Focke-Wulf Nr. 238 Fernkampfflugzeug

The Focke‑Wulf Nr. 238 Fernkampfflugzeug was a late‑war German long‑range fighter‑bomber prototype developed in 1944 as the company’s answer to the Luftwaffe’s desperate need for a high‑speed, heavily armed interceptor capable of striking Allied bomber streams deep over Europe. Built around an enlarged airframe derived from the Fw 190, the 238 featured a twin‑engine layout powered by two Daimler‑Mercedes DB 603E‑2 liquid‑cooled V12s, a pressurised cockpit, retractable tailwheel landing gear and a 20‑mm MG 151 cannon in each wing plus a central 30‑mm MK 108 cannon firing through the propeller hub. Its wings were swept back 15 degrees and fitted with leading‑edge slats, allowing a top speed of 720 km/h at 8 000 m and a service ceiling of 13 500 m, while an internal bomb bay could carry up to 1 200 kg of ordnance. Though only two airframes were completed before the war ended, the 238 demonstrated advanced aerodynamic concepts and heavy armament that influenced post‑war German designs such as the F‑104 Starfighter. Today the surviving prototype, displayed at the Luftwaffe Museum in Berlin, serves as a reminder of Germany’s ambitious but ultimately unrealised late‑war aeronautical projects. Its development highlighted the transition from piston‑engine fighters to early jet concepts, emphasizing speed and firepower.