Tachibana Arisu 152

Ta 152
British-captured Ta 152 H-1, Werknummer 150168, scrapped 1946.
Role	Interceptor
Manufacturer	Focke-Wulf
Designer	Kurt Tank
Introduction	January 1945 (service entry)
Primary user	Luftwaffe
Number built	43 identified,[1] with six prototypes
Developed from	Focke-Wulf Fw 190

The Focke-Wulf Ta 152 was a World War II German high-altitude fighter-interceptor designed by Kurt Tank and produced by Focke-Wulf. The Ta 152 was a development of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 aircraft. It was intended to be made in at least three versions—the Ta 152H Höhenjäger ("high-altitude fighter"), the Ta 152C designed for medium-altitude operations and ground-attack using a different engine and smaller wing, and the Ta 152E fighter-reconnaissance aircraft with the engine of the H model and the wing of the C model.

The first Ta 152H entered service with the Luftwaffe in January 1945. While total production—including prototypes and pre-production aircraft—has been incorrectly estimated in one source at approximately 220 units,^[2] only some 43 production aircraft were ever delivered before the end of the European conflict.^[1] These were too few to allow the Ta 152 to make a significant impact on the air war.^[3]



Due to the difficulties German interceptors were having when battling American heavy bombers at altitudes above 20,000 feet, and in light of rumors of new B-29bombers with even better altitude capabilities, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (German Air Ministry, or "RLM") requested proposals from both Focke-Wulf and Messerschmitt for a high-altitude interceptor. Messerschmitt answered with the Bf 109H, and Focke-Wulf with the Fw 190 Raffat-1, or Ra-1 (fighter), Ra-2 (high altitude fighter) and Ra-3 (ground-attack aircraft).

These designs developed into the Fw 190 V20 (Ta 152A), V30 (Ta 152H) and V21 (Ta 152B) prototypes, all based on the then successful Fw 190 D-9 but with varying degrees of improvement. The V20 used the same Jumo 213E engine as the Fw 190 D-9, while the V21 used the DB 603E. Neither of these offered any significant improvement over the Fw 190 D-9, and so further development of the Ta 152A and B was cancelled. The V21 airframe, however, was further modified as the V21/U1 and became the prototype for the Ta 152C.^{[4][page needed]}

Kurt Tank originally designed the Ta 152 using the 44.52 litre displacement Daimler-Benz DB 603 engine as it offered better high-altitude performance and also a greater developmental potential. The DB 603 had been used in the Fw 190C with many problems and was considered too difficult to implement in the Ta 152 by RLM officials. With this in mind, Tank focused his efforts on the Junkers Jumo 213E as the Ta 152H's power plant. However, he insisted that the DB 603 be retained for the Ta 152C versions and as an option for later versions of the Ta 152H.

The Ta 152's fuselage was an extended version of the Fw 190 D-9 fuselage with wider-chord fixed vertical tail surfaces (especially the top half), and hydraulic rather than electrically controlled undercarriage and flaps. Due to the changes in the center of gravity and overall balance, the nose was also lengthened.^{[5][page needed]} Wingspan was changed from the Fw 190's 10.51 m (34 ft 5 in) for both versions. The H had a span of 14.44 m (48 ft 6 in) and the C a wingspan of 11.00 m (36 ft 1 in).

The Ta 152 also featured the FuG 16ZY and FuG 25a radio equipment^{[5][page needed]} (some aircraft were issued with FuG 125 Hermine D/F for navigation and blind landing, LGW-Siemens K 23 autopilot, and a heated armorglass windscreen for bad-weather operations).