1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2, 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf; summer 1945

[Dizzyfugu]

1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2 - fake box art by dizzyfugu, on Flickr





Some background:
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger (English: Shrike) was a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Fw 190 became the backbone of the Luftwaffe's Jagdwaffe (Fighter Force). The twin-row BMW 801 radial engine that powered most operational versions enabled the Fw 190 to lift larger loads than the Bf 109, allowing its use as a day fighter, fighter-bomber, ground-attack aircraft and, to a lesser degree, night fighter.

The Fw 190A started flying operationally over France in August 1941, and quickly proved superior in all but turn radius to the Royal Air Force's main front-line fighter, the Spitfire Mk. V, particularly at low and medium altitudes. The 190 maintained superiority over Allied fighters until the introduction of the improved Spitfire Mk. IX. In November/December 1942, the Fw 190 made its air combat debut on the Eastern Front, finding much success in fighter wings and specialized ground attack units called Schlachtgeschwader (Battle Wings or Strike Wings) from October 1943 onwards. The Fw 190 provided greater firepower than the Bf 109 and, at low to medium altitude, superior manoeuvrability, in the opinion of German pilots who flew both fighters.


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The Fw 190A series' performance decreased at high altitudes (usually 6,000 m (20,000 ft) and above), which reduced its effectiveness as a high-altitude interceptor. From the Fw 190's inception, there had been ongoing efforts to address this with a turbo-supercharged BMW 801 in the B model, the much longer-nosed C model with efforts to also turbocharge its chosen Daimler-Benz DB 603 inverted V12 powerplant, and the similarly long-nosed D model with the Junkers Jumo 213. Problems with the turbocharger installations on the -B and -C subtypes meant only the D model would enter service, doing so in September 1944. While these "long nose" versions gave the Germans parity with Allied opponents, they arrived far too late in the war to have any real effect. The situation became more and more dire, so that, by early 1945, an emergency fighter variant, the Fw 190E, was rushed into production and service.

The Fw 190E was based on the extended D model airframe, and actually surplus airframes from the type's production lines were converted, because its Jumo 213 inline engine was short in supply. Instead, a conversion kit for the DB 605D powerplant (the engine for the Bf 109 K) was devised in the course of just six weeks, which included a modified engine frame and a radiator bath with its respective plumbing, which would be installed under the cockpit. The rationale behind this decision was that developing a new annular radiator and engine cover would have taken too much time – and while the ventral radiator was not the aerodynamically most efficient solution, it was the most simple way to create an urgently needed high-performance fighter.


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The DB 605D, with its Single-stage variable-speed centrifugal type supercharger and a methanol-water injection system, created an impressive performance: Using MW 50 and maximum boost, the Fw 190E was able to reach a maximum level speed of 710 km/h (440 mph) at 7,500 m (24,600 ft) altitude. Without MW 50 and using 1.80 ata, the E model still reached 670 km/h (416 mph) at 9,000 m (30,000 ft). The Initial Rate of climb was 850 m (2,790 ft)/min without MW 50 and 1,080 m (3,540 ft)/min, using MW 50. While the E model's top speed was slightly higher than the D-9's with its Jumo 213, it could only be achieved at lower altitudes.


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The Fw 190E's radio equipment was the FuG 16ZY, and the FuG 25a Erstling IFF system, as well as the FuG 125 Hermine D/F equipment, were also fitted. Internally, the oxygen bottles were relocated from the rear fuselage to the right wing.
Armament of the Fw 190E consisted of two, synchronized 13 mm (0.51 in) MG 131s in the nose with 475 RPG, firing though the propeller disc, and two more synchronized 20mm (0.78 in) MG 151/20 machine cannon with 250 RPG were mounted in the wing roots. Theoretically, a 30 mm (1.2 in) MK 108 engine-mounted cannon (Motorkanone) with 65 rounds was mounted (in the initial E-1 variant), too, but this weapon was hardly available at all (almost the complete production of the MK 108 was allocated to Me 262 and other jet fighters' production) and it often jammed while the aircraft was manoeuvring in battle – so it was frequently removed in order to save weight, or replaced by an MK 151/20 with 100 rounds from the start (in the E-2 variant see below).


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


This impressive basic weaponry could even be augmented: two more cannons could be installed in the outer wings with the help of modification kits (either MG 151/20 or MK 108 with Rüstsatz R2 or R3, respectively), but this rarely happened because the weapons were not available at all. A more typical and very common modification, applied at the factory, was the Rüstsatz R1, which included racks and fusing equipment for fitting a 250 kg (550 lb) bomb or a 300l drop tank under each wing. An underfuselage hardpoint was not possible to fit, due to the ventral radiator fairing.

Production of the E-1 model started hastily at Fock Wulf's Soltau plant in February 1945, and the first machines, which were immediately transferred, suffered from severe integration problems and poor manufacturing quality, even resulting in fatal losses as aircraft disintegrated in flight. After just 26 completed aircraft, production was stopped and switched to the E-2 variant in April, which, beyond a simplified gun armament, also incorporated technical improvements that eventually improved reliability to a normal level. Until the end of hostilities, probably 120 Fw 190E-2 were produced, with 50 more in various states of assembly in several factories, and probably 80 machines were operationally used at the Western front and for the defence of Berlin. A handful of these machines were also modified with a pair of vertical Rb 50/30 cameras (Rüstsatz R6) in the rear fuselage for low and medium altitude reconnaissance duties.


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

A planned high performance E-3 with a 2.250 hp DB 605 engine and a reduced armament (only three MG 1515/20) as well as a high altitude E-4 with a DB 603 engine, a pressurized cockpit and extended wings never materialized.


General characteristics:
    Crew: 1
    Length: 10.20 m (33 ft 5½ in)
    Wingspan: 10.50 m (34 ft 5 in)
    Height: 3.35 m (11 ft 0 in)
    Wing area: 18.30 m² (196.99 ft²)
    Empty weight: 3,490 kg (7,694 lb)
    Loaded weight: 4,270 kg (9,413 lb)
    Max. takeoff weight: 4,840 kg (10,670 lb)

Powerplant:
    1× Daimler Benz DB 605 12-cylinder inverted-Vee piston engine rated at 1.800 PS (1.295 kW)
       and a temporary emergency output of 2.050 HP (1.475 kW) with MW 50 injection

Performance:
    Maximum speed: 710 km/h (440 mph) at 7,500 m (24,600 ft) altitude
    Range: 835 km (519 mi)
    Service ceiling: 11,410 m (37,430 ft)
    Rate of climb: 18 m/s (3,540 ft/min)
    Wing loading: 233 kg/m² (47.7 lb/ft²)
    Power/mass: 0.30–0.35 kW/kg (0.18–0.22 hp/lb)

Armament:
    1× 30 mm (1.2 in) engine-mounted MK 108 cannon with 65 rounds (rarely mounted)
    2× 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns with 475 RPG above the engine
    2× 20 mm (.78 in) MG 151/20 cannons with 250 RPG in the wing root
    Optional: 2× 250 kg (550 lb) SC 250 bombs or 300 l drop tanks under the wings



The kit and its assembly:
A popular what-if/Luft '46 topic: a Fw 190 with a late Bf 109 nose, and sometimes other transplants, too. This one was triggered by a fictional profile created by fellow user ysi_maniac, but it's rather a personal interpretation of the idea than a hardware recreation of the artwork:




The reason is simple: virtually putting together 2D profiles is an easy task, but when the 3rd dimension comes to play, things become more complicated.
One of the consequences is that such an aircraft would have been very unlikely in real life. Another factor against the idea is that the Daimler Benz engines were primarily earmarked for Messerschmitt products, esp. the late Bf 109. Even Kurt Tank's Ta 152, powered by his favored DB 603, was hard to realize – and the RLM's unwillingness to provide him with this engine delayed this high potential aircraft so far that the Fw 190 D-9, with its Jumo 213 as a fallback option, was realized as an interim/second best solution.

However, whifworld offers the freedom of creativity, and I have never seen a hardware realization of a Fw 190/Bf 109 hybrid, so I created the Fw 190E through the mating of a Fw 190D (Academy kit) with the engine/front end of a Bf 109K (Heller).

The transplantation was basically straightforward, starting with the Bf 109 engine cut off of the fuselage. Then a matching section from the Fw 190 nose was cut away, too. While the diameters of both sections (in a side view) match each other quite well, the fuselage diameter shapes are to tally different, and the Bf 109 engine is MUCH too narrow for the Fw 190. That's the problem the CG whiffers can simply ignore.


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The eventual solution concerned both donor parts: the DB 605 was widened by ~2mm through the insertion of wedge-shaped pieces of styrene between the halves. As an unwanted side effect, the Bf 109's machine guns on the cowling would squint now, so they had to be erased with putty and re-drilled, once the body work was finished.
The fuselage section in front of the Fw 190's cockpit was, on the other side, narrowed through wedges taken out, and some force – again narrowing the fuselage width by another ~2mm. That does not sound much, but at 1:72 these 4mm mean a major disparity! This modification also created a gap between the fuselage and the wing roots towards their front end, which had to be filled, too, and the wing roots themselves had to be re-shaped in order to match the much more narrow DB 605's underside.

Furthermore, the engine internally received a styrene tube adapter for the propeller's new metal axis, and the oil cooler intake was filled with foamed styrene (it would normally remain empty). Once the engine had dried and the fuselage halves with the OOB cockpit closed, both elements were mated and the cowling gap filled and re-sculpted with 2C putty, since the OOB part with the Fw 190's engine-mounted machine guns would not fit anymore.


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


As a result, the profile view of the aircraft is O.K., it looks slender and quite plausible, but when you take a look from above, the (still) wide section in front of the cockpit looks odd, as well as the widened rear section of the BD 605 cowling.

Another central issue was the radiator installation for the DB 605. In real life, I'd expect that an annular radiator would have been the most probable solution, and the aircraft wouldn't have differed much outwardly from the Dora. But for the sake of a different look, and following the idea of a rushed emergency conversion program that would use as many stock elements as possible, I rather went for the complete Bf 109K nose, coupled with a separate ventral radiator under the fuselage. Wing coolers (as used on board of the Bf 109) were ruled out, since I expected them to be too complicated to be quickly added to the Fw 190's airframe and wing structure.
The radiator fairing was scratched from leftover ship hull parts – thanks to its wide and relatively flat shape, the arrangement looks quite aerodynamic and plausible.

The propeller had to be modified, too: I retained the Bf 109's spinner, but rather used the Fw 190's slightly bigger propeller blades, for a balanced look.


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The canopy became another issue. While the Academy kit is very nice and goes together well, the clear parts, esp. the sliding part of the canopy, has a major flaw: the headrest is to be glued into it, and in order to give the builder some help with the proper position, Academy added some locator slots to the clear part. This could be nice, and the rear pair will later be covered under paint, but the front pair is plainly visible and reaches up very high into the side windows! WTF?
You can hardly sand them away, and so I dediced outright to replace the canopy altogether - I was lucky to have a Rob Tauris vacu canopy, actually for the Hasegawa Fw 190A/F in the donor bank. This does naturally not fit 100% onto the (modified) Academy fuselage, but with some (more) PSR work the vacu parts blend in quite well, and the thin material is an additional bonus.


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Apart from the engine and the canopy, not much was changed. The landing gear is OOB, I just replaced the wing root gun barrels with hollow steel needles.


Painting and markings:
I did not go for anything spectacular, rather a slightly improvised look of many late-production German fighters which were painted with whatever was at hand, if at all. The overall pattern is based on the typical Fw 190D-9 scheme, with two shades of green, RLM 82 and 83 on the upper surfaces (Humbrol 102 and 75). The fuselage was painted in a greenish variant of RLM 76 (a mix of Humbrol 90 with a little 247), frequently referred to as RLM 84, but this color never officially existed. Some light mottles of the upper tones, plus an underlying layer of RLM02 mottles, were added to the flanks, too.
The wings' undersides were left in bare metal (Revello 99), with their leading edge kept in grey primer (RLM 75, I used Humbrol 123). The undersides of the ailerons and stabilizers, as well as the vertical rudder, were painted in RLM 76 (Humbrol 247) – both a frequent late WWII practice, when the parts were manufactured in separate, outsourced factories. The mottled landing gear covers are an unusual detail, but this appreared quite frequently on late-war Fw 190s, esp. on Doras.


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The cockpit interior was painted in dark grey (RLM 66, I used Humbrol 67), while the interior of the landing gear was painted with RLM 02 (Revell 45).

The tactical markings were improvised; the blue fuselage ID band for the JG 54 was created with generic decal sheet material, other markings come from various sheets, e. g. from an Academy Fw 190A/F. The black dot as a squadron marking is unusual - but as a sqaudron of a (rare) fifth group, no standard symbols were typically assigned, so this is within historic limits.


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The kit received some light weathering thorugh dry-brushing and grinded graphite, and finally a coat with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).




1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Focke Wulf Fw 190E-2; aircraft "Black 5+●", mount of Gefreiter Werner Achenbach, of the Luftwaffe's 14./JG54; Münster-Handorf, summer 1945 (Whif/modified Academy kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


A more complex conversion stunt than it might seem at first glance – and proof that a virtual 2D whif is not easily transferred into hardware. The 3rd dimension still exists, and in this case it posed severe problems that could eventually be overcome with the help of (lots of) PSR. The flawed OOB canopy is another issue. However, the result does not look bad at all, even though the DB 605-powered Fw 190 somehow reminds me of the British Fairey Fulmar naval fighter, and also somewhat of the Ju 87?

[TomZ]

Great work. I love the look of this one!

TomZ

[Zero-Sen]

My take of a captured machine of the same type 

[perttime]

That's great (as usual...) 
I thought the DB605 would be a bit skinny for a Fw 190 - but it blends in quite well.

[Dizzyfugu]

Well, the engine IS a little small - but this primarily comes from the wide/round Fw 1990 fuselage. The height difference is not so dramatic (maybe 1mm more would be better, though), but the width is the real issue. I guess the diameter difference is 3.5-4mm, and that's more than you can easily bridge with putty. So I tried to expand/narrow the parts, what more or less worked, even though the fuselage is still oddly wide in the area in front of the cockpit. Nevertheless, a sleek aircraft, despite the ventral radiator, which I found to be the simplest solution. As mentioned above, I'd rather expect an annular radiator, much like the Fw 190D-9 if this thing would have been built in real life.

[NARSES2]

That's come out really well 

[Tophe]

Beatutiful Fw-190, much more than the real ones

[b29r]

That's great work, DF, as per your high standards.  A great kitbash and concept (sounds well traveled) and a very detailed backstory.  There is absolutely everything to love here, thank you! 

Best regards,
Kem

[Dizzyfugu]

Thank you very much, everyone! 

[ysi_maniac]

Great job!

For a moment the nose reminded me Stuka.

Thanks a lot for refering my creation. In fact I had two ideas, what I posted was the light one and yours was the heavy one. The point was fuselage width that, at the end, will determine the wings.

[NARSES2]

For a moment the nose reminded me Stuka.

I can see what you mean, especially the latter models of the Stuka

[comrade harps]

For a moment the nose reminded me Stuka.

I can see what you mean, especially the latter models of the Stuka

Me too, also that Stuka thought. It's the angular sides and the angle of incline from the nose to the windscreen.

Then I was thinking late '109 and my first Bf 109K kit was the Heller one, so that sprang to mind too.

Love it! 

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Because I have always been confused, to say the least, on how many different variants the Germans made of their planes, this one looked like just an out-of-the-box model to me. Very natural and if I might say so, it is much better looking than the original shorter-nosed version of the 190.
(that is another one that always bothers me, FW-190 and Me-109, it easily to get confused. Although I prefer the 190 because of its less angular cockpit shape and smoother lines.) anyway, I like the elongated shape. And I also like how you did the mottled pattern.

[Dizzyfugu]

Thanks a lot for refering my creation.

You're welcome, thank you for the inspiration, too. 

[Scotaidh]

Amazing work there, O Dizzy (Potentially-Poisonous) Delicacy Fish  and I remain jealous of your - well, output, photo manipulation, and ability to make your creations look real. 

Have you made a Me-109-ish thing with a Spitfire-type blown canopy?  Or a bubble-top?  I was always amazed that the Germans never did that - well, the 190 is sort of a bubble-top, but ...