Messerschmitt BF 109K-4


Plane: Messerschmitt BF 109K-4

Weight (Empty/Loaded/Max): / 7,400lb /

Wing Area: 173sq ft

Wing Loading: / 42lb/sq ft /

Length: 29' 4"

Span: 32' 7"

Wing Aspect: 6.1

Engine: 2000hp Daimler Benz DB 605 D Inline

Flaps: 5settings

Visibility:

Control Feel:

Stall Speed 1k (No Flaps/Full Flaps) 100/90mph

Guns:

  type/ammo ROF Duration WB Punch Muzzle Velocity Ammo/Gun
Primary: 2x13mm Rheinmetall MG 131 MG 12.1/s 24.8s 3.0x.50cal/ping 2,460ft/s 300
Secondary: 1x30mm Rheinmetall MK 108 Cannon 9.8/s 6.1s 1.2x30mm/ping 1,640ft/s 60

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

Fuel Time/Percent: 36 seconds/percent

Power/weight (Empty/Loaded/Max): / 3.7lb/hp /

Corner Velocity: 280mph

Durability: Poor

WEP time: 10 minutes

Maximum Angle-of-Attack (no flaps/full flaps): 18/18.5 degrees

Wing Incidence Angle (no flaps/full flaps): 4/3.5 degrees


Accleleration:

  1,000ft 5,000ft 10,000ft 15,000ft
Stall-200mph 14.7s 15.3s 18.5s 22.7s
150mph-200mph 8.4s 9.7s 11.6s 14.4s
200mph-250mph 9.7s 11.3s 14.1s 18.6s
250mph-300mph 19.5s 22.9s 30.5s 45.1s

Climb:
1k-5k: 43s
5k-10k: 56s
10k-15k: 61s

Zoom Climb:
1k 400mph: +6100ft
1k 300mph: +3600ft

Dive:

  Max Speed After 30s After 60s
15,000ft to 10,000ft 380mph 350mph 345mph
15,000ft to 5,000ft 505mph 395mph 365mph
10,000ft to 5,000ft 410mph 370mph 355mph
10,000ft to 1,000ft 510mph 405mph 370mph
5,000ft to 1,000ft 405mph 370mph 360mph

Max Speed

  1,000ft 5,000ft
Climbing before levelling 350mph 340mph
Diving before levelling 350mph 350mph

Turn Performance

300mph 1,000ft 5,000ft 10,000ft 15,000ft
One 360 15.5s 16.9s 18.6s 22.0s
Two 360s 35.6s 39.7s 43.4s 51.3s
250mph
One 360 17.1s 18.2s 20.2s 23.0s
Two 360s 37.9s 39.9s 44.9s 51.2
Sustained
No Flaps 20.6s 22.6s 25.9s 28.9s
Full Flaps 20.1s 21.7s 24.7s 28.4s
Best Flap full full full full
Speed/best 145mph 140mph 140mph 135mph

Corner Speed and Radii (1,000ft):

Speed: 275mph
Radius: 551ft
Sustained Turn Speed: 170mph
Sustained Turn Radius: 817ft
Full Flaps Speed: 140mph
Full Flaps Radius: 657ft

Corner Times 1,000ft 5,000ft 10,000ft 15,000ft
180 degrees 7.3s 8.0s 9.0s 9.3s
360 degrees 17.1s 18.9s 21.1s 22.7s

Roll Rate:
150mph: 5.3s
200mph: 4.3s
250mph: 4.2s
300mph: 5.0s
350mph: 7.5s
400mph: 13.5s

Minimum Full-Flaps Full-Power Split-S altitude:
150mph: 1200ft
200mph: 1200ft
250mph: 1400ft
300mph: 1900ft


Hoof's Tips and Opinions:

The Bf 109K4 represents Germany's insistence on improving existing designs rather than risking a new design. Fortunately, Messerschmitt learned much during the 109G series and thus were able to refine the 109 into the Bf 109K series, which were streamlined (including adjusting the cowl to remove the "bulges" around the 13mm machine gun breeches), and Messerschmitt put the Daimler Benz DB 605 D engine in her. This engine delivers a base of 2000hp, the same as the Pratt and Whitney Double-Wasp Radial engine used in the F6F, F4U, and P47, but in a much smaller package. Weight went up in the 109K4, but the trade off were well worth it. The Bf 109K4 is significantly faster than the Bf 109G series (on the deck the Bf 109K4 can sustain 350mph, at higher altitudes she will do up to 450mph True Air Speed (TAS) or more). She accelerated the best of the 109 series, and is the best climber by far. In fact, the Bf 109K4 is the best overall climber in Warbirds making her an excellent Vertical fighter (although her high wing loading rather inhibits this as it becomes tricky to get her around, especially if you are used to reversing at the top of a zoom in a Ki84 or F4U). The 109 series has not had such a significant boost in climb and speed since the Bf109F replaced the Bf109E

Unfortunately, simply putting a souped up super-engine into the same airframe used in the Battle of Britain had it's problems. The Bf 109K4 has high speed handling problems just like all the other 109s, except that unlike the other 109s, this bird can get up to problem speeds in standard level flight. The 109 series starts to have serious handling problems beyond about 330mph, and max sustained speed in a 109 is 350mph IAS on the deck. Thus you have a powerful fighter, able to fly at ridiculous speeds and get there quickly, but unable to fully exploit these capabilities due to the inherent limitations of the original design.

The other big addition to the 109K was the standardization of the Mk 108 30mm cannon. This is actually a mixed blessing, because although the 30mm cannon can shred bombers with very few rounds, the cannon's muzzle velocity, rate of fire, and ammunition capacity are very low. Thus you have a very short clip for the gun, it is hard to hit anything beyond range 3 (range 1 for fighters), and its low rate of fire make usage against anything other than a bomber very difficult. And the immense power of the plane's engine make use of the 30mm cannon very dangerous as the engine is very likely to accelerate you right into the target (collision), and her poor maneuverability characteristics mean you are forced to take high speed passing snapshots. Needless to say the 109K is difficult to kill in despite it's awesome performance characteristics and firepower. And it isn't terribly useful against bombers as most bomber pilots use Otto, and Otto will cut the 109K to pieces at maximum effective deployment range for the 30mm cannon, even with the revised Otto algorithm for 2.0. Just like the P39's 37mm cannon, this gun requires lots of practice and a good sense of deflection and shell drop to be effective. But what it hits it destroys.

It would be interesting to try the 109K4 with the Mk 103 30mm cannon replacing the Mk 108 30mm cannon. The Mk 103 cannon had a much higher muzzle velocity (making it's use in A2A combat much better), had a higher rate-of-fire, and overall was a better gun. Some field modification kits for some variants of Fw 190 As employed the Mk 103 30mm cannon. My guess is that the Mk 103 cannon is a much more substantial weapon, resulting in more weight, and the increased ammunition space/weight needed might have caused problems. But in a sense, the Mk 103 30mm cannon is to the Mk 108 30mm cannon what the MG 151/20 20mm cannon was to the MG FF 20mm cannon.

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