Messerschmitt Bf 109 Bf 109 H-1

The Bf 109 H was a high-altitude fighter project developed from the F-series. The wingspan was increased through new constant-chord inner wing panels, to 11.92 m, and the widened stabilizer again received the supporting strut to the fuselage already carried by the B through E models. In this configuration the aircraft reached 750 km/h at 10,100 m. A small number of H-1s were built, flying several sorties over Britain and France; the H-2 and H-5 variants were also planned, but the entire H-series was abandoned because of wing flutter problems. The H-1 was the production version, built on G-5 airframes and powered by a Daimler-Benz DB 605A engine with GM-1 boost. One particular H-1, Werknummer 110073, is recorded as having been converted into a photo-reconnaissance aircraft by a Luftwaffe long-range reconnaissance unit, Fernaufklärungsgruppe 123, in May 1944; it flew shortly after the invasion of Normandy on a mission meant to photograph the entire French coastline from Cherbourg to Ouistreham from an altitude of about 15 km, which proved to be just beyond the aircraft's achievable ceiling.