Here's an in-cockpit shot. You can see the fuel tank cylinder plainly. It is not behind any sort of fire-wall, so the pilot is directly exposed in the event of a fire.
If you look carefully, you can see a cut-out between the gear legs, and just aft of where the tension cables meet.
It's just a model, but the brass part shows the bottom of the fuel tank, as well as the connection/release straps (also modeled in brass).
Still trying to get a manual....