Saturday, 9 June 2018

Messerschmitt Bf.109G, German users, part four

Back in February 1943, the G-6 version was introduced. It had, among many other new features, the MG 17 that fired through the propeller hub, replaced with a better 13mm MG 131. Externally this resulted in two sizeable Beule blisters over the gun breeches which reduced the speed by 9 Km/h (6mph). It was the most produced sub-variant with around 12000 examples built well into 1944, although it's hard to point an exact number as RLM reports and official numbers contradict themselves.
The production of this variant was undertaken mainly by Messerschmitt, which produced approximately 5563 of them, Erla, with 3187 machines built, WNF in Vienna, with 2961 of them built, but also by Manfred Weiss at Györ, in Hungary which produced 137 of them and, IAR, in Romania, which produced 67 of them, some of them in 1946 and 1947, after the war.
The G-5 had a pressurized cockpit and was identical to the G-6. A total of 475 machines of this variant were built between May 1943 and August 1944 . The G-5/AS was fitted with a DB 605AS engine for high altittude missions. There were some sub-variants which were boosted by the GM-1 which received the additional denomination of "/U2" and they could be identified by the lack of engine blisters as they were more aerodynamically cleaner.
The G-6/U4 sub-variant was armed with a 30mm (1.18in) MK 108 cannon firing through the propeller hub, instead of the previous 20mm MG 151 /20. The G-6 as every other sub-variant of the Bf.109, was very versatile and, through 1943 was oftenly seen fitted with bomb racks, drop tanks, underwing rocket pods or underwing MG pods.
The Werfer-Granate 21 (oftenly abbreviated as Wf. Gr.21 and unofficially known as BR.21, which stand for Bordrakete 21cm for the G-5, G-6 and G-14) was an offensive improvement both for the Bf.109G and the Fw.190 which fitted a massive 40.8Kg (90lbs) and were aimed using the standard Revi reflector sights and were spin-stabilized in flight. Those tubes could be jettisoned using small explosive charges and, as they were intended to be used as a stand-off weapon, they could be fired from a distance of 1200m well outside of the effective range of the formation of bombers' defensive guns. This rocket system was widely used against allied bomber formations and, when mounted on the G-10, they received the denomination of Rüstsatz VII.










Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_109_variants#Bf_109G
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
3. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/1015

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