ANT-60
1/48 Messerschmitt Me 109 E with personnel pods
Product Description
| In 1943, the Messerschmitt design office at Augsburg co-operated with the Zeppelin Research Institute to design an aerial personnel carrier which could be used for agent-dropping or for carrying wounded troops or supplies. Like the Junkers Ju 87 Ag version, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 personnel pod was a timber container, aerodynamically designed for being small ( it should not block the pilot’s lateral view as in the Stuka) and fitted a top of the wing, approximately at the central section. This device could accommodate an agent with parachute in prone position. The timber had a glazed observation blister at the front. One Me 109 E-4 (coded CI+??) was used for testing the pods in flight, carrying two pods, one of each wing. Due the weight increase of the fighter, the wing machine guns were deleted. Finally, it was never entered in serial production (as the Ju 87 Ag with personal pods) because the device caused big drag and a serious instability to the aircraft. |
