Focke Wulf Fw 190 Operated by France

In the immediate post-war period, the French Armee de l’Air operated Fw 190 fighters (French designation NC.900). 65 Fw 190s were built in 1945 and 1946 by the Société Nationale de Construction Aéronautiques du Centre (S.N.C.A.C) at Cravant. Cravant had been a Luftwaffe repair facility, and 127 Fw 190 fuselages and 162 wings of Fw 190 A-4s, A-5s, and A-8s were captured there by the Allies in October 1944. About 100 BMW 801s were found at Dordogne, and the French planned to assemble 125, under the designation AACr-6, or NC.900. The first NC.900 was flown on 1 March 1945, but there were many problems with the new aircraft. Sabotaged airframe parts and the use of hastily recycled metals meant many aircraft were of poor quality. Armee de l’Air Fw 190s only saw service for a few years, before more modern fighters were acquired. The principal operator of the NC.900 was GC 111/5 Normandie Niemen, which received just fourteen NC.900s. They flew with the unit for 18 months. A majority of the remaining 51 NC.900s were used by the CEV (centre d’essais en vol) at Brétigny. The final flight by a French NC.900 was on 22 June 1949.