1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Focke Wulf Fw189: Unknown Unknown· Public domain
what is it?
The Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu (Eurasian eagle-owl) is a twin-engine twin-boom tactical reconnaissance and army cooperation aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Focke-Wulf. It was one of the Luftwaffe's most prominent short range reconnaissance aircraft during the Second World War. The Fw 189 was developed during the late 1930s to fulfil a specification issued by the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) for an advanced short-range reconnaissance aircraft to succeed the Henschel Hs 126 in the tactical support role provided by the Luftwaffe to the Wehrmacht.
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 18.4 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 88 years ago, in 1938.
- Top speed is 2.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 18.4 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1938-07
- introduced
- 1939
- retired
- 1945
- status
- retired
- number built
- 864
- role
- reconnaissance aircraft
- origin
- German Reich
- makers
- Bordeaux, Bremen, Focke-Wulf, Prague 3
- engines
- 2× Argus As 410A-1
- crew
- 3
- length
- 11.9 m
- wingspan
- 18.4 m
- height
- 3.1 m
- max take-off weight
- 3,950 kg
- top speed
- 344 km/h
- cruise speed
- 317 km/h
- range
- 940 km
- ceiling
- 7,000 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q113838, Wikipedia: Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Uhu (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.