The early versions of the closely resembled the Bf 109 F-4 and carried the same basic armament; however, as the basic airframe was modified to keep pace with different operational requirements, the basically clean design began to change. From the spring of 1943, the G-series saw the appearance of bulges in the cowling when the 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 were replaced with 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns (G-5 onwards) due to the latter's much larger breechblock, and on the wings (due to larger tyres), leading to the Bf 109 G-6's nickname "Die Beule" ("The Bulge"). The Bf 109G continued to be improved with greater firepower in the form of the 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannon were introduced in late 1943;
In February 1943, the G-6 was introduced with the 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 types, replacing the smaller 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 – externally this resulted in two sizeable Beule blisters over the gun breeches, reducing speed by 9 km/h (6 mph). Over 12,000 examples were built well into 1944 although contradictory factory and RLM records do not allow an exact tally.
The G-6/U4 variant was armed with a 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannon mounted as a Motorkanone firing through the propeller hub instead of the 20 mm MG 151/20.
Bf 109K-4
Armament of the K-4 consisted of a 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 engine-mounted cannon (Motorkanone) with 65 rounds, and two 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131s in the nose with 300 rpg although some K-4s were fitted with the MG 151/20 as the Motorkanone.
The 30mm cannon were extremely potent weapons, but they had a tendency to jam, and apparently all of the K-4s supplied to III./JG 26 were also equipped with 20mm-guns in the hated underwing tubs. Uffz. Georg Genth's regular aircraft was a G-10, but on occasion he flew a K-4. He preferred the G-10 as a dogfighter, as the K-4's bulky armament sharply reduced its manouevrability.
Kit Contents
2 @ 7.92 mm machine gun barrels.
2 @ 13 mm machine gun barrels.
2 @ 30 mm cannon barrels
1 @ pitot tube.
1 @ small sheet of instructions.
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SUMMARY
Highs: Nicely detailed PE, The gun barrels & jackets are milled form a solid tube so no rolling a flat PE item into a cylinder. At this scale it is a real advantage.Lows: Not enough info on the applications to the type.Verdict: They will detail a kit nicely over-all and seem to be a great value.
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About Stephen T. Lawson (JackFlash) FROM: COLORADO, UNITED STATES
I was building Off topic jet age kits at the age of 7. I remember building my first WWI kit way back in 1964-5 at the age of 8-9. Hundreds of 1/72 scale Revell and Airfix kits later my eyes started to change and I wanted to do more detail. With the advent of DML / Dragon and Eduard I sold off my ...
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