Germany's Focke-Wulf Ta 154 night fighter
Nickname: Moskito ("mosquito")

Photos

Focke-Wulf Ta 154A Moskito night fighter1:
Focke-Wulf Ta 154 Moskito night fighter:

Design

The Focke-Wulf Ta 154 was inspired by the British Mosquito.¹ Kurt Tank came up with the design for the Ta 154.² To save on strategic materials the Ta 154 was primarily made out of wood.^1,2 A specification was put forth in September 1942 for a night and all weather fighter.¹

Prototype

The first prototype flew on July 7, 1943.¹ It had Jumo 211F engines (1,480 HP).¹

Production

An order for 250 Ta 154s was placed in November 1943.¹

Manufacturing was to be based in Poznan, Poland.¹ Many subcontractors were to be used.¹

• Prototypes: 3¹
• Focke-Wulf Ta 154A-0: 22¹
• Focke-Wulf Ta 154A-1 through Focke-Wulf Ta 154A-4: ~50¹
• Focke-Wulf Ta 154: ~75¹

Variants

• Focke-Wulf Ta 154A-0: Preproduction.¹ Some were converted to Mistel ("flying bombs") that would have a Fw 190 guide it to the target.¹
• Focke-Wulf Ta 154A-1: Production model.¹ Had FuG 212 radar.¹
• Focke-Wulf Ta 154A-2: Single crew.¹
• Focke-Wulf Ta 154A-3: Trainer.¹
• Focke-Wulf Ta 154A-4: Had FuG 220 or FuG 218 radar.¹

Usage

In June 1944 the 2nd production model came apart in a high speed flight.¹ There was too high of an acid content in the glue that was used to bond the wood.¹ In August 1944 it was decided to cancel the aircraft as it would take to long to solve the glue problem.^1,2

There were two night fighter groups that were equipped with the Ta 154.¹

Specifications