Das Reich 1942 Historical Archives

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The Luftwaffe - The Bf109

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The Bf109 was the most commonly encountered German fighter aircraft and scored more kills than any other German fighter.

The Bf109 was designed by Professor Willy Emil Messerschmitt and came into service in 1936 during the re-building of the luftwaffe. The Bf109  first saw action fighting for the fascist forces during the Spanish civil war. The German air force in Spain was called the Condor Legion and operated from Tablada.

The Bf109B-1 was the first model to enter production and was powered by a Junkers Jumo 635 hp engine, which gave a top speed of 470km per hour at 400 meters and was armed with three 7.92 MG17 machine guns. The combat experience learned in France led to new models being released and Germany eventually entered the war with the BF109E and B109D. The redesigned BF109E was one of the most heavily armed aircraft of it time, having two wing mounted 20mm cannons, one 20mm cannon mounted through the propeller hub and two 7.9mm MG 17's mounted in the upper cowlings and also had a top speed of 560km at 4400 meters. During the campaign through France and the battle of Britain the BF109E's came up against tough opposition and 610 were lost in total.

A Bf109 can be seen in the background and the
pilot is decorated with the Knights Cross

In May 1942 the BF109G (G for Gustav) arrived and was responsible for most of the Arial combat in Russia. The Bf109G was powered by a huge 1,475hp Daimler-Benz engine and had a top speed of 653km/h at 9000 meters. The BF109G-6 became the standard fighter in the later stages of the war and was one of the main opponents to the bombing campaign against Germany. Many different types of new weaponry were fitted to the BF109G-6 to aid them in attacking bombers. Some examples are 21mm Rockets, Arial Torpedo's and the concept of dropping small bombs into large bomber streams. Later models of the Gustaf were constantly refined and altered with one of the major alteration being made to the Bf109G-16 where the canopy was redesigned to give better visibility.

The final model of the BF109 was the BF109K and was similar in design to the BF109G. The Cannon in the propeller hub was upgraded to a 30mm cannon and had a increased speed of 727km per hour and could climb to 10,000 meter in 6 minutes. The Bf109 proved to be one of the most versatile and robust fighters of the war, staying in use for the entire duration of the war, and is still flown privately even today.