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 Mato Dukovac, with 44 kills. At the end of the conflict, 17 Luftwaffe and Croatian Air Force Bf 109s were found by Yugoslav Partisans on Yugoslav territory. These were stored until 1949 while more were acquired from Bulgaria. The new SFR Yugoslav Air Force used a mix of G-2, G-6, G-10 and G-12 aircraft until mid-1952 by the 172nd Fighter Regiment. The Royal Romanian Air Force ("Forţele Aeriene Regale ale României", FARR) operated Bf 109Fs and Gs against the Soviet Union, at first, and – after the “change of fronts” that followed the "coup d'état" led by King Michael I