Thursday, February 18, 2016

Control Stick of the Messerschmitt Bf 110 E/F/G


CONTROL STICK:
The Messerschmitt Bf 110 E/F/G subtypes used a KG 12E (Knüppelgriff 12E) control stick. It had the Fl-number Fl 47945 (Gerät-Nr. 102-56E). In the Bf 110 E/F subtypes the stick had the electrical wiring code P9 and in the Bf 110 G subtype the stick had the code V9 with P9 used instead for the Kampfdurchladeknopf (see below for more details about the Kampfdurchladung).

ARMAMENT:
The Bf 110F and Bf 110G existed with various armament configurations. Depending on the subtype of the Bf 110, there were typically either four 17mm MG 17 machine guns or two 30mm MK 108 canons in the upper nose section and either two 20mm MG FF/M or MG 151/20 in the lower nose section. Later subtypes also had two additional MG 151/20 installed in an optional pod underneath the fuselage. In addition, the Bf 110F/G could carry bombs on external ETC carriers.

BUTTONS:
A-Button:
The A-button, operated by the trigger on the top of the KG 12E control stick, fired the upper nose machine guns or canons.

B1-Button:
The B1-button at the top of the KG 12E fired the lower nose canons. If the Rüstsatz with two additional MG 151/20 canons under the fuselage was installed, the B1-button also fired the additional two MG 151/20 canons.

B2-Button:
The B2-button at the top left was used for releasing the external stores. Since the standard KG 12E did not have any B2-button, it was modified and a bracket added that held a button enclosed in a rubber piece. The modification was most likely done by Messerschmitt, but possibly by the stick manufacturer.

Kampfdurchladeknopf:
The four MG 17 had to be charged individually by pressing four buttons in the SKK 404/2 that was installed in the main instrument panel. Later, an additional button that was attached to the lower front of the control stick was installed. It was used to simultaneously charge the four MG 17, which was called Kampfdurchladung (KD) in the Bf 110 manuals. The Bf 110 manual L.Dv.T.2110 G-2 bis G-4/Wa (Stand Maerz 1943, Ausgabe April 1943) mentions that this button had previously been used for radio communication. However, if the additional button was indeed used for radio communications, it is unclear what the small button on the front of the KG 12E above the wiring terminal was used for in these cases since this was usually the button used for radio communications.

Auto Pilot Switch:
The Bf 110 G-4 was specifically built as a nightfighter and as such had an additional left/right switch LR I.3 built into the KG 12E about where the index finger of the pilot was. The pilot could operate the single axis auto pilot with this switch. Only very late in the war a dedicated control stick – called KG 13R – was introduced that had this switch already integrated at factory level. The majority of the others were modified earlier control stick types.





Electrical Wiring Diagram Bf 110F (KG 12E has code P9): 





 KG 12E control column in a Bf 110F (without KD button):


 

Electrical Wiring Diagram Bf 110G (KG 12E has code V9 and KD button P9):



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