Air Power Series>1:48 die-cast display model>BF-109>HA8704

General Background

The first German mass produced 109 fighter was the Bf-109E that has been mistakenly referred to as the Me-109. The Bf is the designator for the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) (Bavarian Aircraft Works) that produced the original aircraft. In 1938 Messerschmitt took over BFW but throughout WWII German handbooks and documents referred to the aircraft as the Bf-109. By the end of 1939 the Bf-109E (Emil) had replaced all other 109 variants and equipped 13 Gruppens with 40 aircraft each. The Bf-109 was the main single-engine aircraft until the Fw-190 came along.

The Aircraft

August 1, 1939 Ludwig Franzisket transferred to the 1./JG 1 on August 1, 1939 and claimed his first victory on May 11, 1940. On July 9, 1940 the unit is renamed 1./JG 27 and on October 1, 1940 Franzisket becomes Adjutant of 1./JG 27. By the spring of 1941 Franzisket has fourteen victories and 1./JG 27 is sent to North Africa to support German ground forces. When 1./JG 27 departs North Africa near the end of 1942 Franzisket has thirty nine of his total forty three victories.

Specifications :

Crew:	1
Dimensions:	Wingspan – 32 ft 4.5 in
	Wing Area – 18.3 m (197 sq ft)
	Length – 28 ft 8 in
	Height – 11 ft 2 in
Weight:	Empty – 4,440 lbs
	Gross Loaded – 5,520 lbs
Performance:	Powerplant – 1 X Daimler-Benz DB 601Aa 12 cylinder inverted-vee liquid cooled, 1,150 h.p. @2,400 rpm on take-off
	Propeller – VDM electrically-operated controllable-pitch fully-feathering 3-blade metal screw
	Fuel – 88 Imp. Gallons in fuselage behind pilot and under his seat.
	Maximum Speed – 375 mph @ 12,300 ft
	Cruising – 298 mph @ 62.5% power
	Stall – 75 mph landing with flaps extended
	Range – 412 miles @ 62.5% power @ 16,000 ft
	Initial Climb Rate – 3,100 ft/min
	Service ceiling – 36,000 ft
Armament:	2 X 7.9 mm MG 17 MG, 1,000 rpg mounted on engine crankcase firing through propeller
	2 X 20 mm MG FF cannons, 60 rpg mounted in wings