The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force.[1] The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War and was still in service at the dawn of the jet age at the end of World War II in 1945.[1] It was one of the most advanced fighters when it first appeared, with an all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, and retractable landing gear. It was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine.[2] From the end of 1941, the Bf 109 was steadily supplemented by the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It was called the Me 109 by Allied aircrew and some German aces, even though this was not the official German designation.[3]
It was designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser who worked at Bayerische Flugzeugwerke during the early to mid-1930s.[2] It was conceived as an interceptor, although later models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as bomber escort, fighter-bomber, day-, night-, all-weather fighter, ground-attack aircraft, and reconnaissance aircraft. 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.[4][1] Some of the Bf 109 production took place in Nazi concentration camps through slave labor.
The Bf 109 was flown by the three top-scoring fighter aces of all time, who claimed 928 victories among them while flying with Jagdgeschwader 52, mainly on the Eastern Front. The highest-scoring, Erich Hartmann, was credited with 352 victories. The aircraft was also flown by Hans-Joachim Marseille, the highest-scoring ace in the North African Campaign who shot down 158 enemy aircraft (in about a third of the time). It was also flown by many aces from other Axis nations, notably the Finn Ilmari Juutilainen, the highest-scoring non-German ace. Pilots from Italy, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Hungary also flew the Bf 109. Through constant development, the Bf 109 remained competitive with the latest Allied fighter aircraft until the end of the war.[5]
History[]
Other users[]
- Bulgaria
- The Bulgarian Air Force operated 19 E-3s and 145 G-2/-6/-10s.
- Croatia
- Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske operated over 50 Bf 109s, including E-4, F-2, G-2/-6/-10 and Ks.
- Czechoslovakia
- Czechoslovak Air Force operated captured aircraft and continued building Messerschmitt Bf 109Gs after the war under the Avia S-99 name, but soon ran out of the 109's Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine after many were destroyed during an explosion at a warehouse in Krásné Březno.
- Finland
- Finnish Air Force ordered 162 aircraft (48 G-2s, 111 G-6s and three G-8s) from Germany, but 3 were destroyed during transit, leaving the FAF with 159 Bf 109s. FAF pilots had 663 air victories during 1943–44 with Bf-109 G's and lost 34 in combat (20 shot down by enemy aircraft). 23 were non-combat losses and other write-offs. 102 Bf-109 G survived the war.
- Hungary
- Royal Hungarian Air Force operated 3 D-1s, 50 E-3/-4s, 66 F-4s and ~490 G-2/-4/-6/-8/-10/-14s.
- Israel
- Israeli Air Force operated the Avia S-199 derivative, bought from Czechoslovakia. Despite the type's shortcomings the Israelis scored 8 victories. Egypt and Syria claimed 4 S-199 kills, and 1 probable.
- Italy
- Regia Aeronautica operated several tens of Bf 109s in the first half of 1943.
- Italian Social Republic
- Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana operated 300 G-6/-10/-14s and two G-12s; three K-4s were also received.
- Japan
- Imperial Japanese Army Air Force purchased 5 E-7s in 1941. The aircraft were used for tests and trials.
- Romania
- Royal Romanian Air Force operated 50 E-3/4s, 19 E-7s, 2 F-2s, 5 F-4s and at least 235+ G-2/G-4/G-6/-8s plus 75 IAR built 109G-6a.
- Romanian Air Force – Postwar.
- Slovakia Slovak Republic
- Slovak Air Force operated 16 E-3s, 14 E-7s and 30 G-6s.
- Slovak Insurgent Air Force operated 3 G-6s during the Slovak National Uprising.
- Spanish State
- Spanish Air Force operated some D-1s, E-3s and 15 F-4s, and may have received several older B-types. Volunteers of Escuadrilla Azul on the Eastern Front operated E-4, E-7, E-7/B, F-2, F-4 (belonged in JG-27 under the command of Luftflotte 2, until April 1943) among G-4 and G-6 (detached in JG-51 under the command Luftflotte 4, until June 1944). A variant under license by the name Hispano Aviación HA-1112 was produced until 1958.
- Switzerland
- Swiss Air Force operated 10 D-1s, 89 E-3a variants, 2 F-4s and 14 G-6s.
- Yugoslavia
- Royal Yugoslav Air Force operated 73 E-3a variants.
- SFR Yugoslav Air Force operated several ex-NDH and Bulgarian Bf 109Gs.
Variants[]
- Bf 109A: Retrospective designation for initial prototypes
- Bf 109B:
- Bf 109C:
- Bf 109D:
- Bf 109E:
- Bf 109F:
- Bf 109G:
- Bf 109K:
- Bf 109T: Carrier compatible development of Bf 109E, intended for operation from Germany's two Graf Zepplin class aircraft carriers.
- Bf 109T-0: Initial prototype.
- Bf 109T-1: Production version.
- Bf 109T-2: De-navalised Bf 109T-1s posted to Norway for air defence duty, as their Short Take-off capability enabled them to use smaller airfields.[N 1] Withdrawn from front-line service in 1944, survivors were passed to flight training schools.
Derivatives & Related aircraft[]
References[]
Notes[]
Sources[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Nowarra 1993, p. 189.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Green 1980, pp. 7, 13.
- ↑ Wagner, Ray; Nowarra, Heinz (1971). German Combat Planes: A Comprehensive Survey and History of the Development of German Military Aircraft from 1914 to 1945. New York City: Doubleday & Company. p. 229.
- ↑ U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, Aircraft Division Industry Report, Exhibit I – German Airplane Programs vs Actual Production.
- ↑ Radinger and Otto 1999, pp. 35–37.
- ↑ Weal, John. Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 29: Bf 109F/G/K Aces of the Western Front. Osprey Publishing Ltd. 1999. ISBN 1 85532 605 0 Pages 35 and 36