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The DB 605 AM engine was also installed in part of the Messerschmitt
produced block of airframes in the 781 000 range, numbering about thir-
ty birds, which had a low rudder. The remainder of this production block
were Bf 109 G-14/ASs with the DB 605 AS powerplant. According to photos,
there were standard G-14s with a low rudder even in the 782 000 series
production block, in which H. H. Vogt lists only the G-14/AS. The six hundred
Bf 109 G-14/U4s, production block 510 000 to 512 000, armed with a 30mm
MK 108 fuselage/engine mounted cannon, produced by WNF, also had the low
rudder and Erla Vollsichtshaube type canopy. These machines did not have
the bulge on the fairing above the right fuselage machine gun breech (6),
and between bulkheads 4 and 5, they had an access cover for the compressed
air bottle for the MK 108 engine mounted weapon (4). There was also an
MW 50 system tank filler cap on the right side of the fuselage spine behind
the second bulkhead.
Example: Bf 109G-14/U4, W. Nr. 512382, Flown by Lt. H. Schlick, 4. / JG 77,
Schönwalde, Germany, November, 1944
Conclusions
If you have read this far, I value you sticking with me and I greatly appre-
ciate that you understand that the subject surrounding the technical de-
velopment of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 is extremely complicated. It is
a theme that is probably without parallel in the history of aviation, per-
haps remotely comparable are some types from the First World War,
such as the Breguet 14 or the Hansa-Brandenburg C. I. But only remotely.
For the Bf 109 G-6, the issue is complicated by the fact that production took
place under extreme wartime conditions, under heavy Allied air raids and
almost constant reorganization of German war efforts. It was a situation
that is difficult to imagine today. The production of aircraft in Germany, and
not only the Bf 109 G-6, responded not only to the needs of the customer,
the RLM and the Luftwaffe and its combat units, but also to the prevail-
ing economic conditions and the deteriorating state of the industrial base.
As a result of the air raids, a large part of the factories were destroyed
or badly damaged, production operations were scattered to branch plants,
hidden in the mountains, forests, railway tunnels or underground. The dy-
namics precipitated by the changes were unbelievable, and moreover, these
changes were intertwined on the production lines. The fact that three pro-
duction plants were engaged in the production of the Bf 109 G-6 plays only
a partial role in this. During the war, between early 1943 and late 1944, proba-
bly more than 13,000 Bf 109 G-6s were produced. The exact number is not and
will never be known, and a significant part of the production lacks definitive
documentation. It was apparently irretrievably lost in the maelstrom of war.
One reason I am writing these articles is because from time to time some
lost documents turn up somewhere. Part of the facts presented in the text
you have read will certainly be further refined and corrected over time,
thanks to new discoveries, or thanks to relevant new interpretations of al-
ready known documents.
If you research previously published material and kits of the Bf 109 G-6,
you will certainly come across images of aircraft that do not correspond
to their classification within the production variants we have discussed or
even to types according to other sources. Please, treat such cases with
lenience. There will be many of them, even in the case of Eduard kits.
Unfortunately, from the point of view of the facts and conclusions that
I tried to convey in my article, a large part of the profiles in current litera-
ture and kits, whether by Eduard or someone else, are wrong. It may cause
some loss of confidence in some, but let’s take it positively. Let’s take it
as an opportunity to revise our old knowledge, assumptions and mistakes,
because this type of research is an ongoing evolution and needs adjust-
ments to evolve in the right direction.
A nice example of the above is this Bf 109 G-6, serial number 160303, flown
by III. /JG I’s Hauptmann Friedrich Eberle:
According to the serial number, it should have a standard canopy and
a short antenna mast. Nevertheless, the unlikely combination of a tall
antenna mast and an Erlahaube-type cockpit covering is photographical-
ly documented. The serial number is not, however, and it is derived from
the loss of aircraft report. Hptm Eberle was shot down in his Bf 109 G-6
on January 30th 1944 by a Thunderbolt piloted by Lt. Robert Booth of the
369th FS (359th FG). It is possible that the gun camera footage does not
show the same aircraft as photos on the ground. But even so, the combina-
tion of a tall mast and an Erlahaube canopy should not exist. But it does, and
there are more such cases. I do not want to discuss possible reasons here,
various logical explanations can, of course, be offered. I bring this case up
just to illustrate that you can expect a lot from the Bf 109 G-6 and its variants.
Prepare for cases when even the impossible can become a reality!
In this article I have not dealt with aircraft powered by the DB 605 AS
engine, such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6/AS and Bf 109 G-14/AS.
This is mainly because it is a vast and complex topic in and of itself.
The second reason is that I have dealt with these machines before. However,
from the point of view of my current knowledge, it is clear to me that even
that not-so-old article requires revision today. I therefore promise to come
back to it, revise it, and release an updated form when the Bf 109 G-6/AS and
G-14/AS are released in 1/72 scale. The same also applies to the Bf 109 G-10.
That will be it at this point, my friends, and I hope you didn’t need to stum-
ble through this article, and that it has brought you much to your under-
standing of the evolution of the Bf 109 G-6!
Bf 109 G-6 MT-480 of 3/HLeLv 24 during maintenance in early July 1944 at Lappeenranta. This machine with WNr. 165464 and Stammkennzeichen TX+ZY was delivered to the unit on 7 July
and its pilot was Ylik. Leo Ahokas. This airman with the MT-480 achieved the last of his twelve victories. [Photo: SA
-
Kuva].
HISTORY
INFO Eduard
17
February 2024