Fw 190A-3 -4 -5 skins by Emel, Feb 2009/Updated Spetember 2011.


Fw 190A's of the Russian Front part II - A skin pack depicting Eastern Front 190A's from JG 51, Mlders Geschwader, of the 1942-43 era.



1. Fw 190A-4 'Yellow (Brown?) 5' of Lt. Josef Jennewein, 3./JG 51, Orel, June 1943.

Number 5 was Jennewein's lucky number. He used the same number when winning the 1940 combined slalom, downhill and alpine World Ski Championship. Apparently his luck didn't hold as in July 1943 while flying in Fw 190A-6 'Black 7' in operations around Orel he was shot down behind enemy lines and was posted as missing. His final score stood at 86 victories. He had been awarded the German Cross in Gold on April 12 1943 and was awarded the Ritterkreuz in Absentia on 5 December.


2. Fw 190A-3 'Black Double Chevron' W.Nr. 539 flown by Hptm. Heinrich Krafft, Gruppenkommandeur of I/JG 51, Autumn 1942.

One of the old hands of JG 51 Heinrich 'Gaudi' Krafft joined JG 51 in 1939. when operation Barbarossa was launched Krafft, now Staffelkapitn of 3./JG 51, had only 4 victories to his credit but his score climbed quikly. On the opening day of Barbarossa he claimed four Russian aircraft and by the end of 1941 his score had climbed to 34. Krafft received the Deutches Kreuz im Gold for 40 victories on 25 January 1942 and the Knights Cross followed on 18 March 1942 after 48 victories. Krafft was appointed Kommandeur of I/JG 51 on 1 June 1942. Krafft claimed his 60th victory on 30 September 1942. On 14 December 1942 he was shot down by Russian flak flying this particular aircraft W.Nr 130 539. He survived tha crash landing only to be beaten to death by Russian soldiers. At the time of his death Heinrich Krafft had flown 350 combat sorties and claimed 78 victories, all but four in the east, including at least nine Sturmoviks. 


3. Fw 190A-5 'Black Double Chevron' of Major Erich Leie, Gruppenkommandeur of I/JG 51, Orel, circa May 1943.

A former Richthofen pilot Erich Leie became the third Kommandeur of I/JG 51 and held this position for almost two years. He was later promoted to Geschwaderkommodore of JG 77. Leie was killed in action on 7 March 1945 when colliding with a crashing Yak 9 and failed to survive a low level bale out. He had amassed 118 victories of which 43 in the west.


4. Fw 190A-3 'White 9' of Uffz. Oskar Romm of 1./JG 51, Nikolskoye, Soviet Union, September 1942.

Romm joined 1./JG 51 in September 1942 during the Gruppe's conversion to the 190. He claimed his first victory on 4 December 1942. He was later awarded the Knights Cross and became a successfull Sturmpilot in the Reichsverteidigung ops. From mid-February 1945 until the final weeks of the war he commanded the IV/JG 3.


5. Fw 190A-3 'White 6' W.Nr. 130 538 of 3./JG 51, Eastern Front, Autumn 1942.

No other information of this aircraft exists at this time.


6. Fw 190A-5 'White 8' from IV/JG 51, Eastern Front, summer 1943.

No information of the pilot and history of this machine is available at this time. Note the interesting tri-tone dappled camouflage and the yellow spinner. The smaller black cross behind the fuselage cross is the mark of the 4. Gruppe. 


7. Fw 190A-5 'White 12' of I/JG 51, Eastern Front, summer, late summer or autumn 1943?

Based on a scale model picture found in the internet. Picked it up as it provides a nice example of usage of the combined VVS and RLM Green colours. No other information of this aircraft is available at this time.          

8. Fw 190A-4 'Brown 8' of 3./JG 51, Orel, Summer 1943.

The pilot of this aircraft remains unknown. Although Brown was used for the Staffel color Yellow has been described to be used within the unit aircraft and thus 'Brown 8' would have been known as 'Yellow 8'.
     

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These skins include all variants of the A-model 190 from A-3 to A-5. Please ensure all skins are placed correctly to their respective folders in the skins folder to avoid incorrect textures. If You have the earlier versions it may be nessecary to delete them to avoid confusion with double skins existing in your skins folder as some of these new skins have been renamed.

This pack includes 24 skins with full markings, swastikas, and blank skins. Slip the BMP files into their proper folders regarding aircraft type. The skins should work the next time you start the game. Have fun.


Notes on the skin & template:

The template was created by using the original Fw 190A void files as models. 

The outstanding mechanical layer by Fly-By-Shooter was obtained from Simmers-Paintshop.

German emblems were obtained from Jutocsa's excellent 'Luftwaffe JG insignia markings part 1'.  

The rest by myself.

These skins are not to be uploaded further without my permission. You are permitted to use and publish the skins in this pack with IL-2 Sturmovik missions & campaigns, also you may rework these skins for your private use. No commercial use in any form is permitted. Please do not remove credits. Thank you for downloading these skins and happy flying.

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Notes

Why the upgrade?

The main emphasis of this upgrade is to correct the overall color setting of the skins. Particular attention was paid to the bright colours such as the RLM 04 'Yellow' and RLM 00 'wasserhell' (White). When these skins were first introduced it was at a time when most people including myself were beginning to adjust their game video settings to the highest. This change however affected strongly the colors I was at the time using. And it has bothered me ever since. This upgrade hopefully has succeeded in correcting these errors. Also some extra details were added to the paintschemes. Lastly the templates have gone through numerous changes and improvements over the years so the overall look of the skins is improved.

Historical accuracy

These skins were born out of several pictorial sources the main inspiration coming from John Weal's 190 aces of the Russian Front, but information and profiles from Kagero/Monograph and the Jagdwaffe series were also included. Additional information from skins released earlier by well known skinners for comparison were also used, Canon UK, Capt Farrel, Claes Sundin, The Fly, RDDR, Samson, Zargos.   

Many of the repaints seen on this skin pack were created from profiles with only one visible side, usually the port fuselage, and no information about the wing upper surfaces or the opposite side of the fuselage was available. On such cases I was simply forced to rely on my imagination and try to emulate the look and feel of the visible areas and then apply the result of this 'emulation' on the invisible areas of the plane. Did I succeed in this? That is for you to decide.  

The mysterious Eastern Front Green shades

The Green colors used by the Jagdfliegeren in the east is more or less under costant debate, and the truth apparently will remain hidden. 
   There are at least two theories. One is that the Germans would not refrain from using captured Russian paints. It is possible that some of the mysterious green colors may have been the VVS (Soviet Air forces) AMT colors, or mixed AMT and RLM colors. Another theory by Michael Ullmann is perhaps closer to the mark. Since it is a well known fact that when retreating the Russians didn't leave anything behind to the Germans, it is likely they either took their paints with them or destroyed them. Therefore it was in fact the highly skilled and resourceful German ground crews who were forced to improvise by mixing existing RLM colours, and thus created variations of the Green tints that were better suited in their environment. 


In conclusion, since information about the colours and camouflage of the Eastern Front 190s has generally remained insufficient and speculative, these skins are bound to fall into the semihistorical category at best. 

Emel

Contact me by PM at A&A Paintworks
or at M4T