FW 190 20mm MGFF underwing access hatches

[tonyeh]

I have a question on the 190's underwing bulges. The A-5's were similar to the A-4's, but was the A-6's similar to the A-7 / A-8?

What I'm talking about are the access panels for the outer wing 20mm cannons. These were MGFF's in the A-5, but changed to MG151's in the A-6 model as we all know.

On the A-2, A-3, A-4 and A-5 they were large lumpy looking things. But on the A-8 they were made more "discreet".

But were they the "discreet" version on the A-6?

Any help is great.

[George Hopp]

They bulged on the models up to and including the A-5 because they had to provide room for the 60-round circular magazine for the MG-FFM.

The bottom plate for the A-6 through A-9 was flat but with a fairing that included a linkage ejection chute. See below from an A-7 on page 255 of "Focke-Wulf Jagdflugzeug" by Peter Rodeike. Oh yes, the spent cartridges were expelled into the area between Centre ribs 6 and 7, from where they were removed through a hand hole in the wing lower skin.

[tonyeh]

Cheers Geroge.