In the first (it happened) part, we talked about a very original, as it turned out, aircraft: "Messerschmitt" Bf 109.
The plane really turned out to be more than peculiar. On the one hand, there are simply monstrous oddities in the design, borrowed from a sports plane, on the other, the ability to release it like loaves of bread at a bakery.
But now I propose to do a very interesting business, which we all love. Comparisons. And we will compare Bf 109 with opponents and allies, dividing the whole thing by theaters of military operations and years.
So let's get started.
1. The Spanish Civil War 1936-39. Bf 109B
The Bf 109B has a debut and a pretty good opening. As we used to hear or read, against the background of all the other aircraft that the countries that fought in Spain (Italy, Germany, USSR) had, the Bf 109 looked head and shoulders above everyone else. That is why, in many countries, designers believed in the triumph of a water-cooled engine over an air vent.
And here is the first such surprise. It is in the table, which shows the flight characteristics of the aircraft participating in that war.
What do we see? And we see a very strange picture. Well, according to the figures, the Bf 109B does not shine. Doesn't shine at all. It is the heaviest, with an unimportant climb rate compared to biplanes, since the engine was also not very strong. And the weapons were not brilliant. Of course, three MG-17s are much better than four PV-1s, which are very much a Maxim, but air-cooled. But clearly worse than two ShKAS and even more so two large-caliber Italian machine guns.
Yes, the speed was the best. This is the only thing that made the Bf 109B stand out. By the way, the Bf 109C model, which was equipped with a more powerful (20 hp) engine, became heavier (200 kg) with all the consequences. Plus there were four machine guns: two synchronous and two wing-mounted.
In all other respects - well, everything is more than doubtful. Yes, according to our history, everything was like this: ours in Spain tore everyone up until the "miracle weapon" in the face of Bf 109В arrived and won everyone. If you look at the numbers, surprise begins. And you understand that somewhere everything is very strange. Either in these figures (I definitely believe them), or in my memoirs.
I think that the truth is in the middle and it lies in the human factor. But more on that at the very end.
It was not at all graduates of aviation schools who fought in the Condor legion. There, swearing wolves sat in the cabins, who, if they lacked combat experience, so they followed him to Spain and went. Instead with colleagues from Italy and the Soviet Union. And there was experience - rowing with a shovel. And rowing.
But in general, the situation is more than funny, I wonder what those who read the article line by line will say.
But we go further.
2. "Strange War" and the Battle of Europe. Bf 109E
And then there was the year 1939, the "strange war", the Anschluss and the seizure of virtually all of Europe. And a completely different plane entered the scene. You can talk a lot about the Bf 109D, but I consider it just a step (not very successful) on the way to a normal aircraft. The Dora did not stay in the Luftwaffe, since it was an aircraft that was more than dubious in its essence.
And we will start talking about "Emil", that is, Bf 109E. Yes, by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he actually had already finished his service, and began to be replaced by "Frederick", but in Europe they had to moan from him in full.
We look and analyze.
As can be seen from the table, the Germans actually entered the struggle for the vertical and won it. The engine "grew", even if the speed was slightly less than that of the English "Spitfire", but the clearly vertical maneuver of the "Emil" was better.
The general opinion of the pilots of that time, who managed to fly the Bf 109E: it was the enemy.
Everyone noted excellent controllability at low and medium speeds, excellent angles of attack at low speeds, the aircraft did not have the habit of falling into a tailspin, had a short take-off run, and a steep climb angle at low speeds. Thanks to this parameter, none of the British vehicles could stay "on the tail" of the Bf 109E. The German pilots knew very well about this and used it to break away from the pursuer.
The downside of the aircraft can be considered a very short operating range. For the same "Avia" it was not so important, the planes served in the air defense units of their countries, which did not shine with a huge territory.
And it was on the Bf 109E-7 / Z that for the first time the afterburner system with the injection of nitrous oxide GM-1 was massively installed.
In general, it is almost the same as in the first part: by no means a masterpiece plane. Yes, the lightest (heritage of the sporty 108), maneuverable, especially in the vertical. And yes, the armament was somewhat atypical, but, in my opinion, for a good shooter it is better to have two cannons in the wing than eight rifle-caliber machine guns.
But not a masterpiece. That was shown by the “Battle of Britain” lost to the British. So let's move on.
And then we have "Friedrich", or Bf 109F.
3. Plus the Eastern Front
In general, the plane turned out through the efforts of the Daimler-Benz company, which finished the development of the DB 601E engine with a takeoff power of 1350 hp. and a rated power of 1270 hp. at an altitude of 2000 m. The prospect of an increase in flight characteristics and combat load loomed, so, in fact, the "Friedrich" appeared.
An interesting feature of the engine was the system of direct fuel injection into the cylinders, which ensured the normal operation of the engine in any spatial position of the aircraft, with negative and positive overloads.
The Friedrich propeller was equipped with an electric propeller pitch regulator (a prototype of the future Commandogerat), and its design allowed the pilot to turn off the automatics and manually control the propeller pitch, as the Emile pilots did.
In general, the new aircraft was rated very highly by the pilots, but a significant weakening of firepower was a big disappointment.
In general, the Fredericks were originally supposed to be armed with a 20-mm MG 151 motor-gun from Mauser, which had a higher rate of fire compared to the previous MG / FF cannons. However, they did not manage to bring MG 151 to mind, so the same MG / FF began to be installed in the camber of the cylinders. And they did not put cannons in the wings. The practice of using "Emilia" has shown that for MG / FF in the wing, the main task is to get somewhere in general.
Accordingly, the number of guns in the first Bf 109F compared to the Bf 109E decreased by one, and the mass of the second salvo was almost halved.
We look at the table, in which Soviet fighters and the American Tomahawk, which fought in North Africa, again appeared.
What happens? Again, the absolute average. In absolutely all respects. Okay, just move on.
4.1942: peak form on all fronts
And then we have the year 1942. The year when the Luftwaffe reigned supreme on the fronts, and it was very difficult to oppose something. But in essence, it was a war between aircraft engine manufacturers. As soon as Daimler-Benz rolled out the new engine, a new plane was built around it.
And in 1942 we are talking about the Bf 109G or "Gustav".
In general, I consider this car to be the peak for the Messerschmitt. So the plane was good. The engine, the afterburner, finally there were large-caliber machine guns MG 131 with a caliber of 13 mm, they installed a 30-mm MG-108 cannon in the camber, five-point fighters with two outboard cannons in containers under the wings …
But first, the numbers.
And again, Messerschmitt is in the middle. There are faster ones, there are more distant ones. Vertical maneuver - Yak will definitely win. We are not even talking about the "dog dump". So the plane is good, but it is just good and simply cannot pretend to be an air scarecrow.
Many will now say: why is there no "Cobra" in the table? It's simple: the plane was also not trivial, and was used by our people without regard to flight characteristics, about which a lot has already been written. Plus, it makes sense to look at the dynamics of opponents.
But if you look at the numbers (I emphasize this especially), the G6 clearly loses to the same Spitfire. Meanwhile, the Yak-9, which does not shine in performance characteristics, could quite normally fight against the Bf 109G, which will be discussed separately in the results.
5. The expected decline of a career. Bf 109K
Yes, in the end, the career of the Bf 109 was rolled into the ruins of Germany, and this was not a small merit of the Messerschmitts themselves. We are talking now about the "Kurfürst", which is Bf 109K. The highest point in the development of the 109th model as an airplane.
It was hardly possible to squeeze something more out of the structure. It really was the limit, in terms of strength, aerodynamics, and engine power. Then the path ended, and, I must say, it ended sadly.
Despite the aerodynamic improvements, the Kurfürst was in principle no better than the Gustav. Yes, if you look at the official figures, the Bf 109K-4 flew at a maximum speed of 605 km / h at the ground and 725 km / h at 6000 m. And with the use of the MW-50 afterburner, even more. However, in terms of such parameters as the climb, the practical ceiling and the turn at low altitude (up to 2000 m), the "Kurfürst" was inferior to the "Gustav", and, moreover, it was inferior.
And what about the competitors?
Again without much benefit. But the year was already 1944, and the German military machine was really bursting at the seams, while the allies could afford not only to increase the production of mastered models, but also to develop new ones.
Messerschmitt had to squeeze the maximum out of his designs, but this maximum, as already mentioned, had many limitations that were originally incorporated into the design.
6. The epilogue that started it all
However, why was the Bf 109 of all modifications, which looked so indistinct in numbers, was considered such an enemy, with whom it was necessary to fight at the limit of strength and capabilities?
Of course, numbers don't convey everything. If you look at them, then the Hurricane is quite such a normal plane. Not a flying coffin, or as it was called, "pterodactyl."
I agree. Nice looking on the numbers, the Hurricane was one of the dull airplanes of that war. And the Yak-9, which is no match for the Bf 109G in terms of numbers, calmly took over.
We come to that very - to the human factor. Besides, for the sake of which I even started these comparisons.
So, the human factor …
There were already quite a lot of materials on the basis of which it would be possible to draw conclusions about the system of education and training of German pilots. From my point of view, it was great, albeit quite lengthy in time. But at the exit there was a ready pilot.
Considering what stream it was delivered to in post-war Germany (comparable to our "Komsomolets, on a plane!"), There was an influx of personnel, the system worked, and how!
But as soon as the war began, problems began. While the capture of Europe was going on, everything went there almost without losses, except that the Luftwaffe managed to fight in Poland. But in the "Battle of Britain" serious losses have already begun. Although, given the level of training, and given the complete lack of fire in the Royal Air Force …
Africa. The Americans joined there, who, frankly, were not yet very effective. Once again, the Germans came out through training and experience. And it was very difficult to fight them in reality.
But when the Great Patriotic War began, this is where everything manifested itself. Experienced pilots were not enough for such a huge front, and the Russians really took on them and began to knock them out.
And this is what happened: a trained and experienced pilot at the helm of a mediocre aircraft is strength. Examples? Not a problem at all: Faddeev on the I-16, Safronov on the I-16 and Hurricane, Pokryshkin on the MiG-3. They flew and completed the assigned tasks and, naturally, shot down.
A weak and inexperienced pilot, put him at least on the most advanced plane, is unlikely to show something intelligible. This is normal, it fits into the logic of the war.
By the turn of 1943, the Germans simply began to lack experienced pilots. Ases were brought into special teams, and they plugged all possible holes with them.
The “decline” of the Bf 109 did not begin when new aircraft were launched by the Allies, but when pilot training ceased to compensate for the natural decline.
Let's be honest: the Bf 109 was a medium-sized aircraft. Quite average. Yes, he had good vertical maneuver, speed performance, equipment. There were also disadvantages, but I repeat: it was not an outstanding aircraft at all, a strong middle peasant, the main advantage of which was that it could be produced in huge quantities without loss of quality. Which, in fact, the Germans have demonstrated.
They simply riveted the Bf 109 of all modifications, put the pilots for it and sent it into battle. Actually, everyone did so. But as soon as the experienced pilots ran out, everything, the 109th was blown away. Because it required a very good pilot (especially for takeoff and landing).
With no above average flight personnel, the Bf 109 has become just an aircraft to fight in. Without much success like that.
And speaking about the human factor, one should probably not forget the fact that the opposing sides had a slightly different approach.
What did the German fight for in the Bf 109 cockpit? Well, yes, for some kind of Nazi ideas about world domination, and since not everyone was duped, then here's a war-hunt for "Abshussbalkens", orders, money and other everyday pleasures. Honor and glory, again.
No rams, no fire rams on burning planes. A calm and measured war for honor and respect.
But the British fought for their Britain. Therefore, the massacre over the English Channel took place. And our people fought for their homeland, so it's not worth retelling what was happening in the sky with us, right?
So the human factor turned out to be a very serious component. And, as it turned out, without it, the Bf 109 at all times was nothing more than a good combat vehicle.
Why it was turned into a kind of "death machine" in memoirs and other historical opuses is difficult to say. Perhaps in order to simply emphasize their importance. This, incidentally, concerns mainly Western historians and memoirists. Ours are more modest in their judgments at all times.
The formula for the Bf 109's success was a good airplane and a good pilot. The Germans were able to make up for the loss of aircraft. To compensate for the loss of flight personnel - no.
This, in fact, ended the story of the "death machine" Bf 109, and the tale began.
