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,
Messerschmitt Bf 109 operational history Latium, received 11 Bf 109Gs. By 8 September, when Italy signed the Armistice of Cassibile, only four Bf 109s remained servicable, based on Ciampino airstrip, with 150 "Gruppo". The "Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana" (ANR) was the airforce deployed by the "Repubblica Sociale Italiana" (RSI). Although the ANR was organised by the RSI, much of its operational control came from the "Luftwaffe". At first, the ANR fighter units (I° "Gruppo Caccia" and II° "Gruppo Caccia") used Macchi C.205s and Fiat G.55s respectively. Notwithstanding the G.55s gave a good account of themselves against Allied fighters like the Spitfire and Mustang the "Luftwaffe"s "Jagdfliegerführer"