Book Review (with corrections and expansions) of Jan Forsgren: Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun (Mushroom Yellow Series No. 6132)

[INM@RLM]

Originally Posted by INM@RLM

Regarding box 6, most likely J-BACC was the first singleton example bought for assessment by Manchuria and was also from this 987 to 992 batch. I would love to see the source reference for this sighting, however, in my judgement it will not have been for W.Nr. 993.
The reason is that W.Nr. block 993 to 997 was assigned to the 5 x Bf 109 A Null-Serie of the third batch. [Radinger & Schick: Me 109 A/E table p.34 where they are simply described as A-Serie]. A duplicate assignment of just this specific W.Nr. would not be impossible in principle – Manchuria is after all a long way from Germany. But J-BACC was apparently registered in Aug-36, and for this assignment to be made so close in time to the other imj wholly rules this out – subject, of course, to seeing incontrovertible evidence of this duplicate assignment. (Smiley face)

What I wrote here is incorrect. I've checked the source that Lennart gave me for W.Nr. 993 as J-BACC - Japan not Manchuria for this example (p.111 of the Arawasi J-BIRD voume of the Japanese civil register) and rechecked my reconstruction of the Bf 109 A-series based on Radinger & Schick.


The first block of Bf 108s delivered to satisfy commercial sales did indeed comprise seven aircraft, assigned W.Nr. 987 to 993 (with three of these confirmed by individual identity now), and the last of these Werk-Nummern was in fact never allocated to any Bf 109 A at any time. Me culpa. With my apologies.


The total for all Bf 108s built for Germany increases by one to 892.

[Sergio Luis dos Santos]

6 x Bf 108 B-1 (W.Nr. 987 to 992, delivered 1936/7) – This last looks like an initial batch made up exclusively of privat (commercial) sales. Certainly the first example went to Brazil and the last to Australia.

Yes, W.Nr. 987 was bought by Varig in 1935 arriving by ship in 1936. Was officialy registered at RAB on 26/06/1936. It got extensive damage in a crash on 24/11/1936. It was returned to Messerschmitt but do not know what happened to the plane after that.

[Sergio Luis dos Santos]

Just a question. W.Nr. 1139 is a B-1 too?

[INM@RLM]

Sergio, my apologies, I should have pointed out in the earlier post that W.Nr. 987, PP-VAJ was indeed a Bf 108 B-1. Basically after the seven B-0 Nullserie, W.Nr. 871 to 877 (each also assigned a B Versuchsnummer ID) every other Bf 108 B-series aircraft was built to the Bf 108 B-1 standard current at the time of manufacture.
A handful are reported in service as Bf 108 B-2s. As yet I've found no definitive documentation to account for the change in sub-type. However, I have a suspicion that the B-2 designation could be associated with the fitting of a Messerschmitt MeP 7 variable pitch propeller. (Forsgren makes this link on p.56 but restricts it to just the B-2/trop variant, whilst the explanation given for the B-2 on p.53 there is indubitably incorrect.)
Peter Schmoll makes no reference to any Bf 108 B-models being completed at Regensburg in a trop variant. So likely all these were post-delivery modifications applied 'randomly' to individual examples simply on the basis that these were available for issue when tropicalised aircraft were required.
The MeP 7 seems to have been offered as an optional 'extra' to non-RLM customers. (So people willing to pay more for extra performance.) This propeller is the most likely explanation for the pre-1945 photographs, frequently of Bf 108s retained for company use by Messerschmitt, showing examples with a smoothly contoured spinner. This design of spinner is markedly different to the stepped shape of the fixed-blade Heine prop standard on most Bf 108 Bs. To complicate matters further, the spinners shown in the side view paintings of the Forsgren title are almost always portrayed inaccurately, and are best ignored for this aspect.

Your reference to W.Nr. 1139 intrigues. I have this as the first W.Nr. in an order for 50 Ju 87s placed with BFW but cancelled before construction began. Of these 50 I currently have only the last four being back-filled, W.Nr. 1185 - 1188 being later assigned to the four Me 209 Versuchs, V-1 to V-4. Grateful for whatever details you can add on W.Nr. 1139.

[Sergio Luis dos Santos]

It was clear to me from the earlier post that W.Nr. 987 was a B-1 and was registerd in Brazil as a B-0. No problem!


I asked about the W.Nr. 1139 but after reading you info about the Stuka I have just checked Rivas book and indeed its listed there as being 1129 is its clear the data I had about the D-IBFW had a wrong W.Nr.!

[Sergio Luis dos Santos]

I also have another doubt or mistake. I have D-IONO as being W.Nr. 988 and Rivas list it as being W.Nr. 1914.



D-IONO arrived in Brasil by airship on 29/05/1936 but if W.Nr. 1914 is correct the data shows it was delivered in 1938. In my files I have it listed as being 988 so being delivered in 1937(or 1936 of course).

[INM@RLM]

Thank you for those clarifications, Sergio. Yes, you're entirely right in your observations on the sequencing of Bf 108 W.Nr. through time.

D-IONO delivered on the Hindenburg as W.Nr. 988 makes perfect sense and fits neatly alongside W.Nr. 987 delivered to Varig in 1936 from the same batch of seven (W.Nr. 987 to 993). All other sources I've seen through the years never identify a W.Nr. for D-IONO. So this - and for those of my particular mindset - is pretty brilliant and exciting stuff.

Grateful please for whatever details you can lay out regarding the source reference(s) linking the Hindenburg D-IONO to W.Nr. 988.

As you highlighted, the linking in Tincopa+Rivas of W.Nr. 1914 with D-IONO and the Dec-36 arrival of this aircraft on LZ-Hindenburg is an error by Tincopa+Rivas.

To be clear, the D-IONO code could indeed have been assigned twice and the second assignment could have been to this Regensburg Bf 108 with W.Nr. 1914. However, that was not the W.Nr. of the D-IONO that arrived on the Hindenburg, which was built in the early days of Bf 108 production, all still concentrated at Augsburg.

I've also recently tripped over the point that W.Nr. 990 from this same batch was D-IRNU and in 1937 became the Messerschmitt company development aircraft for the MeP 7 two-blade variable pitch propeller [Schwarz blades, 2,350 mm diameter). First flight with the new propeller was 8 July 1937. [text Radinger+Schick: Bf 109 A-E (Schiffer) p.128]

With your W.Nr. 988 and J-BACC confirmed as W.Nr 993 that now means we have five out of seven aircraft identified from this mini-batch. Marvellous stuff, considering we are looking back more than 80 years. :-)

[Sergio Luis dos Santos]

Hi. I found that the info for the W.Nr. 988 to D-IONO comes from researcher Günther Ott that lists it as being a B-0... Unfortunately the images I have (from eBay) from this machine being stored on Hindenburg do not shows its W.Nr.

[INM@RLM]

Thank you for that, Sergio. Günther Ott's research is first rate, indeed ultra-reliable.

I guess this came from a magzine article then? If you have an exact reference please PM it to me (or post it here for all). Many thanks.

[Sergio Luis dos Santos]

Originally Posted by INM@RLM

Thank you for that, Sergio. Günther Ott's research is first rate, indeed ultra-reliable.

I guess this came from a magzine article then? If you have an exact reference please PM it to me (or post it here for all). Many thanks.

I just have a text where Günther sent me various corrections and additional information to help my research and to update my first book manuscript.