Messerschmitt Bf 109

A BF 109 on the tarmac at the USAF Museum. (photo courtesy of the USAF Museum)

The Messerschmitt BF 109 was a breakthrough design for the German Air Force (or Luftwaffe) in the early to mid 1930's. The system was designed in an effort to bring the Germans into the modern age of military flight and, as such, several novelty design elements greeted the aircraft such as retractable landing gear, an enclosed cockpit and a body construction of all-metal stressed-skin covering. The aircraft would go on to be the staple fighter of the German Luftwaffe throughout the early invasions of the middle and late 1930's, see extensive action in the Battle of Britain, serve side-by-side with the new and improved fighter in the form of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and ultimately continue operations well past the war in the hands of other nations.

The Bf 109 first appeared in 1934 with first flight taking place the following year. In this form, the early prototype Bf 109 (known as Bf 109V-1) was fitted with a capable 695 horsepower engine of - interestingly enough - Rolls-Royce design. This was forced upon the German testers as the Junkers engine in development for the type was not yet available. A second prototype appeared soon after mounting a Junkers-brand Jumo type 210A engine of some lesser 610 horsepower. The aircraft was thoughtfully designed when one considers the other aircraft appearing with other nations at the time of the Bf 109's arrival. The fuselage maintained a slim pencil-like approach from nose to tail tip. The cockpit was situated in the near center of the design, though placed a tad bit forward and sat above and slightly aft of the low-set cantilever wing assembly. The cockpit was fitted with a square-shaped green house style frame with the access hatch flipping over to allow entry/exit. The engine was fitted forward and low-set into the nose section of the aircraft. The fuselage came to a point in the tail section to which was fitted a single vertical fin, small middle-set horizontal surfaces and a static tail wheel. The main landing gear folded up into the wings during flight.

Armament varied across its production life as the Bf 109 was initially fitted with just 2 x MG 17 type machine guns - hardly an impressive deterrent. The Bf 109V-7 prototype appeared with the first installment of a 20mm cannon of Oerlikon design firing through the propeller nose hub and supplemented by 2 x MG 17 machine guns, fitted to the upper nose assembly just forward of the cockpit and above the engine. The V-7 went on to become the base production model as the Bf 109B series.

The Bf 109 was secretly tested under operational circumstances in the German involvement of the Spanish Civil War. In the beginning only three were put to the test but by the height of the conflict, several dozen Bf 109's were taking to combat and proving quite the investment. Compared to any fighter in the war, the Bf 109 was proving that a new dawn of fighter design had officially arrived. With the Bf 109 platform firmly entrenched in Germany's plans, tactics to apply the weapon system to soon followed.

The Bf 109 series was not without its drawbacks, even in the beginning of its reign. As a new overall design, the Bf 109 was engineered with an element known as a "narrow-track" under carriage. This component of the design allowed for the fuselage to encounter the weight of the aircraft when situated on the ground as opposed to the wing assemblies as found in most planes of the time. What this meant was that the aircraft proved difficult to land in the early attempts by pilots not familiar with such a system. The result was that many a Bf 109 aircraft were simply lost to pilot misjudgment and error than to enemy combat.

The Messerschmitt product was the cream of the Luftwaffe crop through these early years of the global conflict which became in September of 1939. BF 109's took on enemy air forces with relative ease insuring the success of its blitzkrieg tactics to full effect. In fact, air superiority was the first element in a successful blitz of the enemy. An advancing army was utterly useless without air cover and the lethality of fighter units - as both dogfighters and attack aircraft - paved the way for even more lethal attacks from the deadly-accurate Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers.

As the war progressed on a deadly scale, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 series tried to keep up with factory and - in some cases - field installed modifications to lengthen the reach of the system. The Bf 109 appeared in a myriad of variants and sub-variants throughout her production run. The Bf 109E served as a standard variant from the 1940s and was followed by the Bf 109G as a definitive design. The Bf 109K series saw the last operational Bf 109 in the long history of the aircraft.

Though official production numbers remain as elusive as ever, it is believed that some 35,000 Bf 109 systems left the production line in total. The aircraft was produced by a handful of countries yet served with many more including - in an interesting turn - the newly-formed nation of Israel in 1948. The Bf 109 was outclassed in some ways by the Focke-Wulf 190 and the Allied North American P-51 designs but held its own through the duration of the world's greatest conflict. The fighter was one of the greatest fighter designs of all time with a history to prove it.

Specifications for the Messerschmitt Bf 109:

Photo courtesy of the USAF Museum

Designation: Messerschmitt Bf 109
Model: Messerschmitt Bf 109E-7
Manufacturer: Messerschmitt
Powerplant: 1 x Daimler-Benz DB 601N liquid-cooled V12 piston engine developing 1,200hp
Length: 28 feet, 8 inches
Wing Span: 32 feet, 4.5 inches
Height: 11 feet, 2 inches
Weight: 4,440lbs (empty); 6,100lbs (Maximum Take-Off Weight)
Maximum Speed: 358 mph
Maximum Range: 680 miles
Armament: 1 x 20mm cannon firing through nose hub; 2 x 7.9mm machine guns in engine cowling; 2 x 7.9mm machine guns in wings.
Crew: 1
Total Production: 35,000+

Base Bf 109 Models:
Bf 109V-1 - Initial Prototype Model; fitted with Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine of 695hp; first flight in September 1935.
Bf 109V-2 - Second Prototype Model; fitted with Junkers Jumo 210A engine of 610hp; first flight in January 1936.
Bf 109V-3 - Third Prototype Model; armed with 2 x MG 17 machine guns; intended as basis for Bf 109A production model.
Bf 109V-4 - Prototype Model
Bf 109V-5 - Prototype Model
Bf 109V-6 - Prototype Model
Bf 109V-7 - Prototype Model; armed with 2 x machine guns and 1 x 20mm Oerlikon cannon; basis for Bf 109B production model.
Bf 109A - Preproduction/Development Model
Bf 109B-1 - Preproduction/Development Model; fitted with Junkers Jumo 210 engine of 610hp.
Bf 109B-2 - Sub-variant operational development model of Bf 109B; 24 examples produced.
Bf 109C - Preproduction/Development Model
Bf 109D - Fitted with Daimler-Benz DB600A series engine
Bf 109E-0 - Initial full-scale production model; also known as "Emil"; fitted with DB 601A engines of 1,100 horsepower.
Bf 109E-1 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109E-0
Bf 109E-2 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109E-0
Bf 109E-3 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109E-0; also exported to Bulgaria (19), Hungary (40), Japan (2), Romania (69), Slovakia (16), Switzerland (80), the Soviet Union (5), and Yugoslavia (73).
Bf 109E-4 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109E-0
Bf 109E-5 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109E-0
Bf 109E-6 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109E-0
Bf 109E-7 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109E-0
Bf 109E-8 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109E-0
Bf 109E-9 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109E-0
Bf 109F-0 - Larger propeller; redesigned engine cowling and radiators; retractable tail wheel; cantilever tail; powered by Daimler-Benz DB 601E or DB 601N powerplants; model series regarded as the best of the entire Bf 109 line.
Bf 109F-1 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109F-0
Bf 109F-2 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109F-0
Bf 109F-3 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109F-0
Bf 109F-4 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109F-0
Bf 109F-5 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109F-0
Bf 109F-6 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109F-0
Bf 109G-0 - Generally regarded as the "definitive" Bf 109 model series; also known as "Gustav"; fitted with Daimler-Benz 605 inline engine; cockpit pressurization; produced in the greatest of all Bf 109 numbers; fitted with 2 x 13mm (.50 caliber) machine guns in engine cowling position.
Bf 109G-1 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109G-0
Bf 109G-2 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109G-0
Bf 109G-3 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109G-0
Bf 109G-4 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109G-0
Bf 109G-5 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109G-0
Bf 109G-6 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109G-0
Bf 109G-7 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109G-0
Bf 109G-8 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109G-0
Bf 109G-9 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109G-0
Bf 109G-10 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109G-0
Bf 109G-11 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109G-0
Bf 109G-12 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109G-0
Bf 109G-13 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109G-0
Bf 109G-14 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109G-0
Bf 109G-15 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109G-0
Bf 109G-16 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109G-0
Bf 109H-0 - High-Altitude Variant; limited production model; increased wingspan
Bf 109H-1 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109H-0
Bf 109K-0 - "Improved" Bf 109G model; fitted with Daimler-Benz DB 605 inline engine
Bf 109K-1 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109K-0
Bf 109K-2 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109K-0
Bf 109K-3 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109K-0
Bf 109K-4 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109K-0; one of the last operational variants; fitted with Daimler-Benz DB 605D engines featuring MW 50 power boosting.
Bf 109K-5 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109K-0
Bf 109K-6 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109K-0; one of the last operational variants; fitted with Daimler-Benz DB 605D engines featuring MW 50 power boosting.
Bf 109K-7 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109K-0
Bf 109K-8 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109K-0
Bf 109K-9 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109K-0
Bf 109K-10 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109K-0
Bf 109K-11 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109K-0
Bf 109K-12 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109K-0
Bf 109K-13 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109K-0
Bf 109K-14 - Sub-variant of base Bf 109K-0; last production variant; fitted with Daimler-Benz DB 605L engine; only 2 examples produced.
Bf 109T-1 - Naval Variant featuring tailhook for use on incomplete German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin; limited quantity production.
Bf 109T-2 - Based on the remaining Bf 109T-1 project models
Bf 109Z - Proposed design featuring two fused Bf 109F airframes with new wing structure; never produced.
Ha-1109 - Spanish license-production of Bf 109G under Hispano brand featuring Hispano-Suiza or Rolls-Royce Merlin (post-war production models) engines.
Ha-1110 - Spanish license-production of Bf 109G under Hispano brand featuring Hispano-Suiza or Rolls-Royce Merlin (post-war production models) engines.
Ha-1112 - Spanish license-production of Bf 109G under Hispano brand featuring Hispano-Suiza or Rolls-Royce Merlin (post-war production models) engines.
Avia S-99 - Czech license-production of Bf 109G under Avia brand; fitted with DB 605 engines.
Avia S-199 - Czech license-production of Bf 109G under Avia brand; fitted with Jumo 211 F engines; later donated to Israel's first air force.

More Pictures of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 Fighter

Cockpit of a BF 109E model.		Cockpit of a BF 109 - model unknown.
A BF 109 on display at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. (photo courtesy of Dan Alex)		A BF 109 on display at the USAF Museum in Dayton, Ohio, USA. (photo courtesy of Dan Alex)
Cockpit of a BF-109G model. (photo courtesy of the USAF Museum)