This web site has been constructed to allow modellers and air historians to view photographs I took of the last existing Ta 152 at the National Air and Space Museums Garber storage and restoration facility in Washington DC, USA. The photographs were taken in Nov 1997 when the fighter was in 'deep storage' and in July 1998 when the plane was being restored in the Garber workshops. They are therefore a bit old but, thanks to the very helpful staff, I was able to get some close-up photos of the outside and cockpit which I hope you will find interesting and useful. You can visit the NASM's website at www.nasm.edu or look at the Ta152 page on the NASM site. If you ever get a chance to visit the NASM in Washington DC, a trip to the Garber Facility is really worthwhile.
A BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THE PLANE
The Focke-Wulf Ta 152 was the final varient of the famous fighter designed by Kurt Tank, the Fw 190. The Ta 152 was so different to the original Fw 190 with its short radial engine that to the casual observer, it is hard to connect the two. The Ta 152 lineage can be traced back through the 'long-nosed' Fw190 D varients with their powerful supercharged Jumo 213 V-12 engines designed to enhance the high altitude performance of the earlier Fw 190A series. The Ta 152 was designed to meet a specification for a very high altitude fighter. It had a redesigned high aspect ratio wing (long and thin compared to the 190's), a lengthened fuselage, a new larger tail to compensate for the directional stability problems caused by the longer fuselage and a pressurised cockpit.
The NASM plane is thought to be a Ta 152 H-0 which was a pre-production model. For many years it was described (wrongly) as Werk Number 150003. It was also thought to be 150010, but NASM now believe it is 150020. The plane was capured by the British in Denmark in 1945 and handed over to the Americans who took it back to the US for evaluation (we British scrapped our example, a Ta152 H-1, W.Nr 150168 in 1946).
This is to give you a clearer view of the detail and less pixellation - be patient
Also, thanks to the staff at the Champlin Fighter Museum who let me photograph the Fw 190 D-13 and the Jumo 213 E-1 engine in such detail.
Focke-Wulf Ta 152 by Dietmar Harmann published by Schiffer.
German Aircraft Interiors, Vol 1, by Kenneth Merrick published by Monogram.
War Prizes by Phil Butler published by Midland Counties.
Yellow 10 by Jerry Crandall published by Eagle Editions.
