German fighter Messerschmitt BF 109 G COBI 5761 - World War II 1:32

Did you know that:

• Designers Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser worked on the development of the aircraft from 1934.
• The first flight of the Bf 109 took place on 28 May 1935 at the factory airfield in Augsburg. At that time, the aircraft was still fitted with a British Rolls-Royce engine.
• The designers applied many new technologies to the aircraft for the first time in the world, such as an all-metal construction, a monoplane wing, retractable landing gear, and an enclosed cockpit.
• The official designation of the aircraft was Bf 109, but German pilots and allies referred to it as the Me 109.
• At the time of its inception, the Messerschmitt BF-109, with a confirmed measured speed of 610.95 km/h, was the fastest aircraft in the world.
• In terms of the number of enemy aircraft shot down, the Bf 109 fighters were the most successful aircraft of World War II.
• A total of 33,984 units were produced in various versions.
• The top ace flying the BF 109 was pilot Erich “Bubi” Hartmann with 352 kills, who had to make emergency landings fourteen times due to damage to his aircraft during combat.
• The aircraft of another German ace, Sergeant Horst Perez, can still be seen at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in the United Kingdom. Perez’s aircraft was damaged on 30 September 1940 in a dogfight near Easbourne in England, and the pilot had to make an emergency belly landing. The aircraft is on display in the museum in the condition in which it was found by the British Home Guard, with damaged landing gear and a bent propeller.

Technical specifications:

• Dimensions: wingspan 9.92 m, length 9.02 m, height 2.6 m
• Empty weight: 1,865 kg
• Take-off weight: 3,150 kg
• Powerplant: 12-cylinder Daimler-Benz DB 605 A-1 engine with an output of 1085 kW
• Maximum speed: 622 km/h
• Fuel capacity: 400 L
• Rate of climb: 17.83 m/s
• Maximum service ceiling: 11,200 m
• Range: 725 km
• Armament: 2 x MG 17 machine guns (7.92 mm caliber) and 1 x MG 151/20 cannon (20 mm caliber) plus 250 kg of aerial bombs
• Crew: 1 person

From the memoirs of RAF pilot John "Hawk" Harrison:

"That day I was flying over the channel as a courier carrying a message about the movement of enemy units. It was a sunny day, blue skies above me. One of the few moments that allowed me to forget the hardships of war. Suddenly, from the north-east, a German 109 appeared out of nowhere. Lost in the sunlit reverie, I lost my concentration—and what a scare it was. The German pilot executed a deft maneuver, flying so close in front of my aircraft that I could read the inscription on the engine, 'Blitz.' It was a first-class maneuver by an experienced pilot. He was probably tasked with a similar mission as mine, because he continued flying without attempting to engage in combat."