Messerschmitt Bf 109: A Luftwaffe Legend | WWII Documentary

Video from the channel World War Military History about Messerschmitt Bf 109, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 35:17. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

Documentary about the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the fighter that was the backbone of the Luftwaffe until the arrival of the Focke-Wulf 190. It covers its origin, design and armament, and the evolution of the B, C, D, E, F and G versions, with testimonies from pilots on both sides and period footage.

After the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was not allowed an air force. Willy Messerschmitt set up the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) and earned the enmity of Erhard Milch, director of Lufthansa, after the M20 accidents. With Nazi rearmament underway from 1933, the Air Ministry invited Arado, Heinkel, Focke-Wulf and BFW, and the Bf 109 was presented to the public at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The B, C and D versions fought in the Spanish Civil War with the Condor Legion, where Werner Mölders developed the "finger-four" formation. The E took part in the invasion of Poland, the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain, where its limited range restricted bomber escort duties. The F arrived with Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, and the G replaced it in May 1942. After the war it remained in service in countries such as Spain, Finland and Romania.

The V1 prototype, completed in May 1935, flew with a British Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine because German engines were not ready; the V2 already used the Jumo. On 11 November 1937, a Bf 109 set a speed record of 610 km/h. The inverted, fuel-injected Daimler-Benz engine allowed negative-g manoeuvres without the fuel cutting out, unlike the carburettor of the Spitfire's Merlin, a problem later mitigated by Beatrice Shilling. The narrow landing gear caused the loss of around 1,750 aircraft in accidents. Gerhard Barkhorn (301 victories) and Erich Hartmann (352), both of JG 52, scored all their victories in the Bf 109. With 34,248 units built, it is the most-produced fighter in history; part of production used forced labour from concentration camps.