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
Messerschmitt Bf 109 operational history over the Eastern Front. During this period Bf 109 pilots claimed 12,000 Soviet aircraft destroyed. Arguably the most well known of all Bf 109 operations was the contest of air superiority between the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940. The E-1 and E-4 variants bore the brunt of the battle. On 31 August 1940, fighter units (excluding JG 77) reported 375 E-1s, 125 E-3s, 339 E-4s and 32 E-7s on strength, indicating that most of the E-3s had been already converted to E-4 standard. By July, one "Gruppe" (Wing) of