Messerschmitt Me 209
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| Me 209 | |
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 Computer image depicting the Me 209 |
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| Type | Race plane/Fighter |
| Manufacturer | Messerschmitt |
| Designed by | Willy Messerschmitt |
| Maiden flight | 1 August 1938 |
Messerschmitt's designation Me 209 was actually used for two separate projects during World War II. The first, described below, was a record-setting single-engined race plane for which little or no consideration was given to adaptation for combat. The second, the Me 209-II, was a proposal for a new development from the lineage that produced the highly successful Messerschmitt Bf 109 that served as the Luftwaffe's primary fighter throughout World War II.
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[edit] Design and development
The first Me 209 was in fact a completely new aircraft whose designation was used by Messerschmitt as a propaganda tool. Although the plane was designed only to break speed records, it was hoped that its name would associate it and its world-beating performance with the Bf 109 already in combat service.
The Me 209 was constructed in 1937 and shared only its Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine with the Bf 109. Willy Messerschmitt designed the small aircraft with a cockpit placed far back along the fuselage just in front of its unique cross-shaped tail section. Unlike the Bf 109, the Me 209 featured a broad-track undercarriage mounted in the wing section instead of the fuselage.
[edit] Testing
The plane achieved its purpose when test-pilot Fritz Wendel flew it to a new world speed record of almost 469.22 mph (756 km/h) on 26 April 1939 bearing the German civil registration "D-INJR".
The idea of adapting the Me 209 racer to the fighter role gained momentum when, during the Battle of Britain, the Bf 109 failed to gain superiority over the RAF Spitfires. The little record-setter, however, was not up to the task of air combat. Its wings were almost completely occupied by the engine's liquid cooling system and therefore prohibited conventional installation of armament. The aircraft also proved difficult to fly and extremely hard to control on the ground. Nevertheless, the Messerschmitt team made several attempts to improve the aircraft's performance by giving it longer wings, a taller vertical stabilizer, and installing two MG 17 guns in the engine cowling. Its various modifications, however, added so much weight that the Me 209 ended up slower than the contemporary Bf 109E.
This first Me 209 project was soon cancelled, and though it never went into wide-scale production, Messerschmitt's design did make its mark with its impressive speed record, which was not broken by another piston-engined aircraft until 16 August 1969, by Daryl Greenamyer's highly modified F8F Bearcat.
[edit] Survivors
A fuselage of the Me 209 is currently on display at the Polish Museum of Aviation in Kraków, Poland.
[edit] Specifications (Me 209 V1)
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.General characteristics
- Crew: one, pilot
- Length: 7.24 m (23 ft 9 in)
- Wingspan: 7.80 m (25 ft 7 in)
- Height: ()
- Powerplant: 1× Daimler-Benz DB 601 ARJ, 1,342 kW (1,800 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 755 km/h (470 mph)
[edit] See also
Related development Bf 109 - Me 209-II - Me 309 - Me 409 - Me 509 - Me 609
Related lists
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
[edit] Bibliography
- Feist, Uwe. The Fighting Me 109. London: Arms and Armour Press, 1993. ISBN 1-85409-209-X.
- Green, William. War Planes of the Second World War, Fighters, vol. I. London: Hanover House, 1960.
- Jackson, Robert. Infamous Aircraft: Dangerous Designs and their Vices. Barnsley, Yorkshire, UK: Pen and Sword Aviation, 2005. ISBN 1-84415-172-7.
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