German Air Force

Flight of the Condor.

Bundesarchiv.

Focke-Wulf Fw 200 C Condor, long range reconnaissance bomber. As its conformation indicates (more clearly than in most cases), the Condor was originally developed as a long-range civilian airliner with covert plans for the development of a military version; the "A" and "B" series were airliners. The military version - the Fw 200 "C" series, which went through some 8 primary sub-models, was used in the main as a long-range reconnaissance bomber, scouting for and attacking Allied shipping in the Atlantic. The various sub-models went through a range of defensive armament configurations (mixes of machine guns and cannon); the basic offensive armament consisted of 4 250 kg. bombs. Later types, from 200 C-6, had the alternative of Henschel 293 A anti-ship missiles. With their range of some 3,600 km, Condors were as much a threat to Allied shipping in the eastern Atlantic for a long period as were U-boats - more so, to the extent that, in the earlier part of the Battle of the Atlantic, the Allies had no effective countermeasures with which to oppose them. By late-1944, the Allied invasion of western Europe (which deprived the Condor of its forward bases) combined with the development of effective direct countermeasures such as escort aircraft carriers carrying fighters) had largely neutralised the Condor threat. Best regards, JR. (Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1978-043-02)