Walter Oesau - opinion on Bf 109F

[DavidIsby]

I have seen it written that Walter Oesau, unlike other experten, was not impressed when he encountered the Bf 109F and continued to fly a Bf 109E for as long as possible.

Does anyone have any sources (or, better yet, sources for quotes) as to precisely what Oesau's problem was. I bet he said something like "no way is that unbraced horizontal stabilizer staying on in a diving attack, I'm sticking with my Emil until they pry it out of my fingers", but it would be great if someone knew.

Thanks,
David Isby

[Red Baroness]

Originally Posted by DavidIsby

I have seen it written that Walter Oesau, unlike other experten, was not impressed when he encountered the Bf 109F and continued to fly a Bf 109E for as long as possible.

Does anyone have any sources (or, better yet, sources for quotes) as to precisely what Oesau's problem was. I bet he said something like "no way is that unbraced horizontal stabilizer staying on in a diving attack, I'm sticking with my Emil until they pry it out of my fingers", but it would be great if someone knew.

Thanks,
David Isby

I've seen that same information on a couple of sites - mainly the JG1 site that does the online simulations, and of course, on the Wiki entry on Oesau.

"The fact that the Bf 109 had too limited a range to be fully effective as a bomber escort, persuaded the German authorities to consider the type most useful as a defensive fighter in Europe. This was reflected in the more refined, but relatively lightly-armed version of the fighter, the Bf 109F. Bf 109V21 and V24, using the 1,050 hp (783 Kw) DB 601N engine, served as development aircraft for the Bf 109F. Gone were the wing root guns, prompting many pilot complaints. After Helmut Wick was killed on November 28, 1940, Major Walter Oesau refused to fly a Bf 109F as long as spare parts were available to keep his E-4 flying. Another German veteran who disliked the reduction in armament was Major Adolph Galland, who became a General at the age of thirty, and rose to be the Inspector-General of the Fighter arm.17 Slightly more than 2,000 Bf 109Fs were built before being replaced by the more heavily armed Bf 109G." - I had pulled this off of one of my links (http://www.aviation-history.com/mess...itt/bf109.html)

I think it was probably more due to the reduction in armament rather than a stabilizer, and perhaps some frugalness on Oesau's part. The old Make Do, or Do Without mentality.