Messerschmitt Bf 109 operational history victories. 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
Light fighter match or beat the range of their heavy twin-engined counterparts. The German Messerschmitt Bf 109 entered service in 1937 and became the most-produced fighter in history, with nearly 34,000 built. The design philosophy of the Bf 109 was to wrap a small airframe around a powerful engine using Messerschmitt's "lightweight construction" principle, which aimed to minimize the weight and number of separate parts in the aircraft. By concentrating wing, engine and landing gear weight in the firewall, the structure of the Bf 109 could be made relatively light and simple. The Bf 109 was the second-smallest major fighter aircraft of