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Bf 109 G-6/R2
Photographic equipment consisted of an Rb 75/30 or Rb 50/30 camera (1).
They carried full gun armament and were powered by a DB 605 AM engine
with the MW 50 boost system that injected a mixture of water and metha-
nol into the compressor intake. Between the second and third fuselage
bulkheads just offset from the top of the spine was the MW 50 system tank
filler cap (4). The battery was moved to the luggage compartment in the
cockpit, the luggage compartment door featured a recess covering the bat-
tery (5). The radio equipment consisted of a FuG 16Z radio and a FuG 25a IFF
system. AZVG 16 (Peilrufanlage) direction finder with its associated PR 16
(Peilrahmen) loop antenna on the top of the fuselage (Rüstsatz R7) could
also be installed. These machines likewise had grooves installed below the
wing center section for draining leaked oil coming from the oil cooler (2),
but they diverted the oil differently than the grooves on the Bf 109 G-6/R3.
In this case, they arced from the rear corners of the oil cooler to the leading
edge of the lugs covering the wing spar mounting stud, where they met the
lower surface of the wing. The rear-view mirror (6) mounted on the top
inner frame of the windscreen was also characteristic of the photo-recon-
naissance Bf 109 G. One hundred and ninety three Bf 109 G-6/R2s were pro-
duced at WNF in November and December, 1944 in production block 230 000,
together with the Bf 109 G-8/R5, and were likely structurally consistent
with respect to their manufacture. They had an additional bulge adjacent to
the fairing covering the right fuselage mounted machine gun (7). I believe
that it was not without function, that it accommodated an air compressor
to supply enough air to ventilate the cockpit. At least some Bf 109 G-6/R-2s
(probably all) had an Erlahaube canopy, and always had a short rudder.
On the right side of the mid fuselage between bulkheads 2 and 3 there was
apparently a large oval camera access cover (3). I don’t have photographic
evidence of this on the G-6/R2, but it appeared on both the G-2/R2 and the
G-4/R2, and it’s quite logical that it was carried over to the G-6/R2 as well.
It may have also been on G-6/R3, if only because the original access to the
camera in the rear sloping cockpit wall was not possible since this was
now the location of the battery (5).
Bf 109 G-6/R3
Bf 109 G-6/R2
Equipment layout in the fuselage of the Bf 109 G-6/R2:
1. Battery
2. Rb 50/30 or Rb 75/30 camera
3. MW 50 water/methanol system tank
4. FuG 16 Z radio 5. Compass (Mutterkompass)
The Bf 109 G-6/U3 were a tactical reconnaissance aircraft (Nahaufklärer
or Heeresaufklärer). The photographic equipment consisted of two Rb 12.
57 x 9 or Rb 32/7 x 9cameras (2) , located in the lower part of the fuselage
on the fifth fuselage bulkhead and covered by a closing door as indicated
in the second illustration below, and one Robot II Kleinbildkamera in the
leading edge of the left wing, in front of the wheel well (1). This was cali-
brated for photography at an altitude of 2000m (6,550 feet), but was usually
removed in practice. The radio equipment consisted of a FuG 17 radio, the
standard used in fighter and bomber aircraft. Apart from the frequencies
used, it was identical to the FuG 16Z, but, unlike the FuG 16, it had the op-
tion of connecting with ground-based forward flight controllers. This ver-
sion also had the FuG 25a IFF system. A ZVG 16 direction finding system
(Peilrufanlage) with its associated PR 16 loop antenna (Peilrahmen) on the
back of the fuselage (Rüstsatz R7) could also be installed.
About twenty Bf 109 G-6/U3s were produced by WNF in the summer
of 1943 in production block 20 000.
HISTORY
INFO Eduard
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February 2024