No wheel bay for Bf 109E tail wheel?

[Dénes Bernád]

In the enclosed photo it appears that there was no wheel bay for this particular Bf 109E's tail wheel.



Was this detail peculiar to a certain sub-type (E-1)? Or was it covered during overhaul in a workshop?
I could not find any clue to this detail in the dozens of books I have on the topic.

Thanks,

[harrison987]

HI!!

It is there...but it has been covered up (you can barely see the outlone of the cover plate). The Me109 always had issues with tail gear retraction (wheels getting stuck, not lining up, or the hydraulic cylinder having issues). In the field they tended to keep them permanently fixed in the down position. I suspect that is why this one is like that.



Mike

[Clint Mitchell]

As you probably know the tailwheel was kept fixed in the down position but the bay was left open as is on the majority of Bf109E. On rare occassions this bay was faired over with a thin plate. I have recently come across another example of this bay being faired over.

[Leo Etgen]

Hi guys

I have seen this feature on a number of Bf 109 E-7/Trop aircraft. I presume that it was in order to prevent dust and sand from entering into the rear fuselage?

Horrido!

Leo

[Clint Mitchell]

Werner Machold's 'White 1+~' shows this here.

[net_sailor]

Almost all Swiss Bf 109E and D gets this fairing after short period. I saw many Luftwaffe aircraft with enclosed tail wheel bay, especially after 1940 (Greece, Yugoslavia and Russia campaings).