Messerschmitt Bf 109 operational history Messerschmitt Bf 109 operational history The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid-1930s. It was one of the first true modern fighters of the era, including such features as all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, a retractable landing gear, and was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine. The Bf 109 saw active service in many air forces and was active in several conflicts outside of World War II. Dozens of Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters, including the A, B, C, D, and E variants
Arado Ar 80 Arado Ar 80 The Arado Ar 80 was a pre-World War II fighter aircraft, designed by Arado Flugzeugwerke to compete for the "Luftwaffe"s first major fighter contract. The Ar 80 was uninspiring in terms of performance and also suffered a number of failures. The contest was eventually won by the Messerschmitt Bf 109, and the Ar 80 prototypes ended their days as test aircraft. With the Nazi rise to power in February 1933, a plan was put into place to dramatically expand the "Luftwaffe". The new and highly-political "Reichsluftfahrtministerium" (RLM) demanded that the large industrial firms cooperate, keeping construction as