Article by Ed
I recently completed a kit of the legendary World War II fighter aircraft, the Luftwaffe's Bf-109 G-6 "Gustav". Final model photos are available on my "Gallery" page.
The world became aware of the Messerschmitt Bf-109 during the Battle of Britain, and to this day it remains Germany's best known aircraft. Throughout World War II, the Bf-109 G-6 "Gustav" was among the best and most capable fighter in the sky.
In 1936, just as the other German plane of legend, the Stuka dive bomber, Bf-109s began their career in Hitler's Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. By September 1939, the Bf-109 had become the main fighter of the Luftwaffe, replacing post-WWI biplanes, and was instrumental in gaining air superiority for the German Wehrmacht (Army) during the early stages of the World War II. During the Battle of Britain, it was pressed into the role of escort fighter, a role for which it was not originally designed, and it was widely employed as a fighter-bomber, as well as a photo-reconnaissance platform. Despite mixed results battling formidable Spitfires and less capable Hurricanes over Britain, Bf-109 aircraft improvements started in early 1941, quickly saw the plane become the most effective fighter for the entire German Luftwaffe (and mass produced partially using concentration camp labor).
In 1942, it began to partially by replaced in the skies over Europe by a new German fighter, the Focke-Wulf Fw-190, but Bf-109s continued to serve in a multitude of roles on the Eastern Front and in the Defense of the Reich, as well as in the Mediterranean and with Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. It was also supplied to several of Germany's WW2 allies, including Italy, Finland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovakia.
The Bf-109 made more aerial kills than any other aircraft of World War II. Many of the aerial victories were won against poorly trained and badly organized Soviet air forces starting in 1941 during Operation BARBAROSSA. The Soviets lost over 21,000 aircraft during the war, over half to aerial combat against Nazi aircraft. Later in the war, when Allied victories brought the air war closer, and eventually into German territory, Allied bombing raids supplied plenty of targets for the Luftwaffe's Bf-109 pilots to attack.
On 14 October 1943, 8th Air Force B-17 bomber pilots with their fighter escort long gone, found themselves in the fight of their lives. More than three hundred Luftwaffe fighters, mostly Bf-109s, swarmed the bombers trying to make the B-17s do the unthinkable; to turn back towards England. But, the "key" ball bearing factories at Schweinfurt, Germany lay dead ahead, leaving the B-17s with only one option; to fight their way through the air onslaught. This day, soon known as "Black Thursday,” will be the costliest mission in 8th Air Force history; of the 291 bombers on the raid, 60 were brought down by the Luftwaffe fighters, with another 17 crash landing back in England and over 120 damaged. Deep penetration bomber raids were halted for almost five months afterwards, until P-51s arrived to the ETO.
Starting in 1944, with significant numbers of P-51s now in theater, major changes in American fighter tactics occurred. Given command of the 8th, General Doolittle's new tactics soon gave Allies daylight air supremacy over the Reich. However, this critical battle for air supremacy led to the highest-ever Luftwaffe pilot victory totals. Around 100 Bf-109 pilots were credited with the destruction of 100 or more enemy aircraft. Thirteen of these men scored more than 200 kills, while two scored more than 300. Altogether, this group of pilots was credited with a total of nearly 15,000 kills! No official Ace status existed in the Luftwaffe, instead the term "Experte" (Expert) was used for experienced German pilots. If the Allied definition of five or more kills was applied, more than 2,500 Luftwaffe fighter pilots were considered Aces in World War II. An incredible feat.
The most famous of all Bf-109 pilots was Erich "Bubi" Hartmann. The Soviets called him the "Black Devil". He is the highest scoring fighter Ace in the history of aerial warfare. He was only 20 years old when he first engaged in combat, and by 1942 in the skies over the Eastern Front, he immediately became one of the best. Hartmann downed a startling 345 Soviet aircraft and 7 American planes. He was loved and respected amongst his fellow Luftwaffe pilots. Erich Hartmann was awarded the rare Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords and Diamonds for his amazing aerial record. Only Stuka pilot Hans-Ulrich Rudel, would have a larger impact during the war against the Soviets (and he was awarded the only Golden version of the Iron Cross with Diamonds of WW2).
The Bf-109 G-6 "Gustav" featured in all the large air battles and campaigns of the later war period. Alongside the Fw-190 fighter, it bore the brunt of aerial combat, which increasingly turned against the Germans as the war wore on. Faced with missions on all fronts, the Luftwaffe’s fighter forces were increasingly stretched thin. Moreover, the Germans were fighting the war in the East against the growing strength of Soviet forces, while in the West the air war was increasingly fought against US daylight bombers and the new dominating P-51 long-range fighter escorts.
Following the Allies D-Day invasion of France on 6 June 1944, German forces in the West were steadily driven back and the Bf-109 pilots and ground crew were under more and more pressure. On both fronts, the loss of experienced pilots who were impossible to replace meant Luftwaffe fighters were often flown by inexperienced aviators rushed to the front lines to replace their growing losses. US escort fighters defending the medium and heavy bombers, especially given General Doolittle's new sweep tactics, aimed to draw the Luftwaffe into a fight whenever possible; and soon Nazi pilot and aircraft losses became insurmountable.
The early 1944 air raids of "Big Week" (or Operation ARGUMENT) bolstered the confidence of US strategic bombing crews. Until that time, Allied bombers attempted to avoid contact with the Luftwaffe; now, the Americans using the escort fighters "free" sweep tactics found new successes against the Luftwaffe in combat. Allied leaders reasoned that raiding the German capital would assuredly force the Luftwaffe to engage in decisive battle. The "Big Week" raids starting in March 1944, saw the joint Allied bomber command launch the first of several attacks against Berlin. Throughout their sequence of raids, typically consisting of around 750 bombers with an escort of over 800 fighters, Allied pilots set off from England towards the Third Reich's heartland. Fierce battles raged in the deadly skies overhead resulting in heavy losses for both sides; almost 300 Allied bombers and 30 escort fighters were lost during the operation, but it cost the Luftwaffe over 250 aircraft and around 110 pilots KIA. The Allies quickly replaced their losses; the German Luftwaffe simply could not.
One of the most interesting stories of World War II is the tale of the heavily damaged B-17G "Ye Olde Pub" flown by pilot Charlie Brown and a Bf-109 G-6 piloted by Franz Stigler. On approach to its release point, extensive damage had slowed the bomber and Brown was unable to remain with his air formation. The B-17 fell back as a straggler, a position in which he came under sustained enemy attacks. Over a dozen enemy fighters (a combination of Bf-109s & Fw-190s) attacked the slowed B-17 for more than ten minutes and further damage was sustained with many of the crew wounded or killed. Brown's damaged, straggling bomber was spotted by Germans on the ground, including Franz Stigler, who was refueling and rearming at a nearby airfield. He soon took off in his Bf-109 G-6 (which had a .50-cal. M2 Browning machinegun bullet embedded in its radiator, risking engine overheating) and quickly caught up with Brown's severely damaged plane.
Looking through the damaged openings of the bomber's airframe, Stigler was able to see the injured and dead crew. To the B-17 pilot's surprise, the German aircraft did not open fire on the crippled bomber. Stigler instead recalled the words of his former commanding officer, Gustav Rödel, during his time in North Africa, "If I ever hear of you shooting at a man in a parachute, I will shoot you myself." Stigler later commented, "To me, it was just like they were in a parachute. I saw them and I couldn't shoot them down." Despite this amazing feat of escorting the bomber to safety, Stigler said nothing of the incident to his unit, knowing that a German pilot who spared the enemy while in combat risked a court-martial firing squad.
> The Bf-109 aeroplane
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is the most-produced fighter plane in history and
was the first truly modern fighter aircraft. With its all-metal stressed-skin construction, sturdy mono-wing design, high-powered V12 engine, enclosed cockpit, powerful armament, leading-edge slats (for slow speed maneuverability), and retractable landing gear; the Bf-109 fighter had no equal. It was the fastest military plane in the sky for almost six years—until another German plane, a later Fw-190 variant superseded it. Although Allied fighters eventually surpassed it in speed, maneuverability, and firepower, the Bf-109 remained in service until Germany’s surrender and afterwards with various national air forces.
Pilots sometimes complained about the Bf-109’s difficult handling, lack of rear view, and limited range; however, the plane proved a potent adversary throughout the war. The addition of thick armor plating, bullet-resistant glass, and more formidable weaponry helped the plane maintain its deadly edge. Furthermore, the planes overall basic designed allowed it to be mass produced and easily repaired in the field. One of its most glaring problems were the narrowly-spaced long angled landing gear struts, that made take off somewhat difficult for new pilots and added to the overall tough ground handling & poor ground visibility.
The primary Bf-109 version most built was the G-6 "Gustav" variant. It was armed with two synchronized 13mm heavy machine guns mounted in the cowling, firing over the top of the engine and through the propeller arc, and single 30mm MK-108 cannon autocannon. This 30mm autocannon was installed starting in the earlier "F" model as a replacement for the wing-mounted machine guns that were removed. The autocannon fired through a blast tube located between the cylinder banks of the plane's engine block, and out through the center of the propeller shaft. Two additional 20mm autocannons were sometimes mounted in cupolas underneath each wing , a potent anti-bomber combination, but the extra weight degraded performance compared with opposing fighters. By war's end, this led to the Luftwaffe units equipped with Bf-109s being only fitted with the upper fuselage machine guns and the single engine-mounted autocannon.
Against Allied air raids, the Luftwaffe tactics consisted mainly of "Gefechtsverband" formations. These formations saw Bf-109s escorting Sturmböckes, which were heavily armed Fw-190s acting as bomber destroyers, with these tactics proving effective against bomber formations. The US fighters, which maintained close contact with the bombers they were protecting, could not chase the attacking fighters before they were forced to turn around and return to the bombers. Later, General Doolittle responded by "freeing" the fighters, allowing them to fly far ahead of the bomber formations in air supremacy "sweep" mode; thus fighters roamed far from the bomber streams hunting down the German fighters—especially the Sturmböcke, that had limited maneuverability due to their heavy armaments. The goal was to engage and destroy the "Gefechtsverband" formations before they could approach the 8th's medium and heavy bombers. Though this change was widely unpopular with the 8th's bomber crews, its effects were immediate and extremely successful against Luftwaffe tactics.
The "Messer" (short for Messerschmitt) Bf-109 G-6, the most popular variant, was nicknamed by Luftwaffe personnel as "Die Beule" ("the bump or the bulge") because of the cowling's characteristics with the bulging covers providing access for the breeches of the dual 13mm MG 131 machine guns (the rounds were about equal to the .50cal M2 rounds). These bulging Beule covers were later eliminated on Bf-109s models with the introduction of a subtly reshaped upper engine cowling cover. A belly tank was often used to increase the Bf-109's effectiveness with a water and methanol injection system to boost engine power to 1,800hp for short periods.
Finally in 1944, as the war obviously turned against Nazi Germany, Bf-109s were used more and more against Allied ground and sea forces, a job that the Luftwaffe's twin-engine bomber force found suicidal as opposing Allied fighters grew in number. The last great attack of the Luftwaffe's Bf-109 fleet was an attempt to emulate their opening victory against the Russians, but this time against the British and Americans in Northern France and the Low Countries. On New Years Day 1945, coinciding with the Battle of the Bulge ground effort, the Germans launched massive waves of Bf-109s and Fw-190s from 34 air combat Gruppen (groups) during Operation BODENPLATTE (Operation BASEPLATE). Although they achieved surprise, the Germans still lost more aircraft themselves than they managed to destroy. This was the concluding chapter of "Messer" Bf-109s terrorizing the skies against the Allies and the last large-scale strategic air offensive mounted by the German Luftwaffe during the war.
KIT BUILD
> After building my huge 1/32 scale B-17G Flying Fortress from HK Models, I wanted to build a related aircraft model. I settled on the famous Bf-109 aircraft from Border Model Co. I liked the idea that they made the model of the airplane in 1/35 scale. I quickly realized I made a mistake once I started building the model. I do not recommend this kit.
This model failed on so many fronts. First, were the numerous errors in the kit's instructions. Second, where the issue with the landing gear. Why is so damn hard for model makers to add in the correct steps and parts for landing gear up? Not every modeler wants to build their kits with landing gear down like some airfield queen sitting on a parking apron. I hand my finished aircraft models from the ceiling. Third, was the stupid "mystery box" included in the kit. Rather than provide a good pilot figure and some other mystery figure additionally, Border Models instead gives you a 1-in-9 chance to get the actual pilot you want. Rather I received a figure of a pilot walking around holding his arm for some odd reason. So, I cut off his legs and used plastic putty to adjust the arms. Also, you can receive metal rockets, but instead I got lame metal props that I didn't use.
One thing I did really like was the addition of extra clear parts. I wish more companies added in an extra canopy and optional clear parts like the engine cowling. Overall the kit parts are molded well and come off the sprue without complications. They require little sanding and filling. Almost all of the plane's subassemblies go together very well. I especially liked the main wing construction. Again, I found as I do with most models today, the instructions lack details on what parts you are building and why.
> Starting the build
I began with the engine and cockpit.
The engine exhaust pipes would not fit properly due to the bottom piece of the upper deck, so I removed it.
> Painting the "Messer" 109
I primed the model with Tamiya's Fine Primer spray in gray, then airbrushed Aircraft Aluminum from Tamiya thinned with ISO 90%. For the remaining colors, I used Mr. Hobby's Mr. Color excellent line of paints. Mr. Color paints thinned with their leveling thinner are some of the best paints I've ever airbrushed with. For the yellow markings I combined two Vallejo colors, Deep Yellow and Khaki Grey and thinned with Vallejo's thinner.
After the main colors were applied, I sprayed the Bf-109 with Mr. Colors excellent semi-gloss clear. Next I applied the decals using Mr. Hobby's decal Mark Setter and Mark Softer liquids.
Once the decals were finished, I re-coated the model with semi-gloss clear again in preparation for weathering. I used enamel based neutral grey wash from AK and removed excess with make-up appliers dipped in enamel odorless thinner. Further weathering was done with Ammo by Mig Oilbrushers, then blended with a clean brush dipped in enamel odorless thinner.
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