Germany's Favorite Fighter Makes First Flight

On May 29, 1935, the brainchild of Willy Messerschmitt, the Bf-109, made its first flight. The most produced fighter of all time, the Germans built 33,984 of them, while Czechoslovakia and Spain also built a few hundred more until 1958. The main German fighter of the pre-war period and early in the war, it was to be superseded by the more modern and more heavily armed FW-190, but the ease of manufacture and maintenance kept the Bf-109 in production during the entire war. Constantly updated and refined, the aging airframe remained competitive with allied fighters throughout the war. Many German pilots preferred it over the FW-190. Its main deficiency was its short range, one thing Germany somewhat corrected by developing drop tanks. Of all the fighter planes used by Germany during World War II, 57 % were Bf-109’s. (Note: You might be tempted to point out that more Il-2 Sturmoviks were built, but those were ground attack planes, not fighters.)