[_Hans]

In this case, not really. There is a 74 horsepower difference from the 109E1 to the stock 109E4. The E1 as delivered was not fitted with as much armor as the E4, however pilot accounts from JG26 for example seem to indicate that the E1's were brought as close to E4 standard as they could manage.

Personally I think that what I've suggested is perfectly acceptable and reasonable, especially when we consider some of the other things that have made it into IL-2! (Lerche!) Maybe for missions involving a recon run, the recon aircraft shouldn't be identical to its escorts, even if that only means changing the guns?