Originally posted by joeblogs
"Warplanes of the Third Reich." It is the definitive volume on german aircraft.
He has about 100 pages on the variants of the 109, it's deployment and competitveness at various stages of the war. He has specificatios for every variant there was.
thanks for the tip off

I just found it second hand for £22 which is abargain i thought. should get it in a couple of working days.
IT BETTER BE GOOD! hehe
oh btw i think i read somewhere that the K4 had several aero dynamic improvements which amounted to a few mph top speed. I cant for the life of me find the book but from memory it was the tail wheel retractable and special flush rivoting and polished surfaces (apparently the special polished finish added 1 or 2 mph i think! amazing really) I try my best to find the source so i can post it.oh and wasnt there many K's? all the way up to the last 109 the K-14. surely these were all small improvements made else why bother making anything but a K-1?

ok found another reference 'the complete book of WW2 aircraft' wheelstar publishing (its damn huge and wighs a tonne lol
'109k4
The first pre-series K-0 appeared in september 1944, and compared to the model from which it was derived, it differs in a series of aerodynamic and structural modifications.These included the altered shape of the engine housing, a longer spinner, a larger rudder-tail fin unit, and a "Galland" type canopy inthe cockpit, which allowed the pilot a greater field of vision.In these pre-production aircraft, the 30mm cannon installed in the propeller axis was eliminated and replaced by a pair of 15mm caliber MG 151 type weapons in the fuselage.As for the engines, although a Daimler Benz 605D was going to be installed , the more powerful DB 605 ASCM was later adopted for the production series aircraft.This engine was capable of generating 2,000 hp at takeoff and 1,800 hp at an altitude of 16,450 ft (5000m).
Two months later, in November 1944, the assembly lines began to complete the first production series aircraft, the K-2 and K-4 (which differed from each other in that the latter was provided with a pressure system) and these aircraft went into service during the first few days of 1945. However, it was not long before operative needs made it necessary to strengthen the offensive armament.Therefore, in the final production varient the 30mm cannon was reinstalled in the propeller axis.Even heavier armament was installed in the subsequent K-6 series, which was built for the role of bomber pursuit.In addition to the cannon in the nose, two similar weapons were installed in pods below the wings, while the 15mm MG 151 cannons in the fuselage were replaced by two 13mm MG 131 caliber machine guns.These aircraft were delivered to the units of the luftwaffe beginning in january 1945, although only a few of them were used before the fall of the Third Reich.
The final sub-series was the K-14, deliveries of which began in the last two weeks of the war.These bf109s, rendered more powerful by the DB605L engine fitted with mechanical two-stage compressor and capable of generating 1,700 hp at take-off and 1,350 hp at31,250 ft (9,500m), proved to possess an outstanding performance at extremely high altitude.With a maximum speed of 451mph (727km/h) at no less than 37,500 ft (11,400m).This was the same speed reached by the 109 K-4 at 19,736 ft (6000m).As for the armament, this consisted of a 30mm caliber cannon in the nose and two 13mm MG 131 machine guns in the fuselage.However only a very few K-14s managed to go into combat before Germany surrendered.
Aircraft:Messerschmitt Bf.109 K-4
Nation:germany
type:Fighter
year:1945
Engine: DB 605 ASCM, 12 cylinder,liquid cooled,2000 hp
wingspan:32ft 9in (9.97m)
Length: 29ft (8.84m)
Height: 8ft 2in (2.49m)
Weight: 7,448 lb (3,374kg)
Max speed: 451 mph (727km/h) at 19,736 ft (6,000m)
Ceiling: 41,118 ft (12,000m)
Range: 355miles (573 km)
Armament: 1x30mm cannon; 2x15mm cannons
Crew:1
'
as you can see this book claims the 15mm mgs were present also which could mean they have got it wrong or are indeed right. The mention of 'altered shape of the engine housing' would suggest to me that maybe the larger 15mm were the reason. perhaps its time to ask tony williams how big the mg 151/15 was? perhaps it wasnt as big as the mg 151/20 at all.
Also the mention of the change to 2x15mm WITH removal of the 30mm and the later reversal to 1x30mm and 2x13mm(plus presumably optional 30mm gondalas) might be a significant point and maybe the source of confusion.
It seems its EITHER:
2xMG 151 15mm
OR
1x30mm and 2xMG 131 13mm
Batz why do you say its been proven when so many books who must certainly be better researchers than a few games players seem to think the 109 did have 2x15mm at some point? Can they all be wrong i wonder? what makes you 100% sure they didnt try it? and of course are you sure they didnt modify the gun barrels of the mg151/15mm or indeed as stated the engine housing to accomodate the larger 15mm guns? I think its a bold statement to say its been proved beyond doubt and to be honest i dont see what is wrong with thinking it might have been produced considering the many sources who claim they did indeed fit them.