''Rüstsätze'' were field modification kits produced for the German

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. They were packaged in kit form, usually direct from the aircraft manufacturer, and allowed for field modifications of various German aircraft used in World War II, predominantly

fighter bombers A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...

and

night fighters A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...

. Rüstsätze kits could be fitted in the field, as opposed to ''Umrüst-Bausätze'' kits, which were typically fitted in the factory. This was not a hard and fast rule, however; during production runs various Rüstsätze kits were often fitted by factories in order to meet Luftwaffe demands, and "/R" designations were also occasionally applied to more complex changes in an aircraft's airframe design that were much more suitably completed at production line facilities, as with a few of the "/R"-designated versions of the

He 177 The Heinkel He 177 ''Greif'' (Griffin) was a long-range heavy bomber flown by the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. The introduction of the He 177 to combat operations was significantly delayed, by both problems with the development of its ...

A-5 heavy bomber.

Variants

Typical ''Rüstsätze'' kits would include extra

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

or machine gun armament, most often mounted in underwing

gun pod A gun pod is a detachable pod or pack containing machine guns, autocannons, revolver cannons, or rotary cannons and ancillaries, mounted externally on a vehicle such as a military aircraft which may or may not also have its own guns. Description ...

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

and

drop tank In aviation, a drop tank (external tank, wing tank or belly tank) is used to describe auxiliary fuel tanks externally carried by aircraft. A drop tank is expendable and often capable of being jettisoned. External tanks are commonplace on modern ...

fittings, extra armor, fuel, and various electrical system upgrades. The kits were numbered R1, R2, R3 and so forth. Some of these upgrades would become almost standard on certain fighters. Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-674-7772-13A, Flugzeug Focke-Wulf Fw 190, Bewaffnung

Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-674-7772-13A, Flugzeug Focke-Wulf Fw 190, Bewaffnung

The nomenclature was often confusing, as each Luftwaffe aircraft type — always defined by their RLM ''8-xxx'' airframe number — used their own unique series of /R-series (as well as the factory fitted, ''Umrüst-Bausatz'' /U-series) numbers: the "/R2" kit for a

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

G was for the fitment of a pair of the powerful

Werfer-Granate 21 The ''Werfer-Granate 21'' rocket launcher, also known as the BR 21 (the "BR" standing for ''Bordrakete'') in official Luftwaffe manuals, was a weapon used by the German Luftwaffe during World War II and was the first on-board rocket placed into ...

(Wfr. Gr. 21 or BR 21) underwing mounted rocket launchers, while the Focke-Wulf 190 used the "/R6" designation for this exact fitment. The

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, ...

was well known for its various Rüstsätze, which included: FW190-Granatwerfer2

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Campbell, Jerry L. & Greer, Don (1975). ''Focke Wulf Fw 190 in Action''. squadron/signal publications. .

External links

The Luftwaffe Over Germany By Donald Caldwell, Richard Muller
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rustsatze World War II aircraft of Germany