Messerschmitt Bf 109 Bf 109 B

The Bf 109 B was the first version of the fighter produced in series. The initial modification, the B-1, was fitted with the 493 kW (661 hp) Jumo 210D engine driving a two-blade fixed-pitch propeller; during the production run a variable-pitch propeller was introduced and often retrofitted to older aircraft, which then became unofficially known as B-2s. The Bf 109 B saw combat with the Legion Condor during the Spanish Civil War, where it became apparent that its armament was inadequate. Some aircraft were fitted with an additional engine-mounted machine gun, but it proved unreliable because of vibration and overheating; the V8 prototype tested two more wing guns, which showed the wing needed strengthening, and in the following V9 prototype those wing guns were replaced by 20 mm MG FF cannons. A total of 341 B-1s were built by Messerschmitt, Fieseler and Erla Maschinenwerke.