The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was arguably the Luftwaffe's most outstanding piston-engine fighter of the Second World War, virtually dominating the skies over Europe for more than a year after its initial introduction into service in the summer of 1941. Continual development and improvements then kept it at the forefront of operations in the theatres of Northern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Eastern Front for the remainder of the war, while maintaining a competitive edge over many other types as well as gaining and retaining the grudging respect of those Allied pilots who faced it in combat. Despite being designed as a fighter, the BMW 801-powered Fw 190 sub-types performed practically every role possible for a single-engine, single-seat aircraft - including offensive and defensive day fighter, day and night fighter-bomber, ground attack, reconnaissance platform, night-fighter and trainer. The Fw 190A also served in the Hungarian Air Force during the later stages of the Second World War, the Turkish Air Force from mid-1942 to 1948, and post-war with the French, where the SNCAC aircraft company re-built over fifty Fw 190A-5/A-6s under the designation NC 900 for service with the new Armee de l'Air. Despite having standard factory-applied camouflage and markings schemes, many Fw 190s were also finished in a variety of 'on unit' and 'seasonal' and/or operational theatre' schemes which add to the aircraft's story. AUTHOR: Neil Robinson is a respected aviation historian and author, who has worked on a number of related projects over the years. He is the author of RAF Trainers 1918-1945: Camouflage and Markings (Airlife Publications, 2012), and Air War Over the Falklands (Airlife Publications, 2012). Martin Derry has also worked extensively in the field of aviation publishing. He is the author of British Military Aviation: 1960s in Colour (Dalrymple and Verdun Publishing, 2007) and Hornet and Sea Hornet: De Havilland's Ultimate Piston-engined Fighter (Dalrymple and Verdun Publishing, 2010). Together, Neil and Martin are the authors of previous Flight Craft releases which include Avro Lancaster 1945-1964, Avro Shackleton, Hawker Hurricane and Sea Hurricane and English Electric Lightning. 50 colour, 75 b/w illustrations
