The ubiquitous "109" served the Luftwaffe from 1936 until the end of the war. It was the Luftwaffe's primary single-engine fighter until 1942 when the Focke-Wulf 190 first entered production. Even then, Bf 1O9s would continue to be produced in greater quantities than any other fighter until the end of the war. In 1940, the Bf 109E was the main variant which carried two 20mm cannon in addition to two machine guns and had a fuel-injected engine. Superior in speed to Hurricanes and an equal contender with the Spitfire Mk.I in all but turning performance, the Bf 109 was a dangerous foe. The "F" model appeared in 1941 and had improved power and speed but weak armament, mounting only three guns in the nose - a fact that caused much consternation to Luftwaffe ace pilot Adolph Galland, who made his criticisms widely known. Nonetheless, except in firepower, the later boosted F-4Z models were considered superior to the Spitfire Mk.II at high altitude. However, the Spitfire Mk.V upped the ante in performance so the "G" model was developed in 1942 with an uprated engine giving it additional speed and performance. With the "Gustav" the Bf 109 was near the zenith of its development potential. A small fighter to begin with, it had always suffered from inadequate range, weak landing gear, a high wing loading, and it demanded skill to fly. Later in the war more heavily-armed models would be developed in order to defend against Allied heavy bombers but these were increasingly disadvantaged against newer Allied fighters. Nevertheless, it was always to be respected.
TACTICS: In the early part of the war you are significantly faster than all of your opponents (except the Spitfire). This is important because you are often less maneuverable, though not by a large margin. Mix it up in a dogfight but remember that your enemies will generally be able to turn onto your tail better than you can turn onto theirs - and when that happens you should break away at high speed. At a safe distance reverse for another attack pass. If you're flying an "E" model, keep an eye on your cannon ammunition. It disappears faster than you'd like, and when it's gone you're quite vulnerable. By 1941-2, when you face more speedy Spitfires than ever before, you will need to be even more careful about maintaining high speed.
STRENGTHS: Good speed and acceleration.
WEAKNESSES: Mediocre maneuverability, especially in later models. E model short on cannon ammunition. F and early G models have weak firepower.
MODELS:
E-3: 1939 model.
E-4: Summer 1940 model replacing wing cannon with faster-firing FFM models.
E-7: August 1940 model with more powerful engine.
F-2: Faster April 1941 model with more cockpit armor and a single 15mm centrally-mounted cannon in place of the two 20mm wing cannon of the E model. High-altitude performance enhanced.
F-4Z: August 1941 high altitude variant adding fuel-tank armor. Upgrades 15mm cannon to 20mm.
G-2: June 1942 model similar in performance to F-4Z but without need to use F-4Z's unreliable GM-1 boost to achieve that performance.
G-6: December 1942 model with a more-powerful engine, upgrades the 7.92mm machineguns to 13mm.
