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 armament was mixed: "Oberst" Adolf Galland criticised the light armament as inadequate for the average pilot, while "Major" Walter Oesau preferred to fly a Bf 109 E, and "Oberst" Werner Mölders saw the single centreline "Motorkanone" gun as an improvement. With the early tail unit problems out of the way, pilots generally agreed that the F series was the best-handling of all the Bf 109 series. Mölders flew one of the first operational Bf 109 F-1s over England from early October 1940; he may well have been credited with shooting down eight Hurricanes and four Spitfires while flying "W.No 5628",