Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Aircraft and Vehicles => Topic started by: 1K3 on September 20, 2005, 12:49:13 AM
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For me it sounds like a mystery because its limited and overshadowed bymore modernised 109G-6s
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June-July 1942, the pressurized variant G-1 (with GM-1) being operational on the Western front from June. By the end of 1942, the G-1/G-2 practically replaced the 109F series on the frontline.
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2nd question
when was 109G-1 and G-2s totally replaced by G-6s?
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I guess by around late 43/ealrly 44, but there were a few leftovers of the G1 through G4 series (all rather similiar w/o the 13mm bumps, different radioset etc). I did check once the ratio, in mid-43 it was ca 50-50 between G-6s and earlier Gustavs, G-6`s amount increasing steadily. Keep in mind the G-6 was only in production from February `43 onwards, and by the automn, lot of improvments were made to it compared to the spring - higher power, better Erla canopy, MK 108 begun to be fitted etc...
The G-1 and G-3 were fairly few, they were special high altitude fighters. G-2 and G-4 being more numerous, ca1500-1500 being built of both, they differed only in radio set and in having non-pressurized canopies.
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Complicated too because you have East front, West front and Med, all using many G-1/2 varients. You will have to look up a specific sub Gruppes to really get the dates. 1942 the LW was in action over a huge area geographically.
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In the Finnish air force, the G-2's were replaced by the G-6's in ... oh, wait a minute.. Never! Both were used till the end of war. FiAF got 30 G-2's in March '43-May '43, and 30 G-6's in March 1944 - May 1st 1944.
But the Finnish 109's were bought from Germany, and the Continuation war against Soviet Union ended already in October 1944... So as to the title 'all theaters' the G-2 wasn't actually replaced.
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Panzer,
just a side note, but FiAF also received almost 100 more G-6:s later during the summer and early autumn of 1944.
After teh war the total number of 109:s was close to 150 ..IIRC.
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Yep, BlauK, I meant that the first batch of G-6's started arriving in March 1944.
The Finnish Air Force bought a total of 162 BF 109 Gs, the first of which arrived in Finland on 13th March 1943. Of the aircraft 48 were of the G-2 version, 111 were G-6s and 3 were of the G-8 reconnaissance variant. 3 aircraft were lost on ferry flights - consequently the number of BF 109 Gs to see service with the Air Force was 159, which is for the time being the largest quantity of a single aircraft type used in Finland.
After the wars BF 109 Gs remained in service until 13th March 1954; that day Major Erkki Heinilä made with MT-507 the type's last flight in the Air Force.
from http://www.k-silmailumuseo.fi.
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They got a handful of G-14's also. Wish one of their pilots would speak about the plane they made with DB motor. How it handled, turned, top speed etc. I know, it never entered service. It was completed though.