Messerschmitt Bf 109 was called the Me 109R, suggesting it was just another variant of the standard fighter, but in fact it was a racing aircraft having little in common with the Bf 109. It was powered by the DB 601ARJ, producing 1,156 kW (1,550 hp), but capable of reaching 1,715 kW (2,300 hp). This world record for a piston-engined aircraft was to stand until 1969, when Darryl Greenamyer's modified Grumman F8F Bearcat, "Conquest I", broke it with a 777 km/h (483 mph) record speed. When the Bf 109 was designed in 1934, by a team led by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser,
Operational history of the Luftwaffe (1939–45) Force eventually joined in the autumn of 1942 flying daylight missions. This campaign became known as The Defense of the Reich. In 1941 the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter began to partially replace the Bf 109 as the main "Luftwaffe" fighter type. The Fw 190 proved to be more manoeuvrable and better armed, but its performance above dropped considerably. The Bf 109G and K could fight well at high altitudes and were a match for Allied fighters in performance. It was decided by the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe to keep both the Fw 190 and Bf 109 in production. The Fw 190s