-The BF-109 Messerschmitt-
-Summary-
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 (often called Me 109) was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s. It was one of the first true modern fighters of the era, including such features as an all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, a retractable landing gear, and was powered by liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engines. The 109 first saw operational service during the Spanish Civil War and was still in service at the dawn of the jet age at the end of World War II, during which time it was the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. From the end of 1941 the Bf 109 was supplemented by the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.
Originally conceived as an interceptor, later models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as bomber escort, fighter-bomber, day-, night-, all-weather fighter, ground-attack aircraft, and as reconnaissance aircraft. It was supplied to and operated by several states during World War II, and served with several countries for many years after the war. The Bf 109 was the most produced warplane during World War II, with 30,573 examples built during the war, and the most produced fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 units produced up to April 1945.
The Bf 109 was flown by the three top-scoring German fighter aces of World War II, who claimed 928 victories among them while flying with Jagdgeschwader 51, chiefly on the Eastern Front, as well as by the highest scoring German ace in the North African Campaign. It was also flown by several other successful aces from Germany's allies, notably Finland, including the highest scoring non-German ace Ilmari Juutilainen, and pilots from Romania, Croatia and Hungary. Through constant development, the Bf 109 remained competitive with the latest Allied fighter aircraft until the end of the war.
The G series, or "Gustav", was introduced in mid-1942; its initial variants (G-1 through G-4) differed only in minor details from the Bf 109F, most notably in being powered by the more powerful 1475 PS DB 605 engine. Odd numbered variants were built with a pressurised cockpit and GM-1 boost as high altitude fighters, while even numbered variants were non-pressurized air superiority fighters and fighter bombers. Long-range photo-reconnaissance variants also existed. The later G series (G-5 through G-14) was produced in a multitude of variants, with uprated armament and provision for a number of kits of pre-packaged parts known as Umrüst-Bausätze, usually contracted to Umbau and given a "/U" suffix. Field kits known as Rüstsätze were also available for the G-series but those did not change the aircraft designation. By early 1944 tactical requirements resulted in the addition of MW-50 water injection boost and high performance superchargers, boosting engine output to 1,800–2,000 PS. From early 1944 a number of G-2s, G-3s, G-4s and G-6s were converted to two seat trainers, known as the G-12. The instructor's cockpit was added behind the original cockpit and both were covered by an elongated, glazed canopy.
The final production version of the Bf 109 was the K series, or "Kurfürst", powered by the DB 605D engine with up to 2,000 PS output, and introduced in the autumn of 1944. Though externally akin to the late production Bf 109G series, a large number of detail internal and aerodynamic improvements were incorporated to the design that improved its effectiveness and remedied existing flaws, keeping the fighter competitive with the latest Allied and Soviet fighters.
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The BF-109G6 Stats
Specifications (Bf 109 G-6)
Data from The Great Book of Fighters and the Finnish Air Force Bf 109 Manual
-General characteristics-
Crew: One
Length: 8.95 m (29 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 9.925 m (32 ft 6 in)
Height: 2.60 m (8 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 16.05 m² (173.3 ft²)
Empty weight: 2,247 kg (5,893 lb)
Loaded weight: 3,148 kg (6,940 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 3,400 kg (7,495 lb)
Powerplant: 1× Daimler-Benz DB 605A-1 liquid-cooled inverted V12, 1,475 PS (1,455 hp, 1,085 kW)
Propellers: VDM 9-12087 three-bladed light-alloy propeller
Propeller diameter: 3 m (9.84 ft) ()
-Performance-
Maximum speed: 640 km/h (398 mph) at 6,300 m (20,669 ft)
Cruise speed: 590 km/h (365 mph) at 6,000 m (19,680 ft)
Range: 850 km (528 mi) 1,000 km (621 mi) with droptank.
Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
Rate of climb: 17.0 m/s (3,345 ft/min)
Wing loading: 196 kg/m² (40 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 344 W/kg (0.21 hp/lb)
-Armament-
Guns:
2 × 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns with 300 rounds per gun.
1 × 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon as Motorkanone with 200 rpg. G-6/U4 variant: 1 × 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 cannon as Motorkanone with 65 rpg.
2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 underwing cannon pods with 135 rpg (optional kit - Rüstsatz VI)
Rockets:
2 × 21 cm (8 in) Wfr. Gr. 21 rockets (G-6 with BR21)
Bombs:
1 × 250 kg (551 lb) bomb or 4 × 50 kg (110 lb) bombs or 1 × 300 litres (79 USgal)
