Fw 58 Bomber

[petrowl]

Hi all,

I found a problem, which I can not solve using known photos or manuals: Where were the bombs on Fw 58 and which ones? I suppose that it has some hangers under the wing between fuselage and engine, maybe also in bomb bay in the fuselage. Could anybody help with the clarification? The question is valid mostly for the service with NSGr. Units.

Many thanks

Petr Owl

[Sergio Luis dos Santos]

Dear Petr.
I got your private message as well as the one to my email address.

I confess never found any photo showing a Fw 58 with bombs under the wings. Some months ago I posted a photo asking about the grating some Weihes had under the fuselage in front of the generator. On that time I did a mistake. I pointed on the photo some bomb bay doors but it´s wrong. Some B models had a bomb rack into the fuselage and only photo I know - showing interior of fuselage - comes from Thijs Postma collection. An older issue of IPMS Brasil magazine had an article on the Fw 58 where they reproduce a T.O. from Brazilian Air Force wich mentions the use of USA made deep charges on external racks during sea patrols but till today no photo or other drawing/scheme has been showing this.
On some Fw 58 with the protective grating, instead of bomb bay doors - as I wrongly thought - it appears they have some kind of hard points - external bomb or luggage racks? - but in the photos I still can´t have a positive conclusion. It´s written the protective grating used on Seenot Weihes - sea rescue - where a device to avoid a life raft hitting the generator or fuselage but also no photo I know showing a life raft on that place. I have some photos where the life raft is being thrown from the B stand not from a under fuselage rack. Some Brazilian Weihes also had that grating but their nose were "flat" without those strange bulges I have seen on some Luftwaffe examples.
It would be great if any pilot, mechanic or armorer could give us some light.