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

[leonventer]

Very thorough and informative review -- excellent work!

Thanks,
Leon Venter

[edwest]

Thank you. Very informative. If you don't mind, here is a pair of Bf-108 photos from the Legion Condor.


http://www.ebay.de/itm/B-TOP-2-Fotos...item2c8bdc6afd


Usual disclaimer.



Best,
Ed

[Lennart Andersson]

First I would like to tank you for the long and comprehensive review with lots of interesting information. Jan Forsgren’s “Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun” is a nice book with lots of photos and colour profiles, but unfortunately, as has been indicated here, much of the information in it is incorrect or incomplete. This is a good illustration of the complexity of any research into German aircraft production and the main problem is that so much incorrect (often invented) information has been published and reiterated through the years. It is also very difficult to discuss details, because every single fact needs to be checked, and even if you do that you are bound to take something for granted that turns out later not to be true.

I would like to comment on some of the statements in the review.

One of the more complex and strange episodes in the story of the Bf 108 relates to the seven Bf 108 B-0 Null-Serie machines (W.Nr. 823 to 829).

As far as I know the batch of seven Bf 108 B-0 aircraft, V1 to V7, had WNr 871 to 877, which is proven by the Flugzeugentwicklungsprogramme.

In the final upshot, apart from the two SH 14A B-0s, three B-0s were delivered with the Hirth HM 8U engine (D-IAJO, D-IANO & D-IIPY) with the final two B-0s apparently being fitted with the Argus As 10 C. [These were D-IGNY & D-IZTA

The registrations mentioned here belongs both to aircraft from the B-0 batch mentioned above and to the B-1 batch 823 to 867. I have not studied them in detail so I cannot say anything about engine types, etc.

German orders for the Bf 108 from Les Mureaux had increased to 795

The highest number that i have seen is 921. The programme dated 1 December 1943 contains 975 Bf 108D-1s, of which 154 had been delivered, including 921 from SNCAN.

38 x Bf 108 B-1 (W.Nr. 830 to 867, delivered 1935/7)
7 x Bf 108 B-1 (W.Nr. 871 to 877, delivered 1937)

See above, I suppose that 823 to 867 were all B-1, and 871 to 877 were B-0 delivered in 1935-36.

Together these two blocks made up the initial order quantity of 45

The first RLM production plans contained 37 +7 test aircraft (0-Serie), later this was increased to 45+7.

6 x Bf 108 B-1 (W.Nr. 987 to 992, delivered 1937)

D-IBAC > J-BACC was apparently WNr 993.

The privately-owned Bayerische Flugzeugwerke A.G. designed and built aircraft, and was renamed as Messerchmitt A.G. in Sep-38.

The date that I have for this change is 11 July 1938.

D-IBRE was a series-production Bf 108 B-1, not a Bf 108 A as mentioned here.

D-IBRE Bf 108B-0 V7, WNr 877, according to my notes.

p.107 Messerschmitt company records show 17 (not 13) Bf 108 Bs delivered to Yugoslavia in 1939 as fuselages only (table at Schmoll: Mtt-Werke p.28).

Why would only fuselages have been delivered? What company records is this from? Yugoslavia did in fact order 13 Bf 108s on 23 October 1939. Four had already been delivered on 14 August and another eight arrived later. The last aircraft was never delivered and formally stopped on 27 February 1941.

W.Nr. 2064, carrying the post-war registration D-IOIO, was originally delivered from Regensburg in May-39 as the Swiss HB-EKO (Trenkle photo in Schmoll: Mtt-Werke p.25).

WNr 2064 was one of those delivered to the Swiss Air Force and it was serialled A-208.

Nothing is so simple that it does not get more and more complicated, the more you look into it…

Lennart Andersson

[Stig Jarlevik]

Excellent review and excellent additions by Lennart.

I just have one problem with the comments Lennart. Why would B-0 aircraft have higher WNr than the B-1?

To clarify, HB-EKU (not HB-EKO) was WNr 1129 and went to Swiss AF as A-216
in 1942 and has nothing to do with WNr 2064 which, as Lennart correctly states, became A-208.

Cheers
Stig

[Lennart Andersson]

Originally Posted by Stig Jarlevik

I just have one problem with the comments Lennart. Why would B-0 aircraft have higher WNr than the B-1?

Thanks, Stig!

I cannot explain that in this case, but sometimes c/ns were not assigned in cronological order. For example, Dornier c/ns are a good example of this.

Lennart