Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Aircraft and Vehicles => Topic started by: faminz on April 23, 2002, 08:51:51 PM

Title: Bf-109 rockets for Frenchy
Post by: faminz on April 23, 2002, 08:51:51 PM

Bit of a discussion ensued last night in the MA re the rockets on a 109 and the use to which they were put in the war.

I suggested that they were anti-bomber and promised to look it up later to double check.

so heres a snippet from the net... this is also confirmed from my own library of books.

http://www.bf109.com/armament.html
Bf 109G-5Armament of this variant, consisted of the engine mounted 20mm MG 151 cannon and a pair of cowl-mounted 13mm MG 131 machine-guns, which had been standardized for all future G-series variants. The increase in the size of the cowling weaponry resulted in still another set of external bulges, this time over the MG 131 breech blocks and ammunition feed chutes which were larger than those of the MG 17's. One unique modification incorporated into the G-5 was the addition of a pair of underwing Wfr. Gr. 210mm mortar tubes for operations against Allied bomber streams. Designated as the Bf 109G-5/BR 21, the mortar tube concept was actually developed and flown initially on the Bf 109G-6 which preceded the G-5 variant in delivery to service units.

Check the above url for more information than you will EVER want to know about all variants of the 109...

To conclude... I assume that pilots may have used the rockets for ground attack.. may have... but they were apparently intended at least for anti-bomber use in the main.

Title: Bf-109 rockets for Frenchy
Post by: Rokkit on April 23, 2002, 09:52:33 PM

Closeup of the WGr 21 mortar installation on a Bf-109G-6 of III./JG 3.  The -110 carried the weapon, too, but it was dual tubes under each wing.  The installation played hell with the aerodynamics of both birds.

Rocket
AH CPID Rokkit

Title: Bf-109 rockets for Frenchy
Post by: Rokkit on April 23, 2002, 09:57:33 PM

...and a photo of the loading operation on the Bf-110...

Rocket
AH CPID Rokkit

Title: Bf-109 rockets for Frenchy
Post by: SFRT - Frenchy on April 24, 2002, 02:49:56 PM

Great, ty for searching it. So i guess those things didn't have prox fuses, they were just launched and hope to hit something?

Title: Bf-109 rockets for Frenchy
Post by: faminz on April 24, 2002, 04:27:51 PM

thnx for the scan rokkit, was going to do that myself when I got home. You saved me the trouble.

Frenchy, I think the mortars were fuzed to explode at a set distance to disrupt the bomber formation.

If they actually hit a bomber it wouldve been more by luck than design.

Title: Bf-109 rockets for Frenchy
Post by: SFRT - Frenchy on April 24, 2002, 04:42:38 PM

oh ok, good learning, again, ty.