Messerschmitt Bf 109

В середине 1930-х годов набиравшим силу Люфтваффе потребовались бомбардировщики и истребители, значительно более совершенные, чем имевшиеся у них тогда. Вилли Мессершмитт оценил потенциал конструкции самолета Bf 108 еще до первого полета машины и на ее базе начал разработку одномоторного истребителя Bf 109. Конкурентами Bf 109 являлись Arado Ar 80, Focke-Wulf Fw 159 и Heinkel He 112. Люфтваффе признали лучшими проектами Bf 109 и He 112, заказав для дальнейших испытаний по десять самолетов каждого типа. Исходный прототип Bf 109 выполнил первый полет 28 мая 1935 года с мотором Rolls-Royce Kestrel мощностью 695 л.с., на втором прототипе установили штатный двигатель - Junkers Jumo 210A в 610 л.с.

   Предсерийные истребители отличались друг от друга вооружением. Первые три Bf 109A позже доработали в прототипы Bf 109B. К первым подвариантам относятся Bf 109B-1 с мотором Jumo 210D мощностью 635 л. с. и Bf 109B-2 с мотором Jumo 210E в 640 л. с., который вскоре заменили 670-сильным Jumo 210G.
   Выпуск серийных Bf 109B-1 начался в начале 1937 года. Первые самолеты поступили в JG-2 "Richthofen", лучшую эскадру германских ВВС. Боевой дебют Bf 109 состоялся в Испании, куда истребители отправили в составе легиона "Кондор" летом 1937 года. Незадолго до отбытия на войну пять Bf 109 приняли участие в международном авиасалоне в Цюрихе. Два представленных самолета были оснащены моторами Daimler-Benz и за счет этого обладали более высокими летными данными. Bf 109 выиграли командную гонку над Альпами, а также соревнования на скорость полета, время набора высоты и скорость пикирования. Успех закрепил 11 ноября 1937 года Герман Вюрстер, установивший на самолете с форсированным до 1650 л.с. мотором DB 601 мировой рекорд скорости для сухопутных самолетов - 610,55 км/ч.
   Между тем в серийном производстве Bf 109B сменил Bf 109C-1 с мотором Jumo 210Ga мощностью 700 л.с. Данный вариант строился также на заводах "Arado", "Erla", "Focke-Wulf" и "Fieseler". До сентября 1938 года собрали почти 600 самолетов. К началу Второй мировой войны, в сентябре 1939 года, на вооружении Люфтваффе состояло более 1000 самолетов Bf 109. После поражения Франции темп производства этих машин достиг 156 истребителей в месяц. В 1941 году Bf 109 собирали "Messerschmitt", "Erla" и австрийская фирма WNF. К 1942 году было построено почти 2700 самолетов, в 1943 году начался выпуск таких истребителей в Венгрии, где собрали еще 600 Bf 109. Несмотря на налеты авиации противника, в Германии только за 1944 год было собрано порядка 14000 Bf 109. В истории авиации Bf 109 по объему производства (порядка 35 000 самолетов всех вариантов) уступает лишь штурмовикам семейства Ил-2/10.
   Bf 109 принимал участие во Второй мировой войне с ее первого дня. Без него не обошлась ни одна значительная операция Люфтваффе. В конце войны в последнем крупнейшем боевом вылете германских ВВС - 7 апреля 1945 года - приняло участие 120 самолетов Bf 109. Bf 109 поставлялись и другим странам - Болгарии, Финляндии, Венгрии, Японии, Румынии, Словакии, Испании, Швейцарии, СССР и Югославии.
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Варианты

   Bf 109A: первые прототипы с моторами Rolls-Royce Kestrel и Junkers Jumo
   Bf 109B: предсерийный Bf 109B-0 оснащался мотором Jumo 210B; на серийных Bf 109B-1 и B-2 стояли моторы Jumo 210D мощностью 635 л.с. и Jumo 210E мощностью 640 л. с.
   Bf 109C: строился как Bf 109C-0, C-1 и C-2; все с мотором Jumo 210G мощностью 640 л.с., но разным вооружением
   Bf 109D: Bf 109D-0 перестроен из Bf 109B, выпущена небольшая партия серийных Bf 109D-1 с моторами Daimler-Benz DB 600A мощностью 960 л. с.
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Flight, October 1939

Fighters of the Luftwaffe
By H.F.King

   FIGHTER squadrons of the Luftwaffe were initially equipped with Heinkel and Arado single-seater biplanes which, fitted with naturally aspirated B.M.W. VI engines, had an unspectacular performance. For some time there was much conjecture as to the machines which would be selected from a number of prototypes then on test to replace these obsolescent models. It was at the Zurich International Meeting in July, 1937, that the world was first introduced to the chosen successors, which had not long since been wheeled from the rapidly growing Messerschmitt and Heinkel factories. Both types displayed unique features of aerodynamic and structural being particularly successful. An Me 109 flown by Major Seidemann won the Alpine Circuit race at an average speed of 240.9 m.p.h. (this, of course, did not represent anything like top speed) and another, flown by Karl Francke, climbed to 9,842ft. and dived back to 984ft. in 2 min. 6 sec.
   After their debut the two fighters underwent a period of development and had their share of teething troubles with the result that the types which were eventually standardised for squadron use differed in a number of respects from the prototypes. The largest orders were placed for the Messerschmitt, fitted in the first place with a Junkers Jumo 210 engine of only 650 h.p., though later series were fitted with the Daimler-Benz DB 600 unit rated at 950 h.p.
   The Messerschmitt Me 109 was designed by Professor Willy Messerschmitt and is built by the B.F.W. concern (Bayerische Flugzeugwerke A.G.) which explains why the type is sometimes called the Bf 109. It bears a remarkable resemblance to the Me 108 (Taifun) civil four-seater which is renowned for its speed range and all round excellence of control (see Flight, June 29, 1939).
   The trapezoidal low cantilever wing tapers straight toward square-cut tips. It is entirely of duraluminium construction with countersunk riveting. Each half is bolted directly to the fuselage. The entire trailing edge is hinged, the inner sections functioning as flaps and the outer portions as ailerons, and Handley Page automatic slots are fitted over a considerable portion of the leading edge.
   Fuselage construction is of a straightforward duralumin monocoque type. The front portion is of oval section, but aft of the pilot's cockpit (which is over the trailing edge of the wing) it changes to a triangular section and tapers sharply toward the tail, which has an adjustable braced tailplane mounted on the fin and a balanced rudder and elevator. The movable surfaces are fabric covered, with a metal framework.
   Simple but curious design characterises the under-carriage. Although resembling that of the Taifun, it differs in that the legs and wheels are raked outward instead of inward. Retraction is by hydraulic means, the wheels being housed in wells in the lower surface of the wing. Small fairing panels inboard of, and retracting with, the compression legs and wheels, cover the troughs for the legs and large segments of the wheel wells when the undercarriage is raised.
   The pilot’s enclosed cockpit has a generous amount of transparent panelling; the roof opens transversely instead of sliding fore and aft. Beneath the side panels of the windscreen are small supplementary windows which improve vision in a forward and downward direction. Two-way wireless is housed to the rear of the cockpit and the machine is equipped for night flying.
   The first batches of Me 109s delivered to the Luftwaffe are believed to have been fitted with the Junkers Jumo 210G engine driving a two-bladed airscrew, either a variable-pitch V.D.M. or a fixed-pitch wooden type. The two-bladed airscrew, incidentally, is a characteristic of the lower-powered Me 109, the later versions with Daimler Benz DB 600 engine having a three-bladed variable pitch V.D.M. When the Junkers engine is fitted the radiator is beneath the engine cowling just forward of the wing, but when a Daimler-Benz is installed radiators are fitted the wings in addition to that under the fuselage. Due to the shape of the crankcase of the Junkers and Daimler Benz engines cowling lines are hardly as smooth as those o our Spitfire and Hurricane.
   Armament of the Me 109 is believed to vary considerably, but in any case, there are twin synchronised machine guns in the top of the cowling. Two additional machine or shell-guns, can be mounted in the wings. These are normally of German rifle calibre (0.311in.). It is reported that Daimler-Benz-powered Me 109s used in Spain were fitted with two 23 mm. wing-mounted shell-guns. Incidentally, the hole in the nose of the V.D.M. spinner does not necessarily denote that a shell-gun is fitted to fire through the airscrew hub.
   There can be no doubt that the Me 109 is a delightful machine to fly. "Al" Williams, who was permitted to "play" with one in Germany, waxes lyrical about its handling qualities though he gives no indication of precise performance. The following figures, however, are believed to be reliable. When fitted with the Jumo 210 engine the top speed, attained at 13,100ft., is only 285 m.p.h. The climb to 16,400ft. takes 6 min. 8 sec. and the ceiling is 26,541ft. and the range 340 miles. When the Daimler-Benz DB 600 is used the top speed goes up to 323 m.p.h. and the climb to 16,400ft. takes a fraction over 5 minutes. A ceiling of 36,489ft. is claimed and the range is given as 445 miles, presumably at full throttle. An engine of the Daimler-Benz DB 601 series, which is now standardised in the Luftwaffe, should give an appreciably higher performance.
   Some exceptionally high speeds have been put up by specially prepared versions of this fighter. On November 11, 1937, J. H. Wurster attained 379.59 m.p.h. on a machine which was termed the Me 113R. Fundamentally this resembled the Me 109; the wing area was quite expansive and there was a large radiator below the starboard wing. On April 26 this year Fritz Wendel reached 469.225 m.p.h. in what was officially described as an Me 109R. This figure now stands as the world’s absolute speed record. In comparison with the earlier type of Messerschmitt record-breaker, the Me 109R (the works number 109 was probably used for the express intention of conveying the impression that the machine was similar to the standard fighter) had much less wing area, a wing of different section and plan form, a redesigned fuselage, a new cockpit enclosure, and a striking cruciform tail reminiscent of those on the old Macchi racing seaplanes. Moreover it was powered with a very much boosted Daimler-Benz DB 601A, said to deliver 1,800 h.p. at 3,500 r.p.m. against the 1,150 h.p. at 2,400 r.p.m. of a typical DB 601 of series production.
   Messerschmitt Me 109 fighters have been extensively used both on the Eastern and Western Fronts and as this article is written news comes that eight have been shot down in a fight with Allied fighters, including Curtiss P.36s.