Me 109 canopy with slot at the top?!

[Zemper]

Here is the picture requested by NoNo of the panel slid open. It is from page 18 of "Messerschmitt Bf 109 F, G & K Series" by Jochen Prien & Peter Rodeike.

-Eric Zemper

[Kutscha]

There are several more photos of some F-1s, F-2s and F-4s (see pg 24) with the subject in question in the P&R book. On pg30, in the photo with Fw. Loddie, it looks like it was an added plexiglas piece.

Did the sliding glazing go under or over the rear piece of glazing?

[George Hopp]

It would appear that the front panel would slide over the rear panel.

Having seen the canopy of the 109 at our local museum, I think it highly unlikely that anyone would ever be able to exit the a/c through roughly half of the top panel.

Below is a crappy scan of a 109D-1 of 10.(N)/JG 26 taken in Stade in the fall of 1939, from Prien et al's, "Die Jagdfliegerverbande ..." Volume 2, page 224. It clearly shows the sliding panel in the top of the canopy, slightly open. This was apparently built into the night fighter version of that a/c to make it easier to see forward and upward when searching for British bombers at night. RAF tail gunners did the same with the rear panel of their turrets, to give them a slightly better view outside in searching for German night fighters.

[David Ransome]

Hi,
Hopefully to knock this one on the head, spoke to my contact again highlighting this thread - he stated categorically that it was definitely NOT a slot and that it was a perspex (plexiglas) bar for moving the top panel back and forth. He recalls a thickness of up to 5mm and that it was not bullet proof. I hadn't quite appreciated how emphatic he was intending to be first time I spoke to him on the subject, my hearing will be back to normal soon!

I agree with SP that any form of slot wouldn't be a good idea as regards water getting in!

So, has anyone got any decent pics, maybe even from a restored or relic aircraft?

Regards,

David

[lritger]

Square-topped Emils and Friedrichs had this "handle" on that central forward panel, as mentioned, and it's visible in all of these F model photos:













Lynn

[George Hopp]

Molders' a/c and the last two pictured make it pretty clear that there is a separate clear panel in the front half of the canopy top section. It opens by pulling back the perpex ridge at the front. Now, why would they want it?

[David Ransome]

Hi,

Thanks for the pics Lynn!

George, could the panel just be for cooling /ventilation as with the side windows, firing flares out of etc? The 109 having a side flipover canopy maybe wasn't as easy to ventilate as, say, the Fw190 where it's canopy could be rolled back almost any chosen distance up to it's stops. The operation manual/handbook for the aircraft may possibly indicate it's use.

Regards,

David

[WEISNER]

Hard to say? But would it be possible for the pilot to squeeze out through the top panel if slid back in an emergency? say if the canopy was damaged in combat and would not open?
Kevin

[stephen f. polyak]

Boy, we're having a run with this one! In my opinion, David nailed it - it's for ventilation. Think of the greenhouse effect and imagine sitting in that small cockpit, suited with flying kit, on a hot/sunny day and add engine heat! To gain some air circulation and temperature relief, just slide the upper panel open; adjust it as desired with altitude and airspeed. The upper panel could also allow fumes/smoke to escape in an fire emergency. (A possible disadvantage is that the fire may then also “breath” and intensify.) Later models of the 109 with better closed-canopy ventilation, pressurization, or improved blown canopies eliminated the upper sliding panel. Any possibility a like panel was fitted to early Bf 110s (hinged canopy)? As noted, a/c with a progressive sliding canopy (e.g., Fw 190) would not need such a feature.