The me 109 was the best fighter the germans had before the jet fighters arrived I had a terrible feeling the war went on because of this very duel between the me 109 and the spitfire to see whose technology was the best a very interesting time during the new technological and engineering age the spitfire was tweeked about a dozen times before.
German WWII fighter aircraft familyBf 109A Bf 109G-6 of in flight, 1943RoleManufacturerDesigner,First flight29 May 1935IntroductionFebruary 1937Retired9 May 1945, Luftwaffe27 December 1965, Spanish Air ForcePrimary usersHungarian Air ForceNumber built33,984+603+239VariantsThe Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German fighter aircraft that was, along with the, the backbone of the 's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the and was still in service at the dawn of the jet age at the end of World War II in 1945. It was one of the most advanced fighters of the era, including such features as all-metal construction, a closed canopy, and retractable landing gear.
It was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12. From the end of 1941, the Bf 109 was steadily being supplemented by the. It was commonly called the Me 109, most often by Allied aircrew and among the German aces, even though this was not the official German designation.It was designed by and who worked at Bayerische Flugzeugwerke during the early to mid-1930s.
It was conceived as an, although later models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as, -,. It was supplied to several states during World War II, and served with several countries for many years after the war. The Bf 109 is the most produced fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 airframes produced from 1936 to April 1945.The Bf 109 was flown by the three top-scoring German fighter aces of World War II, who claimed 928 victories among them while flying with, mainly on the.
The highest-scoring fighter ace of all time was, who flew the Bf 109 and was credited with 352 aerial victories. The aircraft was also flown by, the highest-scoring German ace in the who achieved 158 aerial victories. It was also flown by several other aces from Germany's allies, notably Finnish, the highest-scoring non-German ace, and pilots from Italy, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Hungary. Through constant development, the Bf 109 remained competitive with the latest Allied fighter aircraft until the end of the war.A significant portion of Bf 109 production originated in Nazi concentration camps, including,.
Bf 109E-3, c. 1939/1940Initially, the Bf 109 was regarded with disfavour by E-Stelle test pilots because of its steep ground angle, which resulted in poor forward visibility when taxiing; the sideways-hinged cockpit canopy, which could not be opened in flight; and the automatic on the wings which, it was thought, would inadvertently open during aerobatics, possibly leading to crashes.
This was later borne out in combat situations and aerobatic testing by various countries' test establishments. The leading edge slats and ailerons would flutter rapidly in fast tight turns, making targeting and control difficult, and eventually putting the aircraft into a stall. They were also concerned about the high wing loading.The, based on a scaled-down, was the favourite of the Luftwaffe leaders. Compared with the Bf 109, it was also cheaper. Positive aspects of the He 112 included the wide track and robustness of the undercarriage (this opened outwards from mid wing, as opposed to the 109s which opened from the ), considerably better visibility from the cockpit, and a lower wing loading that made for easier landings.
In addition, the V4 had a single-piece, clear-view, sliding cockpit canopy and a more powerful Jumo 210Da engine with a modified exhaust system. However, the He 112 was also structurally complicated, being 18% heavier than the Bf 109, and it soon became clear that the thick wing, which spanned 12.6 m (41 ft 4 in) with an area of 23.2 m 2 (249.7 ft 2) on the first prototype (V1), was a disadvantage for a light fighter, decreasing the aircraft's rate of roll and manoeuvrability. As a result, the He 112 V4 which was used for the trials had new wings, spanning 11.5 m (37 ft 8.75 in) with an area of 21.6 m 2 (232.5 ft 2).
However, the improvements had not been fully tested and the He 112 V4 could not be demonstrated in accordance with the rules laid down by the Acceptance Commission, placing it at a distinct disadvantage.Because of its smaller, lighter, the Bf 109 was 30 km/h (20 mph) faster than the He 112 in level flight, and superior in climbing and diving. The Commission ultimately ruled in favour of the Bf 109 because of the Messerschmitt test pilot's demonstration of the 109's capabilities during a series of spins, dives, flick rolls and tight turns, throughout which the pilot was in complete control of the aircraft.In March, the RLM received news that the British had been ordered into production. It was felt that a quick decision was needed to get the winning design into production as soon as possible, so on 12 March, the RLM announced the results of the competition in a document entitled Bf 109 Priority Procurement, which ordered the Bf 109 into production. At the same time, Heinkel was instructed to radically redesign the He 112. The Messerschmitt 109 made its public debut during the, when the V1 prototype was flown. Design features As with the earlier Bf 108, the new design was based on Messerschmitt's 'lightweight construction' principle, which aimed to minimise the number of separate parts in the aircraft.
Examples of this could be found in the use of two large, complex brackets which were fitted to the firewall. These brackets incorporated the lower engine mounts and landing gear pivot point into one unit. A large forging attached to the firewall housed the main spar pick-up points, and carried most of the wing loads. Contemporary design practice was usually to have these main load-bearing structures mounted on different parts of the airframe, with the loads being distributed through the structure via a series of strong-points.
By concentrating the loads in the firewall, the structure of the Bf 109 could be made relatively light and uncomplicated. A Bf109E at the with its wings temporarily removed, 2016An advantage of this design was that the main landing gear, which retracted through an 85-degree angle, was attached to the, making it possible to completely remove the wings for servicing without additional equipment to support the fuselage. It also allowed simplification of the wing structure, since it did not have to bear the loads imposed during takeoff or landing. The one major drawback of this landing gear arrangement was its narrow, making the aircraft unstable while on the ground.
To increase stability, the legs were splayed outward somewhat, creating another problem in that the loads imposed during takeoff and landing were transferred up through the legs at an angle.The small rudder of the Bf 109 was relatively ineffective at controlling the strong swing created by the powerful slipstream of the propeller during the early portion of the takeoff roll, and this sideways drift created disproportionate loads on the wheel opposite to the swing. If the forces imposed were large enough, the pivot point broke and the landing gear leg would collapse outward into its bay. Experienced pilots reported that the swing was easy to control, but some of the less-experienced pilots lost fighters on takeoff.Because of the large ground angle caused by the long legs, forward visibility while on the ground was very poor, a problem exacerbated by the sideways-opening canopy. This meant that pilots had to taxi in a sinuous fashion which also imposed stresses on the splayed undercarriage legs. Ground accidents were a problem with inexperienced pilots, especially during the later stages of the war when pilots received less training before being sent to operational units.
At least 10% of all Bf 109s were lost in takeoff and landing accidents, 1,500 of which occurred between 1939 and 1941. The installation of a fixed 'tall' tailwheel on some of the late G-10s and −14s and the K-series helped alleviate the problem to a large extent. Freely moving, automatic on a Bf 109E.
By using high-lift devices, the handling qualities of the Bf 109 were considerably enhanced.From the inception of the design, priority was given to easy access to the powerplant, fuselage weapons and other systems while the aircraft was operating from. To this end, the entire engine was made up of large, easily removable panels which were secured by large toggle latches. A large panel under the wing centre section could be removed to gain access to the L-shaped main, which was sited partly under the cockpit floor and partly behind the rear cockpit bulkhead. Other, smaller panels gave easy access to the cooling system and electrical equipment. The engine was held in two large, forged, Y-shaped legs, one per side straddling the engine block, which were from the firewall. Each of the legs was secured by two quick-release screw fittings on the firewall. All of the main pipe connections were colour-coded and grouped in one place, where possible, and electrical equipment plugged into junction boxes mounted on the firewall.
The entire powerplant could be removed or replaced as a unit in a matter of minutes, a potential step to the eventual adoption of the unitized-powerplant engine mounting concept used by many German combat aircraft designs, later in the war years.Another example of the Bf 109's advanced design was the use of a single, I-beam main in the wing, positioned more aft than usual (to give enough room for the retracted wheel), thus forming a stiff D-shaped torsion box. Most aircraft of the era used two spars, near the front and rear edges of the wings, but the D-box was much stiffer, and eliminated the need for the rear spar. The wing profile was the NACA 2R1 14.2 at the root and NACA 2R1 11.35 at the tip, with a thickness to ratio of 14.2% at the root and 11.35% at the tip.Another major difference from competing designs was the higher wing-loading. While the R-IV contract called for a wing-loading of less than 100 kg/m 2, Messerschmitt felt this was unreasonable. With a low wing-loading and the engines available, a fighter would end up being slower than the bombers it was tasked with catching. A fighter was designed primarily for high-speed flight.
A smaller wing area was optimal for achieving high speed, but low-speed flight would suffer, as the smaller wing would require more airflow to generate enough lift to maintain flight. To compensate for this, the Bf 109 included advanced on the wings, including automatically-opening, and fairly large camber-changing on the. The slats increased the lift of the wing considerably when deployed, greatly improving the horizontal maneuverability of the aircraft, as several Luftwaffe veterans, such as Erwin Leykauf, attest. Messerschmitt also included ailerons that 'drooped' when the flaps were lowered (F series and later the lower radiator flap operated as part of the flap system), thereby increasing the effective flap area. When deployed, these devices effectively increased the wings' coefficient of lift.Fighters with liquid-cooled engines were vulnerable to hits in the cooling system. For this reason, on later Bf 109 F, G, and K models, the two coolant radiators were equipped with a cut-off system. If one radiator leaked, it was possible to fly on the second, or to fly for at least five minutes with both closed.
In 1943, Oberfeldwebel got lost and landed behind Soviet lines. He agreed to show the Soviets how to service the plane.
Soviet machine gun technician Viktor M. Sinaisky recalled:The Messer was a very well designed plane. First, it had an engine of an inverted type, so it could not be knocked out from below. It also had two water radiators with a cut-off system: if one radiator leaked you could fly on the second or close both down and fly at least five minutes more.
The pilot was protected by armour-plate from the back, and the fuel tank was also behind armour. Our planes had fuel tanks in the centre of their wings: that's why our pilot got burnt. What else did I like about the Messer?
It was highly automatic and thus easy to fly. It also employed an electrical pitch regulator, which our planes didn't have.
Our propeller system, with variable pitch was hydraulic, making it impossible to change pitch without engine running. If, God forbid, you turned off the engine at high pitch, it was impossible to turn the propeller and was very hard to start the engine again. Finally, the German ammo counter was also a great thing. Armament and gondola cannons. A cannon-armed Bf 109E, showing the 20 mm installations in the wing.Reflecting Messerschmitt's belief in low-weight, low-drag, simple monoplanes, the armament was placed in the fuselage.
This kept the wings very thin and light. Two machine guns were mounted in the cowling, firing over the top of the engine and through the propeller arc. An alternative arrangement was also designed, consisting of a single firing through a blast tube between the cylinder banks of the engine, known as a Motorkanone mount in German. This was also the choice of armament layout on some contemporary monoplane fighters, such as the French, or the American, and dated back to 's small run of moteur-canon, 37 mm cannon-armed fighters in France.When it was discovered in 1937 that the RAF was planning eight-gun batteries for its new and fighters, it was decided that the Bf 109 should be more heavily armed.
The problem was that the only place available to mount additional guns was in the wings. Only one spot was available in each wing, between the wheel well and slats, with room for only one gun, either a 7.92 mm, or a 20 mm MG FF or MG FF/M cannon.The first version of the 109 to have wing guns was the C-1, which had one MG 17 in each wing. To avoid redesigning the wing to accommodate large ammunition boxes and access hatches, an unusual ammunition feed was devised whereby a continuous belt holding 500 rounds was fed along chutes out to the wing tip, around a roller and then back along the wing, forward and beneath the gun breech, to the wing root, where it coursed around another roller and back to the weapon.The gun barrel was placed in a long, large-diameter tube located between the spar and the leading edge. The tube channeled cooling air around the barrel and breech, exhausting out of a slot at the rear of the wing. The installation was so cramped that parts of the MG 17's breech mechanism extended into an opening created in the flap structure.The much longer and heavier MG FF had to be mounted farther along the wing in an outer bay.
A large hole was cut through the spar allowing the cannon to be fitted with the ammunition feed forward of the spar, while the breech block projected rearward through the spar. A 60-round ammunition drum was placed in a space closer to the wing root causing a bulge in the underside. A small hatch was incorporated in the bulge to allow access for changing the drum. The entire weapon could be removed for servicing by removing a leading edge panel. Luftwaffe ground-crew positioning a Bf 109G-6 equipped with the VI underwing gondola cannon kit.
Note the slat on the leading edge of the port wing., France, late 1943.From the 109F-series onwards, guns were no longer carried inside the wings. Instead, the Bf 109F had a 20 mm gun firing through the propeller shaft. The change was disliked by leading fighter pilots such as and, but others such as considered the single nose-mounted gun to compensate well for the loss of the two wing guns. Galland had his Bf 109F-2 field-modified with a 20 mm MG FF/M autocannon, the '/M' suffix indicating the capability of firing thin-walled 20mm shells, installed internally in each wing.In place of internal wing armament, additional firepower was provided through a pair of 20 mm installed in conformal under the wings.
The conformal gun pods, exclusive of ammunition, weighed 135 kg (298 lb); and 135 to 145 rounds were provided per gun. The total weight, including ammunition, was 215 kg.
Installation of the under-wing gun pods was a simple task that could be quickly performed by the unit's armourers, and the gun pods imposed a reduction of speed of only 8 km/h (5 mph). By comparison, the installed weight of a similar armament of two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon inside the wings of the Fw 190A-4/U8 was 130 kg (287 lb), without ammunition.Although the additional armament increased the fighter's potency as a bomber destroyer, it had an adverse effect on the handling qualities, reducing its performance in fighter-versus-fighter combat and accentuating the tendency of the fighter to swing pendulum-fashion in flight.Some of the projected 109K-series models, such as the K-6, were designed to carry 30 mm (1.18 in) in the wings.
Designation and nicknames. Bf 109F-4 of near, FranceThe second big redesign during 1939–40 gave birth to the. The Friedrich had new wings, cooling system and fuselage aerodynamics, with the 1,175 PS (1,159 HP) DB 601N (F-1, F-2) or the 1,350 PS (1,332 HP) DB 601E (F-3, F-4). Considered by many as the high-water mark of Bf 109 development, the F series abandoned the wing cannon and concentrated all armament in the forward fuselage with a pair of synchronized machine guns above and a single 15 or 20 mm Motorkanone-mount cannon behind the engine, the latter firing between the cylinder banks and through the propeller hub, itself covered by a more streamlined, half-elliptical shaped spinner that better matched the streamlining of the reshaped cowling, abandoning the smaller, conical spinner of the Emil subtype. The F-type also omitted the earlier stabilizer on either side of the tail. The improved aerodynamics were used by all later variants.
Some Bf 109Fs were used late in the in 1940 but the variant came into common use only in the first half of 1941. Bf 109A from the during (1936–1939)The first Bf 109As served in the. By September 1939, the Bf 109 had become the main fighter of the Luftwaffe, replacing the biplane fighters, and was instrumental in gaining air superiority for the during the early stages of the war. During the, it was pressed into the role of escort fighter, a role for which it was not originally designed, and it was widely employed as a, as well as a platform.
Despite mixed results over Britain, with the introduction of the improved Bf 109F in early 1941, the type again proved to be an effective fighter during the (where it was used by both sides), the, the invasion of the, and the.In 1942, it began to be partially replaced in Western Europe by a new German fighter, the, but it continued to serve in a multitude of roles on the and in the, as well as in the and with 's. It was also supplied to several of Germany's allies, including Finland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovakia.More aerial kills were made with the Bf 109 than any other aircraft of World War II. Many of the aerial victories were accomplished against poorly trained and badly organized Soviet forces in 1941 during.
The Soviets lost 21,200 aircraft at this time, about half to combat. If shot down, the Luftwaffe pilots might land or parachute to friendly territory and return to fight again. Later in the war, when Allied victories began to bring the fight closer, and then to German territory, bombing raids supplied plenty of targets for the Luftwaffe.
This unique combination of events — until occurred very early in 1944, that steadily gave the daylight over the Reich — led to the highest-ever individual pilot victory scores. One hundred and five Bf 109 pilots were each credited with the destruction of 100 or more enemy aircraft.
Thirteen of these men scored more than 200 kills, while two scored more than 300. Altogether, this group of pilots was credited with a total of nearly 15,000 kills. Though no official status existed in the Luftwaffe (unofficially, the term Experte (expert) was used for an experienced pilot irrespective of his number of kills), using the Allied definition of pilots who scored five or more kills, more than 2,500 Luftwaffe fighter pilots were considered aces in World War II. Against the Soviets, Finnish-flown Bf 109Gs claimed a victory ratio of 25:1.Bf 109s remained in foreign service for many years after World War II. The Swiss used their Bf 109Gs well into the 1950s. The Finnish Air Force did not retire their Bf 109Gs until March 1954. Romania used its Bf 109s until 1955.
The Spanish Hispanos flew even longer. Some were still in service in the late 1960s. They appeared in films (notably ) playing the role of Bf 109Es. Some Hispano airframes were sold to museums, which rebuilt them as Bf 109s.Operators Note, this list includes operators who used Bf 109s for active service or combat. It does not include the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, which all operated small numbers of captured aircraft for testing and evaluation ( see: ).