Book excerpt: This the first of a comprehensive three-volume reference book on the iconic Focke Wulf FW190 - arguably the finest fighter aircraft of World War 2. The books are the product of years of research by two of the leading experts into this complex aircraft to produce the complete work on the FW190. Each volume contains some 400 photographs including those showing factory and manufacturing, close ups of weapons and equipment and operational units as well as numerous facsimiles of Focke-Wulf handbook drawings. Colour artwork will also be included, plus an extensive selection of original manufacturer's technical drawings. When it first appeared in the in the skies over France in late 1941, the pugnacious, radial-engined Focke-Wulf Fw 190 represented a formidable and ominous foe to the RAF. Despite initial technical problems with the engine, as well as with the ailerons, elevators and undercarriage on the early A-1 and A-2 variants, the Fw 190 soon proved itself as a dependable fighter aircraft. The aircraft's considerable armament package blended with manoeuvreability on the ground pleased pilots; the wide undercarriage track of the Fw 190 was an improvement over the Bf 109F, as was the air-cooled engine technology. By June 1942, some 250 Fw 190s were operational in the West. This was a shock to the Allies and provided a new dimension to air combat on the Western Front . The encounters with the USAAF's heavy bombers which would follow over the next three years between the B-17 and the Fw 190 would form some of the most titanic and bitter contests of the air war. Meanwhile, the Eastern Front provided the German fighter force with an abundance of targets and quickly, the Fw 190 – known as the'Butcher Bird' - proved to be the best piston-engined fighter of the war. Many German aces were created flying the Fw 190. Flying over extensive distances often in extreme weather conditions, the Fw 190 also excelled in the ground-attack role, inflicting devastating destruction and damage to Soviet armour and ground defences. This new volume is in the large hardback Classic format, densely packed and illustrated, representing a 'one-stop' reference work to be used by enthusiasts and modellers for easy access to information on the FW190.