German fighter plane Messerschmitt BF 109 E-3 COBI 5727 - World War II 1:32

Did you know:

• 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 May 28, 1935, at the factory airfield in Augsburg. At that time, the aircraft was still fitted with a British Rolls-Royce engine.
• The designers were the first in the world to apply many new technologies to the aircraft, such as an all-metal construction, a single-spar wing, a retractable undercarriage, and an enclosed cockpit.
• The official designation of the aircraft was Bf 109, but German pilots and the Allies called it simply Me 109.
• At the time of its creation, the Messerschmitt BF-109, with a confirmed measured speed of 610.95 km/h, was the fastest aircraft in the world.
• The Bf 109 fighter series is, in terms of kills, the most successful aircraft of World War II.
• A total of 33,984 units were produced in various versions.
• The greatest ace flying the BF 109 was pilot Erich "Bubi" Hartmann with 352 kills, who had to make fourteen emergency landings due to battle damage to his aircraft.
• The aircraft of another German ace, Sergeant Horst Perez, can still be seen today at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in Great Britain. Perez’s aircraft was damaged in combat near Eastbourne, England, on September 30, 1940, and the pilot had to make a belly landing. The plane is displayed 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 9.87 m, length 8.75 m, height 2.6 m
• empty weight 1,970 kg
• take-off weight 3,150 kg
• powerplant: 12-cylinder Daimler-Benz DB 601N engine producing 809 kW
• maximum speed 660 km/h
• fuel capacity 400 L
• climb rate 17.83 m/s
• service ceiling 10,500 m
• range 660 km
• armament: 2 × MG 17 machine guns (7.92 mm) and 2 × MG FF cannons (20 mm)
• crew: 1 person

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

“That day I was flying over the Channel as a courier with a report on enemy troop movements. It was a sunny day, blue skies above me. One of the few moments that briefly made me forget the hardships of war. Suddenly, from the northeast, out of nowhere, a German 109 appeared. My daydreaming in the sun’s rays cost me my attention, and the shock was all the greater. The German pilot rolled across my nose so close that I could read the word ‘Blitz’ on the engine. It was a first-class maneuver of an experienced pilot. He was probably on a similar mission to mine, as he continued flying without attempting combat.”