Messerschmitt Me 109

USAAF P-51 Mustang pilots tell the story of when they shot down a flight of Mistel combinations on their way to attack the Royal Navy’s home fleet at Scapa Flow

USAAF P-51 Mustang pilots tell the story of when they shot down a flight of Mistel combinations on their way to attack the Royal Navy’s home fleet at Scapa Flow

The three combinations shot down on Feb. 3 had been on their way to participate in Operation Dragon’s Lair, a… Read More

3 months ago

The story of the “Messerspit:” when Germans fitted a Spitfire with a DB 605A, they found it was better than the Merlin Version.

A new engine support structure was built onto the Spitfire’s fuselage and the DB 605 engine and cowling panels added.… Read More

4 months ago

Did you know Luftwaffe Bf 109 pilot Erich Hartmann did not fire until the enemy was as close as 66 feet? How the most successful fighter ace in aviation history scored Air-to-Air Kills.

To give an idea how dangerous this is, Erich Hartmann would only have barely a second to get out of… Read More

4 months ago

Legendary German Ace Adolf Galland explains why Operation Bodenplatte, the final large-scale low-level attack on Allied airfields was Luftwaffe’s Death Blow

'The Luftwaffe received its death blow at the Ardennes offensive. In unfamiliar conditions and with insufficient training and combat experience,… Read More

6 months ago

The story of Bill Overstreet’s P-51B Berlin Express, the Mustang that flew under the Eiffel Tower in hot pursuit of a Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109

The P-51B Mustang “Berlin Express” achieved legendary status in an epic World War II dogfight in Paris in 1944, piloted… Read More

6 months ago

The day Legendary Luftwaffe Ace Adolf Galland asked Reich Marshal Hermann Goering a Squadron of Spitfires

Goering turned to Galland. "And you? What do you want'?" “l'd like a squadron of Spitfires for my Geschwader!" On… Read More

9 months ago

The story of the crew of a badly damaged American B-17 that was saved by a Luftwaffe Bf 109 pilot that escorted the crippled bomber over the North Sea

There, alongside the defenseless B-17, German ace Franz Stigler decided to break the cycle of violence, to spare the bomber… Read More

9 months ago

Legendary Luftwaffe Bf 109 Ace Werner Mölders tells the story of when he was shot down by Armée de l’Air D.520 Ace René Pomier Layrargues

‘I am at about 800m, when suddenly there is a bang and the sparks fly across the cockpit. The throttle… Read More

1 year ago

Legendary German Ace Adolf Galland tells the story of when He nearly Burned to Death after his Messerschmitt Bf 109 was badly damaged by a RAF Spitfire

On Jun. 21, 1941, Galland had blasted a Spitfire out of a formation north-east of Boulogne. He watched the flaming… Read More

2 years ago

Here’s why the Horten Ho 229 WW II German low-drag Bomber may have been the First Stealth Aircraft (although it Never Entered Service)

If it were true that the Horten Ho 229 was conceived not only as a low-drag bomber but also to… Read More

2 years ago

B-17 Pilot William R Lawley Jr brought back his Stricken Fortress in England from a Mission over Leipzig with its Bombs still aboard, 7 Wounded Crew Members and two Engines Ablaze

B-17 pilot 1st Lt William R Lawley Jr earned the nation's highest award for gallantry at the risk of his… Read More

2 years ago

The story of the Fleet Air Arm F4Fs that overwhelmed Luftwaffe Bf-109Gs and why the little Wildcat could be more than a match for the legendary Messerschmitt Bf 109

In the final days of the war Fleet Air Arm Squadron 882 F4F Wildcat fighters overwhelmed some Messerschmitt Bf-109Gs of… Read More

2 years ago

During World War II Germans re-engined a Spitfire with a DB 605A. It was found to be better than the Merlin version.

Performance of the Spitfire with the DB 605 was superb - significantly better than the Merlin version. The Supermarine Spitfire… Read More

2 years ago

The dogfight that proved the Dutch Fokker G.1 fighter was a serious threat for Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109

The Bf 109 that first attacked him was turning to get on the G.1’s tail but 1e Luitenant Gerben Sonderman… Read More

2 years ago

During WWII Axis pilots tested captured Allied aircraft: they deemed the Spitfire a miserable fighter, the LaGG–3 poorly maneuverable and the P-51 disconcerting

‘The Spitfire handles well, is light on the controls, faultless in the turn and has a performance approaching that of… Read More

2 years ago

Final Dogfight – May 8, 1945: Who scored the last aerial victory of the air war in Europe?

There are numerous reports of American and Soviet aircraft engaged in combat with one another on May 8 and afterwards.… Read More

3 years ago

How a captured Focke-Wulf Fw 190A led to the development of the Spitfire Mk IX, the best close-in fighter of WWII

'Fighter pilots of every nationality thought the Spitfire Mk IX was the best close-in fighter of them all,' AVM 'Johnnie'… Read More

3 years ago
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