Fighter Messerschmitt

Bf 109 can be considered an example of this class of machine. Issued before the Second World War and during it in the amount of more than 30,500 copies, this aircraft became the most important part of the German military machine for the entire period of hostilities. Bf 109 appeared after the command of the German Air Force in the early 30s issued a task for a monoplane fighter of a "modern" design. The first 13 types took to the air in September 1935. In April 1937, the Bf 109B (in two versions) was adopted, equipped with two or three 7.92 mm MG-17 machine guns.

The Bf.109B-1 model was considered only as an intermediate one, as the Luftwaffe headquarters was in a hurry to put the new aircraft into service. In total, no more than 30 machines of this modification were produced, and then they switched to the Bf.109V-2, which appeared in the summer of 1937. Initially, the new aircraft differed only in the replacement of the wooden Schwartz propeller with a metal, two-bladed Hamilton variable-pitch propeller, which was produced under license for VDM. The engine is preserved Jumo 210Da. The first batch of Bf.109B-2s was immediately sent to Spain.

It was followed by the Bf 109C (in two versions) armed with four or five machine guns. Deliveries of the Bf.109C-1 began in the spring of 1938. This variant was powered by a Jumo 210Ga engine with a larger radiator and redesigned exhaust pipes. The armament consisted of four MG 17 machine guns. The wing machine guns had 420 rounds per barrel, and the fuselage guns had 500 rounds. As in previous cases, the first production Bf.109C-1s were immediately sent to Spain as part of the Condor Legion. During the summer, I / JG 132 began to replace their Bf.109В-1 with Bf.109C-1. Bf.109В, С, D - only 90 pieces went to Spain.

They were followed by the production of more than 175 vehicles of the Bf 109D type with a 986-horsepower DB 600A engine and armament from one 20 mm cannon and two 7.92 mm machine guns. From the very beginning of work on the Bf.109, it was planned to install a DB 600 -12-cylinder, inverted V type, liquid-cooled engine on it, work on which began at Daimler-Benz in 1932. The Bf.109D was essentially an intermediate solution pending the arrival of the Bf.109E with the DB 601 engine, although it had much better performance than the Jumo 210 version. In total, less than 200 Bf. 109D. The reason was that the DB 600 was not particularly finished, and even more so was not suitable for a single-engine fighter due to insufficient reliability.

By 1939, these machines entered the part of night fighters, but by the beginning of World War II, most of them were already used as training ones.

Bibliography

• "Aviation of Luftwaffe" /Viktor Shunkov/
• "Encyclopedia of military engineering" /Aerospace Publising/
• "The air war" /# 37/