The first German mass produced 109 fighter was the Bf-109E that has been mistakenly referred
to as the Me-109. The Bf is the designator for the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) (Bavarian
Aircraft Works) that produced the original aircraft. In 1938 Messerschmitt took over BFW but
throughout WWII German handbooks and documents referred to the aircraft as the Bf-109. By the
end of 1939 the Bf-109E (Emil) had replaced all other 109 variants and equipped 13 Gruppens
with 40 aircraft each. The Bf-109 was the main single-engine aircraft until the Fw-190 came along.

Werner Molders scored his first victory on September 21, 1939 as Staffelkapitan of 1./JG 53
“Pik As” and became known as “Vati” (Daddy) Molders. In October 1939 he became
Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 53. On May 27, 1940 Molders scored his 20th victory, was
promoted to Hauptmann. On June 5, 1940 Molders was shot down and taken prisoner but was
released two weeks later when France after France surrendered. While returning to Germany for
a funeral the He-111 he was in crashed killing him and the pilot. Molders’ final tally was 101
aircraft.

Specifications Bf-109E-4
Single-seat day fighter

Crew – 1

Dimensions
Wingspan – 32 ft 4.5 in
Length – 28 ft 8 in
Height – 11 ft 2 in

Performance
Powerplant – 1 X Daimler-Benz DB 601Aa 12 cylinder inverted-vee liquid cooled, 1,150 h.p. @
2,400 rpm on take-off
Propeller – VDM electrically-operated controllable-pitch fully-feathering 3-blade metal screw
Fuel – 88 Imp. Gallons in fuselage behind pilot and under his seat.
Speed
Maximum – 375 mph @ 12,300 ft
Cruising – 298 mph @ 62.5% power
Stall – 75 mph landing with flaps extended
Range – 412 miles @ 62.5% power @ 16,000 ft
Initial Climb Rate – 3,100 ft/min
Service ceiling – 36,000 ft

Weights
Empty – 4,440 lbs
Gross Loaded – 5,520 lbs

Armament
2 X 7.9 mm MG 17 MG, 1,000 rpg mounted on engine crankcase firing through propeller
2 X 20 mm MG FF cannons, 60 rpg mounted in wings

This new site is being updated regularly and it will be much improved before too long. Please be patient, give it time, and check back regularly. Opportunities for community collaboration are in the works for a little further down the road.