Messerschmitt Bf 109 operational history
It was one of the first true modern fighters of the era, including such features as all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, a retractable landing gear, and was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine.
[2] However, the Germans did not use this benchmark; instead they awarded the title of Experte to a fighter pilot who not only demonstrated high skill in combat but also exemplified the best in personal character.
[8] By July, one Gruppe (Wing) of JG 26 was equipped with the Bf 109 E-4/N model of improved performance, powered by the new DB 601N engine using 100 octane aviation fuel.
British pilots who tested a captured Bf 109 E-3 liked the engine and throttle response, the docile and responsive handling and stall characteristics at low speeds, but criticised the high-speed handling characteristics (in part due to the automatic wing slats opening), poorer turning circle (850 ft as opposed to 680 ft for the Spitfire), and greater control forces required at speed (in part because of rudder pedal position and a lack of trim tabs).
Mölders himself called the Spitfire "miserable as a fighting aircraft", due to its two-pitch propeller and the inability of its carburettor to handle negative g-forces.
In the political climate of the times, there was often a considerable amount of propaganda written into such reports by both sides[11] or the information quickly become outdated; for example, as a result of a crash programme, all Spitfires and Hurricanes were retrofitted with either Rotol or Hamilton Standard constant-speed propellers by 16 August 1940.
[14] The Messerschmitt Bf 109E-7 corrected this deficiency by adding a ventral center-line ordnance rack to take either an SC 250 bomb or a standard 300 litre Luftwaffe drop tank to double the range to 1,325 km (820 mi).
From November 1942 to April 1943, the Regia Aeronautica received only 160 new bombers and 758 new fighters from their own production lines, while losing about 1,600 aircraft in combat, for accidents and other causes.
The first unit under command of Maggiore Antonio Vizzotto was ready to operate in April moving to Caltagirone airfield, then on Sciacca's, in Sicily.
I°Gr.C continued to use a combination of Macchi 205s and Fiat G.55s; although, for various reasons,[Note 3] the unit rarely operated from August 1944 through to December, when the first Bf 109 G-12 trainer arrived.
[21] On 2 April 1945, II° Gruppo 29 Bf 109s, from Aviano and Osoppo bases, intercepted a large formation of B-25s over Ghedi, Brescia, escorted by P-47Ds of 347 Fighter Squadron.
[23] In October 1942, the Luftwaffe agreed to partially re-arm Royal Hungarian Air Force (MKHL) fighter units with the Bf 109.
The unit, commanded by the experienced Eastern Front veteran őrnagy (major) Heppes Aladár, was also known as the Red Pumas after its insignia.
In April 1944, 12 further G-6s were acquired in exchange for the destruction of a highly secret Messerschmitt Bf 110G night fighter which made an emergency landing in Switzerland.
On 1 June, the Flugwaffe dispatched 12 Bf 109 E-1s to engage 36 unescorted German Heinkel He 111s of Kampfgeschwader 53 that were crossing Swiss airspace to attack the Lyon – Marseilles railway system.
The Swiss Air force sustained its first casualty in the engagement when Sub Lieutenant Rudolf Rickenbacher was killed when the fuel tank of his Bf 109 exploded after being hit by the Heinkel's return fire.
[38] In the latter stages of the war, Swiss Messerschmitts were painted with red and white striped "neutrality markings" around the fuselage and main wings to avoid confusion with German 109s.
So, from 1939 to 1941, Vazduhoplovstvo Vojske Kraljevine Yugoslavije (VVKJ – Royal Yugoslav Air Force)[39] received 83 Bf 109 E-3s with the first two aircraft delivered in beginning of 1939.
[41] After the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was defeated and occupied by the Axis powers, the new Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH) was created.
On 27 June, the Croatian Legion (Hrvatska Legija) was formed, on order of Ante Pavelić, to support German forces on the Eastern Front.
That day, Hauptmann Vladimir Ferencina (future 10 kills ace) and Leutnant Baumgarten claimed a Polikarpov I-16 Rata each, near Rostov.
[44] By the end of the war, 17 Croatian pilots had achieved the status of ace, flying the Bf 109, the top scoring being Mato Dukovac, with 44 kills.
[48] The 83rd and 172 Fighter Regiment of the SFR Yugoslav Air Force continued to operate the 109 until 1952 when they were replaced in service by American Republic F-47D Thunderbolt.
[49] The Royal Romanian Air Force (Aeronautica Regală Română, ARR) operated Bf 109Es and Gs against the Soviet Union, at first, and – after the "change of fronts" that followed the coup d'état led by King Michael I of Romania in August 1944 – against the Germans.
[51] Between 28 March and 1 July 1943, Grupul 7, led by Lt. Col. Radu Gheorghe, operated with units of Luftwaffe JG 3 Udet, on South-Eastern Ukraine.
[53] On 23 August 1944, after King Michael's Coup removed the government of Ion Antonescu, which had aligned Romania with Nazi Germany, the Romanian pilots had to fight the Luftwaffe and the Hungarians with their Messerschmitts.
[55] On 26 September, the 1.ª Escuadrilla de Caza with its 12 Messerschmitts flew to Minsk, then to its operational base of Moznha, where formed a squadron of Jagdgeschwader 27, the 15.(Span.
Few days later, Comandante Larrazábal scored the first two kills of the Escuadrilla Azul, shooting down one I-16 Rata and a Petlyakov Pe-2 reconnaissance bomber and Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, then Commanding General of VIII.
Several Bf 109s models and marks came into the RAF's hands in various ways throughout the war, including captures by Allied ground troops, forced or mistaken landings by German pilots, and defections.
Hans-Joachim Marseille, the highest scoring German ace in the North African Campaign, also claimed all of his 158 victories flying the Bf 109, against Western Allied pilots.
