This is a list of variants of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, with detailed descriptions.

First prototypes

The first prototype, the Fw 190 V1 (civil registration D-OPZE), powered by a BMW 139 14-cylinder two-row radial engine, first flew on 1 June 1939. It soon showed exceptional qualities for such a comparatively small aircraft, with excellent handling, good visibility and speed (initially around ).Shacklady 2005, p. 30. The roll rate was 162° per second at , but the aircraft had a high stall speed of .

The cockpit, located directly behind the engine, became uncomfortably hot. During the first flight, the temperature reached , after which Focke Wulf's chief test pilot, Hans Sander commented, "It was like sitting with both feet in the fireplace."Janowicz 2001, p. 14. Flight tests soon showed that the expected benefits of Tank's cooling design did not materialize, so after the first few flights, this arrangement was replaced by a smaller, more conventional spinner that covered only the hub of the three-blade VDM propeller.

In an attempt to increase airflow over the tightly cowled engine, a 10-blade fan was fitted at the front opening of the redesigned cowling and was geared to be driven at 3.12 times faster than the propeller shaft's speed. This quickly became standard on the Fw 190 and nearly all other German aircraft powered by the BMW 801."Illustration of the fan on cutaway drawing." white1foundation.org. Retrieved: 14 August 2010. In this form the V1 first flew on 1 December 1939, having been repainted with the Luftwaffe's Balkenkreuz and with the Stammkennzeichen (factory code) RM+CA.

The Fw 190 V2, designated with the Stammkennzeichen alphabetic ID code of FL+OZ (later RM+CB) first flew on 31 October 1939 and was equipped from the outset with the new spinner and cooling fan. It was armed with one Rheinmetall-Borsig 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine gun and one 13 mm (.51 in) synchronized MG 131 machine gun in each wing root.Page 2002, p. 579.

Later prototypes, BMW 801

Even before the first flight of the Fw 190 V1, BMW was bench testing a larger, more powerful 14-cylinder two-row radial engine, the BMW 801. This engine introduced a pioneering example of an engine management system called the Kommandogerät (command-device): in effect, an electro-mechanical computer which set mixture, propeller pitch (for the constant speed propeller), boost, and magneto timing. This reduced the pilot's work load to moving the throttle control only, with the rest of the associated inputs handled by the Kommandogerät. The drawback was slight and minor surges that made the Fw 190 harder to fly in close formations.Spenser 1987, p. 56. Tank asserted the device did not work well.

Another problem was the violent switching in of the high gear of the supercharger as the aircraft climbed. During a test flight, Tank carried out a loop at medium altitude. Just as he was nearing the top of the loop, at , the supercharger's high gear kicked in with a jerk. The Fw 190 was on its back, with little airspeed. The sudden change in torque hurled the aircraft into a spin. Tank's artificial horizon toppled (the cause is not explained). Although Tank did not know whether he was in an upright or inverted spin, he managed to recover after a loss of altitude. The rough transition was smoothed out and the supercharger's gear-change could engage without incident.Price 2009, p. 8.

The RLM convinced Focke-Wulf and BMW to abandon the 139 engine in favor of the new engine. The BMW 801 engine was similar in diameter to the 139, although it was heavier and longer by a considerable margin. This required Tank to redesign the Fw 190, and resulted in the abandonment of the V3 and V4. The V5 became the first prototype with the new engine, being fitted with the BMW 801 C-0. Much of the airframe was strengthened and in order to balance the heavier engine, the cockpit was moved back in the fuselage and the engine mounted on longer struts. This had the side-effect of reducing the troubles with high temperatures and for the first time provided space for nose armament. It also reduced visibility in nose-high attitudes, notably when taxiing on the ground.

A 12-blade cooling fan replaced the earlier 10-blade unit, and was likewise installed in front of the engine's reduction gear housing, still running with the original 3.12:1 reduction ratio, which was standardized for BMW-powered Fw 190s. The propeller shaft passed through the fan's central plate, which was made of cast magnesium. The fan provided cooling air not only for the engine cylinders' fins, but also for the BMW-designed annular oil cooler, which was located in the forward part of the cowling, likewise designed by the engine firm and used on all BMW 801-powered aircraft as part of the later "unitized" Kraftei engine mounting concept. The oil cooler was protected by an armored ring which made up the front face of the cowling. A small hole in the centre of the spinner also directed airflow to ancillary components.Caygill 2002, p. 14. Even with the new engine and the cooling fan, the 801 suffered from high rear-row cylinder head temperatures, which in at least one case resulted in the detonation of the fuselage-mounted MG 17 ammunition.

The vertical tail shape was also changed and the rudder tab was replaced by a metal trim strip adjustable only on the ground. New, stiffer undercarriage struts were introduced, along with larger diameter wheels. The retraction mechanism was changed from hydraulic to electrically powered, which became a hallmark of later Focke-Wulf aircraft system designs, and new strut door fairings of a simplified design were fitted to the legs. Another minor change was that the rearmost sections of the sliding canopy were redesigned by replacing the plexiglas glazing with duralumin panels. As this section was behind the pilot's seat, there was little visibility lost.

At first, the V5 used the same wings as the first two prototypes, but to allow for the larger tires, the wheel wells were enlarged by moving forward part of the leading edge of the wing root; the wing area became . The V5 first flew in the early spring of 1940. The weight increase with all of the modifications was substantial, about , leading to higher wing loading and a deterioration in handling. Plans were made to create a new wing with more area to address these issues. In its original form, this prototype was called the V5k for kleine Fläche (small surface).Smith and Kay 1972, p. 175.

In August 1940 a collision with a ground vehicle damaged the V5 and it was sent back to the factory for major repairs. This was an opportune time to rebuild it with a new wing which was less tapered in plan than the original design, extending the leading and trailing edges outward to increase the area. The new wing had an area of , and now spanned . After conversion, the aircraft was called the V5g for große Fläche (large surface). Although it was slower than when fitted with the small wing, V5g was much more maneuverable and had a faster climb rate. This new wing platform was to be used for all major production versions of the Fw 190.

Pre-production, Fw 190 A-0

The pre-production Fw 190 A-0 series was ordered in November 1940, a total of 28 being completed. Because they were built before the new wing design was fully tested and approved, the first nine A-0s were fitted with the original small wings. All were armed with six 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns — four synchronized weapons, two in the forward fuselage and one in each wing root, supplemented by a free-firing MG 17 in each wing, outboard of the propeller disc. They differed from later A-series Fw 190s in that they had shorter spinners, the armored cowling ring was a different shape, with a scalloped hinge on the upper, forward edge of the upper engine cowling, and the bulges covering the interior air intakes on the engine cowlings were symmetrical "teardrops". The panels aft of the exhaust pipes had no cooling slots. Several of these aircraft were later modified for testing engines and special equipment.

The first unit to be equipped with the A-0 was Erprobungsstaffel 190, formed in March 1941 to help iron out any technical problems and approve the new fighter before it would be accepted for full operational service in mainstream Luftwaffe Jagdgeschwader. At first, this unit, commanded by Oblt. Otto Behrens, was based at the Luftwaffe's central Erprobungsstelle facility at Rechlin, but it was soon moved to Le Bourget. Engine problems plagued the 190 for much of its early development, and the entire project was threatened several times with a complete shutdown. Had it not been for the input of Behrens and Karl Borris, both of whom had originally enlisted in the Luftwaffe as mechanics, the Fw 190 program might have died before reaching the front lines. Both men indicated that the Fw 190's outstanding qualities outweighed its deficiencies during several Ministry of Aviation commissions that considered terminating the program.Caldwell 1991, pp. 94–95. Some 50 modifications were required before the Ministry of Aviation approved the Fw 190 for deployment to Luftwaffe units.

Fw 190 A

A-1

The Fw 190 A-1 rolled off the assembly lines in June 1941. The first few models were shipped to the Erprobungsstaffel (formerly from II./JG 26 Schlageter) for further testing. Following this testing, the Fw 190 A-1 entered service with II./JG 26, stationed near Paris, France. The A-1 was equipped with the BMW 801 C-1 engine, rated at for take-off. Armament consisted of two fuselage-mounted 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17s, two wing root-mounted 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17s - with all four MG 17s synchronized to fire through the propeller arc - and two outboard wing-mounted 20 mm MG FF/Ms.Page 2002, p. 581. The new longer propeller spinner and the cowling bulges, which became asymmetrical "teardrops" in shape, remained the same for the rest of the A-series. The panel immediately behind the exhaust outlets was unslotted, although some A-1s were retrofitted with cooling slots. A new hood jettisoning system, operated by an MG FF cartridge, was introduced. The pilot's head armor changed in shape and was supported by two thin metal struts in a "V" shape attached to the canopy sides. The standard radio fitted was the FuG 7, although some A-1s were also equipped with FuG 25 "Erstling" IFF (identification friend or foe) equipment. The A-1 models still suffered from the overheating that prototype Fw 190s had experienced during testing. After only 30–40 hours of use (sometimes less), many of these early engines had to be replaced.Janowicz 2001, p. 25. Focke-Wulf completed 102 A-1s at the Bremen and Marienburg factories between June and October 1941. Also in October, a further order of 315 A-1s, subcontracted to AGO Flugzeugwerke at its Oschersleben factory, began to be built as A-2s.

A-2

The introduction of the BMW 801 C-2 resulted in the Fw 190 A-2 model, first introduced in October 1941. As part of this upgrade, a modification to the exhaust system devised by III./JG 26's Technical Officer ("T.O.") Rolf Schrödeter was added. There were 13 exhausts for the 14 cylinders; eight of these were grouped to exit, four on each side, along the forward fuselage, just above the leading edge of the wing; under the forward center section, between the undercarriage bays were five exhaust stacks, with cylinders 9 and 10 sharing a common pipe.Page 2002, p. 583. To quickly implement the fix, it was found that the re-routing could be done easily in Gruppe workshops. The reduction in temperature affecting the bottom cylinder went a long way to solving the problem.Caldwell 1991, p. 98.Caygill 2002, p. 12. The addition of new ventilation slots on the side of the fuselage further aided cooling, and with the widespread availability of the A-2 in the spring of 1942, the overheating problems were greatly reduced.