Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/08/05
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Thu, Aug 05, 2004 at 10:53:10AM +0100, Peter Dzwig wrote: > I thought that the last (Spanish) versions of the Me 109G were Hispano > powered. I believe that to have been true of the one that the founder of > the OFC (his name alludes me) crashed a few years back No, it was the first Spanish versions which had Hispano engines. When surplus Merlins became available, they were quickly adopted. They were more powerful, much cheaper, and turned the right way. The BF109 had an asymmetrical rudder to help counteract the engine's torque; but the Hispano engine turned in the opposite direction to the original Daimler Benz, so pilots of the earliest versions had to keep a heavy foot on the right (left?) pedal to fly straight. This leads me to believe that the Hispano engines were only intended to be a temporary measure, since it should have been simple to fix the rudder. Willi Messerschmitt was working for Hispano Aviaci?n at the time, and I'm sure he heard a lot about it! The ones in the Battle of Britain movie were definitely Merlin powered (you can tell by the location of the exhaust pipes). The Czhek versions had Junker Jumo engines, which I've read were horrible in that application (too much torque for a fighter as well as turning the wrong way). But as far as I know they were the only postwar BF109 variants to fly in combat (with the Israeli air force in 1948).