Messerschmidt ME 109 Year 1937 . Messerschmidt ME 109 was the official Reichsluftfahrtministerium [ German Aviation Ministry RLM ] designation the design was submitted by the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke company & was used exclusively in all official German documents dealing with this aircraft family . The company was renamed Messerschmitt AG in July 1938 when Erhard Milch finally allowed Willy Messerschmitt to acquire the company from then on all Messerschmitt aircraft were to carry the [ Me ] designation except those already assigned a Bf prefix .Perhaps not the best performer of the war even its pilots would admit that it was not the safest or most comfortable plane to fly . But its combat record from beginning to end was monumental & it was the weapon of choice for the greatest fighter pilots in history . A total of 33984 units were produced up to April 1945 . Accounting for 47% of all German aircraft production as well as 57% of all German fighter types produced . The ME 109 became the backbone of the Luftwaffe fighter force in WW2 although it began to be partially replaced by the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 from 1941 . The ME / Bf 109 was the most successful fighter of WW2 shooting down more aircraft than any of its contemporaries . It was flown by the three top-scoring fighter aces of WW2 : Erich Hartmann the top scoring fighter pilot of all time with 352 victories Gerhard Barkhorn with 301 victories & Günther Rall with 275 victories . All of them flew with Jagdgeschwader 52 a unit which exclusively flew the Bf 109 & was credited with over 10000 victories . Originally conceived as an interceptor it was later developed to fulfill multiple tasks serving as bomber escort fighter bomber day- night- all-weather fighter bomber destroyer ground-attack aircraft & as reconnaissance aircraft . The ME 109 including such features as an all-metal monocoque construction a closed canopy with poor rearward visibility & retractable landing gear was one of the first true modern fighters of the era . Although the Bf 109 had weaknesses including short range & challenging take off & landing characteristics & a closed canopy with poor rearward visibility it stayed competitive with Allied fighter aircraft until the end of the war . Specifications . Engine : Daimler-Benz DB 605A . Range : 550 km [ 550 kilometers = 341.75 miles ] . Weight : 2600 Kg or 2600 paper bags of sugar as 1 paper bag of sugar is exactly 1 Kg . Top speed : 635 km/h [ 635 Kilometer / Hour [ km/h ] = 394.57071 Mile / Hour [ mph ] . Dimensions : Length : 8.94m Height : 2.59m Wingspan : 9.92m . Stefan Davis .
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 05:17:27 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015