The Bf 109G-7 was not built, but the Bf 109G-8
reconnaissance fighter formed part of the equipment of Nahaufklärungsgruppe 13
late in 1943 on the Channel coast. Fastest of all 'Gustavs' was the Bf 109G-10
with the DB 605D with MW-50 boost and bulged cockpit canopy (known as the
'Galland hood'), and a top speed of 429 mph (690 km/h) at 24,280 ft (7400 m);
the Bf 109G-10/R2 and R6 possessed the revised tail and tailwheel assembly of
the Bf 109G-5/R2 and were equipped with FuG 25a IFF equipment; the Bf
109G-10/U4 had provision for a belly gun pack containing two MK 108 30 mm guns,
but this could be replaced by a non-jettisonable fuel tank known as the Inner
Behalter. The Bf l09G-12 was a two-seat trainer, field-modified from the Bf
109G-1 to provide conversion training on the Schulejagdgeschwader, notably JG
101, 102, 104, 106, 107 and 108 in 1944. Last operational version was the
'universal' Bf 109G-14 with lightened fixed armament but with provision for
external guns, WfrGr 210 rockets or bombs. The Bf 109G-16 heavily armoured
ground-attack fighter-bomber entered production before Germany's surrender but
did not see operational service.
The Gustav formed the backbone of the Luftwaffe's last mass
operation, the ill-fated Operation Bodenplatte, a mass attack against allied
airfields in France, Belgium and Holland aimed at destroying troublesome USAAF
and RAF fighter bombers on the ground. Unfortunately, the Luftwaffe fighters
suffered heavy losses while inflicting little damage, while destroying General
der Jagdflieger Adolf Galland's preferred plan ('Big Blow') which was conceived
as a mass operation (with 1500-2000 fighters) to destroy 500+ US bombers, whose
crews would be irreplaceable. Galland believed that allied fighter bombers
would be quickly replaced, and that while pilots in Bodenplatte would
inevitably fall into Allied hands, many pilots shot down in 'Big Blow' would
parachute safely into German territory.
Development of the Bf 109H high-altitude fighter started in
1943, being a progression from the F-series with increased wing span and the
GM-l boosted DB 601E. Maximum speed was 466 mph (750 km/h) at 33,135 ft (10100
m). Pre-production aircraft were evaluated operationally in France and a few
sorties were flown by production Bf 109H-1s, but wing flutter problems caused
the H-series to be abandoned, although projects included the Bf 109H-2 with
Jumo 213E, and the Bf 109H-5 with DB 605 engines.
Last main operational version of the Bf 109 was the
K-series, developed directly from the Gustav; indeed the Bf 109K-0
pre-production aircraft were converted G-series airframes. The Bf 109K-2 and Bf
109K-4 (pressurised) were powered by MW-50 boosted 2,000 hp (1492 kW) DB 605
ASCM/DCM engines and armed with one 30 mm MK 103 or MK 108 cannon and two 15 mm
(0.59 in) MG 151 heavy machine-guns, and the Bf 109K-6 had provision for two
underwing 30 mm MK 103s. Only two Bf 109K-14s (DB 605L with MW-50 and a top
speed of 450 mph; 725 km/h) saw action before the end of the war, being
delivered to Major Wilhelm Batz's Gruppenstab, II./JG 52, in April 1945.
With the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 reaching full operational status
only after two years of war, the Bf 109 provided the backbone of the
Luftwaffe's fighter arm throughout World War II, with more than 30,000 examples
produced (because of confusion caused by bombing of factories, an accurate
production total could not be arrived at, but only the Russian Ilyushin Il-2
had a higher figure, with 36,163 models built), it was natural that experiments
and projects abounded.
For example, among the more bizarre trials were those
conducted on Bf 109Es to carry a parachutist in an over-wing 'paracapsule'.
Another (in the Starr-Schlepp programme) involved the mounting of a Bf 109E on
a DFS 230 troop-carrying glider as a means of delivering airborne forces; this
experiment was followed later in the war by the well-known Beethoven- Gerät
composite weapon system involving the use of Bf 109s and Fw 190s mounted atop
unmanned Junkers Ju 88s loaded with explosives. A number of radical operational
tactics were pioneered by Bf 109 units, including the aerial bombing of
American bomber formations with 551 lbs (250 kg) bombs dropped from Bf 109Gs
(pioneered by JG 1 in 1943), and the use by JG 300 of day fighters for
freelance night combat against night-bombers, known as Wilde Sau tactics.
A development of the Emil was the Bf 109T (T - indicating
Träger) carrier-borne fighter, intended for deployment aboard the German
carrier Graf Zeppelin. Featuring folding long-span wings, arrester hook and
catapult spools, 10 pre-production Bf 109T-0s and 60 Bf 109T-1s were produced
between 1939 and 1941, but when the carrier's construction was finally
abandoned most of these aircraft were delivered to the Luftwaffe for land-based
operation.
Perhaps the most ambitious of all projects was the Bf 109Z
Zwilling, involving the union of two Bf 109F airframes and outer wing panels by
means of new wing and tail sections; the pilot was to have been accommodated in
the port fuselage and two versions were proposed, a Zerstorer with five 30 mm
guns and a fighter-bomber with a 2,205 lbs (1000 kg) bombload. A prototype was
built but this was never flown.
Bf 109s were supplied to numerous foreign air forces from
1939 onwards, and considerable licence-production of the 'Gustav' was
undertaken by Avia at Prague and JAR at Brasov in Romania. The most successful
of the foreign air arms with Bf 109s was the Finnish air force, its
highest-scoring pilot, Lentomestari Eino Juutilainen, achieving 94 victories,
of which 59 were scored in 'Gustavs'; he was the highest-scoring
non-German/Austrian fighter pilot of all time and his aircraft were never once
hit in combat.
Spain undertook licence-assembly of the Bf 109 during and
after World War II using the Hispano-Suiza 12-Z-89 and 12-Z-17 engines in
German supplied airframes, and later the Rolls-Royce Merlin; these aircraft,
termed Hispano HAS 1109-J1L, HA 1110-K1L (two-seater) and HA 1112-K1L, remained
in service until the 1960s. Other post-war use of the Bf 109 included a number
of C-199 Mezec or 'Mule' (Czech-built Jumo 211F-powered 'Gustavs') flown by
Israel against the Egyptian air force in 1948. The Bf 109 was widely supplied
to German satellite states in World War II, and was also used by neutral
countries such as Spain and Switzerland.
Total production is estimated at 35,000, making it one of
the most numerous aircraft types of the war.
Nicknames: Augsburg Eagle; Buchon "Pounter Pigeon"
(HA-1112); Mezec "Mule" (Avia S-199); Anton (A-Model); Bertha
(B-Model); Clara (C-Model); Dora (D-Model); Emil (E-Model); Fritz (F-Model);
Gustav (G-Model); Beule/Bump (Bf-109G-1 Trop); Toni (T-Model).
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