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| Manufacturer: Messerschmitt A.G.
Country: Germany Classification: Fighter Crew: Pilot in an enclosed cockpit. Date: February 1939 to Late 1940s |  |
Bf 109E-1 Specs:
Development History: The Bf 109E, nicknamed the 'Emil', was the most significant fighter aircraft available to the Luftwaffe in the early years of WWII. For it's time, the 'Emil' was a superb fighter which enabled the Germans to gain the air superiority they continued to enjoy up until mid 1940 when the RAF managed to field the Spitfire in quantity. Further development of this initially successful aircraft led to a long line of Messerschmitts which became the very symbol of the Luftwaffe's air power.
The origins of the Bf 109 can be traced to an incident in 1929 when Erhard Milch, the managing director of Deutsche Lufthansa, canceled an order for 10 Bayerische Flugzeugwerke M-20b transports which were near completion. In addition, Willy Messerschmitt was told that he would have to return the advance deposits. BFW was forced into bankruptcy which almost ruined them.. Milch had by then become the state secretary of aviation and deputy to Herman Göring, the minister for aviation and head of the Luftwaffe. BFW was expected to focus their efforts on producing licensed aircraft of other companies.
Since no government orders were presented to restrict international trade, Messerschmitt continued to work on his own aircraft designs while soliciting foreign buyers. By 1933, BFW received its first foreign order for the M-36 transport and a license contract to build the M-37 two-seat trainer in Rumania. Milch was outraged and accused BFW of favoring foreign business over German interests. Messerschmitt was waiting for something like this to happen, and took the opportunity to state publicly that BFW was seeking foreign orders only because they could not secure domestic orders or support.
In response to this, the German Air Ministry put forth an order for six examples of the M-37 to enter the 4th Challenge de Tourisme Internationale competition to be held near Zürich in Switzerland during August and September 1934. After an accident with the M-37 (designated the Bf 108A), several German pilots argued that it was a dangerous aircraft, and Messerschmitt had to prove the plane's structural stability and aerodynamic safety. He was very successful. The Bf 108A took the 5th and 6th place in the 1934 competition and proved itself to be the fastest of all the entries with its clean lines, retractable landing gear and low-wing monoplane design.
Messerschmitt then acquired Walther Rethel as his chief engineer, and the Bf 108A was developed into the Bf 108B Taifun four-seat cabin monoplane. Before long, the domestic orders started rolling in.
Messerschmitt and Rethel had been in collaboration since the beginning of 1934, working on the design of a single seat fighter. The German Air Ministry had been somewhat forced to include BFW with Arado, Focke-Wulf and Heinkel to offer designs for the first 'modern' fighter planned for service in the Luftwaffe. This first design, derived from the Bf 108 received the designation of Bf 109, and shared many of the design characteristics of the 108. It was a low-wing monoplane design with retractable landing gear and incorporated an all metal construction, a small and highly loaded wing, automatic leading edge slots and trailing edge slotted flaps and an enclosed cockpit. All this was fitted tightly around the most powerful Vee engine available.
The design was remarkable in that it was, in a sense, a new breed of fighter. The flight characteristics were excellent for an early war model, with a low stall speed, excellent acceleration and climb rate, responsive controls and a sturdy, albeit touchy, landing gear which allowed fast taxi and landing speeds. Most importantly though, the design took into account future developments and allowed for upgrades and specialization for specific tasks beyond the European Fighter role. It was the first aircraft to use many of the latest innovations in the industry. Though these features appeared on other aircraft, they had never been combined into a single fighter of such sleek and graceful form.
The first model was armed with two 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns in the upper part of the forward fuselage synchronized to fire through the propeller. The design allowed for either the 12 cylinder Daimler-Benz DB 600 or Junkers Jumo 210 powerplants while the airframe was capable of the high turn and roll rate the German Air Ministry required. This, combined with an excellent dive rate under maximum power and no tendency to enter uncontrolled spins made the Bf 109 a plane of the future.
The first Bf 109 V1 prototype flew in September 1935 with an interesting change. The Powerplant chosen was the Rolls-Royce Kestrel V rated at 695 hp. and driving a 2 bladed fixed pitch propeller. This was submitted for testing and many of the pilots gave considerable grief over the Bf 109's 'nose-high' ground stance, narrow landing gear and leading edge slots.
As other test aircraft fell from the running, the last two became the Bf 109 and the Heinkel He 112. The Bf 109 possessed better climb and dive rates and a top speed of 289 mph compared to the Heinkel's 247 mph. In spite of this, the pilots still favored the He 112's better visibility from the cockpit, lower wing loading and wider landing gear.
As the test program continued through January 1936, Messerschmitt submitted the Bf 109 V2 with the Jumo 210A inverted Vee engine rated at 610 hp, and the Bf 109 V3 which added the two MG 17 machine guns with 500 rounds per gun. The German Air Ministry was impressed and ordered 10 pre-production aircraft to be evaluated against the He 112. This was augmented by the intelligence reports of a new British Fighter which was ordered in numbers by the RAF six months prior, and the Bf 109 was seen as a direct adversary to the Spitfire for the first time.
Analysis saw the Bf 109 and Spitfire as two comparatively similar designs. Where the 109 was superior in speed, rate of climb and dive, the Spitfire excelled in maneuverability and fire power. At the time, the Spitfire Mk I was reported to have four 7.7mm machine guns in the wing leading edges which let them fire outside the sweep of the propeller blades, ensuring a higher fire rate than the 7.92mm guns on the 109. However, the flight testing proved that the automatic leading edge slots were not a problem in the fighter role, offering no problems when handled violently. By the fall of 1936, the BFW fighter was the obvious favorite to win the production order, and after the fly-off, the Bf 109 was selected to go into full production.
Soon, concerns over the firepower difference between the two premier British fighters, namely the Spitfire and Hurricane, caused the BFW team to redesign the pre-production Bf 109B-0 with a third MG 17 machine gun mounted between the angle of the engine cylinder banks and firing through a hollow propeller shaft. All 10 prototypes were used for development and received 'versuchs' (experimental) numbers. The Bf 109 V4 incorporated the Jumo 210A powerplant while the Bf 109 V5 had the Jumo 210B rated at 600 hp for 5 minutes at sea level and 540 hp there on.
Initial trials were completed, and all 3 models were dismantled and shipped out to Spain for the 'Legion Kondor' fighting in the Spanish Civil War. Despite some initial problems and a steep learning curve, the German Pilots reported that the new fighter was far superior to any of the current aircraft on either side. The prototypes were then sent back to Germany and further development continued from the Bf 109 V7 to Bf 109 V13.
Bf 109B-1: This was the first opperational varaint of the Bf 109, put into service in April 1937. By ths time, BFW had been reorganized to become Messerschmitt A.G. The new fighter was intended to be used by the II Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 132 'Richthofen' in Germany, but developments in Spain had dictated otherwise. The USSR supporting the Republican forces (communists) in Spain, had just introduced the Polikarpov I-15 and I-16 fighters and the Tupolev SB-2 bombers. The new fighters could easilly outclass the German He 51 and Italian Fiat CR.32 fighters, while the Tupolev was too fast for the older aircraft to catch. It was therefore decided to send the Bf 109B-1 directly into active service with Jagdgruppe 88 'Legion Kondor'. This initial production model sported the Jumo 210D inverted Vee engine rated at 680 hp at take off and 640 hp at 8,860 feet driving a wooden, fixed pitch, two bladed propeller. Even with the inferiority of the design compared to the models soon to follow, it displayed a clear superiority over the opposition of the time.Further development produced the Bf 109B-2 which had a three bladed VDM (Hamilton Standard), constant speed propeller which improved performance greatly.
Bf 109C: The first subvariant designated Bf 109C-1 incorporated a deeper radiator bath under the forward fuselage and accomodations for two weapons in the wing leading edges for an armament package of two MG 17 machine guns in the upper part of the forward fuselage and two more in the wing leading edges. The Bf 109C-2 brought back the machine gun in the spinner bringing the total fire power up to five MG 17 machine guns. Plans were made to replace the machine gun in the spinner with a 20mm cannon, but further development didn't allow for it.
Bf 109D: This was considered an interum project as Messerschmitt prepared for their first premier model pending the availability of the Daimler-Benz 601 inverted Vee engine. The Bf 109D incorporated the DB 600A inverted Vee engine rated at 986 hp for take off and 910 hp at 13,125 feet. This massive power increase brought the level of performance up to a new standard. A few Bf 109D-0 pre-production aircraft were built before the Bf 109D-1 was ready. The only D variant to see service, the type had some design changes including strengthened wings to handle the higher speeds and stronger landing gear attachments. The armamanet package was revised too with two 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns in the upper fuselage and one 20mm MG FF/M cannon with 160 rounds in the spinner. This was an inferior cannon, and field modifications often removed it to accomodate a greater ammo capacity of 1,000 rounds for each of the two guns. Plans were made to produce the Bf 109D-2 incorporating two machine guns in the wings, and the Bf 109D-3 with 2 20mm cannons replacing the wing mounted machine guns. These projects were cancelled in favor of concetrating efforts on the Bf 109E.
The next prototype built was the Bf 109 V10 which incorporated the Daimler-Benz DB 600Aa inverted Vee engine driving a three bladed VDM metal propeller. The V10 flew for the first ime in July 1937 and it's improved, performance inspired new developments. Soon followed more experimental models which led up to the V14 and V15 which introduced the new DB 601A-1 inverted Vee engine rated at 1,050 hp at take off which was fitted with a fule injection system that allowed the fighter to make negative-G maneuvers without causing the engine to cut off. This was a design break through, giving the Bf 109 a performance margin over any current opposition.
Bf 109E-1: Deliveries of the first pre-prduction Bf 109E-0 models were armed with four 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns which was then revised to two 20mm MG FF cannons with 60 rounds each mounted in the wing leading edges and 2 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns in the forward fuselage with 1,000 rounds per gun. Messerschmitt began delivery of the first production Bf 109E-1 fighters to units in Germany by February 1939. Soon after, the war in Spain came to its conclusion. Germany then transferred 20 of the new fighters plus 20 more of the surviving Bf 109E-1's and 27 Bf 109B's and Bf 109C's that survived the Spanish Civil war to the victorious Nationalist party in Spain to be added to their air force. Another 60 were delivered to Switzerland by April 1940, to augment their previous purchase of 10 Jumo 210 versions of the Bf 109. The Bf 109E-1/B was a fighter-bomber conversion of the standard Bf 109E-1 which was introduced in the summer of 1940 with a hardpoint rated at 250 kg (551 lb) under the fuselage. Due to range restrictions, this was usually armed with a 50 kg (110 lb) bomb.
Bf 109E-3: This varient included the DB 601Aa inverted Vee engine rated at 1,175 hp at take off. It also incorporated a 20mm cannon mounted in the spinner which required the ammunition to the machine guns to be reduced. It was also the first Bf 109 variant to have armor protection for the pilot.
Bf 109E-4: This version was introduced in the summer of 1940 which had the 20mm cannon removed from the spinner and the two 20mm MG FF cannons in the wings replace with a higher fire rate version. The Bf 109E-4/B also became available in the summer of 1940 as a fighter/bomber version equipped with a 250 kg (551 lb) hardpoint under the fuselage. The Bf 109E-4N incorporated the DB 601N inverted-Vee engine rated at 1,200 hp for take off. The first tropicalized sub-variant was the Bf 109E-4/Trop which included a dust/sand filter over the supercharger air inlet and a desert survival pack.
Bf 109E-5: This was the reconnaissance fighter variant with the two wing-mounted cannons removed and one Rb 30/50 camera installed in the rear fuselage just behind the cockpit. The tropicalized version was designated Bf 109E-5/Trop and included a dust/sand filter over the supercharger air inlet and a desert survival pack.
Bf 109E-6: Developed from the Bf 109E-5 with the DB 601N engine.
Bf 109E-7: Developed from the Bf 109E-4/N with the under-fuselage hardpoint revised to carry bombs or a 300 liter (79.25 gal.) drop tank. Some were tropicalized and given the designation Bf 109E-7/Trop. Others were fitted with armor protection on the underside of the aircraft for the oil coolers, radiators and fuel pump to make it more formidable in the ground attack role. These were designated Bf 109E-7/U2. The last sub-variant was the Bf 109E-7/Z which incorporated a nitrous oxide power boost system.
Bf 109E-8: This was developed from the Bf 109E-7 using a DB 601E engine rated at 1,350 hp for take-off.
Bf 109E-9: This was the reconnaissance fighter sub-variant of the Bf 109E-8 with no wing cannons and either one Rb 50/30 or two Rb 32/7 cameras. The last of these aircraft were completed early in 1942, ending production of the Bf 109E series after the delivery of no less than 4,000 aircraft.
After the Bf 109E had been replaced by more advanced aircraft, several surviving planes were transfered to ocupied states in south east Europe and continued to see service until the end of 1942. Some were exported to Spain, Switzerland and Yugoslavia where they eventually flew against the Luftwaffe during Germany's invasion of the Slavic countries.
Bf 109T-2: During the later 1930s Germany began work on a surface fleet which could challenge the British domiation of the European waters. This called for the construction of 2 aircraft carriers. The 'Graff Zeppelin' and the 'Peter Strasser'.
The aircraft carriers were scheduled to become operational in 1944 and requirements for carrier borne aircraft given to Messerschmitt and Junkers with instructions to develop variants of the Bf 109 fighter and the Ju 87 dive bomber respectively. Messerschmitt began work on the Bf 109T (Träger, or carrier), which was a conversion of the Bf 109E-1 with its wings increased in span by 3 ft 11.75 and area by 11.84 sq ft, extendible spoilers added on the upper surfaces of the wing allowed a steeper approach angle for carrier landings. The wings were then equipped with break points which could fold upward to reduce the span to 13 ft 4 inches while on deck. Additional modifications were made to the leading edge slots, trailing edge flaps and ailerons as well, and catapult attachments were added under the fuselage along with an arrester hook. The armament package was to have two 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns in the forward fuselage and two 20mm MG FF cannons in the wings. Once the design was approved, the project was passed on to Fieseler which was more experienced in naval aircraft.
October 1939 saw the Graff Zeppelin project suspended and with it, all development of the carrier borne aircraft. It was not intil late 1940 that Fieseler was instructed to resume work on the designated Bf 109T-2 fighter/bomber which was fitted with a ventral hardpoint rated at 250 kg (551 lb) with provisions to use a 300 liter (79.25 gal.) drop tank. The carrier requirements were no longer needed and the type was to be used for short runway take off and landings. 60 Bf 109T-2 aircraft were delivered before the project was cancelled. All of these aircraft were deployed in Norway as fighters till summer 1942, at which point they were used for point defense of the island of Heligoland until late 1944.
Bf 109T-2 Specs:
Size:
