The Messerschmitt Bf 109
began as an entry by the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke in a
Luftwaffe (German Air Force) fighter
competition in the early 1930s. Willy Messerschmitt's
creation incorporated one of the most advanced
aerodynamic designs at the time, with retractable
landing gear, an enclosed cockpit, automatic slats,
cantilever wings and stressed skin construction. During
the trials, the Bf 109 clearly outperformed the larger
and heavier favorite, Heinkel's He 112. The first
production model, the Bf 109B, began coming off the
lines in 1936. The redesignation of the
Bayerische
Flugzeugwerke AG (Aktiengesellschaft or
Corporation) to the Messerschmitt AG in 1938 led many to
call it the Me 109, although the official
Luftwaffe
designation of the aircraft remained the Bf 109
throughout the war.
Development and
Service
The Bf 109B first entered
combat with German-manned Condor Legion units during the
Spanish Civil War, and they were a welcome replacement
for the obsolete Heinkel He 51 biplane fighter. The Bf
109C, introduced in 1938, retained the twin 7.9mm MG 17
machine guns mounted above the engine but replaced the
single MG 17 firing through the propeller spinner with
two MG 17s in the wings.
After less than 200 Bf 109Ds
were built, the Bf 109E entered production with the
Daimler Benz DB 601 in early 1939. Early in World War
II, the Bf 109E completely dominated the Polish PZL
fighters. In the invasion of France in May 1940, the Bf
109E outfought French Morane-Saulnier MS 406s and
British Hawker Hurricanes.
In
the air battles over the English Channel and later
during the Battle of Britain, the Bf 109E not only
exposed its Achilles heel -- its short range -- but also
met its equal, the Supermarine Spitfire. The short range
of the Bf 109E prevented it from escorting
Luftwaffe
bombers past London, leaving the greater part of the
British Isles free from enemy attack on training and
production sites. This problem was a significant
contribution to the
Luftwaffe's defeat in the
Battle of Britain.
The Bf 109F began to replace the E series in late 1940.
Intended to counter the Spitfire, the F series had an
engine with increased horsepower and a more streamlined
airframe and cooling system. More than half of the
Luftwaffe single-engine fighter units involved in
the invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, flew
the Bf 109F. The F model also enjoyed considerable
superiority over the RAF Kittyhawks (P-40s) and
Hurricanes it met over the skies of North Africa.
The
limits of the Bf 109 design appeared with the Bf 109G
series, which began production in early 1942. The Bf
109G had a higher top speed but was less maneuverable
than earlier versions. Some later Gs had bulges in front
of the cockpit caused by the larger 13mm MG 131 machine
guns, which added further weight and drag. Pilots of the
Bf 109G found it increasingly difficult to fly against
more capable aircraft such as the P-51D Mustang. Despite
its limitations, the G series was the most numerous of
the Bf 109 types and remained in production into 1945.
The
last major series was the Bf 109K, which was similar to
the Bf 109G-10 series. Development problems aggravated
by Allied bombing and the rapidly deteriorating war
situation limited production of this type to less than
2,000.
During WWII, the Bf 109 was
the backbone of the
Luftwaffe fighter force,
serving on all fronts and also in the air forces of its
European allies. Even though the superior Fw 190 began
to replace the Bf 109 in some units as early as the
summer of 1941, production of the Bf 109 actually rose
until the closing months of the war and it remained the
most numerous Luftwaffe fighter. By war's end,
Germany had built more than 30,000 Bf 109s. Production
of the Bf 109 continued on after the war in
Czechoslovakia until 1949 and in Spain until 1958. It
remains to this day the most produced fighter in
history.
G-10 Series
The Messerschmitt Bf 109G-10 series was unusual in that
it consisted of new and remanufactured airframes of
earlier model Gs equipped with the more powerful Daimler
Benz DB 605D series engine. As a result, there was
little standardization beyond the common use of the
Erla-Haube (or "Galland Hood") improved vision
canopy. Even so, the G-10 proved to be the fastest G
model.
The museum's Bf 109G-10 is
painted to represent an aircraft from Jagdgeschwader
300, a unit that defended Germany against Allied
bombers. JG 300 was originally formed as a Wilde Sau (or
Wild Boar) night fighter unit in 1943 but converted to
the day fighter role as U.S. bomber attacks intensified.
In the many pitched battles with the U.S. Army Air
Forces, the Bf 109G-10s of JG 300 often provided top
cover for the more heavily armed
Focke Wulf Fw
190s attacking the bomber
formations. This unit also had the distinction of being
the last command of the war for Maj. Gunther Rall, who
with 275 victories, was the third-highest scoring ace in
history.
American Bf 109s
The center for
USAAF foreign aircraft testing in WWII was based at
Wright Field, Ohio. Throughout the war, numerous enemy
aircraft were brought there to face a rigid examination,
including test flights. Test aircraft were given an
designation number prefixed by: EB (for Evaluation
Branch), FE (Foreign Intelligence) or T2 (for the T-2
Office of Air Force Intelligence). |