German fighter plane Messerschmitt BF 109 G COBI 5870 - World War II 1:48

Did you know:

• Designers Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser worked on the development of the aircraft from 1934.
• The first flight of the Bf 109 took place on May 28, 1935, at the factory airfield in Augsburg. At that time, the aircraft was still equipped with a British Rolls-Royce engine.
• The designers introduced many new technologies on the aircraft for the first time in the world, such as an all-metal construction, a cantilever wing, retractable landing gear, and an enclosed cockpit.
• The official designation of the aircraft was Bf 109, but German pilots and their adversaries referred to it simply as the Me 109.
• At the time of its creation, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, with a confirmed measured speed of 610.95 km/h, was the fastest aircraft in the world.
• The Bf 109 fighters are the most successful aircraft of World War II in terms of the number of enemy aircraft shot down.
• A total of 33,984 units were produced in various versions.
• The greatest ace on the Bf 109 was pilot Erich "Bubi" Hartmann with 352 kills, who had to make emergency landings fourteen times due to battle damage.
• Another ace, German Sergeant Horst Perez, can still be seen today at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in Great Britain. Perez’s aircraft was damaged on September 30, 1940, during a dogfight near Eastbourne in England, and the pilot had to make an emergency landing on its belly. Today, it is exhibited in the museum in the condition in which it was found by the British Home Guard – with damaged undercarriage and a bent propeller.
• The last units were withdrawn from service by the Spanish Air Force only in 1965.

Technical parameters:

• Dimensions: wingspan 9.92 m, length 9.02 m, height 2.6 m
• Empty weight: 1,865 kg
• Take-off weight: 3,150 kg
• Powerplant: 12-cylinder Daimler-Benz DB 605 A-1 engine with 1,085 kW
• Maximum speed: 622 km/h
• Fuel capacity: 400 L
• Rate of climb: 20 m/s
• Service ceiling: 11,200 m
• Range: 725 km
• Armament: 2 x MG 17 machine guns (7.92 mm caliber) and 1 x MG 151/20 cannon (20 mm caliber) plus 250 kg of bombs
• Crew: 1 person

From the recollections of Hane von Schmidtela:

"Pigeon! Yes, pigeon. That cheeky bird decided to fly right in front of me and I, although an experienced pilot, got so startled that I jerked the Bf 109 to the side and hit the armored canopy of the cockpit. The headset built into the leather helmet dug into my head. Unfortunately, this pigeon incident was not the worst thing I experienced that day."