Messerschmitt Bf 109

Prototypes

The first prototype (Versuchs 1 or V1) was completed by May 1935, but the German engines were not yet ready. In order to get the designs into the air, the RLM acquired four Rolls-Royce Kestrel VI engines by trading Rolls-Royce a Heinkel He 70 Blitz to test their engines on. Messerschmitt received two of these engines, and started work on adapting V1 to mount it. This work was completed in August, and V1 took flight tests in September 1935. It was then sent to the Luftwaffe Test Center at Rechlin to take part in the contest.

Related Topics:
Rolls-Royce Kestrel - Heinkel He 70 - Rechlin

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By the late summer the Jumo engines were starting to become available, and V2 was completed with the Jumo 210A of 610 hp (448 kW) in October 1935. V3 followed, being the first to actually mount guns, but another 210 was not available and it ended up delaying the flight of V3 until May 1936. Like V1, V2 and V3 were sent to Rechlin after acceptance tests at the factory.

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The flight data of these three planes were very nearly identical. The maximum airspeed was about 470 km/h at 4000 m altitude, and the service ceiling was about 8300 m.

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