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with the Bf 109G-14 airframe, and was making
preparations for production. But, because the
DB 605D was not yet in production by the spring
of 1944, Messerschmitt in Regensburg prepared
an interim solution involving the installation
of the available DB 605/AS into the Bf 109G-6,
which was put into practice at Messerschmitt
in the production of new aircraft, while at Erla
and other manufacturing and repair facilities,
the installation of the DB 605/AS was installed in
Bf 109G-6 and G-14 airframes during overhauls
and repairs. This is why the majority of G-6/AS
aircraft built by Erla in Antverp, which was
not a manufacturing plant, but rather one that
performed overhauls and major repairs of
Bf 109s. After the supply of Db 605Ds began
to flow, production of the Bf 109G-10 at Erla
was started up on the basis of the planned
modifications. During the production of these
machines, modifications were continuously
made as dictated by the experience of their
use. That's why there were on some G-14/AS
aircraft larger radiators or larger supercharger
intakes, which then makes these planes difficult
to distinguish from the Bf 109 G-10. The demand
for mass production was the law, and the pace
of introducing changes was unimaginable by
today's standards. To the contrary, the threat of
severe punishment for non-compliance of the
delivery of set quantities of new aircraft was
very imaginable. Whether the subject of these
deliveries was one type or another was more
or less irrelevant. After all, the differences
between the individual versions were not big
even in terms of performance. Therefore, the
simultaneous production of different versions
did not matter. At the same time that Mtt.
Regensburg was already producing the Bf 109
K-4, G-10 production continued at Erla, where
K-4 production had not yet been established.
It was not ready until the spring of 1945, and only
a few Bf 109 K-4s of production block 57 were
eventually produced at Erla.
A similar situation existed at WNF. This heavily
bombing affected plant made do by maintaining
production in a number of dispersed areas and
facilities, one of which was Diana, constructed in
railway tunnels, as mentioned earlier. Other local
facilities were also utilized. Given the situation that
the plant found itself in in the winter of 1944/1945,
it was logical that it would not complicate things
further by implementing production of the
Bf 109K-4, and took the path of least resistance
by installing the new engines into existing but
lightly modified airframes. Production of the
Bf 109G-10/U4 then smoothly transitioned
out of the established manufacture of the
Bf 109G-14/U4, which ran virtually to the end of the
war in March, 1945. In April, the Red Army occupied
Vienna and pushed into southern Moravia, and
approached Olomouc from the north. The shifting
front eliminated the bases that were needed
to complete and perform verification flights
on delivered aircraft. The last of these bases
was Prague-Letnany, as yet untouched by the
shifting front, but was eliminated by a blockade
of Prague airfields by fighters of the 8thAF.
Implementing the situation-dictated solutions
was not, without any doubt, a simple affair, and
it wasn’t perfect, as the case generally is when
it comes down to improvisation. But the solutions
were functional, and they provided combat units
of the Luftwaffe with high performance aircraft
that were capable of competing. It also provided
the Luftwaffe with dependable, almost immediate
attrition replacements. Despite the fact that
Bf 109G-10 performance had fallen behind that
of the Mustang, they represented an availability
of equipment that ensured the functionality of
Defense of the Reich and frontal units alike,
such as JG 52. Against Soviet aircraft, the
Bf 109G-10 was still quite good. This comparison
could be made in the immediate postwar years
by Czechoslovak pilots, who had at their disposal
21 Bf 109G-10/U4s under the designation Avia
S-99/C-10 for several years.
I am hopeful that this article will serve
modelers well while deciding on which Eduard kit
is best for the Bf 109G versions described herein.
And should they already have said kit, they
can confirm the various design and production
features of each version and compare it to what
they actually have in their possession.
And with that, I wish you, dear Modellers, an
interesting build with some understanding of the
subject matter!
Vladimír Šulc
APPENDIX: THE RUDDERS
In the descriptions of the individual versions,
there is often mention made of the various
types of tails. These numbers are Eduard
interim designations, and in the article, they
describe the following types of rudders:
Type 1: the first type of production rudder.
It was made of a metal framework, covered
with fabric. There was also a wooden version,
often with an additional trim tab in the upper
section (Type 2)
Type 6: A deeper rudder of wooden construction,
covered in fabric, with three trim tabs and
a straight bottom edge.
Type 9: Similar to Type 6, with a deeper middle
trim tab and a more pronounced position light
fairing.
HISTORY
INFO Eduard20
September 2024