Material of Bf 109 Gun Troughs

[Roger Gaemperle]

Hello,

I read somewhere that the Bf 109 gun troughs were made out of steel. Photos of the unpainted Bf 109 G-10 cowling published in Ken Merrick's German Aircraft Interior on p. 202 show a different material.

Was it really steel? Is there any wartime source that confirms this? I couldn't find any reference to steel in the Bf 109 manual nor spare parts list.

And if it was steel, was it due to the temperature of the engine block or due to the blast pressure from the guns?

Thanks,

Roger

[harrison987]

All made from stamped mild steel from E to K.

[Roger Gaemperle]

Thank you Mike. That's very helpful and is clearly steel as you have stated.

[Nick Beale]

Also, this photo from 1992 of my late friend and colleague, Ferdinando D'Amico with a Bf 109 cowling.

[Roger Gaemperle]

Thank you Nick for the great photo. I have Ferdinando D'Amico excellent book about the Italian WW2 Air Force with details about Erla-produced Bf 109 G-14 that were delivered without MW 50 equipment, among many other interesting information.

[stephen f. polyak]

Not engine temperature. Multiply harsh environment immediately ahead of the guns when fired. Over-pressure and heat from muzzle blast, combustion by-products, and ballistic shock wave. Engineers rightly decided steel is better able to withstand those "operating conditions" than aluminum.