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 variants record exists of one particular Bf 109H-1, "Werknummer" 110073, was recorded as having been converted to a photo-recon aircraft by a Luftwaffe long-range reconnaissance group, "Fernaufklärungsgruppe 123", in May 1944, and flown on dates immediately following the Invasion of Normandy with one mission meant to scan the entire French coastline from Cherbourg to Ouistreham, from an altitude of some 15 km (49,200 ft), which proved to be just beyond the achievable ceiling of the selected aircraft. The Bf 109K was the last of the series to see operational duty and the last in the Bf 109 evolutionary line. The K