The Focke-Wulf Fw 190D was the final mass-produced version of the Fw 190 fighter series, created to improve high-altitude performance against Allied bombers. Development of inline-engine variants began as early as 1941, after turbocharged radial-engine (Fw 190B) and inline-engine (Fw 190C) prototypes proved unreliable. Real progress came with the improved Jumo 213 engine.
The first Jumo-powered prototype appeared in 1942, but the heavier inline engine shifted the aircraft’s center of gravity forward, making it unstable. Engineers corrected this by lengthening the fuselage and enlarging the vertical tail, keeping changes minimal. After years of testing and discarding early versions (D-0, D-1, D-2), the refined Fw 190D-9 with the Jumo 213A entered production in August 1944.
Late-war engine development produced further subtypes. The D-11 and D-13 reached limited production with the more powerful Jumo 213F engine, while the final planned model, the D-15 with a DB 603 engine, only existed as one prototype before the war ended.
In total, an estimated 1,500–1,700 Fw 190Ds were built, with about 900 accepted by the Luftwaffe. Fewer reached frontline units due to the chaotic conditions in the final months of the war.