The ubiquitous "109" served the Luftwaffe from 1936 until the end of the war. These Messerschmitts were the Luftwaffe's primary single-engine fighter until 1942, when the Focke-Wulf finally entered production. Even then, Bf109s would continue to be produced in greater quantities than Focke-Wulfs or any other German fighter for the remainder of the war. By 1943, when the late model "Gustavs" appeared, the 109 was at the zenith of its development potential. A small fighter to begin with, it had always suffered from inadequate range, weak landing gear, and high wing loading. The Gustav series demanded skill to fly and carried only three nose mounted weapons, though these could be supplemented with additional gun pods or rockets bolted to the wings. However, with the added weapons its performance was degraded to a point where it became vulnerable to Allied fighters. Despite these handicaps the 109Gs and Ks still had a good turn of speed and excellent rates of climb. They couldn't turn or dive with a Mustang, but a hit from their nose or wing cannons was devastating. The Luftwaffe often used the 109 as top cover for Focke-Wulfs which, being more heavily armed, were preferred for attacking Allied heavy bombers. Always to be respected, the 109 was a capable fighter plane. In the hands of some of the German aces, it was very deadly as well.
TACTICS: Aim to fight at low to medium altitude when possible. Your maneuverability is no better than average, and generally below that of your Allied opponents, so make use of your powerful acceleration. Maneuver in close unless the combat situation turns to your disadvantage. Then break off, quickly accelerating away from danger. Once a safe distance has been gained, you can reverse direction and re-enter combat.
STRENGTHS: Excellent acceleration and rate of climb.
WEAKNESSES: Limited firepower. Cannot withstand heavy damage.
MODELS:
G-6: December 1942 "Gustav" model.
G-10: Short production-run model with an uprated engine and a heavier cannon. It evolved into the K-4 model.
G-14: An improved G-6 with a Daimler-Benz DB 605ASM engine more powerful than that of the G-6, but less so than the DCM engine of the G-10/K-4. Production of the better DCM was slower than the combined production of new Bf109 airframes and overhaul of old ones. Thus the number of G-10 and K-4 models was limited to DCM engine production and the G-14 made use of extra airframes and the less-powerful ASM engines on hand.
K-4: The ultimate version of the Bf109, carrying the 2000 horsepower Daimler-Benz DB 605DCM engine and heavier 15mm and 30mm guns. The K-4 was designed primarily for air-to-air combat against fighters.
