Unordnung – Late Versions of the Bf 109 G
The development of these late versions of the Bf 109G, manufactured in a series of related and therefore similar versions, was the German aviation industry’s response to a requirement to quickly supply Luftwaffe units with high performance fighters to combat the Allied bombing offensive of the spring of 1944. The appearance of the P-51B and D Mustang with the 8th and 15th American Air Forces showed that the need to offset the increasing obsolescence of German fighters was becoming critical. The anticipated replacement of the then standard Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/G-14 with the Bf 109K, powered by the DB 605D, was not yet possible in the spring of 1944 due to the protracted development of the airframe and engine alike. The design element of Messerschmitt in Regensburg found an interim solution by installing the DB 605AS into the Bf 109G-6, and this modification made use of items that were already designed and were construction ready, intended to be used in the engine installation in the Bf 109K.