After having shelved my Eduard BF-110G-4 project for a bit I've just now picked it up again. Among the things I need to decide upon is a subject I want to build.
Among the a/c I still consider building is one of Martin Drewes' late war BF-110G-4's (either G9+MD or G9+WD) Long story short, G9+MD (his night time mount of choice equipped with all the tech gimmicks for nocturnal operations) which was destroyed in combat sometime in June or July 1944 I think, and subsequently Drewes started using G9+WD (which was originally his mount for day time operations against US bombers I presume) for night operations and used it until the end of the war (on a sidenote: I think I read somewhere the top scoring night fighter aces were at some point exempted from flying these day time operations anyway because with increasingly effective allied fighter escorts the cumbersome Bf-110 nightfighters were basically sitting ducks and the Luftwaffe probably couldn't afford the loss of those highly experienced pilots)
Now, here's the thing. There are quite a few statements about Drewes' BF-110G-4's (including some made by the man himself after the war) that give some informations on his a/c. First there is contradicting information on the armament in the nose. I've read that he had he the 30mm MK.108 cannon replaced by either the trusty MG.17 4-gun battery or by 2x MG151 20mm cannon. While I haven't been able to figure out what it was in Drewes' case, I'm pretty sure either one of those options was technically very feasible on the Bf-110G, based on what general information I've gathered on the different weapon layouts carried by the BF-110G, and the fact that nighter fighter aces had the opportunity to configure their mounts into what worked best for them. I have multiple Eduard BF-110G kits (and a large spares box) that offer plenty of spare parts to create either a revised nose section with MK.108 guns, 20mm guns of sorts or the older nose section with the MG.17 machine gun battery, so I'll be able to work something out in that area (even if I end up having to make a decision on that myself without ever knowing the facts)
The other thing that intrigues me particulary however is the fact that Drewes' himself apparently has stated that he had the Schräge Musik 20mm cannon right behind the cockpit rather then way out back near the rear gunners position. Now, I've gathered a lot of information on the BF-110 and on the nightfighters in the past few months, but sofar I've never ever found any information (be it text or picturs/drawings) on a Schräge Musik setup like this. I did think about the matter a lot however, and thinking about how the typical cockpit of the BF-110G-4 looks I just can't see how Schräge Musik weapons could have been placed in this position, given all the hefty radar and radio equipment packed right behind the pilots seats for the bordfunker to operate, and the installation of the MG.151 in the lower fuselage and such. To my mind, the place was just full, leaving no room for additional armament to be placed in that area.
Are any of you aware of a Schräge Musik setup as described by Martin Drewes? Am I overlooking something here? Was this part of the developement process Schräge Musik underwent without a doubt? and could this have been some sort of earlier type of setup? Or could this have been a simple mistake (you can't blame him should that be the case, since he must be well in his nineties by now..that is if he's still alive)
Either way, any insights would be greatly appreciated (even if only in support of my assumption that it would be technically nearly impossible to place Schräge Musik armament in the area Martin Drewes describes)
Many thanks in advance
Jelmer
Among the a/c I still consider building is one of Martin Drewes' late war BF-110G-4's (either G9+MD or G9+WD) Long story short, G9+MD (his night time mount of choice equipped with all the tech gimmicks for nocturnal operations) which was destroyed in combat sometime in June or July 1944 I think, and subsequently Drewes started using G9+WD (which was originally his mount for day time operations against US bombers I presume) for night operations and used it until the end of the war (on a sidenote: I think I read somewhere the top scoring night fighter aces were at some point exempted from flying these day time operations anyway because with increasingly effective allied fighter escorts the cumbersome Bf-110 nightfighters were basically sitting ducks and the Luftwaffe probably couldn't afford the loss of those highly experienced pilots)
Now, here's the thing. There are quite a few statements about Drewes' BF-110G-4's (including some made by the man himself after the war) that give some informations on his a/c. First there is contradicting information on the armament in the nose. I've read that he had he the 30mm MK.108 cannon replaced by either the trusty MG.17 4-gun battery or by 2x MG151 20mm cannon. While I haven't been able to figure out what it was in Drewes' case, I'm pretty sure either one of those options was technically very feasible on the Bf-110G, based on what general information I've gathered on the different weapon layouts carried by the BF-110G, and the fact that nighter fighter aces had the opportunity to configure their mounts into what worked best for them. I have multiple Eduard BF-110G kits (and a large spares box) that offer plenty of spare parts to create either a revised nose section with MK.108 guns, 20mm guns of sorts or the older nose section with the MG.17 machine gun battery, so I'll be able to work something out in that area (even if I end up having to make a decision on that myself without ever knowing the facts)
The other thing that intrigues me particulary however is the fact that Drewes' himself apparently has stated that he had the Schräge Musik 20mm cannon right behind the cockpit rather then way out back near the rear gunners position. Now, I've gathered a lot of information on the BF-110 and on the nightfighters in the past few months, but sofar I've never ever found any information (be it text or picturs/drawings) on a Schräge Musik setup like this. I did think about the matter a lot however, and thinking about how the typical cockpit of the BF-110G-4 looks I just can't see how Schräge Musik weapons could have been placed in this position, given all the hefty radar and radio equipment packed right behind the pilots seats for the bordfunker to operate, and the installation of the MG.151 in the lower fuselage and such. To my mind, the place was just full, leaving no room for additional armament to be placed in that area.
Are any of you aware of a Schräge Musik setup as described by Martin Drewes? Am I overlooking something here? Was this part of the developement process Schräge Musik underwent without a doubt? and could this have been some sort of earlier type of setup? Or could this have been a simple mistake (you can't blame him should that be the case, since he must be well in his nineties by now..that is if he's still alive)
Either way, any insights would be greatly appreciated (even if only in support of my assumption that it would be technically nearly impossible to place Schräge Musik armament in the area Martin Drewes describes)
Many thanks in advance
Jelmer
