General Background

The first German mass produced 109 fighter was the Bf-109E that has been mistakenly referred to as the Me-109. The Bf is the designator for the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) (Bavarian Aircraft Works) that produced the original aircraft. In 1938 Messerschmitt took over BFW but throughout WWII German handbooks and documents referred to the aircraft as the Bf-109. By the end of 1939 the Bf-109E (Emil) had replaced all other 109 variants and equipped 13 Gruppens with 40 aircraft each. The Bf-109 was the main single-engine aircraft until the Fw-190 came along.

The Aircraft

German Ace Gerhard “Gerd” Barkhorn didn’t score his first victory until his 120th mission on July 2, 1941 over the Eastern Front. On September 1, 1943 at Kharkov Ukraine Barkhorn became Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 52 and led it until January 15, 1945. In September 1943 he shot down 15 aircraft and by the end of 1943 had accumulated a total of 222 victories. He recorded his 301st, and last, victory on January 5, 1945 and along the way he himself was shot down 9 times and wounded twice.

Specifications

• Production timeline: February 1943 – October 1943
• Number produced: 5,000+
• Dimensions
• Wingspan – 9.92m (32ft 6.5in)
• Length – 9.04m (29ft (8in)
• Height – 2.5m (8ft 2.25in)
• Weight
• Empty - 2,700kg (5,900lb)
• Gross Loaded – 3,400kg (7,500lb)
• Performance
• Powerplant – Daimler-Benz DB605A-1, 12 cylinder inverted vee, liquid cooled, 1,475hp
• Maximum Speed – 640km/h (398mph)
• Range – 850km (528miles)
• Service ceiling – 12,000m (39,370ft)
• Armament
• 2 X 13mm (.51in) synchronized MG 131 machine guns with 300 rounds each
• 1 X 20mm (.78in) MG 151/20 cannon as centerline Motorkanone firing through propeller hub with 200 rounds, Or
• 1 X 30mm (1.18in) MK 108 cannon as centerline Motorkanone with 65 round per gun (G-6/U4 variant)
• 2 X 20mm MG 151/20 under-wing cannon pods with 135 round per gun (Rustsatz V option)
• Rockets - 2 X 21 cm (8 in) Wfr. Gr. 21 rockets (G-6 with BR21)
• Bomb
• 1 X 250 kg (551 lb) bomb, Or
• 4 X 50 kg (110 lb) bombs, Or
• 1 X 300 litre (79 US gal) drop tank