Squadron Signal - [Walk Around 34] - Messerschmitt Bf-109E

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Messerschmitt 8f 109E -

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Messerschmitt 8f 109E

By Hans-Heiri Stapfer Color by Don Greer Illustrated by Darren Glenn and David Gebhardt -....

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Walk Around Number 34

squadron/signal publications

Introduction The Messerschmitt Bf l09E was the backbone of the Luftwaffe fighter force during the Blitzkrieg (Lightning War) campaigns between 1939 and 1941. This type saw combat in Spain with the Legion Condor during the Spanish Civil War, participated in the invasion of Poland in the Fall of 1939, and was successful over the French skies in the 1940 Western Europe campaign. During the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940, the Emil (E in the German phonetic alphabet) clashed with the Supermarine Spitfire - the first enemy opponent that was equal or superior in performance. The Bf 109E also saw service in North Africa and the Balkans and participated in Operation BARBAROSSA, the German attack against the Soviet Union in June of 1941. Bf 109Es served in the fighter-bomber role on the Eastern Front until early 1944. The few surviving Emils assigned to training units served well into late 1944. The Emil was the first Bf 109 variant powered by the DB 60lA powerplant developed by Daimler-Benz AG at Stuttgart-Untertiirkheim in Southern Germany. The DB 60lA inverted 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled, inline engine had a take off rating of 1175 HP. The first ten pre-series Bf l09E-O aircraft were manufactured at the Messerschmitt plant at Augsburg in Bavaria. These aircraft made their initial flights during the second half of 1938. The first two production Bf l09E-ls (Werk NummernlFactory Numbers 1791 and 1792) were manufactured at Augsburg, while the other 12 Emils of the initial production batch were manufactured at other sub contractors. The Bf 109E-I was armed by four 7.92MM RheinmetallBorsig MG 17 machine guns: two mounted in the upper fuselage and one in each wing. The Bf l09E-1/B Jagdbomber (Fighter-Bomber) carried one 500 KG (1102 pound) bomb, one 250

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