Bf 109 G-6 Wing Mounted Cannons?

[Curt B]

Hi All,

 

I was perusing the instructions for the latest Tamiya 1/48 Bf 109 G-6, and I note that only one of the paint schemes appear to include the underwing mounted canons.  Were these cannons 'optional', as appears to be the case?  Not being a knowledgeable '109 person, I just assumed that certain variants, like the G-6, were distinguished, in part, by their armament.

Edited June 9, 2020 by Curt B
Changed spelling for 'cannon'

[Crimea River]

Not all G-6's had them as they were able to be added and removed in the field.

Edited June 3, 2020 by Crimea River

[Troy Smith]

1 hour ago, Curt B said:

like the G-6, were distinguished, in part, by their armament.

G6/R6,  short for  Rüstsatz 6 

see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rüstsatz 

[Vlad]

14 hours ago, Curt B said:

 Not being a knowledgeable '109 person, I just assumed that certain variants, like the G-6, were distinguished, in part, by their armament.

 

The G-6 was distinguished by upgraded armament, but this refers to the 13mm machine guns in the nose replacing the earlier 7.7mm ones. Their breech size and ejection chutes are the cause of the nose bulges.

 

The 20mm under-wing cannon pods were a field modification that could be applied to many 109 versions, first appearing on the Fs and compatible with all Gs and all the way to the K-4. But there were plenty of 109G-6s without them.

 

For my build of the Tamiya kit I fitted magnets in the wing and the cannon pods, so I can fit them and remove them at will.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Vlad

[72modeler]

11 hours ago, Vlad said:

For my build of the Tamiya kit I fitted magnets in the wing and the cannon pods

That's brilliant!

Mike

[torqueofthedevil]

On 6/4/2020 at 12:08 AM, Curt B said:

Hi All,

 

I was perusing the instructions for the latest Tamiya 1/48 Bf 109 G-6, and I note that only one of the paint schemes appear to include the underwing mounted canons.  Were these canons 'optional', as appears to be the case?  Not being a knowledgeable '109 person, I just assumed that certain variants, like the G-6, were distinguished, in part, by their armament.

I don't think any aircraft had canons under the wings, although I suppose they might have enjoyed the prospect of getting closer to Heaven...

[Chuck1945]

1 hour ago, torqueofthedevil said:

I don't think any aircraft had canons under the wings, although I suppose they might have enjoyed the prospect of getting closer to Heaven...

Not sure why you say this, several WWII aircraft used cannon mounted under the wing, for example Hurricane IId (40mm cannon), Ju 87G (37 mm), G-series 109s could have 20mm (not sure if any F-series were ever so equipped)

https://www.google.com/search?q=hurricane+IId&rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS829US830&oq=hurricane+IId&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l3j69i60.19095j0j7&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=aWhYn9vzaOWD4M

https://www.google.com/search?q=Ju+87g&rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS829US830&oq=Ju+87g&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l3.7291j0j4&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=xyGTAyzPCApx5M

[Graham Boak]

Cannons not canons.  Ecclesiastical joke.  Arguably of course carrying such heavy weights under the wing affected the handling and performance making an earlier visit to Heaven more probable.  Assuming that was your likely destination.

[torqueofthedevil]

1 hour ago, Graham Boak said:

Cannons not canons.  Ecclesiastical joke.  Arguably of course carrying such heavy weights under the wing affected the handling and performance making an earlier visit to Heaven more probable.  Assuming that was your likely destination.

Thank you Graham. Not a great joke, I admit! 

[Graham Boak]

I went straight from that to a thread from a guy called Dean, who was recommended a churchwarden for his jet pipe.  Honest!  I didn't dare go near the AFV forum for fear of Priests, Sextons, and Bishops.

[72modeler]

1 hour ago, Graham Boak said:

I didn't dare go near the AFV forum for fear of Priests, Sextons, and Bishops.

What- no Hellcats?

Mike

[72modeler]

According to one written source I found, WNF built 240 Bf-109F4/R1's with the underwing MG151 20mm gondolas, and IIRC, Fine Molds did a boxing of this version with the gun pods. This fit was later standardized as a rustsatze  field kit for  G's and K's.

Mike

 

[Werdna]

The HobbyBoss 1/48 109F-4 kit includes optional underwing cannon pods, although it's not clear to me if either of the kit marking options (JG53 & JG2) had them fitted.  I guess at least one of them must have..

[Troy Smith]

8 minutes ago, Werdna said:

I guess at least one of them must have..

could just be a generic 109 sprue, and these are surplus bits.  I have no memeory of F's with underwing cannon,  be an interesting subject though.

Missed @72modeler post above.... doh

[Curt B]

Thanks, gentlemen, for the info.  And...my spelling is going all to h*ll.  When I was younger, my spelling was impeccable.  No longer, obviously, a sad state of affairs...

[fastterry]

One of a number of models I have on the go at the moment is the Trumpeter Bf109G-6 in 1/24. The kit includes the underwing gondolas as well as large cylindrical drums which fit in the wings above where the gondolas are mounted. I presume these are meant to be ammunition drums but as supplied in the kit are about the same diameter as the spinner base. In real life these would be much too big to fit into the wing by ground crew without removing a large panel. I know Trumpeters research is not the best and I can only assume that real the ammunition drums were much smaller or was the ammo stored in the gondolas?. My other question is, I have never seen any evidence of a removeable panel or other fixings on the underside of the 109s wing to facilitate the fitting of the gondolas and their ammunition. Does anyone have any photos or drawings to clear this up. TIA.

TRF