What-if the Dora was given to the Zerstorer units?

[matrixone]

Here is my idea behind this what-if Fw 190D-9...in late 1944 the Luftwaffe retired all the Bf 110 and 410 aircraft used by the Zerstorer units because of the heavy losses, Kurt Tank suggested adding more weapons to the Fw 190D-9 as an emergency solution for equipping the Zerstorer units with better aircraft to combat the growing numbers of Allied bombers and fighters by using the wing from the Fw 190A-8 with its outer wing cannons with the standard D-9 fuselage. With the D-9 being proven as a great fighter aircraft the decision was made to stop production on the A-8, A-9, and A-10 and divert all resources to producing the regular D-9 and the Zerstorer version of the D-9 in as great a number as possible in the shortest amount of time.

Below is what such an aircraft might have looked like...my model represents a standard Fw 190D-9 that was converted to the Zerstorer version, notice the older aircraft number painted out and the Zerstorer markings put over it.










Matrixone

[Gondor]

Absolutely outstanding work as usual from you Matrixone 

Gondor

[dragon]

Dora the Zerstorer?
I thought it was supposed to be Dora the explorer!

[Maverick]

Very interesting scenario & a gorgeous build Matrix.

Of course, without the twins, you wouldn't have the Pulkzerstorern toting 37mm & 50mm cannon and multiple WGr 21 tubes.  You could of course make the Doras escort birds for the twins like they used to have for the Sturmbock units?

Excellent work either way.

Regards,

Mav

[matrixone]

Thanks guys!

Mav,
The twins with the big 37mm and 50mm were of no use if they kept getting shot down and its pilots killed, late in the war a skilled pilot was in very short supply and could not easily be replaced. With the heavy armed Dora if the Mustangs appeared the pilot at least had a slim chance to fight back or escape the fight, if the pilot flying one of the twins met up with the escort fighters his life would be very short. Also another point in favor to be made about the Zerstorer units flying the Dora instead of the twins is the lower fuel consumption, it was lack of fuel that kept some of the fighter force on the ground in the battle for Germany.
After Galland's plan to cancel the Bf 109 and Fw 190A models and focus all aircraft production on Dora's and the Me 262 the air war slowly turned in favor of the Germans which allowed them time to make this aircraft...



Matrixone

[Maverick]

Have to agree, fuel consumption & agility are two very good points.  If (and that's a big If) the twins could be escorted tho, they'd be a worthwhile contribution to the air battle, given their stand-off capability.

Regards,

Mav

[ChernayaAkula]

Fantastic build and photography!

[NARSES2]

Fantastic build and photography!

Sums it up beautifully. It's the consistency of the builds that get me, you can't really say they are exceptional because they are all of that standard 

[matrixone]

Thank you Moritz and NARSES2!

I am taking a small break from building Focke-Wulf airplanes and have started two other what-ifs and a 1/72 scale 37mm Flakpanzer IV 'Ostwind'. The Ostwind kit is a challange for me to put together because I know NOTHING about tanks and must follow the instructions, also the painting process is quite a bit different than what I am used to.

Matrixone

[Slerski]

Such a beauty. And very credible story 

[Doc Yo]

 Most of the Luftwaffe's twins should have gone to the Nachtjagers before the end of '43, anyhow. Good
concept, and very nice photography, Matrix.

Mind you, I'd expect to see a few of them equiped with those peculiar single-shot vertical weapons
(SiG 113? Something like that ) a Zerstorer should zerstor,er, destroy, after all...

Good luck with the Ostwind build!

[matrixone]

Thank you Slerski and Doc Yo!

Doc Yo,
I agree, the twin engined Zerstorers should have been given to the nightfighter units in 1943, but better yet they should not have been produced at all...a nice idea but not easy for the Germans make into reality. The Bf 110 failure in the battle of Britain should have been a clear warning that the Zerstorer concept was flawed. The Me 210 fiasco was a big waste of time and resources and prevented a lot of single engined fighters from reaching the front lines at a time when they were needed the most. Poor leadership within the Luftwaffe helped the Allies win the war as quickly as they did.

My next what-if Fw 190 will be a D-13 and armed with X-4 rockets.

The Ostwind will not be what-if...I don't know enough about them to make a what-if out of it if I wanted to! There are lots of little road wheels to paint on this thing and it has those stupid soft rubber tracks, the tracks are my least favorite part of this kit.

Matrixone

[noxioux]

Another excellent build.

Not to hijack, but I think that's why the Luft '46 stuff endures--the Nazis were so close to winning outright so many different times, and it seems it was always the small things that got 'em in the end.  The Zerstorer thing is a great example, as is the fascination with dive-bombing and the delay that caused getting the ME-262 into play.  It's fascinating to ponder just how close some of this stuff was to turning things completely around.

Hijack over!  Your builds are truly inspirational.

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Ahhh that's simply superb. Would really ruin your day if you were caught in the open whilst riding your Sherman or Chaffee !

Ian

[matrixone]

Thanks noxioux and Ian!

noxioux,
The constant meddling by the high command of the Luftwaffe insured Germany would lose the air war over the Reich, also poor decision making on the aircraft designs chosen to be mass produced helped shorten the war quite a bit. What amazes me about the Luftwaffe is how well they fought when everything was against them, imagine if they had been given large amounts of modern aircraft like the Fw 190D-9 and Me 262 and good leadership to use them properly...the war would have likely dragged on for another half year perhaps long enough to develop some true ''wonder weapons''.

Matrixone