FW-190A-9, Did they exist?

[Revi16]

Did the FW-190A-9 ever enter combat or were there only a few prototypes built?
If it entered combat, which model BMW801 did it use?
Depending on which book or website you read, you get many different answers.

Regards,
Mike

[Dennis Peschier]

Have a look here

http://fw190.hobbyvista.com/a-9a.htm

Dennis

[Andreas Brekken]

Hi.

I haven't checked the bible on these aircraft yet as I am at work, but just pulled the losses I have registered with FW 190A-9 as aircraft model in my database as of now, and there are 126 of them. SO definitely a lot more than just a few prototypes.

Afaik the A-9 was used along with the A-8 in numbers 1944/45

Someone will most definitely update this thread with info from published sources quite fast I guess...

But they definitely existed!

Regards,
Andreas

[Graham Boak]

Mike: I remember getting uptight about this some years ago. The problem , as I came to see it, is that the older books were confused about the BMW designation system. They assumed that anything with a T suffix was turbocharged, so misread the source texts. So please exclude anything hinting at such ideas.

I cannot remember off the top of my head just which T suffixes were used for what end, but the A-9 had an 801T(something - TS?) which definitely was not turbocharged! I believe it was some kind of "standardised" engine, coming as a power-egg for various aircraft. Which I thought was true for earlier variants too.....

It was argued that you could tell an A-9 by the wider prop, but this was discussed recently and apparently not. It was also argued that it had a 14-blade fan rather than a 13-blade fan behind the prop.

It seems that the A-9 was simply a late-production standard A-8, with specific engine options. I await further posting to clarify the subject for me, too.

[Horst Kube]

Mike,

I found these data in my Fw 190/Ta 152 photo CD. Graham is right, the engine was a BMW 801 TS, see (low res.) scans.

Regards,
Horst

[Boomerang]

Heinz Nowarra's Focke-Wulf Fw190 & Ta152 refers to the production of the A-9 in 1944 and states that it differed from the A-8 in that it was powered by the BMW 801 F-1 engine, which had a 14 blade cooling fan.

Nowarra also states that all aircraft in the A-9 series had a compound curvature cockpit. The book also includes a list of A-9 WerkNrs.

Although Nowarra states that only a very limited number of A-9s saw active service, Donald Caldwells's JG 26 War Diary Volume 2 lists sporadic losses of A-9s commencing in October 1944 through to the unit's conversion to the D-9. At a quick glance, the first such loss I could see was A-9 WNr 750 151 on 6 October 1944 (Nowarra lists a 750 ### block of A-9 WNrs).

No doubt more to follow from other sources!

[Jean-Yves Lorant]

Hello Revi16,

Over 800 Fw 190 A-9 were build at Norddeutsche Werke Wismar, Mimetall Erfurt, Focke-Wulf in Aslau und Cottbus. Of course most of them went in action. Werk Nummer Blöcke and a lot of photos are known. I found some of them in strenght with Stab and II.(Sturm)/JG 300, and one proof in a logbook. Some photos of them are published in our JG 300-chronicle of Larivière (France) and soon of Eagle Editions (Hamilton,Montana, USA).

It is a proven fact. I tried unsuccessfully to explain this to Mr. William Green many years ago...

All the best from France

[Pawel Burchard]

Some time ago while browsing NARA microfilms - in a documents of some maintenance unit - I found a remark on erroneous data plate of Fw 190A-9 - 'als A-8 gekennzeichnet'.

Kind regards,
Pawel

[ArtieBob]

Fw 190 A-9 deliveries actually began in August 1944 (O.k.L.Qm reports) and continued in parrallel with various versions of the A-8 until February 45, when it appears the last Neubau A-8s were built. Probably the parallel production driven by the availability of engines, as was most of German aircraft production.

Best regards,

Artie Bob

[Erich]

this is interesting as I popped on this site for a moment, the question has been asked several times the past 9 months on other forums .........

yes check through JG 301's history. September 1944 as the unit was beefing up its inventory and practising sutrm-like tactics in III./JG 301 already equipped with the present A-8 variant I. and II. gruppe were flying the A-8 and more often than not the A-9 and A-9/R11 with a heavy staffel in each of the two gruppen the other two staffeln to fly high escort. First mission was the 21st of November 44 and the second was a disaster in defence of Misburg where a cousin of mine fell flying his A-9, White 2, Wrk # 206 085.

I gruppe was to continue to fly the A-9 till wars end, III. gruppe also the A-8, A-8/R2 and of course the Tank. II. gruppe A-9 variants till the introduction of the Dora 9 in December 44 and the 8th staffel still flying A-8's and A-9's till wars end.

E ~