Focke-Wulf FW 200 CONDOR towed in BERLIN TEMPELHOF

A piece of aviation history for Tempelhof Airport / restoration project by the German Museum of Technology, Airbus, the German Lufthansa Berlin Foundation and Rolls-Royce.

Focke-Wulf Fw 200 C-3, serial no. 0063 was completed in May 1941 in Wenzendorf, the outbuilding of Focke Wulf Flugzeugbau GmbH from Bremen, with the master designation KF+QC, the aircraft was put into service with the supplementary squadron of KG 40 in Lüneburg.

In June 1941, serial number 0063 with the new identification F8+CL in cognac began military use. Weather reconnaissance flights and armed reconnaissance flights are flown over the Atlantic from Brest, with an average flight duration of 13 hours.

At the end of 1941 the aircraft was handed over to the 7./KG 40 at Bordeaux-Merignac and given the new registration F8+BR. Early 1942 transfer to Lüneburg, resupply flights for the Afrikacorp in the Mediterranean area. On February 22, 1942, the first mission takes place from Vaernes in Norway...

February 22, 1942, the crew of the Fw 200 C-3, serial no. 0063, is returning from a nearly 10-hour mission over the Atlantic. Pilot Lieutenant Werner Thieme prepares to land at Vaernes airfield in Norway. Flight and landing run without incident until the spreader flaps are extended. When the spreader flaps are actuated, however, only the flaps on the port side extend, a highly critical and dangerous situation, as the aircraft then wants to turn sharply to the left. With all his strength and flying skills, Thieme manages to stabilize the plane and get it on course. He can no longer hold the plane and has to ditch on the Trondheimfjord. Thanks to good weather conditions, the plane touches down smoothly on the water. Thieme himself speaks of a controlled crash. All crew members can exit the aircraft and board the dinghy. After a short time, the Condor sinks headfirst into the fjord.

1981, geologists accidentally discover the wreck of the Fw 200 serial no. 0063 at a depth of almost 60 meters in the Trondheimfjord.

In May 1999, the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin (SDTB) managed to recover what is probably the only surviving Focke-Wulf Fw 200. Although the badly damaged aircraft broke up during the dramatic salvage, at least a partial restoration of the machine seems feasible. Among the enthusiastic aircraft enthusiasts who were already involved in the salvage, the will to tackle the restoration of the Fw 200 was formed.

The SDTB was not able to carry out the restoration with its own resources and found suitable partners in the industry, primarily those who already had a relationship with the aircraft from the time the Fw 200 Condor was in use.
Contracts for the restoration of the last Condor are concluded and the project partnership is formed.

In 2001, the Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin agreed to rebuild the Fw 200 Condor as part of a project partnership with the companies Airbus Operations Bremen, Rolls-Royce Germany and Lufthansa Technik.

Over the past 20 years, around 80 voluntary retirees and active members of the above-mentioned companies have reconstructed and restored numerous assemblies at four locations. This unique restoration project would not have been possible without a working partnership!

The restoration was carried out by the partner companies
Involvement of voluntary, honorary work of the team members
Inclusion of the training workshops of the partner companies.
Coordination between the partners on common separation points
To coordinate the restoration work, the partners came together twice a year for voting rounds.

The distribution of tasks in the project partnership:

Airbus Operations GmbH
Restoration / partial reconstruction of the inner and outer wings. Reconstruction (new construction) for the complete hull.

German Museum of Technology Berlin:
Overall responsibility for the restoration project, coordination of the partnership, procurement of additional components and technical documentation

Lufthansa Berlin Foundation, Hamburg:
Restoration of the main landing gear and tail wheel, fuselage tail and tail unit

RollsRoyce Oberursel/Dahlewitz:
Restoration of the 4 BRAMO 323 R2 engines

The goal at the end of the restoration project:
Merging and assembly of the restored individual components of the legendary Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor aircraft into a complete aircraft and its exhibition in Berlin-Tempelhof.

The restoration results that have now been achieved leave no doubt that the world's only Condor will once again shine in new splendor and will be preserved for posterity as a milestone in aviation history.

Unfortunately, this proud plane will never take to the skies again...

This summer you are able to book tours at Tempelhof Airport to visit the Focke-Wulf FW 200 Condor, Iljushin IL-14P and Douglas C-54 raisinbomber of the Berlin Airlift on July 14th, August 25th, September 29th, October 20th, November 24th and December 15th 2023, always at 2:30 PM

[johnspruit]

What a beautiful magnificent aircraft .
2023 Canada .

[johnparrott]

Stunning. Never dreamed one would be whole again.

[Bonisseur]

Hätte nie gedacht, dass die mal fertig wird. Im Technikmuseum sah man ja die verschiedenen Bauabschnitte. Wahnsinnsleistung!

[MrNaKillshots]

A fantastic achievement. It is a picture of grace and beauty.

[Slug]

It's to bad it will not return to a flyable condition, but I'm glad they've managed to restore it so that it can be displayed in a condition that makes it looks like a whole and functional airplane. I sure hope I'm able to see it in person the next time I'm in Berlin.

[RichardJoganah]

Lovely video 📹 lovely aircraft, the lovely focke wulf 200 condor was the most beautiful aircraft of the luftwaffe ❤

[hans-]

With the FW 200, the Germans also built the most modern passenger aircraft in the world. On August 10, 1938, it became the first land-based long-haul passenger aircraft to fly non-stop the 6, 371.302 kilometer route from Berlin-Staaken to Floyd Bennett Field in New York City. On the return flight from Floyd Bennett Field to Berlin-Tempelhof, the machine covered a distance of 6, 392 km in 19 hours and 55 minutes; this corresponded to an average speed of 321 km/h. Both flights were recognized by the FAI as second category flight records (record with crew) and were valid for almost 20 years.

[terrysmith]

A truly excellent restoration. A pitty it will never fly, flying is what aircraft were designed and built to do.
On the other hand, this FW 200 is the only example of it's kind. Perhaps it would be possible to do periodic engine runs and systems check in the event it becomes necessary to move it.

[michaelschmidt]

Super, danke für das Video! THF forever!

[stevenharsono]

Fw-200 Condor is my favorite aircraft, it was used as maritime reconasence during WW2, it Will be nice if this plane were displayed side by side with the Ju-52, hopefully someone in the future restoring the Junkers Ju-290

[conradfung]

Nice plane, the fuselage is skinny compared to a dc-3 or dc-6 though.

[mignav]

Die Cockpit Fenster erinnern mich an die im A320 😉

[kurtman]

It could fly ?or is just some kind of 1 / 1 size replica only for display?or is a real operational plane?

[gunterbreitfeld]

Danke für´s hochladen. Die Condor ist einfach ein eleganter Vogel. 👍
Thx for upload. The "Condor" is simply elegant.

[happyhome]

Curious, did y’all at least run the engines, then apply preservative, as is done with the aircraft at the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio ? And where was the aircraft final assembly ? If not in Berlin, how was it transported to Templhof ? Extraordinary accomplishment and wonderful contribution to the world of aviation history. THANK YOU !

[andrewmacdonald]

What an absolutely stunning aircraft...but boy, did they make an complete mess of her recovery...it was too hard to watch..

[LMyrski]

If it was a Focke-Wulf Fw 200 C-3 as claimed, they left a lot of pieces off? It should be a military aircraft with gondola and turrets.