Focke-Wulf Fw 159

The Focke-Wulf Fw 159 was an experimental German fighter of the 1930s that never reached production. The Focke-Wulf company designed the aircraft as one of the four entries for the Rüstungsflugzeug IV ("Armed Aircraft IV") 1934 fighter competition. Its parasol wing configuration was based on the company's successful trainer product, the Focke-Wulf Fw 56 Stösser and it used a Junkers Jumo 210 engine. The plane had a rearwards-retracting. lever action suspension main undercarriage, retracting completely into the lower fuselage, and an enclosed cockpit, although the main undercarriage mechanism was very complicated, fragile and proved endlessly troublesome.

The first prototype - Fw-159 V-1 - was ready in the spring of 1935, but was destroyed when it crash-landed, following the failure of the main undercarriage to deploy properly.

The second prototype - V-2 - had a reinforced undercarriage. The general flight characteristics were good, but the rate of climb and rate of turn were unsatisfactory, and the aircraft suffered greater drag than its competitors in the contest (which were the Arado Ar 80, Heinkel He 112 and Messerschmitt Bf 109). The competition was won by the Bf 109.