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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 1487.PDF
JULY I6TH, 1942 [EIR CHARACTERISTICS TIE main specification of the Messerschmitt Me.iogF is very much the same as for the original Me.iogE, of which it is a development. As far as external appearances go, the chief changes concern wings and tail mounting. The 109F has a slightly greater span and rounded tips, but the chord has been reduced and the area is a little less, thus increasing the wing-loading somewhat. The tailplane of the 109F is of cantilever construction instead of the externally braced type fitted to its prede cessor and is mounted near the base of the fin. Improved performance in terms of speed, climb, ceiling and manoeuvrability at high altitudes has been the object in the JVle.iogF, and to this end a more powerful engine has been employed and all armament kept within the con fines of the fuselage. The engine is the Mercedes-Benz DB-601N, which differs chiefly from the DB601A fitted to the Me.iogE in having flat-topped pistons instead of concave. This raises the compression ratio from 6.9 to 7.9 and steps up the power output by some 6 per cent, at all altitudes. With this hotted-up version of Germany's most successful inverted V-12 liquid-cooled engine, the top speed of the Me.iogF is said to have been pushed up to 380 m.p.h. at 21,000ft. and its ceiling to 40,000ft. The process of relieving the aircraft of the outboard weight of wing guns has necessarily entailed a reduction in their number, but it is based on the theory that if you can out-manoeuvre your enemy (at the higher alti tudes) the number of guns you can bring to bear on him becomes of secondary'importance, especially if the rate of fire can be increased. Acting on this assumption, Willy Messerschmitt has equipped the Me.iogF with a rapid-firing 15 mm. Mauser cannon mounted between the cylinder banks and firing through the hollow hub oi the airscrew. This gun, inci dentally, is electrically cocked and fired, and is belt-fed from an ammunition box in the starboard wing. Its rate of fire is no less than 900 rounds per minute, which is a big improvement on earlier types. Then, in addition to its Mauser cannon, the Me.iogF mounts a pair of 7.9 mm. machine-guns immediately above the engine and synchro nised to fire through the airscrew disc.
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