Originally posted by Karnak
Kurfurst,
Well, in AH the Bf109G-2, Bf109G-6 and Bf109G-14 all have the 20mm gondolas as an option. The only two in discussion are the Bf109F-4 and Bf109K-4 and how often they flew in combat with the gondolas. So far as I can tell it is about as often as Spitfire Mk Vcs went into combat with four 20mm cannon.
Sorry but where's the evidence the 109K did not use gunpods as much regularly as the G-10 or G-14 ? Is this an assumption ? Cool, but then let's use similiar assumption for for all planes, and remove all loadout options until it's proven the particular uitem was used in combat. Let's start with Spitfires, and remove all droptanks, bombs and rocket options until there's evidence that they were used in combat often.But then of course we need to define what is 'often'. After all, I can find dozens and dozens of pictures showing Spits without any bomb or droptank. Perhaps for the same reason I can find dozens and dozens of pictures of 109 w/o DT, bomb or gondies. All these items were a matter of minutes to install or remove. They were not permanent parts but kits.
There are not many photos of 109K around, most of what I have seen were made in October of the planes JG 77 - now considering that some 1700 109K were produced, and saw action on all fronts with dozens of units, I'd say it's rather reaching to say to base such conclusion on a rather limited number of photos made in a limited time and area of operations. How many photos of 109K did you see in the air? Of 109K flying in formation? Well personally I didnt see any photos of 109K in formation, so let's just assume they couldn't fly in formation. Have you seen any photos of 109K in combat...? I didn't, wait, then it didn't even see combat! Have you seen photos of 109K produced in the Erla factory, I haven't, but there are factory delivery records showing the production being started there in 1945. Guppy for example couldn't find any pictures of 109G earlier than G-6 carrying gondies; but as I have shown, there are pictures for the earlier variants carrying gondies as well. Just as it was shown the JG 26 had 109Ks with gondies. The manual notes them; JG 26 war diary notes them : they were possible to mount and were in operational use. That's evidence enough to implement them for those who wants to use them. I can't get why it bothers people so much that the 109K would have gondies anyway - it would be most useful against bombers in the first place, or in the hands of some experts who'd specialize in Energy tactics with Go-waffen.
Sorry, the 109K gondies were not some of those things that existed on paper only.
Regarding the 109F-4 and gondies, hmmm, Messerschmitt produced several hundred of the F-4/R1 type with the very intent to make that subtype capable of carrying gunpods unlike other 109F; it's a rather silly suggestion that the type was not used for the very purpose it was created, ie. to carry gunpods.
( As to the Spits, what structural problems are you talking about? I've only read that the four cannon were not used due to the performance hit and because there were problems heating the cannon in the outer bay. ) [/B]
IIRC it was A Price who mentions the 4 cannon version was not used because the wing bomb rack was situated just under the cannon port, so when using bomb on wign + 4 cannons it caused too much load on the same point, and thus the 4 cannon option was not used. The MkIX was also a lot heavier than the MkV for which the C wing was originally designed, the loads on the wing increased further. So it's seems a structural problem, not very surprising given the MkIX was an 'ad hoc' interim solution; components were stressed for the weight of the MkV, not the heavier MkIX.
