By V. Kermorgant (profiles by G. Elegoët), March 2002
The Erla-built Me 109 G10
Erla-manufactured G10s are the most misidentified ones, and have been often referred as G10/AS in the past. Firstly, they did not use the fuselage “moon” fairing on the left side as with the previous AS version. Instead, they used a square panel totally integrated in the fuselage. They also used different cowls, covering the nose without the chin bulges found on the K4. The oil cooler was also different, larger and slimmer than the K4 model. It was most probably designed for the H version as well.
The Erla solution for covering the DB605D on the G10 was overall the most elegant one and naturally begs one question : Why were they the only factory doing so, especially when Messerschmitt itself was using “moons and bulges” on the brand new K4? We may never know for sure. However, the planned 109 H was designed to use covers strangely similar to the one used by Erla on the G10. A very possible explanation is that the items and tooling pre-produced for the H version were redirected to the Erla production at the time of the G10 introduction.
Since Erla started the G10 production quite early, the first a/c still used G6 wings with “small” wheels and the Erla canopy with antenna mast. Later, Erla used the same new wing with larger wheels as the other manufacturers.
Early G-10 with small wheels
Late version with large wheels
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