The Bf 109 was arguably the best fighter in the world in 1940. It was faster than the Spitfire at high altitude, could dive more rapidly and carried a more effective armament of two cannon and two machine guns.

Similar to the case of the Hurricane the Spitfire was superior to the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter in a dogfight, since it had considerably better turning ability than its German arch rival. Example: The Spitfire turns as tightly to the left as possible which is more tightly, than the German Me 109 is able to do.

The climbing performance of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 K-4 was phenomenal and noticeably superior to any of the enemy aircraft. Above 6,000 metres, the German plane was so clearly superior to the Soviet aircraft that the Soviet pilots strictly avoided any aerial combat at this altitude.

Though the E was the defining model of Bf109, the version that followed it was the best. The model F’s high speed and all-round top performance made it one of the best planes of the war. It outclassed the Mark V Spitfire, which from 1941 gave the British an edge in aerial battles.

The German ME-109 had the most kills. First they fought over mostly Germany and German held land, so if they were shot down they walked back to safety. Some pilots had 350+ kills, they were in the war from day one.

As of December 2016 there are 67 known existing Bf 109 airframes. About twenty of the surviving Bf 109s existent in the 21st century served at one time with the Luftwaffe fighter wing Jagdgeschwader 5, more than with any other Axis military aviation unit of World War II.

The noses were painted yellow to make recognition easier. The yellow nose was introduced during the Battle of Britain as German pilots were mistaking friendly aircraft as foes and foes as friendly, being able to recognize who was who was deemed to be more important than camouflage.

Combat service with the Luftwaffe. The Bf 109 was credited with more aerial kills than any other aircraft. One hundred and five (possibly 109) Bf 109 pilots were credited with the destruction of 100 or more enemy aircraft. Thirteen of these men scored more than 200 kills, while two scored more than 300.

The company survived in the post-war era, undergoing a number of mergers and changing its name from Messerschmitt to Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm before being bought by Deutsche Aerospace (DASA, now part of Airbus) in 1989.

Erich Hartmann

Popp did not restrict himself to the role of observer, becoming actively involved in the overall management of the company. In April 1917, following founder Karl Rapp’s departure, Rapp Motorenwerke was renamed Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW). BMW’s first product was the BMW IIIa aircraft engine.

BMW built aircraft engines through World War II, and by the end of the war it produced turbines for the newly developed jet airplane. The Munich-based company left the aircraft engine business in 1959, selling its operations to the big West German engineering group MAN AG, which later merged them with Daimler-Benz AG.

BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke. BMW is a German-owned company, and it has been since it made its debut decades ago.