Air Power Series>1:48 die-cast display model>BF-109>HA8718

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

Late in 1938 when Hptm. Siebelt Reents became commander of 1./J 88 he had the Holzauge (wooden eye) applied in black and white to some unit Bf-109s. The meaning of the “wooden eye” was a Spanish gesture meaning “look out”. Reents only recorded one victory while in Spain, a Polikarpov I-16 on February 6, 1939. His aircraft was left to the Spanish Air Force where it flew until 1951. Reents was wounded in WWII and became a Luftwaffe flight instructor. Reents lived to an old age of 101.

Specifications :

Role:	Fighter/Interceptor
Weight:	Empty – 2,025 kg
	Empty With Fuel – 2,328 kg
	Maximum Take-Off – 2,610 kg
Performance:	Powerplant – 1 X Daimler-Benz DB-601A 12-Cylinder Inline
	Maximum Power – 924 hp Upgraded 1,070 hp
Speed Maximum	Stock – 545 km/h @ 5,000 m
	Upgraded – 594 km/h @ 5.000 m
Rate of Climb	Stock – 12.5 m/sec
	Upgraded – 25.1 m/sec
	Range – 412 miles @ 62.5% power @ 16,000 ft
	Initial Climb Rate – 3,100 ft/min
	Service ceiling – 36,000 ft
Armament:	Guns Wing Mounted – 2 X 20 mm MGFF Cannons W/60 RPG = 120 Total Guns Nose Mounted – 2 X 7.92 mm MG 17 Machine Guns W/1,000 RPG = 2,000 Total
Bombs	4 X 50 kg SC50JA 1 X 250 kg SC250JA