[Andreas Brekken]

Hi, guys.

Just a heads up regarding the conversion of Bf 109's of earlier types to standard of Bf 109E-7:

There are more, but as an example, the following aircraft can be identified as conversions to E-7 from documents of the Erla Maschinenwerk VII, Antwerpen:

(The list has the following columns: Previous subtype, Built by, Werkenummer)

E-1 Arado 3300
E-1 Arado 4866
E-1 Arado 2696
E-1 Arado 3502
E-1 Ago 2950
E-1 Ago 3317
E-1 BFW 1937
E-4 BFW 2747
E-1 Fieseler 3174
E-1 FW 4077
E-3 Erla 2032
E-4 WNF 2747
E-4 WNF 5007
E-4B WNF 5902

Regarding the technical differences between a Bf 109E-4 and E-7, the following is taken from the 'Baureihenzusammenstellung der in der Luftwaffe eingeführten und in Einführung begriffenen Flugzeugmuster', written by the Generalluftzeugmeiser November 1st 1942.

From this document one can conclude that the E-7 really (as noted by others earlier in the discussion) is a fighter equipped for extended RANGE (that is the main reason for the new designation.

The technical standards are as follows (and this is interesting as this is a real LEGO toy approach!!):

Step 1: Bf 109E-1
Engine: DB 601 A
Armament: 4 MG 17 (Fuselage and wings)
Fuel quantity: 400 liters
Radio equipment: Fu G VII (with dingy E-1 S)

Step 2: Bf 109E-3
like E-1 but with:
Armament: 2 MG FF in place of wing MG-17's

Step 3: Bf 109E-4
like E-3 but with:
Armament: 2 MG FF 'M' in place of wing MG-FF's

Step 4: Bf 109E-4/B
like E-4 but with:
Abwurfanlage: mit SO-3-Einrichtung

Step 4a: Bf 109E-4/N
like E-4 but with:
Engine: DB 601 N in place of DB 601 A

Step 4b: Bf 109E-4/BN
like E-4/B but with:
Engine: DB 601 N in place of DB 601 A


Step 5: Bf 109E-7 'Jäger mit erhöhte reichweite oder Stuka'
like E-4/B but with:
(I include the original German text here so that You guys can read it Yourselves)
Abwurfanlage: Sonderträger f.abwerfb.300 l-Aussenbeh. unter d.Rumpf statt ETC-500. Sonderträger u.ETC können gegeneinander ausgetauscht werden'
in my translation:
Special equipment for carrying a 300 l external drop tank instead of a ETC 500. The special equipment for the drop tank and the ETC are interchangeable.

Thus: The E-7 is a Messerschmitt Bf 109E with

Engine: DB 601 A
Armament: 2 MG 17 in the nose and 2 MG-FF "M" in the wings
Fuel: 400 liters in the fuselage
Radio: Fu G VII
In addition: Special equipment for carrying a 300 l external drop tank instead of a ETC 500. The special equipment for the drop tank and the ETC are interchangeable.

Step 6: Bf 109E-7/N 'Jäger mit erhöhte reichweite'
like E-7 but with:
Engine: DB 601 N in place of DB 601 A

Step 7: Bf 109E-7/Z 'Jäger mit erhöhte reichweite oder Stuka'
like E-7/N but with:
Engine: with GM-1 equipment


Thus my conclusion as far as the external differences between the E-4 and E-7 goes:

A standard E-7 in 'Stuka' configuration can not be discerned from an E-4/B. Thus a photograph of an E with ETC 500 can be both an E-4/B and an E-7.

A standard E-7 in 'Jäger mit erhöhte Reichweite' configuration can be discerned from an E-4 by having equipment for carrying a droptank. Thus a photograph of an E with droptank cannot be an E-4.

The other versions of the E-7 You would have really good photographs to be able to tell apart, for the E-7/N would have 'C3' fuel marking (vs the standard '87' fuel triangle) (but this could also be a E-4/BN!!!), the E-7/Z would have the additional two hatches for the GM-1 equipment.


That's it!

Regards,
Andreas