A Me 109 K question
 

Hi everybody,

on the starboard underside of fuselage segment 2 (i.e. the first "ring" behind the cockpit part) of the earlier versions there was a large hatch, which was rectangular with small rounded corners on the E (and probably the preceding series) and trapezoidal with large rounded corners on the F and G and which provided access to some control mechanism. On the K that hatch was replaced by a smaller circular one. Does anyone have photos or reliable drawings or precise geometric data of the K fuselage underside, which show the exact position and size of that circular hatch? I know one photo showing the lid of the hatch hanging down, but its precise position remains unclear.

Regards,
klemchen

Re: A Me 109 K question
 

That would be the Mutterkompass and MW50 access hatch.

on ALL models from F-K, it was under the belly, and was a bit of a trapezoid.

In addition to that hatch, there it had a ROUND hatch on the left side.

On the K, they omitted both and used ONLY a round hatch on the bottom (instead of trapezoid) when it was equipped with MW50.

If no Mw-50 was installed at factory, it got the standard two-hatch set-up.

I do not have drawings, but I suspect it was dead centre of where the trapezoid was located...and the same size as the round hatch on left.

Mike

Re: A Me 109 K question
 

Hello Mike,

thank you for your answer. I did not know there were any K-4s without MW50, although I have seen photos of unfinished K-4 fuselages with the round hatch on the port side of fuselage segment 2. Were these K-4s intended for training units? (Just like there were G-14s for training without MW50, in spite of the designation G-6/MW50 having been considered, but finally rejected, for the G-14.)
I still believe that the bottom hatch on fuselage segment 2 was to provide access to the control mechanism for the elevators, since inside on starboard of that segment there were two levers and a counterweight of that control. And on the K-4s with MW50 the mother compass had been moved rearward to segment 6, so there was no need of providing any access to the compass on segment 2.

Regards,
klemchen