On 17 September 1944 the Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 54 Hauptmann Robert "Bobby" Weiss returned to his unit from his vacation at the fighter pilots rest home in Bad Weissee. Three days later on the 20th the first of the new fighter, the Fw 190 Dora arrived at the unit. Eight days later "Bobby" Weiss downed the first enemy aircraft while flying the new fighter, a reconnaissance Spitfire from RAF 541 Sqn. It s pilot, F/L Duncan McCuaig crashed his machine SW of Bremen.

Fewldwebel Hans-Joachim Steinkamp, received one of the first produced Dora-nines, with the Werknummber 210028. This machines was produced by Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau G.m.b.H. at their Sorau plant in Bremen during September 1944.

During November 1944 Steinkamp and the rest of the pilots of the 12th Staffeln was based at Achmer providing takeoff and landing protection for the Me 262 Turbinjägers of Kommando Nowotny. They also carried out training missions and fighter sweeps into the Ostnabruck area.

Steinkamp would continue to battle out in this machine until he was shot down by British AAA during the Luftwaffe Bodenplatte attack on 1 January 1945. His "Rote 2" received hits in the wing root and the engine and he was forced to leave his stricken machine by parachute over Schelde, NW of Antwerp, when landed he was promptly taken prisoner by Polish troops.

Fw. Steinkamp a veteran from the Soviet and French campaigns is know to have amassed a total of two confined victories, both VVS fighters, his first a Yak-9 on 26 March and his second, a La-5 four days later, on 30 March 1944.

Note the earlier B3-style black and white fuselage/underwing crosses and a black and white swastica, although by this time the Sorau plant had introduced the solid black outlined crosses including a simplified swastika in black.