June 2023

JG 54 Bf 109 F-4 on the Eastern Front in the care of mechanics. The position of the deployed automatic slat can

be clearly seen in the picture. That was its usual position when the aircraft was parked and still.

at the Erla factory in Leipzig. Production at the

WNF factory ended in April 1942, and ERLA built

the last Bf 109F-4 Trop in May of the same year.

A month later, both factories, plus Messerschmitt

A.G. in Regensburg, began production of the

Bf 109G-2.

With respect to performance data, H.H. Vogt

reports a maximum speed of 670 km/h (416mph),

540 km/h (336mph) at sea level. The rate

of climb is stated by Vogt to be the same as

for the F-1, 17 m/s (56ft/s), a range of 525 km

(330 miles), and a service ceiling of 11,800m

(38,700ft). M.Baumgartl gives in his performance

tables sourcing the records of E-Stelle Rechlin

a maximum speed 645 km/h (400mph) at 7,000

m (23,000ft), and 523 km/h (325mph) in combat

mode. In emergency mode, he states a maximum

speed of 670 km/h (416mph) at 7,000 m

(23,000ft) and 540 km/h (336mph) at sea level,

which corresponds to the data presented by H.H.

Vogt. The increase in performance compared

to the Bf 109F-2 also corresponds to the use of

a more powerful engine.

Bf 109F-5 and Bf 109F-6

The Bf 109 F-5 was a high-altitude fighter and

photoreconnaissance aircraft, based on the

Bf 109F-2, equipped with the GM-1 boost system.

One aircraft was built and further development

was stopped due to the RLM's lack of interest.

The Bf 109F-6 was to be a heavy fighter again

based on the Bf 109F-2, with an MG 151/20 engine

mounted cannon and two MG 17 fuselage machine

guns, plus two MG 17 wing mounted machine

guns. No aircraft were built. The designation

Bf 109F-6/U was used by Stab/JG 26 in France

for Bf 109F-2 W.Nr.6750, which in addition to

the standard armament was equipped with

two wing-mounted MG FF/M cannon, similar to

the Bf 109E. The aircraft was tested by Obstlt.

Adolf Galland, who shot down a Spitfire over the

English coast with it on November 18, 1941. At the

same time, Galland tested another non-standard

aircraft with the type designation Bf 109F-2/U1,

armed with two 13 mm MG 131 machine guns

located in the fuselage above the engine instead

of the standard MG 17s

COMBAT USE OF THE

Bf 109F AND ITS

ADVERSARIES

The Western Front, France

In the first months of deployment of the Bf 109F

on the Western Front, their opponents were

Photo: SDASM

units in June, 1941. The main update offered by

the F-4 was the finally completed and fine-tuned

DB 601E installation, driving a three-blade,

variable VDM 9-12004.10 propeller. Armament

was also improved via the installation of the

engine mounted 20mm MG 151/20 cannon

with 200 rounds. The fuselage machine guns

remained the same, being 7.9mm MG 17s.

A redesign and strengthening of the rear

fuselage was carried out, thanks to which the

need for external reinforcement was eliminated.

Nevertheless, in the photographs of some

Bf 109F-4s, the external reinforcements are still

visible. A possible explanation for this is the use

of older F-2 airframes either in initial production

or over the course of subsequent conversions.

The FuG 25 IFF unit was replaced by the more

modern FuG 25a in the spring. The wing already

had position lights as standard with a cover

copying the shape of the wingtip curvature,

introduced on later Bf 109F-2s. The wheel wells

were either circular in shape, copying the shape

of the tire, or angular, the same design as on

the Bf 109E. The round design of the wells was

more common. Here, it is reasonable to consider

the use of F-2 airframes during conversion to

F-4 standard by installing a DB 601E engine, or

a different design of the wells from different

manufacturers and production blocks.

Around 600 aircraft were equipped with GM-1

nitrous oxide injection system. These machines

were designated Bf 109F-4/Z and had a larger

9-6150 (Fö 870) oil cooler, later standardized on

the Bf 109G. These machines were also usually

equipped with a VDM 9-12087A propeller with

wider blades. A larger oil cooler was also

part of the 576 tropicalized Bf 109F-4 Trop that

were produced at the Erla factory in Leipzig.

They also received a larger air intake to the

turbo supercharger with a closable dust filter.

Tropical equipment also included a vent on the

top of the canopy windscreen and an emergency

landing survival kit stowed in the rear fuselage

containing a food pack, water and a Mauser K98

carbine. A larger air intake to the turbocharger

was standard on later production Bf 109F-4s.

Between December 1941 and April 1942, the WNF

factory produced a total of 240 Bf 109F-4/R1s,

allowing the installation of underwing nacelles

housing MG 151/15 guns with 135 rounds of

ammunition. However, gun nacelles were rarely

used by combat units and they were widely

used only later on the Bf 109G. Bf 109F-4s

could also be converted to Bf 109F-4/B fighterbombers, the bomb racks were the same as

on the Bf 109F-2/B, but could not be fitted to

the Bf 109F-4/Z or Bf 109F-4/R1 equipped with

underwing gun nacelles. Some Bf 109F-4s were

converted to photo-reconnaissance use as the

Bf 109F-4/R2, R3, R4 and R8, which carried

different types of photographic cameras.

A total of 1,808 Bf 109F-4s of all versions were

produced, including 1,034 at the WNF and 774

Photo: Bundesarchiv

HISTORY

The Bf 109 F-2 (W. Nr. 12764) was the first plane of F version to fall into RAF hands. Commander I./JG 26

Hptm. Rolf Pingel made an emergency landing near Dover on July 10, 1941 after an aerial battle.

INFO Eduard

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