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The first Messerschmitt Me 209 was a single-engine racing aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt. It successfully established several new speed records.
The design work on what was originally designated P.1059 commenced in 1937; the Me 209 was a completely original aircraft whose sole purpose was to set new international speed records. As originally built, it has a relatively compact airframe, incorporated a steam cooling system, a unique cross-shaped tail section, and lacked any armaments. On 1 August 1938, Me 209 V1 conducted its maiden flight; a further three prototypes would be completed by May 1939. On 26 April 1939, this same aircraft established a new international speed record of almost 756 km/h (469 mph); this record was not officially broken by another piston-engined aircraft until 16 August 1969.
In addition to the Me 209 designation, the type was also assigned the Me 109R designation for propaganda purposes as part of an effort to conflate the aircraft with the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Luftwaffes primary fighter throughout the Second World War; it was hoped that the Me 109R designation would cause its accomplishments to be associated or confused with the Bf 109. Despite using the same Daimler-Benz DB 601 inline engine, the Me 209 and Bf 109 had little in common with one another. Messerschmitt undertook some work to adapt the Me 209 into a combat-capable fighter, but it proved to be inferior to the existing Bf 109 in this role, and this was never produced in quantity. The Me 209 designation was subsequently reused for a wholly separate aircraft that was the proposed successor to the Bf 109.
Design and development
Background and design
Throughout much of the 1930s, various high-ranking officials within Germany advocated for the demonstration of supposed German superiority, particularly in the aviation sector, which benefitted greatly from state backing in the form of numerous development and production contracts. Some of these contracts were aimed at boosting national prestige as well as advancing Germany's aeronautical capabilities, such as the establishment of new international aviation records. It was within these active trends that the aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt embarked on the P.1059, a clean-sheet aircraft designed solely to perform high speed flights with the specific object of setting a new absolute speed record.
During 1937, design work formally commenced, headed by the German aeronautical engineer Willy Messerschmitt. Prior to the year's end, the construction of three prototypes had commenced, by which point the aircraft had been officially designated as the Me 209. The cockpit of the Me 209 was positioned relatively rearwards in relation to the fuselage, just forward of its unique cross-shaped tail section. Both the tailplane and elevators had a relatively small area while the fin featured a substantial ventral section.
Unlike the Bf 109, the Me 209 featured a wide track, inwardly-retracting undercarriage that was mounted in the wing section. This record was not officially broken by another piston-engined aircraft until 16 August 1969 by Darryl Greenamyer's highly modified Conquest I F8F Bearcat, The absolute speed record set by the Me 209 V1 stood until October 1941, at which point it was broken by another Messerschmitt aircraft, the Me 163A V4 rocket fighter prototype, flown by Heini Dittmar, which attained a speed of 1,004 km/h (624 mph).
By the end of May 1939, both Me 209 V3 and Me 209 V4 entered flight testing.
The idea of adapting the Me 209 to perform the fighter role gained momentum when, during the Battle of Britain, the Bf 109 failed to gain superiority over the Royal Air Force's fighters, such as the Supermarine Spitfire. Key changes made to the aircraft included the installation of a standard DB 601 engine, a new wing and automatic leading edge slots; efforts were made to improve the Me 209's challenging flight and landing characteristics. In light of this disappointing performance, the conversion project was promptly abandoned in favour of other efforts.
Propaganda use
The Me 209's designation was used by Messerschmitt as a propaganda tool. Although the aircraft was a "single purpose" high-speed experimental prototype, it was hoped that its designation would associate it and its world-beating performance with the Bf 109 already in combat service.
During 1939, the speed record achievement of the Me 209 was used for a propaganda disinformation campaign, wherein the aircraft (possibly from its post-July 1938 first flight date) was given the designation Me 109R, with the later prefix, never used for wartime Bf 109 fighters. This disinformation was naturally designed to give an aura of invincibility to the Bf 109, which was not dispelled until the conclusion of the Battle of Britain.
Surviving aircraft
thumb|Me 209 fuselage at the [[Polish Aviation Museum, Kraków.]]
The fuselage of the Me 209 V1 is currently on display, at the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków, Poland and was once a part of Hermann Göring's personal collection.<!-- reference -->
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General characteristics
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See also
thumb|right|Three-view of the Me 209 V4
References
Citations
Bibliography
Further reading
External links
- Famous Record-Breaking and Racing Aircraft: Messerschmitt Me 209 V1