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wheel covers
The NASM book is the source for the 10 bolt pattern?
Dont forget that the wheels they had were mismatched and it is unknown which (or if any of them) is correct for the machine, I noted the book mentions another bolt size for the same component a few pages later.
It does seem like massive overkill to have 10 quite heavy duty bolts to hold a very thin alloy disc in place as they play no other part in the wheel structure.
The AWM undercarriage underwent a few changes in its life so it is no guarantee of pefect original accuracy either.
Given that the germans were suspending significantly heavier items using much less rugged attachment methods in the cockpit I do wonder whether it was just assumed it was a round headed bolt or machine screw while a simple solid wood screw would have sufficed(considering all 10 were taking the load).
The aircraft lost its rubber tyres early in its long life but apparently kept its covers so theres certainly a prospect which should not be ignored that the single found block was altered at some time.
I might throw this one to Koloman and see what his records indicate for the DIII
chris
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