Messerschmitt Bf 109 109 was steadily being supplemented by the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. It was commonly called the Me 109, most often by Allied aircrew and even among the German aces themselves, even though this was not the official German designation. It was designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser, who worked at Bayerische Flugzeugwerke during the early to mid-1930s. Whilst the 109 was conceived as an interceptor, later models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as bomber escort, fighter-bomber, day-, night-, all-weather fighter, ground-attack aircraft, and as reconnaissance aircraft. It was supplied to and operated by several states during World War
Messerschmitt Bf 109 variants 670 km/h (416 mph) at . The Initial Rate of climb was /min, without MW 50 and /min, using MW 50. The Bf 109 remained comparable to opposing fighters until the end of the war but the deteriorating quality of the thousands of novice "Luftwaffe" pilots pressed into service by this stage of the war meant the 109's strengths were of little value against the numerous and well-trained Allied fighter pilots. Several other versions were projected based on the 109K airframe – K-6, K-8, K-10 and K-14. In the proposed K-6 the armament would have been two 13 mm (.51