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 10. "Zrakoplovno lovacko jato" (ZLJ, air force fighter squadron), equipped with 10 Bf 109F and one Bf 109E, was the first operative Croatian unit. Its first base was Poltava, in Ukraine, where it was subordinated to III./JG 52. There, 10. ZLS was renamed 15("Kroatische")./JG 52. The first air victories of Croatian aviation came on 2 November 1942. That day, Hauptmann Vladimir Ferencina (future 10 kills ace) and Leutnant Baumgarten claimed a Polikarpov I-16 Rata each, near Rostov. By the end of the war, 17 Croatian pilots had achieved the status of ace, flying the Bf 109, the top scoring being