Goss - Messerschmitt Bf 109

MESSERSCHMITT Bf 109

THE EARLY YEARS POLAND, THE FALL OF FRANCE AND THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN

THE EARLY YEARS POLAND, THE FALL OF FRANCE AND THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN

CHRIS GOSS

MESSERSCHMITT Bf 109

The Early Years Poland, The Fall of France and the Battle of Britain

This edition published in 2017 by Frontline Books,

an imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd,

47 Church Street, Barnsley, S. Yorkshire, S70 2AS

Copyright Chris Goss

The right of Chris Goss to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in

accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

ISBN: 978-1-84832-479-4

eISBN: 978-1-84832-481-7

Mobi ISBN: 978-1-84832-480-0

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I would like to thank the following for their assistance in compiling this book: Peter Cornwell, the late Michael Payne, Alfred Price, Bernd Rauchbach, and Gianandrea Bussi.

The Messerschmitt 109 single-seat fighter was manufactured in larger numbers than any other warplane of the Second World War. Although the design suffered some drawbacks, limiting its full potential, the Bf 109E at least for much of the first two years of the war was generally considered superior to its opponents.

The requirement for a single-seat fighter was set by the Reichsluftministerium (RLM) in late 1933 and issued to German aircraft manufacturers in 1934. Designed by Professor Willi Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser for the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG (later Messerschmitt AG), the Rolls-Royce Kestrel powered Bf 109V1 first flew in September 1935.

The following month it found itself being assessed against its rivals the Heinkel 112, Arado Ar 80 and Focke-Wulf Fw 159. Nevertheless, in March 1936 the RLM decided that the Bf 109 would be its choice of fighter, and full production began shortly afterwards.

By then, the Rolls-Royce engine had been replaced by a Junkers Jumo 210 engine. After various prototypes, the initial production version, the Bf 109B-1, the Berta, began replacing older fighters such as the He 51 and Ar 64 in the spring of 1937. The B-1 variant was powered by a Jumo 210Da engine (the B-2 with the Jumo 210 Ea) and was armed with a pair of engine-mounted MG 17 machine-guns as well as an MG 17 or MG FF cannon in the propeller shaft. Later B-2s were powered by the Jumo 210G engine. The Bf 109B was to be sent to Spain, as part of the Legion Condor, and therefore would soon be tested in combat.

Messerschmitt continued to develop its new fighter at pace. The Bf 109V8 was still powered by the Jumo 210 Da but now had two guns fitted to the wings. The V8 was then the catalyst for the Bf 109D, the Dora, which was powered by the Daimler Benz DB 600Aa. This in turn led to the Bf 109E-1, the Emil, which began to appear at the end of 1938.

The E-1 was powered by the DB 601A engine and armed with four MG 17 machine-guns. Arriving on fighter units from spring 1939 onwards, it was the Bf 109E-1 ably supported by a few Bf 109Ds that formed both the backbone and teeth of the Luftwaffes fighter force when war was declared.

Pushing onward, Messerschmitt fitted a DB 601Aa and replaced the wing-mounted machine guns with MG FF cannon, resulting in the Bf 109E-3. The subsequent fitment of MG FF/M cannon which fired improved ammunition resulted in the Bf 109E-4, which also had improved armour plating and a more angular cockpit.

The fitment of bombs to the Bf 109E began in July 1940 and by the end of the Battle of Britain, one capable. Such aircraft had the suffixes E-1/B, E-3/B or E-4/B and were fitted with an ETC 500 bomb rack.

Towards the end of the Battle of Britain, a number of Bf 109E-4s were fitted with DB 601N engines and designated E-4/N. A few Bf 109E-7s the same as the E-4/N but with a centre-line drop tank and Bf 109E-8s the same as the E-4 but with a DB 601E engine also made appearances before the end of 1940.

The Bf 109F, the Friedrich, appeared in the skies over the UK from October 1940 onwards. Issued to Werner Mlders, who claimed his 49th, 50th and 51st kills flying a Bf 109F-1 over Kent on the afternoon of 22 October 1940. Fitted with a DB 601N, the Bf 109 F-1 looked different to previous versions in that it had a cantilever tail plane, rounded wing tips, redesigned and symmetrical cowling, and a retractable tail wheel. It was also armed with an engine-mounted MG FF Motorkanone and two MG 17s on the top of the cowling the F-2 differed only in the calibre of the guns.

Units were normally identified by Staffel, Gruppen or Geschwader badges such as the red R in a shield for JG 2 Richthofen and the black S in a shield for JG 26 Schlageter , these names being awarded or granted to the Geschwader or even the styles of camouflage.

Gruppen were identified by markings or lack of them to the aft of the fuselage: cross-nothing for I Gruppe, a horizontal bar for II Gruppe and a curved line or vertical bar for III Gruppe. Within each Staffel, aircraft were allocated appropriately coloured numerals in front of the cross however, Geschwader and Gruppen executives were given a series of chevrons which pointed forward. The principal of these are as follows:

The colours were as follows:

The Bf 109Es Achilles heel in the Battle of Britain was its limited operating range of just under 400 miles. To fly over Dorset and Hampshire, for example, Bf 109E units had to forward base either at Cherbourg in northern France or in the Channel Islands. Then, as the phase of battle changed to attacks on London, almost all moved to the Pas de Calais. Even then, London and the Thames Estuary were at the limit of the Emils range, especially when time for combat normally 15 to 20 minutes maximum and most flights were of an hours duration was factored in.