At the end of 1934 - before the existence of the Luftwaffe had been officially declared, Germany had less than six hundred front-line combat aircraft.
But by the outbreak of the Second World War, the number had risen to more than three and a half thousand. Thirty percent of these were single-engined fighters and for the next six years, one small but rugged aeroplane would form the very backbone of the German fighter force - Messerschmitt BF109. This legendary machine remained in continuous action from 1939 to 1945 and in doing so, it shot down twice as many aircraft as any other fighter in history.
Alexander IV History's supplementary notes:
Manufacturer: Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW)
Messerschmitt AG
Designers: Willy Messerschmitt, Robert Lusser
This documentary:
Narrated by Roy Ward
Features Luftwaffe fighter aces:
Adolf Galland
Walter Krupinski
Gunther Rall
Erich Hartmann
British fighter ace:
Douglas Bader
For more info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_109
-- This is shared without profit for educational and historical purposes ---
44:57
44:56
