Xenophon
Gone and forgotten
Most numerous of German fighters
One of history's classic fighters, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 was to the Luftwaffe what the Spitfire was to the Royal Air Force. Several Bf 109 versions were successfully flown before twenty-four Bf 109B-2s were in 1937 sent to join the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion in Spain. Willy Messerschmitt's combat aircraft quickly out-fought the rival Soviet Polikarpov fighter. The Bf 109E series, which first appeared in 1938, was mass-produced and in 1939-40 proved superior in performance to virtually every fighter opposed to it during the Luftwaffe's participation in the early period of German conquest.
Production of the Bf 109E series mounted so rapidly that the surplus to German requirements was exported to other countries. The Bf 109E saw continual action in the Battle of Britain but its range permitted only very little operational time over southern England. The E series extended to the E-9 and included models built as fighters, fighter-bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. The most efficient production model of the Bf 109 was the Bf 109F, the first version capable of out-manoeuvring the Spitfire V. First appearing in 1941, the Bf 109F was lined up for the Nazi invasion of Soviet Russia.
By the late summer of 1942, however, the F series had been superseded in production and service by the Bf 109G, more familiarly known as the 'Gustav'. The 'Gustav' accounted for over 70 per cent of total Bf 109 production and it saw widespread service in Russia and from early-1943, against Allied deep-penetration bomber raids over Germany. The escort-fighters, especially of the United States Eighth Air Force, dealt a severe blow to the Bf 109s in the declining circumstances of Goering's Air Force. Altogether, including post-'Gustav' versions, a wartime aircraft construction record of 35,000 Bf 109 fighters were built.
This type was extremely popular with Germany's "experten," the veteran ace pilots of the German air force. It was flown by history's leading ace, Eric Hartman, who shot down 352 Russian aircraft between 1942 and 1945, as well as such great pilots as Adolf Galland, Werner Mölders, and many others.
Specifications: Bf 109E-4
Maximum speed: 357 mph at 12,305 ft.
Operational ceiling: 36,090 ft.
Normal range: 413 miles.
Armament: two 7.9 mm MG machine-guns in upper front fuselage and one 20 mm MG FF cannon in each wing
One of history's classic fighters, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 was to the Luftwaffe what the Spitfire was to the Royal Air Force. Several Bf 109 versions were successfully flown before twenty-four Bf 109B-2s were in 1937 sent to join the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion in Spain. Willy Messerschmitt's combat aircraft quickly out-fought the rival Soviet Polikarpov fighter. The Bf 109E series, which first appeared in 1938, was mass-produced and in 1939-40 proved superior in performance to virtually every fighter opposed to it during the Luftwaffe's participation in the early period of German conquest.
Production of the Bf 109E series mounted so rapidly that the surplus to German requirements was exported to other countries. The Bf 109E saw continual action in the Battle of Britain but its range permitted only very little operational time over southern England. The E series extended to the E-9 and included models built as fighters, fighter-bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. The most efficient production model of the Bf 109 was the Bf 109F, the first version capable of out-manoeuvring the Spitfire V. First appearing in 1941, the Bf 109F was lined up for the Nazi invasion of Soviet Russia.
By the late summer of 1942, however, the F series had been superseded in production and service by the Bf 109G, more familiarly known as the 'Gustav'. The 'Gustav' accounted for over 70 per cent of total Bf 109 production and it saw widespread service in Russia and from early-1943, against Allied deep-penetration bomber raids over Germany. The escort-fighters, especially of the United States Eighth Air Force, dealt a severe blow to the Bf 109s in the declining circumstances of Goering's Air Force. Altogether, including post-'Gustav' versions, a wartime aircraft construction record of 35,000 Bf 109 fighters were built.
This type was extremely popular with Germany's "experten," the veteran ace pilots of the German air force. It was flown by history's leading ace, Eric Hartman, who shot down 352 Russian aircraft between 1942 and 1945, as well as such great pilots as Adolf Galland, Werner Mölders, and many others.
Specifications: Bf 109E-4
Maximum speed: 357 mph at 12,305 ft.
Operational ceiling: 36,090 ft.
Normal range: 413 miles.
Armament: two 7.9 mm MG machine-guns in upper front fuselage and one 20 mm MG FF cannon in each wing
