Messerschmitt

Messerschmitt Bf 109

The single-engine Messerschmitt Bf 109 was the most common German fighter aircraft of the Second World War. Introduced before the war, its performance and armament made it a dangerous adversary. Many were used as night-fighters against Allied bombers, particularly over target areas in free-ranging Wilde Sau (wild boar) operations. Their heavy cannon fire was lethal.

Messerschmitt Me 262

The twin-engined Messerschmitt Me 262 was the world’s first fully operational jet aircraft. With its speed and four 30-millimetre nose-mounted cannon, it was a formidable weapon and bombers were easy targets. Several Australian bombers recorded encounters with the jets; remarkably, an Australian Spitfire pilot shot one down. It was the decision to develop the aircraft as a fighter-bomber that delayed large-scale production and reduced its impact on the course of the war. The Allies also had a jet aircraft: the British introduced the Gloster Meteor before the end of the war.

Messerschmitt Me 163B

It took a brave pilot to rocket skyward to a height above the Allied bomber formations, then to glide down among them, firing his cannon. The Me 163 was too fast for the bombers’ gunners to track, but its fuel load was a volatile mix that was deadly on contact and liable to explode. This rocket-propelled aircraft was unorthodox: its armament was too slow-firing for its speed, and it jettisoned its wheels on take-off, requiring it to land on a skid. There were many accidents, and it is even possible that the Me 163 killed more Germans than Allied airmen. However, the Me 163 showed that the Germans were prepared to try revolutionary ideas even as the war was going against them.