Flying Heritage Museum: World War II German Messerschmitt Bf 109 (photo diary)

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is generally considered to be the world’s first truly modern fighter: it had all-metal stressed-skin construction, a mono-wing design, enclosed cockpit, and retractable landing gear. It also has heavy armor plating and bullet-resistant Plexiglass. It first flew in 1935 and was used in the Spanish Civil War in 1937.  During its ten years of production, about 35,000 were built. For its first six years of production, it was the fastest military airplane.

The Bf 109 was designed by Willy Messerschmitt (1898-1978) and Robert Lusser (1899-1969) and manufactured by Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) Messerschmitt AG. While the Allies referred to it as the Me 109, its official German designation was Bf 109.

It has a top speed of 354 mph, a range 410 miles, and a ceiling of 36,000 feet. It has two 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns in the cowling and three 20mm MG FF cannons in the wings and nose. It has a Daimler-Benz V-12 liquid-cooled, 1,100 hp engine.

The Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum  in Everett, Washington has a Messerschmitt Bf 109 E3.

Note: These photos were taken on July 11, 2024.

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