During World War II the general public in the Allied nations at first regarded the Messerschmitt Bf109 as an inferior weapon compared with the Spitfire and other Allied fighters such as the P51 Mustang. Only in the fullness of time was it possible to appreciate that the Bf109 was one of the greatest combat aircraft in history.
First flown in 1935, it was a major participant in the Spanish Civil War and a thoroughly proven combat aircraft by the time of the Munich meeting in September 1938. Early versions were the Bf109B, C and D, all of lower power than the definitive E version. The E was in service in great quantity by the end of August 1939 when the invasion of Poland began. From then until 1941, it was by far the most important fighter in the Luftwaffe, and it was also supplied in quantity to Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Yugoslavia, Switzerland (which made the 109 under licence), Japan and the Soviet Union.
During the first year of World War II, the "Emil", as the various E sub-types were called, made mincemeat of the many and varied types of fighter against which it was opposed, with the single exception of the Spitfire (which it greatly outnumbered). Its best features were fast and cheap production, small size, high acceleration, fast climb and dive, and good manoeuverability. Nearly all Bf109E's were also fitted with two or three 20mm cannon, with range and striking power greater than a battery of eight rifle-calibre guns. Drawbacks were the narrow landing gear, severe swing on take-off or landing, extremly poor lateral control at high speeds, and the fact that in combat the slats on the wings often opened in tight turns; while this prevented a stall, it snatched at the ailerons and threw the pilot off his aim.
After 1942 the dominant version was the 109G ("Gustav") which made up over 70 per cent of the total received by the Luftwaffe. Though formidably armed and equipped, the vast swarms of "Gustavs" were nothing like such good machines as the lighter E and F, demanding constant pilot attention, constant high power settings, and having landing characteristics described as "malicious" by many pilots. Only a few of the extended span high-altitude H-series were built, but from October 1944 the standard production series was the K with clear-view "Galland hood", revised wooden tail and minor structural changes.
After World War II the Czech Avia firm found their Bf109 plant intact and began building the S-99; running out of DB605 engines they installed the slow-revving Jumo, producing the S-199 with even worse torque and swing than the German versions (pilots called it "Mezek", meaning the mule), but in 1948 managed to sell some to Israel. The Spanish Hispano Aviación flew its first licence-built 1109 in March 1945 and in 1953 switched to the merlin engine to produce the 1109-M1L Buchón (Pigeon). Several Hispano and Merlin versions were built in Spain, some being tandem-seat trainers. When the last HA-1112 flew out of Seville in late 1956, it closed out 21 years of manufacture of this classic fighter, during which total output probably exceeded 35,000 aircraft.