Messerschmitt

Serving the Luftwaffe in almost every capacity including interceptor, fighter-bomber, night-fighter, photo-reconnaissance, escort fighter, and ground attack, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 was the mainstay of the German air force-with 30,000 aircraft produced-as one of the most successful fighters of WWII.

Matched in the early stages of World War II only by the spitfire, the Messerschmitt Bf109 was undoubtedly one of the greatest combat aircraft of all time. It first flew in 1935 then followed the familiar pattern of civil war prototype, record breaker, Spanish civil war combat train of development common to so many other German aircraft of the period. It was the dominant fighter in the Luftewaffe until 1941 and served on all fronts, and with the air forces of Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania among others.

Drawings, tech excerpts, engineering data taken from extremely rare German manuals and American evaluation studies, plus photos and details from modern day replicas built in Dallas, Texas during the 1990s. This work covers the early development and production variants of the Me 262 and provides a look at the early designs that were rejected.