Gustav VI.
During February 1943, the Messerschmittt A.G.factories in Augsburg and Regensburg, as well as the Wiener Neustädter Flugzeugwerke (WNF) facility in Vienna's New Town (Wiener Neustadt), initiated manufacture of the main production version of the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Bf 109 G-6. In March, production of the Bf 109 G-6 also began at the Erla factory in Leipzig. The production of the first Bf 109G-6 smoothly flowed out from the end of production of the Bf 109 G-4 thanks to its design versatility as a whole, its production at the Messerschmitt plant having ended in January. At WNF and in Erla, the production of the Bf 109 G-4 fighter ended in February and March, but the production of the photo-reconnaissance version of the Bf 109 G-4 continued until May at WNF and until June, 1943 in Erla, parallel with the Bf 109 G-6/R3, of which a total of 324 units were produced by both factories. The reason for the continued production of this subtype was probably the special modifications that these machines had, which at that time had not yet been structurally incorporated into the new G-6. It is also possible that the more powerful armament in the form of larger fuselage mounted machine guns, which was the main difference between the G-4 and G-6, was not a critical feature of the photo-reconnaissance aircraft tojustify the disruption of an already functioning assembly line. From September 1943, licensed Bf 109 Ga-6s were produced in Györ, Hungary.
Engine and Armament
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 was powered by
the DB 605 A engine, as were the Bf 109 G-2 and
G-4. The airframe was also largely identical to
the Bf 109 G-4, again, due to its versatility, fine-
tuned specifically around the Bf 109 G-4. The en-
Title photo: Bf 109 G-6 WNr. 165 001 (MT-460) of ylikersantti Emil Vesa, HLeLv 34 at Lappeenranta on 30 June 1944. [Photo: SA
-
Kuva]
gine mounted weapon consisting of the MG 151/20
remained the same. The fuselage machine guns
did undergo a change, however. The main differ-
ence here between the Bf 109 G-6 and the G-4 was
the installation of 13 mm MG 131 weapons. These
was developed over a relatively long time, the
first tests having already taken place on the Bf
109 F. MG 131 machine guns were experimentally
used, for example, by Adolf Galland on the Bf 109
F-2, but in practice, their use was not expanded.
The development of the series installation of the
MG 131 was quite complex. For example, it took
some time to deal with the ejection of spent car-
tridges, and practical widespread installation
was only undertaken at the beginning of 1943.
On the other hand, the rapid transition of the
production lines from the G-4 version to the G-6
made possible, among other things, the redesign
of the fuselage gun installation which had al-
ready been solved on the Bf 109 G-4.
The 13 mm MG 131 machine gun weighed 21.24
kg (M.Baumgartl, other sources quoting low-
er, usually 16.6 kg). There were several types of
ammunition used. Fragmentation, anti-armor
rounds, two types of incendiary rounds, one
type of fragmentation-incendiary and one type
of incendiary anti-armor round was used and
was effective against self-sealing fuel tanks.
One type of incendiary cartridge (13 mm Brand-
granatpatrone L’spur/Gl’spur El. ohne Zerleger)
was also effective against fuel tanks. The weight
of the projectile was 34 grams for fragmentation
and incendiary rounds, the muzzle velocity was
750 m/s (2,460 ft/s). For anti-armor shells the
weight was 38 grams and the muzzle velocity
was 710 m/s (2,330 ft/s). The firing rates were
900 rounds per minute for armor piercing rounds
and 930 rounds per minute for incendiary and
fragmentation rounds The effective range was
1,700 meters (5,580 feet), the service life of the
During February 1943, the Messerschmittt A.G.factories in Augsburg and Regensburg, as well as the Wiener Neustädter Flugzeugwerke
(WNF) facility in Vienna’s New Town (Wiener Neustadt), initiated manufacture of the main production version of the Messerschmitt Bf
109, the Bf 109 G-6. In March, production of the Bf 109 G-6 also began at the Erla factory in Leipzig. The production of the first Bf 109G-
6 smoothly flowed out from the end of production of the Bf 109 G-4 thanks to its design versatility as a whole, its production at the
Messerschmitt plant having ended in January. At WNF and in Erla, the production of the Bf 109 G-4 fighter ended in February and March,
but the production of the photo-reconnaissance version of the Bf 109 G-4 continued until May at WNF and until June, 1943 in Erla, paral-
lel with the Bf 109 G-6/R3, of which a total of 324 units were produced by both factories. The reason for the continued production of this
subtype was probably the special modifications that these machines had, which at that time had not yet been structurally incorporated
into the new G-6. It is also possible that the more powerful armament in the form of larger fuselage mounted machine guns, which was
the main difference between the G-4 and G-6, was not a critical feature of the photo-reconnaissance aircraft tojustify the disruption of
an already functioning assembly line. From September 1943, licensed Bf 109 Ga-6s were produced in Györ, Hungary.
barrel was 17,000 rounds. Firing of the round was
initiated electrically.
The larger elements of the MG 131 machine guns
did not fit under the original smoothly contoured
engine cowl of the Bf 109 G-2/G-4, bringing about
the G-6 version’s (as well as the G-5, G-8 and
G-14) large oval fairings over the gun breeches,
half of which was on the engine cowl and half on
the gun port cover in front of the cockpit wind-
screen.
From the Bf 109 G-6 was derived the high-al-
titude version of the Bf 109 G-5 with a pressur-
ized cockpit, which will be discussed later. One of
the hallmarks of this version was a small bulge,
covering the cockpit pressurization air compres-
sor, emerging from the lower leading edge of the
large fairing above the right machine gun breech.
The Bf 109 G-5s were produced exclusively at the
Erla works in Leipzig and this is probably why
the same fairing with this small bulge was used
on most Erla-built G-6s. Technically the bulge
made no sense, since there was no air compres-
sor under it when mounted on the G-6, but it was
present presumably to minimize production in-
terruptions. This anomaly was previously thought
to be a characteristic of Erla-built Bf 109 G-6s,
but is now known to have also been present on
Bf 109 G-6s in production block 140 000 from WNF
and production blocks 165 000 to 167 000 from
Messerschmittt.
Aircraft of the following production blocks had
the above described bump on the right side of the
While the troughs for the Bf 109 G-6 supplied by
Erla looked like this:
Aircraft of the following production blocks had the above described bump on the right side of the engine cover: 15000 (not all),
26000, 27000, 110000, 410000 to 413000 (all Erla), 140000 (WNF), and 165000 to 167,000 (Messerschmitt).
Landing Gear
Another change came in the landing gear. After
problems with the setup and its wheels, mainly
with the tires wearing quickly, the wheels were
modified during G-4 production. The tire size was
increased to 660 x 160mm and the brake disc
was enlarged. This improved the situation, but it
was still not perfect, as the brake discs heated
up during braking and the resulting heat caused
rapid degradation of the rubber compound used,
which eventually led to the destruction of the
tire. As a result, the landing gear was further
strengthened, the oleo pistons were modified
and strengthened, and the brakes and the entire
wheel disc were redesigned. A significant change
was the all-new steel brake discs, which was re-
flected in the look of the wheel, now having full
outer hubs. These new wheels were later fitted
to older Bf 109 G-4s during overhauls, which was
strongly reflected in the two-seat Bf 109 G-12,
built from Bf 109 G-4 airframes, and the original
G-4s that remained in service with training units
until the end of the war. In the picture, the Bf 109
G-4 wheel is on the left, the Bf 109 G-6 wheel is
on the right.
engine cover: 15000 (not all), 26000, 27000, 110000,
410000 to 413000 (all Erla), 140000 (WNF), and
165000 to 167,000 (Messerschmitt).
Conversely, some airframes of the initial pro-
duction block of 15000 from Erla did not have this
bump, but featured on the right side the same
bump above the gun breech that was on most
Messerschmitt and WNF produced machines.
The Bf 109 G-6s produced at the Erla plant
also featured a different cowl incorporating gun
troughs that were longer than those of the Mess-
erschmitt and WNF-built examples.
The gun troughs of the Bf 109 G-6 coming from
Messerschmittt and WNF looked like this:
HISTORY
INFO Eduard10
January 2024