Messerschmitt Bf 109 11 July 1938 when Erhard Milch finally allowed Willy Messerschmitt to acquire the company. All Messerschmitt aircraft that originated after that date, such as the Me 210, were to carry the "Me" designation. Despite regulations by the RLM, wartime documents from Messerschmitt AG, RLM and "Luftwaffe" loss and strength reports continued to use both designations, sometimes even on the same page. All extant airframes bear the official "Bf 109" designation on their identification plates, including the final K-4 models. The aircraft was often referred to by the folk-designation, 'Me 109', particularly by the Allies. The aircraft was often nicknamed "Messer"
Messerschmitt Bf 109 operational history on the rudder. A red band outlined in white is around the rear fuselage. They were used in comparison trials by the Japanese Army Air Force with the Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa, Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki and the Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien. As Japanese were interested in the DB 601 engine and license-built it for their Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien fighter, they had little interest in the Bf 109 itself. The Allies, expecting to encounter Japanese Bf 109s in combat, assigned a code name of “Mike” to the Messerschmitts, in the event none were flown in combat by the Japanese. Several Bf 109s models