Messerschmitt

Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) is a famous German aircraft manufacturer, known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, notably the Bf 109 and Me 262. The company survived in the post-war era, undergoing a number of mergers and changing its name from Messerschmitt before being bought by DASA in 1989.

Background

The Messerschmitt story begins with Professor Willy Messerschmitt joining the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke in Augsburg/Bavaria in 1927 and forming a design team. He promoted a concept he called "light weight construction" in which many typically separate load-bearing parts were merged into a single re-enforced firewall, thereby saving weight and improving performance. The first true test of the concept was in the Bf 108 Taifun sports-plane, which would soon be setting all sorts of records. Based on this performance the company was invited to submit a design for the Luftwaffe's 1935 fighter contest, winning it with the Bf 109 based on the same construction methods.†

From this point on Messerschmitt became a favourite of the Nazi party, as much for his designs as his political abilities and the factory location in southern Germany away from the "clumping" of aviation firms on the northern coast. Messerschmitt AG was incorporated as a separate company on July 11 1938, with Willy Messerschmitt as chairman and managing director. The renaming of Bayerische Flugzeugwerke to Messerschmitt AG on that date, resulted in all future types being designated Me instead of Bf. Existing types, such as 109 and 110, retained their earlier designation in official documents, although sometimes the newer designations were used as well. In practise, due the RLM naming system, all Messerschmitt aircraft from 108 to 163 are designated with Bf prefix, all afterwards as Me.

Wartime activity

During the war Messerschmitt became a major design supplier, their Bf 109 and Bf 110 forming the vast majority of fighter strength for the first half of the war. Several other designs were also ordered, incluing the enormous Me 321 Gigant transport glider, and its six-engined follow on, the Me 323. However for the second half of the war, Messerschmitt turned almost entirely to jet-powered designs, producing the World's first operational jet fighter, the Me 262 Schwalbe (“Swallow”). They also produced the DFS-designed Me 163 Komet, the first, and only, rocket-powered design to enter service.

Messerschmitt had its share of poor designs as well; the Me 210, designed as a follow-on to the 110, was a disaster that almost led to the forced dissolution of the company. The design problems were eventually addressed in the Me 410 Hornisse, but only small numbers were built before all attention turned to the 262. Late in the war, Messerschmitt also worked on a heavy "Amerikabomber" design, the Me 264, which flew in prototype form but was too late to see combat.

Post-war

After WW2 the company was not allowed to produce aircraft. One alternative the company came up with was the three wheeled motorcycle/bubble car or Kabinenroller (cabinscooter) KR175 / KR200. According to an urban legend, it was made with old aeroplane parts. This is not true but as it was designed by an aircraft engineer, Fritz Fend, it is probably no coincidence it looks somewhat like an aeroplane. A well known appearance of this car is in Terry Gilliam's Brazil, to great effect, and a red KR200 was owned by the singer Elvis Presley.

The cars were actually made by Fend's own company in the Messerschmitt works at Regensburg and Willy Messerschmitt had very little to do with the vehicles other than ruling that they carried his name. Fend's aircraft influence certainly showed itself in his desire to achieve a light yet stiff frame with low wind resistance from the tandem seating with aerodynamic steel body. This resulted in a surprisingly high performance from 175 and later 200cc single cylinder two-stroke engines. Some would say that his ultimate achievement with the Kabinenroller was the four-wheeled TG500 or 'Tiger' with a twin cylinder 490cc engine capable of higher speeds and sports car handling. However, there is little doubt that the best developed and most successful was the three-wheeled KR200. Production of the KR200 ceased in 1964.

Return to aviation

In 1968 Messerschmitt AG merged with Bölkow, and one year later the aviation department of Blohm + Voss was added. The company then changed their name to Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm. In 1989 it was taken over by Daimler Benz Aerospace AG

Aircraft

Model	Name	First flight	Remarks
Bf 108	Taifun (Typhoon)	1934	trainer & transport
Bf 109		September, 1935	fighter, bomber interceptor; later versions as Me 109
Bf 110		12 May, 1936	twin-engine heavy fighter, night fighter
Me 155		not built	high-altitude fighter, developed from Bf 109; not built, project transferred to Blohm und Voss as the Bv 155
Bf 161			heavy fighter; prototype
Bf 162	Jaguar	1937	schnellbomber (fast bomber) based on Bf 110
Bf 163			STOL reconnaissance aircraft; prototype built by Weserflug AG
Me 163	Komet (Comet)	early 1941	rocket-powered interceptor
Me 209		1 August, 1938	designed to break world air speed record; attempted fighter conversion failed
Me 209-II		1943	fighter; update to Bf 109, never produced
Me 210		September, 1939	twin-engine heavy fighter; also used for reconnaissance
Me 261	Adolfine	1941	designed as long-range record-setter; three built and used for reconnaissance
Me 262	Schwalbe (Swallow)	18 July, 1942	twin-engine fighter & attack aircraft; first operational jet-powered fighter
Me 236		never flown	rocket-powered interceptor; advanced development of Me 163
Me 264	Amerika (America)	23 December, 1942	strategic bomber, developed under Amerika Bomber program
Me 265		not built	attack aircraft, proposed
Me 309		July, 1942	fighter; advanced but underperforming design meant to replace Me 109
Me 310		not built	pressurized Me 210 development, proposed
Me 321		7 March, 1941	large transport glider
Me 323	Gigant (Giant)	Fall, 1941	large transport aircraft; powered development of Me 321
Me 328		Fall, 1943	pulsejet-powered selbstopfer or parasite fighter
Me 329			heavy fighter-bomber; unpowered glider only
Me 334			tailless fighter, similar to Me 163 (development abandoned)
Me 409	Zwilling (Twin)		heavy fighter; combined two Me 209 fuselages into one airframe, similar to the Me 109Z and Heinkel He 111Z (development abandoned)
Me 410	Hornisse (Hornet)	1943	twin-engine heavy fighter and fast bomber; development of Me 210
Me 509		not built	fighter, based on Me 309, with engine located behind cockpit as in P-39 Airacobra
Me 510		not built	twin-engine fighter-bomber; Me 410 derivative
Me 600	Bussard (Buzzard)		rare, provisional designation for Arthur Sack A.S.7V-1
Me 609			heavy fighter; combined two Me 309 fuselages into one airframe, as with Me 109Z and Me 409 (development abandoned)
P.1101		not flown	prototype swing-wing jet interceptor; later inspired Bell X-5

External links

http://www.military.cz/.../lampyridae/Lampyridae.htm
http://forums.xplanefreeware.net/lofiversion/index.php/t2431.html
http://www.messerschmitt.co.uk