Aircraft · Germany · 1937-1945
Messerschmitt Bf 109
fighter
The Luftwaffe's principal fighter throughout the war, the Bf 109 gave German aces enormous personal scores against a Red Air Force still recovering from catastrophic 1941 losses; Erich Hartmann alone claimed 352 kills, nearly all on the Eastern Front. Production exceeded 33,000 airframes, more than any other fighter design in history, though by 1944 it was increasingly outclassed by improved Soviet types.
| crew | 1 |
|---|---|
| armament | 1x 20mm cannon + 2x 13mm machine guns (Bf 109G) |
| top speed | 640 km/h (Bf 109G) |
| produced | ~34,000 |
Eastern Front, Balkans, Mediterranean and North Africa, Western Europe
