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| One of the greatest fighters of
all time designed by Willi Messerschmitt
the Bf 109 was in continuous production from 1936 to 1945 the
over 33000 produced (the exact no. is unknown) represented
nearly 2/3rds of Germanys entire output of single seat fighters
making it the most mass produced fighter aircraft ever. It first
saw action in the Spanish Civil War and was unquestionably the
worlds best fighter until bettered by the Spitfire in 1940. From
then on the evolution of the these two 'adversaries' were often
linked in the fight for air superiority. The development race
was unusual in that instead of being replaced by a newer designs
both remained in production as front line fighters throughout
the war with numerous modifications Bf109 variants from A
(re-designated V-1) to K and Spitfires I to 21. With time the accumulation of weight from the developments necessary to keep it competitive in combat made it increasingly difficult to fly and although newer types were available (FW190s) the 109's production was not scaled down but increased rapidly from 725 a month in 1943 to 1605 a month in 1944. By now outclassed by the best Allied fighters and no longer an easy aircraft to fly it never the less remained a potent fighter in the hands of an expert to the end and was credited with more victories than any other fighter type in history. |
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Messerschmitt Bf109 G-2/Trop Black 6 (CFS2 inc. separate AI Drone) |
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Of the approximately 33000 109's produced about 23500 were of the G Gustav variant. Operationally and numerically the Gustav was most important German type of WWII and were widely used in Russia the Middle East as well as Europe. The G2 variant lacked the pressurisation system of the G1 and was equipped with two 7.92mm MG 17s and one 20mm MG151/20 firing through the propeller shaft. Optimised for use in Desert/Dusty conditions it was designated as the Bf 109G-2/Trop it was fitted with a sand/dust filter over the supercharger inlet and carried a desert survival kit. |
