[Fucida]

the 501 was "standard from the factory" but it does not means that no field changes were made.

The jg26 took the rear fuselage fuel tanks out of most of their 190a8, in this case, the presence of the bulgy etc501 wasn't needed anymore to compensate the CoG.

That's why they used the 109's erla mounts when it was needed to carry a droptank.

that's called a field mod and you will not find it in the factoy manual

Do you see a spit rearview mirror in a p-51 manual ?:lol: :lol: :lol:

Many Fw 190 A-8 flew without rear fuselage tank, maybe more, than within. But without bomb rack? Maybe very very very few planes. I've never seen photo of Fw 190 A-8/9/F-8/9 without any rack.