Messerschmitt Bf-109E JG2.2 (R1+) $Oblt Siegfried Bethke France Oct 1940 01

Pilots JG2 $Siegried Bethke 01

Pilots JG2.1 $Siegfried Bethke 01

Skins Compatibility:IL2 Sturmovik Forgotten Battles (FB), Ace Expansion Pack (AEP), Pacific Fighters (PF), 1946, Storm of War (SW).

Asisbiz Free Virtual High Resolution Images for Screensavers and Wallpaper: "It was a wonder that I was not shot at..."

I was born on 24 June 1916 in Strassen, Pomerania. My mother's brother, Erich Voss, was in the Luftwaffe during the First World War but he was shot down and killed in 1918 whilst serving as an aircraft observer. In 1934, there was high unemployment in Germany. At the same time the military began to expand. There was also no opportunity for me to find higher education so as to develop a career. I was interested in becoming a pilot due to the fact that my uncle had been in the air force. At the beginning of 1935, after I had taken my Abitur, I went into the Navy to become a naval pilot. I reported to the naval school in Flensburg. Then was transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1936 where I completed the A, B, and C (blind-flying) courses at Celle. My first unit assignment was at Bad Aibling. The unit later was redesignated JG51. Douglas Pitcairn was my Staffelkapitan. I was in his Staffel for one and a half years. Shortly before the war started, I was transferred to Herzogenaurach. Then I went to Fiirstenfeldbruck to an Erganzungsstaffel with which I went to Merseburg. On 1 May 1940, I was assigned to 2./JG2, the Staffelkapitan of which was Hptm. Karl-Heinz Greiser who had fought in Spain.

During the French campaign, I scored four kills. My first kill was on 14 May near Sedan. I attacked a Morane from behind and it exploded under my two cannon. The other three kills were a Potez 63 (in our archive it is listed as a Blenheim on 25 May at 20.35), a Spitfire near Calais (on 26 May at 09.40), and a LeO 451 (in reality a Douglas DB 7 at 20. 10). After shooting down the latter, I attacked a second LeO 451 and was myself shot down over Amiens. The combat had taken place on 31 May at low-level and I was shot down either by the gunner of the LeO or by Flak. I bailed out. The LeOs had attempted to attack German troops. I landed between the lines and I was rescued by German infantrymen. On the other side were colored French colonial troops and it was a wonder that I was not shot at. I had to go to a hospital in Kaln since I sustained concussion and I was supposed to stay there ten days but I returned to my Staffel early on 4 June without the doctor's permission! My unit's doctor hadn't given me permission to fly since my injury had not healed. The unit moved from one base to another until the conclusion of the campaign.

We deployed to the area of Rouen. I was promoted to Staffelkapitan when the previous commander took over a Gruppe. I commanded the Staffel for two and a half years until October 1942. During the Battle of Britain, I shot down Spitfires and Hurricanes. On my first mission over England, on 11 August, I shot down two Hurricanes over Southampton at 4,000 meters. I attacked them from behind and the first Hurricane immediately exploded and I had to turn to avoid the debris. The pilot of the second Hurricane bailed out. My Staffel reported two other Hurricanes shot down during that clash, one being claimed by the future Schwertertrager, Fw. Erich RudoRGfer.

Herr Hauptmann, we're flying into the ocean!"

Siegfried Bethke JG2.1

On October 1940, the I./JG2 ‘Richthofen' was based at Beaumont-le-Roger, about 40 km South-West of  Rouen in Normandy. Shortly after noon we received orders to transfer to Brest for a special mission to be carried out the next day. This surprised us, since we had been expecting a fighter sweep or to escort bombers to the south, coast of England, We had flown three months of hard, relentless missions, during which we had suffered extremely high casualties from British fighters, those in the past two weeks being especially nerve-wracking. Flying over the Channel was particularly telling on the nerves and quite a number of comrades had been lost after parachuting or ditching into the Channel, perhaps after only receiving a minor hit in the radiator. Despite the container of yellow dye attached to the life jacket and the one-man dinghy we all carried, the Seenotdienst had been unable to find them in the rough seas.

But now we were in a cheeRGul mood. We had almost perfect weather with just a little haze, and it would be a pleasure to fly the 100km to Brest. The life jackets we had worn for the last three months could be discarded and we wouldn't even need our maps; We only had to fly westwards to the coast and there would be Brest. The whole thing was splendid and no one gave a thought to what the next day's special mission might entail.

Although we had excellent service, personnel, our aircraft had recently been worked so hard that, from an establishment of 40 aircraft, the Gruppe assembled just 12 Bf-109s. We took off at 16.30 hrs with ourGruppenkommandeur, Hptm. Helmut Wick, in the lead. Wick had had a meteoric career and, three, days earlier, on the 14th, had returned from Germany where he had been presented with the Oak Leaves by the Fuhrer himself that evening; he told us about the meetings and the discussions he'd had with Hitler while they travelled from Berchtesgaden to Berlin in t    he Fuhrer’s special train. The Fuhrer, who contrary to rumors ate meat, and drank wine, spoke of many things; the U-boat war, aircraft production and the Italians, who were supposed to have relieved us but lost their way and wrote off half their aircraft in emergency landings. Hitler referred to "Bloodhound Stalin" and said that sooner or later there would be a clash with Russia. England was to be smashed by the Luftwaffe alone but the weather conditions were never favorable enough. Next spring we would have the Bf-109F and, later, the Fw190. Meanwhile, 'Hptm. Wick was to be given command of aGeschwader, but at just 25 years of age the responsibility concerned him greatly.

Because of the distance involved we flew in a long, loose formation. There were no Spitfires or Hurricanes to worry about and with theKommandeurleading, we felt we could relax. For a long time we flew at 1,500 metres with nothing to do but follow Wick and occasionally check our instruments: water, oil temperature, pressures, revolutions, etc. For the old hands this was habitual and automatic. On we flew in complete radio silence. Some pilots in the formation hadn't even switched on their radios, and I had time to reflect on other matters. Three days earlier I had scored my ninth victory, a Hurricane over Southampton. After my first burst of fire from very close behind, the Hurricane exploded and I had to swerve sharply to avoid the debris. But on the same mission I had lost one of my best pilots, the Staffel's seventh loss since the French campaign in May, and I hoped he was a prisoner and had not come down in the water. Weeks later, however, his naked body was washed ashore on the coast of the Cotentin peninsular. He could only be identified by his teeth.

After the months of operations over England, this flight was a real pleasure, almost like a pre-war Sunday afternoon stroll. Occasionally I checked our course or the position of my Staffel in relation to the Stab flight. It soon became obvious that orientation over the western part of Normandy was very difficult as there were no prominent landmarks, a situation made worse by the hazy conditions. But we all had complete faith in Hptm. Wick, holder of the Oak Leaves and the third-most successful fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe after Molders and Galland.

After half an hour on the same course I began to think that we should have reached Brest and wondered if Wick was taking us south, which would explain why we wouldn't see the water before we reached our objective. Below, the countryside was confusing. There were no features which would allow us to orient ourselves, but I expected to see a landmark soon. When a large town, a city with railways, roads, a river and even a small airfield appeared, I wondered where it could be. No sign of the sea anywhere. We had then been flying for about three-quarters of an hour and soon the city disappeared behind us. Damn! We had learned to find our way about over England so we should have found out which city that was.

Then it occurred to me that it might have been Rennes, in which case we were much further south than I thought. Wick must be flying to the south coast of Brittany so we could go sightseeing! Then the coast appeared beneath us and, expecting the Kommandeur to alter course, I was ready, waiting to increase speed in order to stay with him as he turned to the right. But I waited in vain. We had been flying for an hour on the same heading, and now there was nothing below but water. Ahead, in the haze, an island appeared. I looked at my map and wondered if this was Belle Ile, and whether Wick would use it as a turning point, but we continued to fly on. Now there was only the sea below us. Where were we going? What was Wick up to? This was completely incomprehensible. We had complete faith in him, of course especially since his meeting with the Fuhrer, but I grew increasingly anxious until the fear of the water and the fixed course caused me to think the unthinkable; perhaps the Kommandeur didn't realize where we were.

My eyes moved again to the map on my knee and to the endless water ahead. My mind raced and I realized beyond doubt that we were straight out into the Bay of Biscay! Once we reached the point of no return, none of us would regain land even if we did turn around. Fear for myself and my comrades finally overcame all misgivings and I became very calm. I estimated we had fuel left for only another five minutes' flight. Regardless of whether I'd embarrass myself or have to face disciplinary action, something had to be done, and with firm determination I pressed the transmit button on the radio."Amboss from Wanne, Amboss from Wanne¹. We're flying out to sea. I'm turning round. No reaction. I repeated my message. Again nothing; either from the radio or in the movement of Wick's aircraft. No one had heard. They all had their radios turned off. I opened the throttle to close up with the Stab flight, drew alongside the Kommandeur and again found the courage to transmit: "Herr Hauptmann, we're flying into the ocean! I'm turning back!" At the same time, I rocked my wings twice, right in front of his nose, and then banked tightly to the left and flew in the opposite direction. In order to reach land as soon as possible, I turned exactly through 180 degrees and, once on my new course, I looked around and, seeing that my own Schwarm had followed, closed the throttle again. Our lives now depended on saving every drop of fuel. Once we four were together again, I glanced backwards and with enormous relief, saw the others turning steeply to follow us. Already I felt as if a huge weight had lifted from my mind, though I was still by no means certain that we would find anywhere to land, and the responsibility of leading the Gruppe to safety was a heavy burden. Belle Ile came into sight again and behind it, land. I made a left turn to fly north along the coast where conditions for an emergency landing were better.

Slowly, for safety and better visibility, I gained height and soon spotted a landing field, but it turned out to have been ploughed up and had wire stretched in every direction to prevent it being used. It had probably been like that since the war with France in May and June. Then, further inland, ahead and to the right, I saw a larger town. This was probably Quimper, but did it have an airfield? I turned towards the town and there was an airfield. It was in good condition, too, with the landing cross perfectly situated and the wind blowing from the west, so we came straight in. Wheels down, flaps down, side-slip to lose height and we're bumping over the grass, first myself and my wingman, then my other pair. We rolled out to the end of the field to make way for the others who were close behind. One actually landed with his engine stopped and two more ran out of fuel as soon as they'd touched down. We'd had a lucky escape. Wick came up to me and thanked me profusely for preventing the flight ending in disaster.

In the event, the mission from Brest was cancelled because of poor weather conditions. The plan had been for our destroyers to attack convoys in the Bristol Channel in order to draw out the Royal Navy, which was then to be attacked by Stuka’s while we provided protective cover against English fighters. Due to the bad weather we transferred back to Beaumont in pairs, but three pilots had to make emergency landings during which one was injured and another killed. My wingman and myself were flying low - not a wise thing to do considering the terrain in Normandy - and ran into a bank of low cloud. When pulling up, I somehow became disorientated and came out of the cloud almost on my back, righting the aircraft just in time. Another lucky escape.

Wick was unable to explain exactly what had happened but like everyone else, probably believed,    that with no enemy fighters or weather problems, the flight would just be a routine hour in the air. However, he was exhausted from the recent months of combat and I believe he was so preoccupied with what he had learned while visiting the Fuhrer, that he allowed his thoughts, to wander. He therefore failed to notice he was a few degrees off course and, not realizing we had exceeded our intended flight time, continued to fly onwards while he pondered recent events and, perhaps, what the future held for him. Only two months earlier he had been a mere Leutnant but his successes had brought rapid promotion. Now the prospect of taking command of a Geschwader worried and he felt too young for such a responsibility.

Nevertheless, a few days later, Wick was promoted to Major and became Kommodore of the Jagdgeschwader 'Richthofen'. On 29 November, I wrote in my diary, 'Kommodore hit by an Englishman yesterday, baled out near Isle of Wight. Search resumed this morning. Heavy sea - found nothing. Hopefully the English picked him up'. But on 7 December I wrote, 'Major Wick definitely missing - not in captivity. Goring has made enquiries in England... Wick is lost’.Out of respect for Wick, his exceptional career and his recent decoration by Hitler, we all arrived at an unspoken agreement and no word of our near fatal flight into the ocean ever trickled out. For myself, I was just satisfied with the outcome of this experience and pleased to receive the heart felt gratitude of the other pilots.

Siegfried Bethke joined the Luftwaffe in 1935. He served with JG2 during the French campaign. He recorded his first victory on 14 May 1940, when he shot down a French Morane fighter. Bethke recorded four victories during the French campaign. During the Battle of Britain Oberleutnant Bethke was the Staffelkapitän of 2./JG2. By the end of 1940, his victory tally had reached 10. On 5 June 1942, Bethke, now operating over the Channel front, shot down two RAF Spitfire fighters bewteen the Somme Estuary and Abbeville. He later suffered serious injuries in an accident that halted his flying career. Siegfried Bethke is credited with 14 victories. All his victories were recorded over the Western front.

Victories : 14 Awards : Units : JG2

The Messerschmitt Bf-109E

The lessons of the Spanish Civil War led, as we have seen, to the development of more powerful and better armed versions of which the Bf-109E-1 "Emil" was but the first. The E-1 model which came out of the Augsburg factory at the beginning of February was in fact the mass production of the E-O type. During 1939, more than 1500 Bf-109Es were produced and at the time of the invasion of Poland, no less than 1056 Bf-109s of all types, including 850 Bf-109E-1 and E-1Bs, equipped Luftwaffe units. Armament consisted of two MG-17 engine-mounted machine guns and two of the same calibre mounted in the wings. Trials were carried out on the following E-3 version with a cannon mounted to fire through the propeller hub, but were unsuccessful due to overheating and jamming; firing also produced vibrations. The engine was a Daimler-Benz DB610A producing 1175hp at take off and 1100hp at 14,500ft, driving a threeblade metal variable pitch VDM9-11081A propeller. This engine had been tested on ten pre-production Bf-109D-0 and E-0 before being accepted. The Bf-109E-1 did not have armor plating protecting the pilot and the fuel tank and the frames of the cockpit canopy were the same as the D version. The Battle of Britain showed that the cockpit needed 36 more protection, and the surviving Bf-109E-1s were brought up to E-3 standard with a more resistant canopy. Fighting revealed also that the machine could be more efficient if it was equipped with an underbelly pylon for an electrically launched bomb. This gave rise to the Bf-109E-1/B with an ETC50 pylon for SC50 bombs, tested successfully with the Bf-110Cs from the Erprobungsgruppe 210 over the Channel against English shipping. The German High Command demanded that all Bf-109 Jagdgeschwader include in their number an extra squadron of fighter-bombers, whilst the Bf-109E-4 in production where directly converted in the factory. Bf-109E-1s were also delivered to Spain and Switzerland. The E-4 version came out in May 1940. This was heavier than the E-3. Armor plating weighing about 50 kilos had been installed in the cockpit and behind the pilot whose head and shoulders, were now well-protected. These modifications had turned out to be indispensable following the first fights against the English. If some E-1 sand E-3s were thus equipped later, the armor plating was installed on the E-4s directly on the production lines. The cockpit canopy was changed also (some aircraft at the beginning of the series were still equipped with that of the E-3); an upright appeared higher up joining the side to the top frames, whereas the two little uprights on the windshield disappeared. The two wing-mounted 20 mm cannon were kept. These were MGFF "M" s capable of firing shells called Minen-Geschosspatronen; these had a better penetrating capability and their explosive charge contained within a thinner metal envelope was larger. The number of shells remained the same, 60 per cannon. The engine was also modified. Whereas the first E-4s received the DB601A, in the middle of 1940, they were equipped with the new DB601N with a 15% higher compression rate, giving 1200hp at take-off and 50hp more at altitude thanks to flattened pistons in place of the older more concave ones. From the outside there was nothing to differentiate the DB601N from the DB601A; only the higher octane number, 96 or 100 (or even C-3 petrol) instead of 88, showing on a little yellow and white triangle placed under the tank filler cap behind the cockpit differentiated them. Thus equipped, the aircraft became a Bf-109E-4/N. Following the success of the E-1 fitted with an underbelly bomb, this more powerful version was transformed for fighter-bomber missions (Bf-109E-4/B) by installing ETC 500 and ETC 50 pylons, taking either one 250 kg bomb or four smaller 50 kg ones. For this a little console was fitted at the bottom of the instrument panel controlling the bomb release. The first E-4 fighter-bombers were delivered to the Erprobungsgruppe 210 which was evaluating the Me210, and to the II(Schact)/LG2. These were used against Britain from July 1940. The intervention of the Luftwaffe in North Africa in February 1940 made the engineers adapt a tropical filter to prevent wear and tear from sand. The machines thus modified were indicated by the suffix 'Trap." and arrived with the I/JG27 at Ain el Gazala, in Libya in April 1941. The following models were the Bf-109E-5 and E-6 used for reconnaissance. The former, still with the old DB601A engine and the E-4 canopy, lost its wing-mounted cannon and carried an electrically controlled Rb21/18 camera. The latter was very similar to the E-5 except for the camera, an Rb50/30, which changed.

The Messerschmitt Bf-109E-7 was a long-range fighter, carrying a 66 gallon ventral tank in place of the 550lb bomb and appeared in August 1940. It could be distinguished form the E-4, of which it kept the engine and the canopy, by the propeller boss which now had a little cone closing off the hole for the cannon. It was used for fighter-bombing (E-7/B) or tropicalised with a special filter (E-7/Trop) with the I/JG27. Experiments were carried out on the E-7/Z (Z for Zusatzgerat, or additional system); a power-boosting system, the GM1, used nitrous oxide (N20), injecting oxygen into the engine and giving extra power of around 250-280hp at 24,000ft. 80 aircraft received this system in February 1941 which was adopted by the other Luftwaffe fighters later on. The last sub-variant was the E-7/U2, fitted with 5 mm thick metal plates protecting the engine and radiator from anti aircraft shots. Finally, the Bf-109E-8 and E-9 extrapolated from the E-1 and the E-7, of which they kept the engine and the canopy, appeared in August and September 1940 and were used as long distance fighters and for armed reconnaissance.

History
The Messerschmitt Bf-109 was the quintessential fighter for the Third Reich throughout the Second World War. Clandestine German involvement in the Spanish Civil War allowed Bf-109 pilots to develop tactics and responses that training alone could not provide, laying the groundwork for the coming Blitzkrieg. The Spanish Civil War test bed also allowed engineers to make adjustments to the system, increasing its ability to kill and destroy even more. By the time the Battle of Britain exploded onto worldwide headlines, the Bf-109 was already a highly feared opponent, matched in capability by only that of the Supermarine Spitfire. The Battle of Britain would pit the two awesome machines against one another, with the Spitfire eventually claiming the top prize. The Bf-109 continued on developing into a wide array of variants and subvariants. It is widely agreed that the "E" model was the definitive model of the series, combining lessons learned from models B, C, and D into one formidable package. Subsequently, the "G" model became the most produced and widely used of the series - to which over 36,000 were produced for the entire production line of all Bf-109s.

With Germany now fighting wars on multiple fronts, the extension of the Bf-109 line increased into the Soviet Union. Overall, the Bf-109 was numerically superior to most fighters in any involvement at any one time - be it attacking incoming bomber formations or intercepting Soviet supply columns. In the end, the Bf-109 would prove quite resilient and robust, so much so in fact, that the series would continue to be produced (in Spain under license as "Buchons") a full ten years after the war in Europe had concluded. Though the Focke-Wulf Fw-190 was the best German piston-engine aircraft of the war, the Bf-109 remains the most famous, thanks in part to the sheer number of aircraft produces and the total number of engagements involving Bf-109's. The aircraft series is credited with the destruction of more enemy aircraft than any other German fighter. In post-war use, the Bf-109 would see continued use by Spain and Israel. Production would still be continued in Czechoslovakia through an intact Bf-109 plant. Spanish Bf-109's would be fitted with Merlin engines and designated as the "Buchon" (transplated "pigeon") while the new nation of Israel would field them in combat during the early years. Total production of all Bf-109 types is estimated to be at or over 35,000 examples with the last "new build" variant being flown in 1956.

Training to fly the Messerschmitt Me-109E/G-2:
The first Finnish Messerschmitt pilots In February 1943 the first batch of Finnish pilots had been sent to Germany for training into the Messerschmitt. The training period kept extending and the pilots were getting frustrated, as no-one had yet gotten any flights on the Messerschmitts. Finally the group leader, Ehrnrooth, marched angrily to the plane halls, catched the German responsible for the planes and gave him a loud, hard worded dressing in broken German, demanding to get a Messerschmitt. Us others were on side, watching the event amused, as the German was clearly clueless what was going on, not understanding Erhnrooth. Finally the German managed to call his superior, a leutnant, who got the same loud treatment. The poor officer surrendered in front of this mad Finnish major. If he wanted to kill himself, let him. One Me 109E was pulled out of the hangar. The cloud level was 400 meters and the German leutnant suspected, that it is way too low. Ehrnrooth explained, that 400 metes is usual in Finland, at this time of the year. A short inspection of the plane and soon the 1100 HP engine pulled the major into the sky. Erhnrooth was an experienced fighter pilot and he tested how the plane reacted and controlled in different speeds. Then he made some acrobatics and one touch 'n' go. After 45 minutes he landed, with fine 3-pointer. The plane was refueled and also Pive managed to fly a familiarization flight, before the weather got too poor for flying. Both thought the plane was enjoyable and easy to fly, but suggested us to land in slower speed than the Germans taught. Many Germans had ended up in the fields, after running out of runway when landing with too high speeds. Now the German leutnant was conviced of our skills and promised our four planes for the next day. I flew my familiarization flight with an Emil and found it easy and enjoyable to fly. As the day progressed all our pilots managed to fly the Emil at least once. Ehrnrooth, Ervi and Lahtela managed to fly also the Gustav. The German trainer was amazed to see how our Messerschmitt familization flights progressed without difficulty. The most amazing detail was how our pilots were immediately landing 3-pointers even with the Gustav, requiring less than half of the length of runway the Germans needed. The Germans' problem with the 1475 HP Gustav was, that they raised the tail immediately after pushing the throttle fully forward. The strong engine created a tendency to swing the tail. When landing the Germans had way too much speed, so it was hard to control to plane when the wheels touched ground and the plane bounced back into air. On 21st February (1943) I got my second flight with a Emil. I felt ready to move into the Gustav, but the weather turned bad and flights had to be suspended. Finally the fog lifted, on 27.2., I flew my first flight with Gustav and all others finished their flights with Emils. However, on next day all flights were interrupted, when the German pupils wrecked for Messerschmitts. 1 3. I finally got my second flight with Gustav and I felt ready to continue to the Messerschmitt factory, to get our own planes. (Snipped. Jumping over the visit at the factory, the parties and singing and return flight towards Finland, though Germany and Baltics.) The last phase was flown in most perfect weather. We flew a honorary sweep over Helsinki, in tight formation, kind like showing that here we are now, ready to protect you from enemy bombings. The landing to Malmi airport were faultless. The Germans thought the Malmi airfield, with its only partially coated runways, as a hard place. They had lost here many planes, that were transferring towards north (to Luftloffe 5). The local German detachment was waiting for us in the field, with their fire-brigade in readiness, expecting the worst. He had been told that we had only had a few flights in the Messerschmitts. The fire-brigade chief was clearly very relieved after all planes had landed, without mishaps. - Lauri Pekuri, Finnish

Web References:
http://www.virtualpilots.fi/feature/articles/109myths/

Specifications:
Model Messerschmitt Bf-109E-7
Length 28.67 ft | 8.74 m
Width 32.35 ft | 9.86 m
Height 11.15 ft | 3.40 m
Engine(s) 1 x Daimler-Benz 1,200 hp DB 605A liquid-cooled inverted V12-cylinder piston engine.
Empty Weight 4,440 lbs | 2,014 kg
MTOW 6,100 lbs | 2,767 kg
Max Speed 359 mph | 578 km/h | 312 kts
Max Range 680 miles | 1,094 km
Ceiling 36,499 ft | 11,125 m | 6.9 miles
Climb Rate 3,300 ft/min (1,006 m)
Hardpoints 1
Armament
1 x 20mm cannon in propeller hub
4 x 7.9mm machine guns (2 in engine cowling; 2 in wings)
Provision for one bomb under fuselage.
Variants listing below covers armament variation in other models.
Accommodations 1
Operators Nazi Germany, Czechoslovakia, Israel and Spain.

Major Variants
* Bf-109V-7 - Prototype for first series production model; armed with 2 x machine guns and 1 x MG
FF 20mm cannon.
* Bf-109A - Preproduction Model
* Bf-109B - First Series Production Model; fitted with Jumo 210 engine of 610hp.
* Bf-109B-2 - 24 examples produced
* Bf-109C - Preproduction Model
* Bf-109D - Preproduction Model fitted with Daimler-Benz DB 600A inline piston engine.
* Bf-109E - Initial Production Model Designation.
* Bf-109E-1
* Bf-109E-2
* Bf-109E-3
* Bf-109E-4
* Bf-109E-5
* Bf-109E-6
* Bf-109E-7 - DB 605A engine; 1 x 20mm cannon firing through propeller hub; 2 x 7.9mm machine
guns in engine cowling; 2 x 7.9mm machine guns in wings.
* Bf-109E-8
* Bf-109E-9 - Fitted with Daimler-Benz DB 601A engine generating 1,100hp.
* Bf-109F - Aerodynamic refinements; fitted with Daimler-Benz DB 601E or 601N powerplants;
redesigned cowling, wings and tail.
* Bf-109F-1
* Bf-109F-2
* Bf-109F-3
* Bf-109F-4
* Bf-109F-5
* Bf-109F-6
* Bf-109G - "Definitive Bf-109"; fitted with Daimler-Benz DB 605 inline piston engine.
* Bf-109G-0 - Preproduction "G" Model
* Bf-109G-1 - Fitted with DB 605A engine; provision for pressurized cockpit; emergency power boost
system.
* Bf-109G-2 - Sans power boost system
* Bf-109G-3 - Provision for pressurized cockpit; emergency power boost system.
* Bf-109G-4 - Sans power boost system
* Bf-109G-5 - Provision for pressurized cockpit; emergency power boost system.
* Bf-109G-6
* Bf-109G-7
* Bf-109G-8
* Bf-109G-9
* Bf-109G-10 - Fastest of "G" Model variants; sans wing machine guns; power boost enabled;
increased endurance.
* Bf-109G-11
* Bf-109G-12
* Bf-109G-13
* Bf-109G-14
* Bf-109G-15
* Bf-109G-16
* Bf-109H - High-Altitude Variant; increased wingspan.
* Bf-109H-1
* Bf-109K - Improved Bf-109G Model fitted with Daimler-Benz 605 inline piston engine.
* Bf-109K-1
* Bf-109K-2
* Bf-109K-3
* Bf-109K-4 - Last of operational Bf-109's; power boost enabled; DB 605D engines; 2 x MG 151
15mm cannons semi-recessed above engine; 1 x MK 108 20mm cannon OR 1 x MK 103 30mm
cannons firing through propeller hub.
* Bf-109K-5
* Bf-109K-6 - Last of operational Bf-109's; power boost enabled; DB 605D engines; 2 x MG 131
12.7mm machine guns in engine cowling mount; 2 x MK 103 30mm cannons in external underwing
mounts.
* Bf-109K-7
* Bf-109K-8
* Bf-109K-9
* Bf-109K-10
* Bf-109K-11
* Bf-109K-12
* Bf-109K-13
* Bf-109K-14 - Final Bf-109 Variant; fitted with DB 605L engine; limited to 2 production examples.
* Bf-109T - Converted Bf-109E models for planned carrier usage; 10 such examples.
* Ha-1109 - Spanish-production Bf-109G model built by Hispano.
* S-199 - Czechoslovakia-production Bf-109G model built by Avia.