Me 109F development

[George Hopp]

Re: Me 109F development
Quote:
I could not find much on the F-0, other than "... a preproduction batch of some twenty-five Bf 109 F-0 aircraft (W.Nr. 5601 to 5625) were completed over the next several months.... (page 4). "....Messerschmitt did not intend that the preproduction Bf 109 F-0s would be handed over to the Luftwaffe for operations....."
In his book on Regensburg, Peter Schmoll notes the following about the early 109Fs. 5601: CE+BM; 5602: CE+BN, V21; 5603: CE+BP, V23; 5604: VK+AB, V-24. Then he cites the numbers 5605: VK+AC, F-0, and 5622: PI+IK, F-0 and states that between 1939 and 1941, 16 109 F-0s were manufactured.

Then he goes on to note that the first batch of F-1s, 5626-5631: SG+GU-SG+GZ,and 5632-5657: SG+EA-SG+EZ, were manufactured during Oct-Nov 1940. Altogether, Regensburg manufactured 8 batches (2 of them single a/c) during the period Oct 1940 through March 1941. Then in March 1941 they also produced about 26 F-2s, producing them through September 1941, before switching to the G-1 in November 1941.

Hope this helps,
George

[George Hopp]

Re: Me 109F development

'I could not find much on the F-0, other than "... a preproduction batch of some twenty-five Bf 109 F-0 aircraft (W.Nr. 5601 to 5625) were completed over the next several months.... (page 4). "....Messerschmitt did not intend that the preproduction Bf 109 F-0s would be handed over to the Luftwaffe for operations....." '

In his book on Regensburg, Peter Schmoll notes the following about the early 109Fs. 5601: CE+BM; 5602: CE+BN, V21; 5603: CE+BP, V23; 5604: VK+AB, V-24. Then he cites the numbers 5605: VK+AC, F-0, and 5622: PI+IK, F-0 and states that between 1939 and 1941, 16 109 F-0s were manufactured.

Then he goes on to note that the first batch of F-1s, 5626-5631: SG+GU-SG+GZ,and 5632-5657: SG+EA-SG+EZ, were manufactured during Oct-Nov 1940. Altogether, Regensburg manufactured 8 batches (2 of them single a/c) during the period Oct 1940 through March 1941. Then in March 1941 they also produced about 26 F-2s, producing them through September 1941, before switching to the G-1 in November 1941.

Hope this helps,
George

[George Hopp]

Just happened across this old thread on the Bf 109F, and found the following items in my binders on the aircraft:

On 25 April 1939, tested cockpit temperatures up to 8 km altitude in 109F V22, W.Nr. 1800, D-IRRQ.

A report on the air testing of V22, on 1 and 2 Jun 39, of a revised supercharger air intake.

So, if they were flight testing the prototype 109F in Spring 1939, it's a pretty good guess that they began work on the model in 1938.

On 20.3.40 Rechlin tested W.Nr. 5603 (Thoenes and Beauvais were the pilots). It was noted that greater force was needed to move the controls than in the 109E, and a decrease of these forces would be desirable.

At the other end of the spectrum, I have a report on flight testing the Me 109-F2 (sic) to assess the elastic properties of the wing on the rolling velocity and rolling acceleration during aileron operation. It was completed in June 1944!

Here is a page from a 1943 document that indicates changes made to Bf 109 F 1/2 aircraft, specifically the rear fuselage supporting the tail unit, and it should give a pretty good listing of W.Nrs. for these aircraft. Notice that Arado production begins with 5401. Also, it appears that they have lumped in the F-0s with the F-1s and F-2s.

[Franek Grabowski]

George, it is outstanding, and doubtless Friedrich must have been developed well into 1938. I am wondering if wings were new built (as tail was) or converted from older ones.
The scan is very interesting but a pain to read. Could you send me perhaps a better copy?

[the_ivan]

There is a report titled Entwicklung und Flugeigenschaftsmässige Erprobung der Me 109 F (27.1.41) that briefly describes, as tittle says, the development and testing of the flight qualities of the F series, which are compared with those of the E series.
It's noted in the report that testing began in 1938. To be more precise, they tested diferent wings (slatless, wooden wings with ~4º wing twist) on Bf 109 B-1 W.Nr. 1032.

[Franek Grabowski]

That would be outstanding. Where can I find the report?

[the_ivan]

You can find a copy in NASM reel 2279.

[Franek Grabowski]

Thanks.

[Seaplanes]

The RLM Lieferpläne Nr. 18 and 19 contain the following information on the Bf 109F-0 and some of the prototypes involved:
Bf 109V23 had W.Nr. 1801 and the Bf 109V24 was W.Nr. 1929.

Delivery of the F-0 series was as follows:
Total ordered 19 aircraft. Delivered up to 30.06.40 was 5 aircraft.
Up to 31.10.40 was 12 aircraft and up to 01.03.41 18 aircraft. Unfortunately I have no confirmation on the delivery of the 19th and final Bf 109F-0.

Also regarding the Bf 109F-1 series I can add the following:
Messerschmitt Regensburg had an order for totally 157 Bf 109F-1.
Up to 31.10.40 10 aircraft had been delivered. Up to 31.05.41 155 aircraft had been delivered.
The only licencee for the Bf 109F-1 was Wiener Neustadt who built a total of 49 Bf 109F-1 up to the end of May 1941.

Most of the Bf 109F-0 aircraft were delivered to Chef des Ausbildungswesens. From 14.10.40 to 29.12.40 a total of 11 aircraft had been assigned to the training establishments. The rest was probably kept for various testing purposes. On 01.03.41 the following F-models were used for testing: W.Nr. 5601, 5602, 5603, 5604, 5605, 5642, 5716 and 5717.

The first Bf 109F-1 aircraft to an operational unit was to J.G.51 at Mannheim on 19.12.40 when they received 8 aircraft. By the end of January 1941 this unit had received a total of 117 Bf 109F-1 and F-2 aircraft.

[Franek Grabowski]

Thanks!