Page 7
Equipment and weapons sets / Rüstsätze R
For the Bf 109 G-6, as for other versions of the Bf 109 G, modification kits
were available, installed in unit level workshops or service centers during
overhauls. Available weapon sets were as follows:
Rüstsatz R1: bomb rack (Abwurfwaffenanlage) ETC 500 IX b for one 250 kg
(550 lb) bomb.
Rüstsatz R2: bomb rack (Abwurfwaffenanlage) 4 x ETC 50 VII d for four
50 kg (110 lb) bombs.
Rüstsatz R4: bomb rack/dispenser for twenty-four SD 2 bomblets (Abwurf-
waffenanlage für 24 SD 2).
Rüstsatz R6: Underwing pods each holding an MG 151/20 20mm cannon
(Flügelgondel – bewaffnung zwei MG 151/20 mm).
Title photo: Luutn. Kyösti Karhila of 3/HLeLv 24 in the cockpit of MT-461 at Lappeenranta base in July 1944. This aircraft with WNr. 165342 and Stammkennzeichen SZ+PG
was received by the unit at the end of June 1944. Finnish pilots achieved a total of 18 victories with this plane, of which Karhila achieved eight successes. [Photo: SA
-
Kuva]
In the second part of our Gustav VI article, we will focus on armament and equipment upgrade and conversion sets, take a gander at
the reconnaissance versions of the Bf 109 G-6 including the recce specific Bf 109 G-8, we’ll describe the high-altitude Bf 109 G-5 and
finally, we will take a look at the Bf 109 G-14, a de facto summary of all modifications and improvements continuously introduced into
production during the long development of the Bf 109 G-6 series and its variants.
Rüstsatz R2
Rüstsatz R6
Rüstsatz R3
Rüstsatz W: Bordrakete BR 21 cm
BR 21 21cm rockets, also known as W. Gr. 21 or
Wfr. Gr. 21, unofficially dubbed ‘Dödel’ (‘fool’, but
carried a number of other understood meanings)
were a new and exclusive piece of armament for
the Bf 109 G-6, with other version use having not
been documented. In addition to the Bf 109 G-6,
they were deployed on the Fw 190 A of various
versions and the twin-engined Bf 110 G-2, and
Me 210/410. Bf 109 G-6s armed with a pair of rock-
ets may have been designated Bf 109 G-6/w.
Equipment upgrades:
Rüstsatz R3: 300 liter auxiliary drop tank (300 Liter Kraftstoffzusatztank)
Various types of drop tank were used:
BR 21 rocket launchers instalation
The BR 21 aerial rocket launchers were cre-
ated by adapting the Nebelwerfer 42 six-bar-
reled ground based 21cm rocket launcher by
hanging the launch tube under the wing of
the aircraft. In the case of the Bf 109 G-6 and
Fw 190 A-8, one rocket launcher was sus-
pended under each wing at an angle of 15o to
the airfoil centreline. The weight of the rocket
was 112. 6kg (250lb), it was powered by solid
fuel propellant weighing 18. 4kg (40lb), and
the warhead contained 40. 8kg (90lb) of ex-
plosives. The muzzle velocity of the projec-
tile was 320 m/s (1,050 ft/s), effective range
1,200m (4,000ft), and the rocket was rotation
stabilized. Since rocket launchers signifi-
cantly worsened the flight characteristics
and speed of the aircraft, it was possible to
jettison them as necessary.
The use of BR 21 rockets was tested and
fine tuned by fighter groups JG 1 and JG 11.
They also used them for the first time in
combat on July 29th, 1943, during a USAAF
raid on Kiel and Warnemünde. During August,
combat tactics were further developed, and
BR 21s gradually reached other units.
On August 17th, 1943, they were deployed in
the famous American raid on Schweinfurt
and Regensburg, in which the USAAF lost
sixty bombers and another 95 were damaged
to varying degrees. A large part of them were
written off after their return. This was espe-
and cannon armament. In the case of units
with Bf 109 G-6s, these were often Bf 109
G-6/R6s with underwing gun pods mounting
MG 151/20 cannon.
It was an effective combat tactic, suc-
cessful especially against groups of heavy
four-engine bombers operating deep in Ger-
man airspace without fighter escort, as was
the case with the raid on Schweinfurt and
Regensburg. In the second half of 1943, Ger-
man tactics against American heavy four-en-
gine bombers were so effective and inflicted
such heavy losses on the Americans that
after the second raid on Regensburg in Oc-
tober, 1943, the USAAF Eighth Air Force halt-
ed major raids on Germany for five months.
It resumed these only in February 1944, after
it had enough escort fighters with sufficient
range to provide protection over the entire
bomber route at its disposal.
BR 21s were also used to attack formations
of medium bombers both on the Western
Front and in the Mediterranean. A total of
402,600 210 mm Wfr rockets were produced
during the war (Wurframmen Granate 21),
including both ground and air launchers.
cially the case with the 3rd Bombardment
Wing of the 8th Air Force under the command
of Colonel Curtis LeMay, which attacked Re-
gensburg and continued south after the raid
and landed at American bases in North Africa.
However, it should be noted that the deploy-
ment of BR 21 was only one of the many rea-
sons for such heavy losses.
In the Defense of the Reich (Reichsvertei-
digung) units, one Staffel, equipped with the
Bf 109 G-6/w, was usually allocated within
the Gruppe, called the Werferstaffel. The de-
ployment tactic was to attack with the full
strength of the entire Gruppe, of which one
Staffel (usually twelve aircraft) was armed
with BR 21 rockets. The latter began the at-
tack by firing their rockets from a distance of
600 to 1000m (650 to 1100 yards) at a box for-
mation of bombers. Timed fuses were mainly
used, although impact fuses could be as well.
Timed fuses detonated rockets inside the box
formation, with the aim of breaking up the
formation and separating any damaged ma-
chines from it, which were then attacked by
other Staffel birds from the Assault Gruppe,
equipped with fighters armed only with gun
HISTORY
INFO Eduard
7
February 2024