Messerschmitt Me 209-II

History of Messerschmitt Me 209-II

The Messerschmitt Me 209-II is the proposed successor to the Messerschmitt Bf 109 long-range fighter. The Bf 109 was the standard fighter of the Luftwaffe during World War II and gained a solid reputation in the ongoing conflict. From start to finish and in several variants, there are about 33,000 copies in total. A lot of thought went into making the new Me 209-II compatible with the existing BF 109 airframe, which could lead to some potential advantages during production and field corrections. As fate would have it, the Me 209-II suffered during its development, and the final product was no better than the fighter systems already in circulation.

In total, only four Me 209-II prototypes are known to have been built before the project was concluded.

Note on Me 209 name

While the "Me 209" designation was formerly used to cover the 1938 high-performance racing series, the designation was also used for Messerschmitt's prototype fighter intended to replace the BF 109, usually with "II" or "II" Representing "2" indicates this difference. Aside from the manufacturer, the two planes have little to do with each other.

The original Me 209 race car was not modified for combat and had no such operational intent, and the Me 209-II was essentially a thoroughbred fighter.

Challenge

Messerschmitt won gold with his full-metal BF 109 fighter series that debuted in the Spanish Civil War. The plane had retractable landing gear and an enclosed cockpita fairly novel concept for fighter jet designs in the 1930s. While the fighter jet was an excellent system for its time, it was still a design based on past thinking, and its limitations in modern warfare began to show.

Both Messerschmitt and Focke-Wulf are trying to provide answers to the growing needs of the RLM (Department of the Air Force). Willie Messerschmidt outlined his possible successor to the Me 209-II, while Focke-Wulf showed the development of his long-range Ta 152 and Fw 190D-9 fighters.

All three combat systems are modifications of the origins of their respective airframes to mitigate upcoming production commitments. The Me 209-II borrowed heavily from the BF-109G model, while the Fw 109D-9 and Ta 152 were both based on the successful Fw 190 fighter airframe.

Messerschmitt I 209-II walking around

The Me 209-II retains a clear resemblance to the BF 109, in particular the angular top. A completely new tail has been designed with about 65% parts commonality with the BF 109 (specifically the BF 109 G-5).

The cockpit is located in front of the center of the fuselage, with a raised "spine" blocking the "six"'s view. The engine is housed in an elongated forward compartment and drives a three-bladed propeller covered by a circular spinner. The entire hull is a streamlined thing that looks like a thin flying pencil - albeit cleanly contoured and fitted at the ends. The wings are low-lying cantilevered mono-wing assemblies mounted under and forward of the cockpit floor, with a slight V-shape (sloping upwards). The rear wing is conventional, mating a single vertical rear wing with a rounded top edge and applicable horizontal surfaces.

Wide-gauge landing gear is also traditional -- giving this type of aircraft the name "trail" -- with a single-wheel main landing gear strut under each wing and a small tail wheel under the tail. The main leg is pulled back to the midline.

Engines and Weapons

While the Daimler-Benz DB 603A in-line piston engine was intended for use in the Me 209-II production form, its limited availability meant that the Junkers Jumo 213A series was also used during development. The choice of the Junkers engine resulted in some redesign of the front nacelle and corresponding cooling system. The weapon is similar to the Bf 109 and is a combination of a cannon and a machine gun.

The armament of the V5 prototype included 1 x 30mm MK 108 series cannon fired through the propeller hub, and 2 x 13mm MG 131 machine guns mounted at the root of the wing. Only the subsequent V6 prototype changed this, replacing the MG 131 system with a pair of 20mm MG 151/20 cannons. The V5 prototype first flew on November 3, 1943 to match the Daimler-Benz 603A engine. A later upgrade was replaced by a Daimler-Benz DB 603G.

The V6 prototype appeared in December 1943 and completed its maiden flight sometime in April 1944.

It's almost over

Despite its good specs, the Me 209-II is no faster than the FW 190D-9. In fact, the Messerschmitt's design was 31 mph slower than the rival FW 190.

To make matters worse, there wasn't much in the way of dealing with the benefits of the revamped BF 109 airframe, which prompted any idea of ??promoting the Messerschmitt project to be negated. At least. Top speed is estimated at 423 mph, with service capped at 36,000 feet.

As a result, the Me 209-II was cancelled in 1944, although Messerschmitt would continue its private development under the name "Me 109L" for a while.

Proposed Form Me 209-II

Two designs for the Me 209-II were planned and referred to simply as "A1" and "A2". These are slightly different, separated only by powerplant choices. The A1 will be based on a V5 prototype with a Daimler-Benz DB 603G engine, while the A2 will be based on a V6 prototype with a Junkers Jumo 213E engine.

As one might surmise, no form was ever built, let alone produced in any quantity. The Me 209H V1 designation was reserved for the high-altitude version with a larger wingspan and a Daimler-Benz DB 603 engine.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes