A Comparison of the Supermarine Spitfire to the Messerschmitt Bf 109 during the Battle of Britain
by
Nolan
In 1940, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Supermarine Spitfire were similar fighters in terms of range, max speed, climb rate, service ceiling and weight[1]. Pilots of both aircraft believed that they had the superior aircraft and the opposite fighter did not pose a significant threat. The Spitfire was deployed in a poor manner due to Fighter Commands whose tactics were out of date near the beginning of the war[2]. One such example was that the pilots were told to fly in a three aircraft formation that was in the shape of a V. The Germans on the other hand “[were] anxious to exploit the apparent weakness in British fighter tactics.”[3]
Supermarine Spitfire Development and Tactics
Vickers Supermarine started as a developer of racing biplanes and floatplanes many of which won the Schneider Trophy, a prestigious prize for sea and boat aircraft[4]. An initial competition by the Royal Air Force (RAF) was declared for a aircraft that's top speed was over 225 mph and had four 0.303 in guns. An unsuccessful attempt by Supermarine caused the last biplane, the Gloster Gladiator, to win over the Type 224 prototype as its top speed and maneuverability was less than that of the Gladiator[5].
Determined to create a successful fighter, Reginald J. Mitchell, the chief designer for Supermarine, started work on an airframe that was much “cleaner” as well as using an engine that would eventually be 340 hp more powerful than the Type 224[6]. After funds were allocated from Supermarine, the Air Ministry was interested in the new fighter and so gave the team a £10,000 contract for construction of the aircraft[7]. The original design called for four 0.303 in Browning machine guns which was then increased to eight by the “Operational Requirements section of the Air Ministry.”[8] The earlier Type 224 had used a evaporative system to cool the engine but because of the issues encountered with that it was decided to use a external radiator as was used on most aircrafts[9]. This had the disadvantage of extra drag as the radiator had to be mounted on the outside of the fuselage. The testing done by both Supermarine and the RAF at Martlesham Heath proved the fighter had much potential and so 310 were ordered[10]. As a result of the effort to produce an optimal aircraft that was put into the Spitfire, “a Spitfire took two-and-a-half times as long to build as a Hurricane and twice as long as a Bf 109E”[11]. Despite the difference in the length of manufacturing time, by outsourcing construction of specific parts and the wartime focused economy of Britain allowed for Spitfire manufacturing to outperform German production of Bf-109’s.
As the Spitfire evolved, armor was added to the bottom of the cockpit while the canopy was raised to allow for taller pilots. The front of the windscreen had “a thick slab of laminated glass was fitted.”[12] Significant modifications were made to transition from a two bladed propeller to a three bladed variable pitch propeller. A variable pitch propeller works by changing the angle at which the blades are relative to the propeller shaft[13]. By changing the pitch before and during flight you can maximize the efficiency of the propeller for takeoff, climbing, diving and cruising.
Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) transponders were introduced to be used with the new radar stations that incorporated the Dowding system[14]. The Dowding system was the first “integrated air defence battle management system in the world.”[15] The Dowding system worked by using a mix of radar, radiotelephony and IFF systems to provide an accurate picture of the channel and any potential threats. All of the information collected from these instruments were then related to Bentley Prior where it was then distributed to the appropriate RAF stations of the coast of Britain.
The first 64 Spitfire 1’s weighed 5,819 lb fully loaded with a Merlin I engine to power it[16]. The remaining Spitfires had the 1,030 hp Melin III engines but only a two pitch propeller which did not have variable pitch capabilities. After the 78th iteration of the aircraft they switched to 3-bladed propellers which nearly cut the take-off run in half[17]. The production of Spitfire I ran from April 1938 to March 1942 with 1,567 aircraft built[18].
The Spitfire IA’s were very similar to the Spitfire I but were built in other factories than what the Spitfire I was built in[19].
The Spitfire IB was introduced as a response to the issue of attacking bombers with armor and self sealing tanks. The French 20mm Hispano-Suiza type 400 cannon was deemed the right size and caliber for the job[20]. The first Spitfire IB in June of 1939 was equipped with two cannons and no 0.303 in machine guns. After solving issues with jamming of the cannon while the pilot was pulling upwards quickly or causing G’s, the aircraft was introduced into service in June of 1940. More work was done on the modest size of the 20 mm cannons ammo reserves and four 0.303 in machine guns were added for 5 seconds of total firing time.
The Spitfire IIA/B were more powerful versions of the Spitfire I using the Merlin XII engine. The first examples had eight 0.303 in machine guns but later models had the same armament as the Spitfire IB with two 20 mm cannons and four 0.303 in machine guns. Only 170 of these aircraft were built. At Dunkirk the RAF had trouble maintaining aerial support over the beach as the British escaped from imposing German forces. The Spitfire IIA Long Range was created to allow better coverage of beaches at long ranges. The Spitfire IIA Long Range carried a 40 gallon tank under the port wing making them 26 mph slower and less maneuverable but increasing their range enough to be bomber escorts.
The strategic situation for the British at the time of the fall of france was very dangerous as they knew the possibility of German bombing offensives[21]. The main threat to the Spitfires would be the Bf-109E which had been used with successful results in Poland and later in Western Europe during the Battle for France. The first taste of resistance that the German Bf-109E crews received was at Dunkirk where the range of the Spitfires were unable to reach the coast. The Spitfires contributed greatly to protecting British evacuation vessels from attacks by German bombers after Dunkirk[22]
During the Battle of Britain, Fighter Command was headquartered at Bentley Priory where fighter squadrons and radar station communicated about the situation over the channel. There were four air groups that Bentley Priory controlled, No. 11 group for the south-east of England, No. 12 group for the Midlands, No. 13 group for the North and Scotland and finally group No. 10 for the south-west[23]. Split up among these four groups were 29 squadrons or 462 Hurricane aircraft, 19 squadrons or 292 Spitfire aircraft. These were the main types of fighter aircraft used by the RAF. Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding estimated that 736 aircraft to defend all major targets in Britain from German aerial attack. During the Battle of France and Dunkirk 300 aircraft were lost total but they were replaced by July causing no worry for Dowding[24].
Messerschmitt Bf-109 Development and Tactics
Like Supermarine, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG (BFW) and the company that they would soon merge with, Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau, had no experience building fighter aircraft unlike there prominent competitors Arado, Heinkel and Focke-Wulf. Because German industry had been banned, due to the Versaille Treaty, from creating military aircraft, fighter aircraft companies were forced to experiment in fighter technology by designing mail, air touring and sport aircraft. The first design for the Bf-109 aircraft was created, in secret, in March of 1934 and when Adolf Hitler announced the newly created Luftwaffe in 1933, the plane had pilots thanks to secret pilot schools in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)[25]. During the beginning of the Luftwaffe, the planes were small and had “staggered wings, fixed, spatted, undercarriages and open cockpits, making them little removed from the fighters of World War I (WWI).”[26] Logically, the German air force wanted to fix this issue and declared the Tactical Requirements for Fighter Aircraft (Land) document. This entailed that a fighter must have two fixed machine guns containing 500 rounds each or one fixed cannon of 100 rounds. The pilot also had to be able to maintain a speed of 250 mph for at least 20 minutes at 19,500 ft and take, maximum, 17 minutes to reach that altitude while possessing 30 minutes of total flight time. Other requirements were a: radio for air-to-ground and air-to-air communications, a safety harness, oxygen system, parachute and heating for the pilot. The last requirements were that the aircraft had to be able to be transported by rail while also being able to be serviced (launched, landed and repaired) at a standard German airfield.
Willy Messerschmitt started with the development of the Bf-108, which would be the Bf-109’s prototype. The Bf-108 had “flush-riveted stressed-skin construction, cantilever monoplane wings, equipped with Handley Page ‘slots’ along the leading edges, and a narrow track undercarriage that was attached to the fuselage and retracted outwards into wells froward of the main spar.”[27] At the prestigious European Flying Contest, a competition the Messerschmitt company had won many times over, the Bf-108 did not win but was the fastest aircraft competing there.
The Bf-109 would have all of the parts that the Bf-108 had except for the “slots” that were replaced with trailing-edge flaps when combined with the small surface area of the wings and the growing power of aero engines, the Bf-109 had “unmatched manoeuvrability.”[28] The first prototype, the Bf-109 V1, would have originally used the 680hp Jumo 210 built by Junkers and Daimler-Benz but due to delays the 695hp Rolls-Royce Kestrel VI engine was mounted[29]. After trials at Erprobungsstelle testing center in Rechlin, the Bf-109 was found to be considerably faster and more maneuverable than its rival for the contract, the He 112 V1.
After the Jumo 210 engine was made available, the Bf-109 V2, took off in October of 1935 and had two 7.9mm MG 17 machine guns in the “fuselage upper decking.”[30] The third version of the aircraft had the ability to add a 20mm cannon that fired through the propeller hub. The aircraft first flew in June of 1936. Soon after, both Messerschmitt and Heinkel received contract for pre-production aircraft. After a sweeping success against the He 112, the Bf-109 was declared the winner and the ten pre-production aircraft were sent to Spain for use in combat with the Condor Legion[31]. All models before the Bf-109 E were lesser used and so had a small impact in the war and during the Battle of Britain[32].
Production Bf-109’s were called Bf-109 B's and initial production at their Augsburg-Haunstetten plant proved to be too small so production was moved to a plant in Regensburg[33]. After discovery of the maneuverability of the Soviet built Polikarpov fighters that could match the Bf-109 B under 10,000 ft a more powerful Daimler-Benz DB 600 Aa was fitted at 960 hp. To offset the added length and weight of the new engine, the cooling system was adjusted farther back and underneath the wings. The propellers were also changed from two bladed to three.
The Bf-109 C was introduced in Spring of 1938 with a Jumo 210 Ga 730 hp engine and had two wing mounted machine guns and no cannon[34]. Only 58 aircraft were built as production was in the process of being switched to the four gunned Bf-109 D and switching to the D model took precedence. After switching to the new plane, 657 aircraft were built for the Luftwaffe.
The Bf-109 E finally was delivered to the Luftwaffe when the priority for the Luftwaffe was in fighter production instead of bomber production as it had been previously. Coincidentally, at the same time, the Daimler-Benz DB 601A engine had finally reached production levels after years of delay and was implemented to the Bf-109 E[35]. The new engine was very similar to the previous engine used, but crucially it had a fuel injector meaning it could perform negative G’s unlike its predecessor[36]. The engine was rated for 1,175 hp at take off with two 7.9mm MG 17 machine guns in the wings and an additional two in the upper fuselage near the engine. The wing mounted machine guns had 500 rounds per the requirement while the fuselage had 1000 rounds[37]. Soon before WWII, in 1939, the factories started production of Bf-109 E-3’s.
The Bf-109 E-1 had 1,540 aircraft built in 1938 alone. A number of E-1 planes were modified into E-1/B fighter-bombers with either the ETC 500/IXb or ETC 50/VIIId bomb rack being fitted to the bottom of the fuselage. These fighters dropped bombs varying from 110 lbs to 551 lbs and had great success during “anti-shipping operations in the Channel in July 1940.”[38]
The Bf-109 E-3 was the most produced E series fighter and had a 60-round 20mm cannon firing through the propeller hub and two MG FF which replaced the two 7.9mm MG 17 machine guns in the wings. Another improvement was that this plane had the windscreen made in a more economically viable fashion in terms of production because of the uncomplicated design of the canopy[39].
The Bf-109 E-4 was identical to the E-3 but discarded the engine mounted machine guns and instead had two MG FF/M cannons in the wing which had better rate of fire over that of the 20mm cannons in the E-3[40]. Because of how similar the E-4 was to the E-1 and E-3, many were simply modified into E-4’s instead of creating completely new assembly lines or factories for the plane.
The Bf-109 E-5/6 was built in small numbers and was a variant on the E-4 as it did not have any wing cannons[41]. A small number were made into tropical troops for North Africa and the Mediterranean.
The Bf-109 E-7 was a long range version of the E-4 and had a 66-gallon auxiliary tank that could be dropped mid flight if needed that were crafted from plywood. The tank leaked proficiently and did not see action until the end of 1940 at which point the auxiliary tanks were factory made and no longer leaked. The equipment allowed aircraft technicians to quickly convert fighters from fighter-bombers to long-range bomber escorts.
The final version of the Bf-109 produced by Messerschmitt was the E-8 and E-9. The E-8 aircraft saw an increase in horsepower with a 1,350 hp engine as well as additional armor for the pilot. The E-9 was only a reconnaissance version of the E-8 and the last aircraft was completed in early 1942. By the end of production 4000 aircraft had been built.
The strategic situation for the Germans was very different from the British as they did not have any early warning radar. The two main offices controlling the Bf-109’s during the Battle of Britain was the Luftflottenkommando 2 and 3 which were assigned via the Jagdfliegerfuhrer 2 and 3[42]. A Gruppe was made up of around three Staffeln which would occupy one airfield. One Staffel had nine aircraft. By the 10th of August 1940 there were 934 aircraft in France attacking Britain.
There are an incredible amount of variables that go into an air battle. Spitfires could not pull negative G’s, did worse at higher altitudes than the Bf-109 but had nearly identical speed, range, climb and service ceiling[43]. The Bf-109 had anywhere from 2 machine guns to 2 machine guns and 2 cannons while the Spitfire had around 8 machine guns. In an air battle, power is not as significant as mass per second from your machine guns whereas a ground attack plane, caliber is more important than mass per second. Therefore it seems likely that if a Bf-109 had the height advantage then the Spitfire would lose but if they were to approach each other head on then the Spitfire would emerge victorious as it had better handling capabilities.
Sources
Footnotes
[1] Tony Holmes, Spitfire VS Bf 109 Battle of Britain (Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2007), 31.
[2] Ibid., 5.
[3] Ibid.
[4] “Schneider Trophy” Schneider Trophy, http://schneidertrophy.com/ (accessed 25 March ,2019)
[5] Holmes, Spitfire VS Bf 109, 9.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid., 10.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
[11]Ibid., 12.
[12] Ibid., 13.
[13] “Controllable Pitch Propeller (CPP) Vs Fixed Pitch Propeller (FPP)” Soumya Chakraborty, Marine Insight, https://www.marineinsight.com/naval-architecture/controllable-pitch-propeller-cpp-vs-fixed-pitch-propeller-fpp/ (Accessed March 25, 2019)
[14]Holmes, Spitfire VS Bf 109, 13.
[15] “Understanding The Dowding System” The Association of RAF Fighter Control Officers, http://www.raffca.uk/cms/utds.html (Accessed March 25, 2019)
[16] Ibid., 22.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid., 23.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Ibid., 24.
[21] Ibid., 32.
[22] Ibid., 34.
[23] Ibid., 37.
[24] Ibid., 36.
[25] Ibid., 14.
[26] Ibid., 16.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Ibid., 17.
[30] Ibid.
[31] Ibid., 18.
[32] Ibid., 26.
[33] Ibid., 18.
[34] Ibid., 19.
[35] Ibid., 20.
[36] Ibid.
[37] Ibid.
[38] Ibid., 27.
[39] Ibid., 28.
[40] Ibid., 29.
[41] Ibid.
[42] Ibid., 35.
[43] Ralf Leinburger, Fighter Technology Facts History (Dundee: DC Thomson, 2012), 96.
Supermarine Spitfire Development and Tactics
Vickers Supermarine started as a developer of racing biplanes and floatplanes many of which won the Schneider Trophy, a prestigious prize for sea and boat aircraft[4]. An initial competition by the Royal Air Force (RAF) was declared for a aircraft that's top speed was over 225 mph and had four 0.303 in guns. An unsuccessful attempt by Supermarine caused the last biplane, the Gloster Gladiator, to win over the Type 224 prototype as its top speed and maneuverability was less than that of the Gladiator[5].
Determined to create a successful fighter, Reginald J. Mitchell, the chief designer for Supermarine, started work on an airframe that was much “cleaner” as well as using an engine that would eventually be 340 hp more powerful than the Type 224[6]. After funds were allocated from Supermarine, the Air Ministry was interested in the new fighter and so gave the team a £10,000 contract for construction of the aircraft[7]. The original design called for four 0.303 in Browning machine guns which was then increased to eight by the “Operational Requirements section of the Air Ministry.”[8] The earlier Type 224 had used a evaporative system to cool the engine but because of the issues encountered with that it was decided to use a external radiator as was used on most aircrafts[9]. This had the disadvantage of extra drag as the radiator had to be mounted on the outside of the fuselage. The testing done by both Supermarine and the RAF at Martlesham Heath proved the fighter had much potential and so 310 were ordered[10]. As a result of the effort to produce an optimal aircraft that was put into the Spitfire, “a Spitfire took two-and-a-half times as long to build as a Hurricane and twice as long as a Bf 109E”[11]. Despite the difference in the length of manufacturing time, by outsourcing construction of specific parts and the wartime focused economy of Britain allowed for Spitfire manufacturing to outperform German production of Bf-109’s.
As the Spitfire evolved, armor was added to the bottom of the cockpit while the canopy was raised to allow for taller pilots. The front of the windscreen had “a thick slab of laminated glass was fitted.”[12] Significant modifications were made to transition from a two bladed propeller to a three bladed variable pitch propeller. A variable pitch propeller works by changing the angle at which the blades are relative to the propeller shaft[13]. By changing the pitch before and during flight you can maximize the efficiency of the propeller for takeoff, climbing, diving and cruising.
Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) transponders were introduced to be used with the new radar stations that incorporated the Dowding system[14]. The Dowding system was the first “integrated air defence battle management system in the world.”[15] The Dowding system worked by using a mix of radar, radiotelephony and IFF systems to provide an accurate picture of the channel and any potential threats. All of the information collected from these instruments were then related to Bentley Prior where it was then distributed to the appropriate RAF stations of the coast of Britain.
The first 64 Spitfire 1’s weighed 5,819 lb fully loaded with a Merlin I engine to power it[16]. The remaining Spitfires had the 1,030 hp Melin III engines but only a two pitch propeller which did not have variable pitch capabilities. After the 78th iteration of the aircraft they switched to 3-bladed propellers which nearly cut the take-off run in half[17]. The production of Spitfire I ran from April 1938 to March 1942 with 1,567 aircraft built[18].
The Spitfire IA’s were very similar to the Spitfire I but were built in other factories than what the Spitfire I was built in[19].
The Spitfire IB was introduced as a response to the issue of attacking bombers with armor and self sealing tanks. The French 20mm Hispano-Suiza type 400 cannon was deemed the right size and caliber for the job[20]. The first Spitfire IB in June of 1939 was equipped with two cannons and no 0.303 in machine guns. After solving issues with jamming of the cannon while the pilot was pulling upwards quickly or causing G’s, the aircraft was introduced into service in June of 1940. More work was done on the modest size of the 20 mm cannons ammo reserves and four 0.303 in machine guns were added for 5 seconds of total firing time.
The Spitfire IIA/B were more powerful versions of the Spitfire I using the Merlin XII engine. The first examples had eight 0.303 in machine guns but later models had the same armament as the Spitfire IB with two 20 mm cannons and four 0.303 in machine guns. Only 170 of these aircraft were built. At Dunkirk the RAF had trouble maintaining aerial support over the beach as the British escaped from imposing German forces. The Spitfire IIA Long Range was created to allow better coverage of beaches at long ranges. The Spitfire IIA Long Range carried a 40 gallon tank under the port wing making them 26 mph slower and less maneuverable but increasing their range enough to be bomber escorts.
The strategic situation for the British at the time of the fall of france was very dangerous as they knew the possibility of German bombing offensives[21]. The main threat to the Spitfires would be the Bf-109E which had been used with successful results in Poland and later in Western Europe during the Battle for France. The first taste of resistance that the German Bf-109E crews received was at Dunkirk where the range of the Spitfires were unable to reach the coast. The Spitfires contributed greatly to protecting British evacuation vessels from attacks by German bombers after Dunkirk[22]
During the Battle of Britain, Fighter Command was headquartered at Bentley Priory where fighter squadrons and radar station communicated about the situation over the channel. There were four air groups that Bentley Priory controlled, No. 11 group for the south-east of England, No. 12 group for the Midlands, No. 13 group for the North and Scotland and finally group No. 10 for the south-west[23]. Split up among these four groups were 29 squadrons or 462 Hurricane aircraft, 19 squadrons or 292 Spitfire aircraft. These were the main types of fighter aircraft used by the RAF. Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding estimated that 736 aircraft to defend all major targets in Britain from German aerial attack. During the Battle of France and Dunkirk 300 aircraft were lost total but they were replaced by July causing no worry for Dowding[24].
Messerschmitt Bf-109 Development and Tactics
Like Supermarine, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG (BFW) and the company that they would soon merge with, Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau, had no experience building fighter aircraft unlike there prominent competitors Arado, Heinkel and Focke-Wulf. Because German industry had been banned, due to the Versaille Treaty, from creating military aircraft, fighter aircraft companies were forced to experiment in fighter technology by designing mail, air touring and sport aircraft. The first design for the Bf-109 aircraft was created, in secret, in March of 1934 and when Adolf Hitler announced the newly created Luftwaffe in 1933, the plane had pilots thanks to secret pilot schools in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)[25]. During the beginning of the Luftwaffe, the planes were small and had “staggered wings, fixed, spatted, undercarriages and open cockpits, making them little removed from the fighters of World War I (WWI).”[26] Logically, the German air force wanted to fix this issue and declared the Tactical Requirements for Fighter Aircraft (Land) document. This entailed that a fighter must have two fixed machine guns containing 500 rounds each or one fixed cannon of 100 rounds. The pilot also had to be able to maintain a speed of 250 mph for at least 20 minutes at 19,500 ft and take, maximum, 17 minutes to reach that altitude while possessing 30 minutes of total flight time. Other requirements were a: radio for air-to-ground and air-to-air communications, a safety harness, oxygen system, parachute and heating for the pilot. The last requirements were that the aircraft had to be able to be transported by rail while also being able to be serviced (launched, landed and repaired) at a standard German airfield.
Willy Messerschmitt started with the development of the Bf-108, which would be the Bf-109’s prototype. The Bf-108 had “flush-riveted stressed-skin construction, cantilever monoplane wings, equipped with Handley Page ‘slots’ along the leading edges, and a narrow track undercarriage that was attached to the fuselage and retracted outwards into wells froward of the main spar.”[27] At the prestigious European Flying Contest, a competition the Messerschmitt company had won many times over, the Bf-108 did not win but was the fastest aircraft competing there.
The Bf-109 would have all of the parts that the Bf-108 had except for the “slots” that were replaced with trailing-edge flaps when combined with the small surface area of the wings and the growing power of aero engines, the Bf-109 had “unmatched manoeuvrability.”[28] The first prototype, the Bf-109 V1, would have originally used the 680hp Jumo 210 built by Junkers and Daimler-Benz but due to delays the 695hp Rolls-Royce Kestrel VI engine was mounted[29]. After trials at Erprobungsstelle testing center in Rechlin, the Bf-109 was found to be considerably faster and more maneuverable than its rival for the contract, the He 112 V1.
After the Jumo 210 engine was made available, the Bf-109 V2, took off in October of 1935 and had two 7.9mm MG 17 machine guns in the “fuselage upper decking.”[30] The third version of the aircraft had the ability to add a 20mm cannon that fired through the propeller hub. The aircraft first flew in June of 1936. Soon after, both Messerschmitt and Heinkel received contract for pre-production aircraft. After a sweeping success against the He 112, the Bf-109 was declared the winner and the ten pre-production aircraft were sent to Spain for use in combat with the Condor Legion[31]. All models before the Bf-109 E were lesser used and so had a small impact in the war and during the Battle of Britain[32].
Production Bf-109’s were called Bf-109 B's and initial production at their Augsburg-Haunstetten plant proved to be too small so production was moved to a plant in Regensburg[33]. After discovery of the maneuverability of the Soviet built Polikarpov fighters that could match the Bf-109 B under 10,000 ft a more powerful Daimler-Benz DB 600 Aa was fitted at 960 hp. To offset the added length and weight of the new engine, the cooling system was adjusted farther back and underneath the wings. The propellers were also changed from two bladed to three.
The Bf-109 C was introduced in Spring of 1938 with a Jumo 210 Ga 730 hp engine and had two wing mounted machine guns and no cannon[34]. Only 58 aircraft were built as production was in the process of being switched to the four gunned Bf-109 D and switching to the D model took precedence. After switching to the new plane, 657 aircraft were built for the Luftwaffe.
The Bf-109 E finally was delivered to the Luftwaffe when the priority for the Luftwaffe was in fighter production instead of bomber production as it had been previously. Coincidentally, at the same time, the Daimler-Benz DB 601A engine had finally reached production levels after years of delay and was implemented to the Bf-109 E[35]. The new engine was very similar to the previous engine used, but crucially it had a fuel injector meaning it could perform negative G’s unlike its predecessor[36]. The engine was rated for 1,175 hp at take off with two 7.9mm MG 17 machine guns in the wings and an additional two in the upper fuselage near the engine. The wing mounted machine guns had 500 rounds per the requirement while the fuselage had 1000 rounds[37]. Soon before WWII, in 1939, the factories started production of Bf-109 E-3’s.
The Bf-109 E-1 had 1,540 aircraft built in 1938 alone. A number of E-1 planes were modified into E-1/B fighter-bombers with either the ETC 500/IXb or ETC 50/VIIId bomb rack being fitted to the bottom of the fuselage. These fighters dropped bombs varying from 110 lbs to 551 lbs and had great success during “anti-shipping operations in the Channel in July 1940.”[38]
The Bf-109 E-3 was the most produced E series fighter and had a 60-round 20mm cannon firing through the propeller hub and two MG FF which replaced the two 7.9mm MG 17 machine guns in the wings. Another improvement was that this plane had the windscreen made in a more economically viable fashion in terms of production because of the uncomplicated design of the canopy[39].
The Bf-109 E-4 was identical to the E-3 but discarded the engine mounted machine guns and instead had two MG FF/M cannons in the wing which had better rate of fire over that of the 20mm cannons in the E-3[40]. Because of how similar the E-4 was to the E-1 and E-3, many were simply modified into E-4’s instead of creating completely new assembly lines or factories for the plane.
The Bf-109 E-5/6 was built in small numbers and was a variant on the E-4 as it did not have any wing cannons[41]. A small number were made into tropical troops for North Africa and the Mediterranean.
The Bf-109 E-7 was a long range version of the E-4 and had a 66-gallon auxiliary tank that could be dropped mid flight if needed that were crafted from plywood. The tank leaked proficiently and did not see action until the end of 1940 at which point the auxiliary tanks were factory made and no longer leaked. The equipment allowed aircraft technicians to quickly convert fighters from fighter-bombers to long-range bomber escorts.
The final version of the Bf-109 produced by Messerschmitt was the E-8 and E-9. The E-8 aircraft saw an increase in horsepower with a 1,350 hp engine as well as additional armor for the pilot. The E-9 was only a reconnaissance version of the E-8 and the last aircraft was completed in early 1942. By the end of production 4000 aircraft had been built.
The strategic situation for the Germans was very different from the British as they did not have any early warning radar. The two main offices controlling the Bf-109’s during the Battle of Britain was the Luftflottenkommando 2 and 3 which were assigned via the Jagdfliegerfuhrer 2 and 3[42]. A Gruppe was made up of around three Staffeln which would occupy one airfield. One Staffel had nine aircraft. By the 10th of August 1940 there were 934 aircraft in France attacking Britain.
There are an incredible amount of variables that go into an air battle. Spitfires could not pull negative G’s, did worse at higher altitudes than the Bf-109 but had nearly identical speed, range, climb and service ceiling[43]. The Bf-109 had anywhere from 2 machine guns to 2 machine guns and 2 cannons while the Spitfire had around 8 machine guns. In an air battle, power is not as significant as mass per second from your machine guns whereas a ground attack plane, caliber is more important than mass per second. Therefore it seems likely that if a Bf-109 had the height advantage then the Spitfire would lose but if they were to approach each other head on then the Spitfire would emerge victorious as it had better handling capabilities.
Sources
- “Controllable Pitch Propeller (CPP) Vs Fixed Pitch Propeller (FPP)” Soumya Chakraborty, Marine Insight, https://www.marineinsight.com/naval-architecture/controllable-pitch-propeller-cpp-vs-fixed-pitch-propeller-fpp/ (Accessed March 25, 2019)
- Ralf Leinburger, Fighter Technology Facts History (Dundee: DC Thomson, 2012)
- “Schneider Trophy” Schneider Trophy, http://schneidertrophy.com/ (accessed 25 March ,2019)
- Tony Holmes, Spitfire VS Bf 109 Battle of Britain (Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2007).
- “Understanding The Dowding System” The Association of RAF Fighter Control Officers, http://www.raffca.uk/cms/utds.html (Accessed March 25, 2019)
Footnotes
[1] Tony Holmes, Spitfire VS Bf 109 Battle of Britain (Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2007), 31.
[2] Ibid., 5.
[3] Ibid.
[4] “Schneider Trophy” Schneider Trophy, http://schneidertrophy.com/ (accessed 25 March ,2019)
[5] Holmes, Spitfire VS Bf 109, 9.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid., 10.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
[11]Ibid., 12.
[12] Ibid., 13.
[13] “Controllable Pitch Propeller (CPP) Vs Fixed Pitch Propeller (FPP)” Soumya Chakraborty, Marine Insight, https://www.marineinsight.com/naval-architecture/controllable-pitch-propeller-cpp-vs-fixed-pitch-propeller-fpp/ (Accessed March 25, 2019)
[14]Holmes, Spitfire VS Bf 109, 13.
[15] “Understanding The Dowding System” The Association of RAF Fighter Control Officers, http://www.raffca.uk/cms/utds.html (Accessed March 25, 2019)
[16] Ibid., 22.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid., 23.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Ibid., 24.
[21] Ibid., 32.
[22] Ibid., 34.
[23] Ibid., 37.
[24] Ibid., 36.
[25] Ibid., 14.
[26] Ibid., 16.
[27] Ibid.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Ibid., 17.
[30] Ibid.
[31] Ibid., 18.
[32] Ibid., 26.
[33] Ibid., 18.
[34] Ibid., 19.
[35] Ibid., 20.
[36] Ibid.
[37] Ibid.
[38] Ibid., 27.
[39] Ibid., 28.
[40] Ibid., 29.
[41] Ibid.
[42] Ibid., 35.
[43] Ralf Leinburger, Fighter Technology Facts History (Dundee: DC Thomson, 2012), 96.