Me 109 canopy with slot at the top?!

[Roger Gaemperle]

Hello,

While updating my blog lwcollectibles.blogspot.com I came across an interesting photo of a Me 109 canopy with a slot at the top. Was this standard or a field modification? Perhaps for Me 109 in the mediterranean? Does any Me 109 expert know more about this?

Regards
Roger Gaemperle

[David Ransome]

Hi,

I don't think that it is a slot! It looks to me more like a 'glued on' piece, fixed in a similar fashion to the perspex 'knobs' on cockpit glazing sliding panels.

There is possibly a tonal difference to back this up. Look at the frame that runs along the bottom of the canopy on it's port (left) side. Where it is definitely not obscured by perspex it is more toward black, through the perspex it is more grey. Through the 'slot' it is more to the grey.

Then I looked at two of my books and saw the same 'slot' and it does look more like a bar. P.35 Bf109 James F Craig 1968, P.92 Bf109 PSL/Airfix 1972 - don't laugh, I'm not into 109s!

Kind regards,

David

[Roger Gaemperle]

Hi David,

Thank you for your response. You are probably right! If it is a glued piece it must be on the indside (on the outside it would only add drag without an obvious purpose). Could it be that the forward half of the top canopy could be slided backwards? I have never heard of this before, but that's the only explanation I can imagine.

Best regards
Roger

Originally Posted by Roger Gaemperle

Hi David,

Thank you for your response. You are probably right! If it is a glued piece it must be on the indside (on the outside it would only add drag without an obvious purpose). Could it be that the forward half of the top canopy could be slided backwards? I have never heard of this before, but that's the only explanation I can imagine.

Best regards
Roger

might be some sort of vent to stop steamin up at higher alt.
Gary

[Jon]

Interesting i have never seen anything like this before.
I am sure its not stuck on and is infact a cut out slot, if you look closely you can see through the cut out at the leads and detail etc.. in the cockpit.
If it was, as has been suggested glued on the inside the view would not be clear, if able to see through it at all.

The only thing it can be is a vent of somekind but why?

[David Ransome]

Hi,

I've just had word from one of my contacts and he recalls that on one type of 109 canopy there was a pull back section on the top that had a perspex strip bonded to it. (I've not been able to send a picture to him, he doesn't own a PC and at 92 years he reckons that he's too old to get involved with one now!)

As regards visibility it was fairly common to have handles etc 'glued' to sliding perspex panels on cockpit/canopy sides, such as found on He111, Bf109, Do17,Ju87 etc. On a light aircraft I flew several years ago the door windows had sliding panels with perspex pull bars and must say that I can't recall any major problems with visibilty or image distortion.

All that said, if it does turn out to be a slot, I'lllet my contact know and I'll stick to He111s!!! There must be a 109 afficionado out there who can enlighten us all one way or the other!

Kind regards,

David

[Don Pearson]

A quick glance at some references show the slot/bar in a variety of E-7, F-2 and F-4 models. Appears to have disappeared with the G-model and the pressurised cabin.

Don

[stephen f. polyak]

Speaking with my aeronautical engineering hat on . . . Practical considerations would make a slot unlikely. Such an opening would allow weather in (rain) and would likely admit/produce noise. I suggest it’s the means by which the top canopy panel is slid open/closed for ventilation from within the cockpit at the pilot's choosing. It appears to be a bonded piece of Plexiglas to reduce visual obstruction. The placement and shape of the part allows its use with either hand, or possibly even with a nudge of the head.

[George Hopp]

109D night fighters had a section in the top of the canopy that could be slid back. Sliding back the section would give the pilot a clear view of the sky above and in front of him. So, maybe, although it's hard to tell.

[Peter D Evans]

I can't make my mind up one way or another. I've searched through all the resources I have and it appears that the slot or glued handle appears more often than not on canopy's belonging to F-series Bf109's, especially those with the auxiliary bullet resistant 57mm windscreen. The image below shows a Bf109F-4 with both and is reproduced from German Aircraft Interiors 1935-45 [Monogram, 1996]

Cheers

Peter D Evans
LEMB Administrator