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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 Eduard
11
January 2024