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No other aircraft of the German Luftwaffe is so intimately connected with its rise and fall in the course of the Second World War than the
Messerschmitt Bf 109. This type, by whose evolution outlived the era in which it was conceptualized, bore the brunt of Luftwaffe duties from
the opening battles of Nazi Germany through to her final downfall. The history of the aircraft begins during 1934-35, when the Reich Ministry of
Aviation formulated a requirement for the development of a single-engined monoplane fighter. Proposals were submitted by Arado, Heinkel,
Focke-Wulf and Bayerische Flugzeugwerke. The last mentioned firm featured a technical director named Professor Willy Messerschmitt, who
was riding a wave of popularity based on the success of his recent liason aircraft, the Bf 108. His goal was to conceive of an aircraft with the
best possible performance for the specified weight, size, and aerodynamic qualities. Over the subsequent months, several prototypes were
built that served first and foremost in development flights and further modifications. The aircraft was relatively small, and compared to the
prevailing trends of the time, docile with revolutionary features such as low wing design, the use of a retractable landing gear, a wing with a
very narrow profile, wing slats, landing flaps, weapons firing through the prop hub, and so on. Even the enclosed cockpit and the method of
construction were not very common just four years prior to the beginning of the Second World War. At its conception, the Bf 109 was a very
promising asset despite some powerplant troubles. These were solved by the introduction of the DB601. This engine, together with its
extrapolated development DB 605, is umbilically connected to the types success. These two-row, twelve cylinder inverted V engines powered
several tens of thousands of '109s in over 25 versions and variants.
The first combat use was by three developmental Bf 109s in the Spanish Civil War, where they were delivered in December, 1936. The preseries
airframes were to, first of all, validate the aircraft's abilities in modern aerial combat. Shortly thereafter, production machines in the form
of the Bf 109B-1 began to reach 2./J.88, the Legion Condor. The desire of Germany to demonstrate her aerial prowess to potential foes was
advanced further in international sport meets. The triumphs attained in Zurich in the summer of 1937 were complemented several months
later by grabbing the speed record of 610.95 kph. In very short order, the progressive developments represented by the C, D and E versions
appeared. Despite this, the delivery of the types to combat units did not sustain a rate that was desired by military brass. Even by August,
1938, the Bf 109 accounted for less than half of the 643 front line fighters in service. The later months saw an increase in these rates. By the
time of the invasion of Poland (which saw the participation of only a little more than 200 aircraft) the Luftwaffe possessed the best fighter
produced in continental Europe. With both a qualitative and quantitative advantage, the fighter wing of the Luftwaffe entered the Polish
campaign, the first defenses of the Fatherland, Blitzkrieg against the West, and the Battle for France. With one foot in the door that was the
English Channel, the Luftwaffe embarked on the attacks on Britain in the summer months of 1940. Here, the first weakness of the Bf 109 was
revealed: the inability to carry drop tanks that would have enabled the type to effectively escort bombers to England. This was one of the
factors that made the defeat of the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain possible. Experiences gained in 1940 led to the development of the 'F'
version prior to the spring of 1941. The elegance of the Bf 109 crested with the 'Friedrich'. Following a largely defensive stance over the
Channel and northern France, the Bf 109F took on a more offensive role in Operation Barbarosa in the east, and in northern Africa. In later
duties with the 'Jagdwaffe' during the second phase of the war in the east, and in the 'Defense of the Reich' from 1943 to 1945, the Bf 109
served in the form of the 'G' version, followed by the 'K'. Even if by the end of the war it was clear that the development of the Bf 109 was
exhausted, during its combat career, the type was able to keep pace with the foes that it encountered. Besides its primary function as fighter,
the Bf 109 also appeared as a fighter-bomber, reconnaissance platform, night fighter, trainer and rammjäger.
The disappearance of the Bf 109 from the skies over Europe was not spelled out by the end of the war. Several examples were in Swiss
service up to 1949, and many flew in the air force of Czechoslovakia in both original form with a DB 605 powerplant and as aircraft built out of
necessity with surplus Jumo 211s. The latter type also served as the first fighter to fight for the independence of the newly formed state of
Israel. Finland retired the type as recently as 1954, and Spain didn't retire its HA-1109-1112, re-engined Bf109s, until 1967. The legendary
low-wing fighter of Professor Willy Messerschmitt survived the state that developed it.
Contents:
•152 plastic parts
•4 attractive markings
•Color Photo-etched details
•Eduard mask
•Bonus: Brassin Bf 109E wheels 1/32
Marking Options:
•Bf 109 E-4, Hptm. Max Dobislav, CO of III./JG 27, Belica airfield, Yugoslavia, April, 1941
•Bf 109 E-7, III./JG 77, Belgrad – Semlin airfield, Yugoslavia, May, 1941
•Bf 109 E-4, III./JG 77, Greece or Rumania, May, 1941
•Bf 109 E-4, W.Nr. 4148, Hptm. Wolfgang Lippert, CO of II./JG 27, Larissa airfield, Greece, April, 1941
Item Size/Weight : 38.2 x 23.3 x 7 cm / 554g