Messerschmitt Bf 109E

Classed as one of the outstanding aircraft of the second world war the Messerschmitt Bf 109 was the luftwaffes standard day fighter from 1938 until 1945. The type first saw combat during the spanish civil war in 1937 and two years later formed the spearhead of the luftwaffe´s fighter units in their blitzkrieg across Europe. In september 1940, the battle of Britain saw the Bf 109 pitted against the RAF´s Spitfires and for the first time germany´s much-vaunted fighter met its equal in combat. The type was later used in the high-speed fighter-bomber role operating from France against selected targets in southern England. The E version also opetated in the Mediterranean, North Afirca and Russia. More than 33000 Bf 109s of all variants were produced, a number greater than any other wartime aircraft.