for but:

The "FW-190-V1" (V1 meaning "Versuchs 1 / Prototype 1") flew from the Bremen airport on 1 June 1939 with test pilot Hans Sander at the controls. Tank himself, a skilled pilot and definitely a "hands-on" engineer, performed some of the test flights. He gave the machine the name "Wuerger (Butcher Bird / Shrike)". Early test flights demonstrated some problems, including leakage of carbon monoxide fumes into the cockpit; failure of the landing gear to lock in place after being raised; and engine and cockpit overheating. The first two problems were quickly resolved, but the overheating troubles proved harder to fix.
The V1 machine originally featured a three-bladed variable-pitch propeller with an oversized prop spinner. The spinner fitted flush to the edge of the engine cowling for streamlining, with a central duct surrounding a ten-bladed fan for airflow, but this configuration didn't cool the rear set of cylinders very well. The oversized prop spinner was replaced by a conventional prop spinner, which didn't do much to eliminate the overheating problem but demonstrated no real reduction in performance, and so was retained for all following FW-190s.
The cockpit overheating remained a serious nuisance. Temperatures reached up to 55 degrees Celsius (130 degrees Fahrenheit) and Sander complained that sitting in the cockpit "was like having your feet in a fire!" Unfortunately, the canopy couldn't be opened in flight to cool off, since the open canopy created disruptive turbulence over the tail.
The difficulties did not disguise the fact that the new fighter was fast, powerful, and agile. Sander demonstrated the V1 at the Luftwaffe flight test center at Rechlin in early July 1939, including a show for Reichsmarshall Hermann Goering, who was so enthusiastic that he endorsed mass production of the type, saying it should be "turned out like hot rolls!" Luftwaffe test pilots were also enthusiastic about the new machine, stating that it handled better than the Bf-109.
Click to expand...

Here is the web site for more information. AirToAirCombat.Com: Focke-Wulf Fw-190A-1/3 in Detail

tikilal · Feb 11, 2009

Sounds like the same show in July. One would think that there would be a pluthora of information about such a show. The Heinkle rocket plane 162 was there as well.

TA152 · Feb 11, 2009

I am sure they did not complain about the hot cockpit on the eastern front !!!

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3 July 1939 Air Demonstration

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