Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4

Plane: Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4

Weight (Empty/Loaded/Max): 4,189lb/ / 5,875lb

Wing Area: 174sq ft

Wing Loading: 24.0lb/sq ft / lb/sq ft / 33.8lb/sq ft

Length: 28' 5"

Span: 32' 5"

Wing Aspect Ratio: 6.0

Engine: 1175hp Dailmer Benz DB 601Aa Inline

Flaps: 5settings

Visibility:

• Front: (Same art as Bf109F-4)
• Sides:
• Rear:

Control Feel:

• Slow: Good
• Near Sustained: Good
• Fast: Poor

Stall Speed 1k (No Flaps/Full Flaps) 85mph/75mph

Guns:

Note that the firepower and guns of the Bf109E4 are remarkably similar to the A6M2 Zero. In fact the cannon used in the Zero was based on the Oerlikon 20mm cannon (which, incidentally, was used as the primary 20mm flexible mount on US naval ships, and also was considered for use on British Fighters instead of the 20mm Hispano-Suiza that was eventually adopted)

Ordnance:
0: none
1: 1x500lb bomb
2: none
3: none

Fuel Time/Percent: 39 seconds/percent

Power/weight (Empty/Loaded/Max): 3.6 lb/hp / / 5.0 lb/hp

Corner Velocity: 225mph

Durability: Poor

WEP time: 5 minutes

Maximum Angle-of-Attack (no flaps/full flaps): 19.0/20.0 degrees

Wing Incidence Angle (no flaps/full flaps): 2.0/3.0 degrees

Accleleration:

Climb:
1k-5k: 49s
5k-10k: 72s
10k-15k: 74s

Zoom Climb:
1k 400mph: +4,600ft
1k 300mph: +3,100ft

Dive:

Max Speed

Turn Performance

Corner Speed and Radii (1,000ft)

Speed: 225mph
Radius: 367ft
Sustained Turn Speed: 120mph
Sustained Turn Radius: 503ft
Full Flaps Speed: 100mph
Full Flaps Radius: 442ft

Roll Rate:
150mph: 4.8s
200mph: 4.3s
250mph: 4.2s
300mph: 5.5s
350mph: 7.2s
400mph: 11.9s

Minimum Full-Flaps Full-Power Split-S altitude:
150mph: 900ft
200mph: 1,000ft
250mph: 1,500ft
300mph: 1,600ft

Hoof's Tips and Opinions:

The BF 109 was the brainchild of Willy Messerschmitt, and went on to become the most heavily produced fighter in the world. Only the IL-2 Sturmovik Russian close-air-support plane was built in greater numbers. Starting out with a "mere" 650hp engine, and participating in the Spanish Civil war in 1936, the Messerschmitt embodied the essence of the Blitzkrieg which became the style and reason for success during the early years of the German Army's war. This was one of the first high wing-loaded fighters of the war to be used in large numbers, and many advanced tactics were developed for its use such as the finger-four formation eventually adopted by the majority of the world powers. This was not a plane for furballing, this was a plane for getting above the enemy and striking at him with high-speed passes. For this it was well equipped, having two cannon during a time when cannon-equipped planes were rare, and having (for it's time) excellent high speed control and excellent climb rate.

The Messerschmitt 109 was completely dominating over the battlefield after the Spanish Civil War up until the Battle of Britain. Nothing the Polish and French threw at it could deal with the combination of speed, climbing ability, firepower, and tactics. This stopped rather abruptly during the Battle of Britain, as did the armies of Germany when the English Channel prohibited the style of warfare that had been so successful up to that time.

One of the main problems with the Bf109E series that participated in the Battle of Britain is its short fuel range. If the Bf109 ranged as far as London, it only had about ten minutes of combat time before having to return to base or risk running out of gas over the English Channel. The Bf110C4, which could range much farther, was not usable in its intended role because it was slower than the Spitfire and no faster than the Hurricane at lower levels, and did not have the maneuverability to make up the difference (compared to the Spit and Hurri). And since the Bf109E did not turn nearly so well as the Hurricane, strike and run tactics needed to be employed when on the offensive, which limited the effectiveness of the Bf109, especially against the Spitfire which the Messerschmitt plane could not count on escaping via diving and speed. Fortunately these weaknesses were not as big a problem to the survival of the Bf109 over England as it might seem since the English fighters focused on shooting down bombers, and had an effective ground control system for vectoring their fighters away from the Bf109s. Also the tactics employed by the Bf109s helped immensely to nullify the turn-rate disadvantage as the Bf109s simply didn't turn with the Hurris and Spits and relied on good wingman tactics to help each other out when a Spitfire went after a Bf109. Similar tactics were used by Wildcat pilots in the Pacific to hold their own against superior turning and performing Japanese fighters. What did make a big difference, though, due to the fuel limitation, was the fact that the Bf109s could not effectively escort bombers far into England.

In Warbirds, the Bf109E4 will not be the Uberplane of the 1939-1940 era that I thought it might be. Unlike the Bf109F4 vs SpitVb, the Bf109E4 does not have any significant advantages over the SpitIa, except for sustained climbing ability which is marginal at best. Once above 15,000ft the Bf109's better altitude performance starts to help, but below 15,000ft the Bf109 has to face in the Spitfire Mk I a fighter that can outaccelerate it, is as fast as it, climbs almost as well, dives better, and makes it look pathetic in the turn. There really isn't much advantage to the Bf109E4 to aid it in a 1 vs 1 dogfight so prevalent in the General Arena, except maybe firepower. Thus, while a Bf109F4 vs SpitVb duel is a very interesting thing to watch, the Bf109E4 vs SpitIa will probably degenerate into an extension-tailchase with the Bf109E4 too far in front to shoot down (due to the spit's convergence problems, ammunition load, and lack of punch), yet unable to create sufficient separation to escape or regain the initiative (assuming initial co-e head-on situations, and equal pilots).

Don't misjudge this plane's potential in a scenario though. Just like the Ki43 vs Wildcat setup in the Solomons, the Spitfire's disadvantages come into play in a multi-bogie fight. Spit fliers will tend to want to furball, and will require several seconds of hits to down a Bf109, while a Bf109 with it's twin cannon can shred a Spit in a well placed snapshot. This is partially nullified by the mere seven seconds of fire the cannon have, but a disciplined shooter can be quite lethal. And in a scenario, the Bf109 pilots will stick together and help each other just like the Wildcat pilots in Solomons scenarios, virtually nullifying any turning advantage a Spit has as the Bf109 is far more likely to Drag 'n' Bag. The main limitation that will make this really interesting in a well-designed scenario is fuel load. The Spits can always get recovered if they run out of gas and ditch over England, the Bf109s cannot. Thus the Bf109's fuel load becomes the important factor it was during the real Battle of Britain (assuming historical distances). Still, Spitfire opponents should best leave the Bf109's alone, focusing on shooting down the Bombers, or if necessary distract the Bf109s long enough for the Hurricanes, which have much more difficulty with the Bf109s, to get in and shoot down the bombers.

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