In 1934 the story of Bf 109
began. The RLM ordered the development of a single-seat dayfighter by
Arado (Ar 80), Heinkel (He 112) and Focke-Wulf (Fw 158), but not by BFW.
It was Messerschmittīs good relationship with high ranking Luftwaffe officers, based
on the success of the Bf 108, that enabled BFW to take part in the development
competition after some delay. So the design and development of the Bf 109 started. Generalluftzeugmeister Erhard Milch, who never liked
Willy Messerschmitt, gave hints, that BFW would never get the chance
to win this competition and receive the production contract. Messerschmitt
saw that his only chance to receive the production contract, against Milchs resistance,
was to build a revolutionary plane so superior to its competitors that the Luftwaffe
would not be able to decline it.
Messerschmitt based his design on
the experiance he had gained with the Bf 108. It was an excellent lightweight
plane, which was superior to the modern fighter planes used
by some nations at this time. So Messerschmitt optimized the fuselage,
reduced the weight and fitted this design with the most powerful engine available at this time. Because the german engines at Daimler-Benz
and Junkers were still in testing, the first prototype, the Bf 109
V-1 was fittet with the British Rolls-Royce "Kestrel" rated at 695 hp.
In May 1935 the prototype was ready
for its maiden flight. It then started flight tests, at first by Messerschmitt
test-pilots, later by those of the Luftwaffe.
Because most of the fighter pilots of the
Luftwaffe were used to the good natured biplanes with open cockpits, light
g-forces and easy handling, they were very critical and negativ about
the Bf 109 at first.
But the bad results of the submissions from Arado and
Focke-Wulf soon left the He 112 as the last competitor
for the Bf 109. Positive aspects of the He 112 were the broadness and robustness
of the landing gear and the better view for the pilot before the start. But the Bf 109 was 30 km/h faster than the He 112 in
level flight, and also was superior in climbing and diving. But still the He 112 was
the favourit of the Luftwaffe leaders.
During the tests two further planes were
built at the Messerschmitt facilities, fitted with the new German Junkers
Jumo 210 engines.
Because of the layout of this
engine - it´s cylinders were arranged in a hanging V-shape - a more
perfectly streamlined design of the cell resulted. This caused the Luftwaffe leaders to decide in
favor of this clearly superior plane.
The BFW was awarded an order to produce 10 prototype planes.
After starting the race with a delay, the
Bf 109 left the field as a winner.
The Bf 109 V-1 had some revolutionary
innovations never used in a plane before. Because of the high forces on
the wings of this design, various methods to improve the lift were planned from the beginning. This
included flaps on the front of the wings to improve performance at low speed, as
well as large main flaps
and ailerons.
The Bf 109 was a low wing plane. The wing
had one spar and a leading edge, stiff against torsion. This kind of wing
structure, still used in modern aircraft construction, was used in the
Bf 109 for the first time.
Messerschmitts plane was not only the
first fighterplane of the Luftwaffe fitted with a retractable landing gear,
but also the first all metal fighterplane in the world.
The V-1 prototype was unarmed, as was
the V-2, which was not fitted with the designed armament of
two 7,9 mm MG 17.
As mentioned, the V-1 differed from V-2
and V-3 in the engine and it´s cowling, which was constructed without the ventilation
openings necessary for the Rolls-Royce engine, making the V-2 and V-3 more aerodynamic. The V-3, being the prototype for the Bf 109
A series, was the first Bf 109 that carried the armament consisting of
two MG 17. It also received some modifications of the landing gear.
The flight data of these three planes were very
nearly
identical. The maximum airspeed was about 470 km/h at 4000 m altitude, and the
service ceiling was about 8300 m.
The planned Bf 109 A series was canceled,
before production begun, because of the weak armament. Instead of this,
the Bf 109 V-4 was constructed, carrying a third MG 17, mounted behind
the engine, firing through the propeller axis. In the following three
prototype planes, the new Jumo 210 B engine was installed. They also - exept the V-7, being unarmed - were
armed with three machine guns and were quite identical with the Bf 109 B-0 pre-production series.
The first Bf 109 model that went in serial
production, the B-1, got the more powerful Jumo 210 D engine.
When the new Jumo 210 E engine was developed with
itīs 670
hp, it was fitted to the cell of the Bf 109 B. The resulting
plane was called the B-2. These Bf 109 B-2 were the first Bf 109 to go into
combat. 24 of them were assigned to "Legion Condor" in Spain and demonstrated that the armament
was still inadequate. So the Bf 109 V-8 was constructed
to test the fitting of two more machine guns in the wings. In the following
V-9 both wing guns were replaced by 20 mm MG FF cannon. Both planes therefore had
no gun in the propeller axis.
So Bf 109 C-0, the pre-production series,
carried four MG 17, the C-1 series was identical to this C-0. The C-2 again
got one machine gun in the nose, carrying now five MG 17.
The next model, the V-10 prototype, was identical
to the V-8, except for the engine. It had a Jumo 210 Ga engine at first,
that later was replaced by a Daimler-Benz DM 600 Aa, the V-8 was fitted
with a Jumo 210 Da instead. So the V-10 was the link to the Bf 109 D. It
followed the goal of increasing the performance of more than just the armament, by installing
the Daimler-Benz engine. Therefore three more prototypes, the V-11, V-12
and V-13, were built and tested. The knowledge gained with these prototypes was used in the Bf 109 D-0
pre-production series. These were modified planes
of the C-3 series, that were built, but never used by the Luftwaffe. It
was armed like the Bf 109 V-9, which means two MG 17 above the engine and
one 20mm MG FF canon in each wing.
Quite identical to the Bf 109 D-0 was the
D-1 series, which was produced in low numbers, because the new Daimler-Benz DB
601 engine was ready for duty, promising still more power.
To test this new engine, with it´s 1100 hp, two more prototypes,
the V-14 and V-15, were built, that differed in their armament. While the
V-14 was armed with the two MG 17 above the engine and one 20mm MG FF canon in each
wing, the V-15 got the two MG 17 and one canon firing through the propeller
axis. The Bf 109 E-0 was identical to the V-14 except for the armament, as the E-0
had two additional MG 17 in the wings instead of the MG
FF in the propeller shaft. In the production version E-1, the two wing guns were replaced
by MG FF again.
To improve the performance of the Bf 109
E, the last two real prototype planes were constructed, the V-16 and V-17.
They got some structural improvements and stronger armament. These prototypes
were the basis of the Bf 109 E-3 version. They were armed with the two
MG 17, one MG FF cannon in each wing and one MG FF/M, firing through the propeller
axis. The E-3 also received heavier armor than the E-1.
The E-3 was replaced by the E-4, which was different in some small details and would be the base for all further
Bf 109 E developments.
The E-3 also was the basis for the Me
109 T. This was a modified Bf 109 E-3 for use with the german aircraft
carrier "Graf Zeppelin", that never would be completed.
The ten Bf 109 T-0 were originally Bf 109
E-3, that were modified by adding a tail-hook, catapult fittings and structural
strengthening. Also the gauge was a little wider. Following the flight
tests, especially the catapult tests, a series of 60 Bf 109 T-1 was produced
at the Fieseler facilities in Kassel. Because the carrier never went into
service, these planes were assigned to the JG 5 "Eismeergeschwader", deployed
in Norway. Because the modifications for the use with a carrier were unnecessary
now, they were removed to save weight. After removal the planes were
called Bf 109 T-2. The armament of the Bf 109 T consisted of two MG 17
above the engine and one MG FF cannon in each wing.
After February 1940 an improved
engine, the Daimler-Benz DB 601 E, was developed for use with the Bf 109.
The constructors at the Messerschmitt
facilities took a Bf 109 E-1 and installed this new engine. The
cell and especially the cowling were modified and in the end more aerodynamical.
It´s relation to the E-1 was obvious, because the trapeziform wings
were taken from the E-1, but changed in the production planes. This plane was
the prototype for the Bf 109 F series.
The first Bf 109 F planes were not well tested,
and so some planes crashed or nearly crashed, due to vibrations which caused
either the wing surface to curve or brake, or caused the stabilizer
to break away.
In one such accident, the commander of
JG 2 "Richthofen", Wilhelm Balthasar lost his life, when he was attacked
by a Spitfire, during a test flight. Making an evasive maneuver, his
wings broke away and Balthasar was killed, when his plane hit the ground.
When the wreck was investigated, not a single bullet hole was found.
Externally the Bf 109 F differed from the
E-series resulting from many aerodynamic improvements. So the strut of the stabilizer
was removed, the cowling was shaped to be more streamlined, the big underwing
radiators were much smaller, the opening for the supercharger was improved, the
flaps were completely changed, the wingspan was increased, and the wing
tips now were formed elyptically, which supposedly caused some confusions
with the Spitfire.
The armament of the Bf 109 F consisted
of the two MG 17 above the engine plus a cannon shooting through the propeller
hub.
The early F versions were equipped with the MG FF/M cannon, the F-2 got the MG 151, and from F-4
on the MG 151/20 was used.
When the Daimler-Benz DB 605 engine was
available, a new Bf 109 series, the G-series, was developed. The early
versions of the Bf 109 G looked quite similar to the Bf 109 F-4, and at first
carried the same armament.
In early versions the notorious
bulges in the cowling and on the wings first appeared, leading to the Bf 109
G´s nickname "Bulge" (German: "Beule").
The bulges appeared, because the supercharger
of the DB 605 was bigger than that of the DB 601. The upcoming installation
of heavier weapons, like the MG 131 (mounted in the G-5 first), caused
still more bulges. Another change that appeared first with G-5 was
a new and bigger vertical stabilizer.
The G-6 model, the most produced
Bf 109 version, had really heavy armament. It consisted of two MG 131 above
the engine, a MK 108 shooting through the propeller axis and one MG 151/20
in each wing. The G-6 was very often fitted with assembly sets, used to carry bombs or a drop tank, for use as nightfighter,
or to increase fire power by adding rockets or extra guns.
All following Bf 109 G versions were modified
older Bf 109 G´s. So the G-10 was not an uniform type, but consisted of all kinds of Bf 109 G´s being transformed
partially to Bf 109 G-10 specifications. The most recognizable change was the
use of the "Erla-" or "Galland-Canopy". This canopy improved the pilots
view, which was often criticized before. The Bf 109 G-10, also called "Super-Bulge"
(German: "Super-Beule"),
was the fastest Bf 109 during World War II.
An similar varying product was the Bf 109
G-12. This was a two-seated trainer version of the Bf 109 and was rarely armed.
Somewhere between the drawing board and full
production
was the Bf 109 H. This was a special high-altitude fighter, developed from the Bf 109 F series. The wingspan was increased to 11,92 m, the
stabilizer again received a strut leading to the fuselage, and it was wider, too.
In fact was
only a low number of Bf 109 H-0 and H-1 were produced, because of problems
with vibration.
More of the planes of the Bf 109 K series
saw duty. This series was the evolution of the Bf 109 G-10,
being very similar, at least the K-0, K-2 and K-4 models.
In the K-6, K-8 and K-14, the armament saw
some changes. The K-6 carried two MG 131 above it´s engine and
one MK 103 in each wing and behind it´s propeller hub. The K-8 was armed
with a MK 103, firing through the propeller axis and one MK 108 in each
wing. The engine gun was changed in the K-14 and replaced by a MK 108.
After the end of the war, some Me 109īs were produced in the CSSR (Czechoslovakia) as the "Avia-C.210", a modified Bf 109 G-14 with a Jumo 211-F engine; and in Spain, a modified Bf 109 G-2, called the Hispano "Ha 1112", with different engines.
Also the original Bf 109, produced before 1945, remained in service a long time after the war. The former allies of germany, Romania and Hungary used their Me 109īs until 1955. The Finnish airforce did not retire their Bf 109 G´s until middle of the 1950īs, too. In Israel, the Czech Avias were used in combat against Egyptian Spitfires, until 1949. The Spanish Hispanos however flew longer. Some were still in service in the middle of the seventies, later, they appeared in some films, playing the role of the Bf 109. Some Hispano fuselages were sold to museums, which rebuilt them as Bf 109īs.