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At first glance, it might seem that the FW 190D's superior speed and armament would leave the Po-2 helpless in a fight between the two. The Night Witches were vulnerable to enemy night fighters, but they developed tactics that turned the mismatch between their aircraft to their advantage. The Po-2 was very slow but it was also very maneuverable. When a German fighter tried to intercept it, the Russian plane could turn nimbly away at much less than the enemy's minimum speed (stall speed), forcing the German to make a wide circle to come in for another pass. He was again met with the same evasive tactic, and then again and again. Many Russian pilots got down to nearly earth-level, flying low enough to be hidden behind hedgerows! The German fighter could only try time after time, until he became frustrated and left the Po-2 alone. No wonder that German pilots were promised an Iron Cross for shooting down a Po-2.
The stall speed of the FW 190D-9 Dora was 110 mph, so the Focke Wulf could never equal the speed of the Po-2. Even the Russian biplane's top speed was less than the German fighter's stall speed.
See the table below for a direct comparison of the specifications and performance of the aircraft.
Specifications |
 Polikarpov Po-2 |
 Focke Wulf FW 190D-9 |
gun on ring mounting in rear cockpit |
and two 13mm MG 131 machine guns |
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