Willy Messerschmitt was born on June 26, 1898 in Frankfurt am Main. (in terms of sources - the Bavarian city of Bamberg).
Messerschmitt's dream of building aircraft was born at the age of five, when the son of a Bavarian wine merchant first saw a Zeppelin floating in the sky. At the age of 15, he began gliding, and a year later he created and tested his first aircraft.
After graduating from school, he became an assistant to the famous gliding pioneer Friedrich Hart, and he, in turn, during the First World War helped the boy enter a military flight school. Together they built the Hart-Messerschmitt S8 glider, on which Hart set a world record in 1921, staying in the air for 21 minutes. The gliders of the Hart-Messerschmitt design were produced in 14 modifications.
In 1923, Messerschmitt graduated from the Munich Technical Institute and received an engineering degree. In the same 1923, Messerschmitt founded his company in Bamberg, Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau. And in the same 1923 he parted forever with Friedrich Hart. The company built motor gliders S15, S16 Bubi and S16a Betty, and in 1925 the first real aircraft M17 Ello, a two-seat monoplane, appeared. In the same 1925, Messerschmitt took to the air for the first time in his life - and received a “baptism of fire”... ending up in the hospital after an emergency landing.
The experience gained from working on the M17 allowed Messerschmitt to design the M18 light transport aircraft for a pilot and three passengers. The prototype aircraft had a wooden structure, but for the first time a version of an all-metal structure and with a light alloy skin went into production. It received an order for 12 aircraft from Theo Kroneyss, who was creating an airline to serve local airlines Nordbeierische Werkersflig GmbH (Nordbeierische Werkersflig GmbH). On March 25, 1926, Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau GmbH was founded. The success of the M18 allowed Messerschmitt to receive subsidies from the Bavarian government.
On July 30, 1926, the Bavarian government's Ministry of Transport and the banking house Merck, Fink and Co. created Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). At that time it was still completely impossible to imagine that in a new world war this company would produce 40,000 combat aircraft, 43% of the total production of the aircraft industry of the Third Reich. It was there that all the famous Messerschmitt models with the letters Bf on the fuselage were born (only at the end of World War II they were changed to Me). The birth of each of them took place in agony. During testing, accidents occurred, which particularly worried investors.
It was not profitable for the government to finance both airlines separately, and it put pressure on Messerschmitt to merge with BFW. Messerschmitt initially disagreed, seeking to maintain his independence.
In the end, it was agreed that Messerschmitt would design aircraft, retaining patents and copyrights, and mass production would be transferred to the BFV, which dissolved its design bureau and switched exclusively to the production of Messerschmitt aircraft. Thus, the two companies retained their legal personality, although in fact they operated as a single entity. The agreement was signed on September 8, 1927, and the M18b was transported to Augsburg.
Variants were created M18, M20b, a training biplane M21, which was expected to replace the Flamingo, a twin-engine bomber M 22 for the Reichswehr, a two-seat sports monoplane M23, and an eight-seat passenger M24. M21 was released in two copies. Work on the M22 bomber was stopped after the crash of the prototype aircraft.
M23 was a success, but in 1929 the company's financial situation deteriorated sharply. Lufthansa canceled the contract for 10 M20b already under construction and demanded the advance payment back. As a result, the BFV lost 600,000 marks. The company had no choice but to declare bankruptcy on June 1, 1931.
Although Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau actually became part of the BFW three years earlier, legally it retained patent and copyright rights and increased its capital by 8,000 marks. Together with BFW's creditors, Messerschmitt managed to achieve Lufthansa's acceptance of the M20b passenger aircraft and the experimental M28 high-speed mail aircraft, created according to the latter's requirements. Messerschmitt also managed to obtain orders to develop a two-seat sports aircraft specifically for the Euro-Rundflug of 1932, and in December an agreement was reached with BFW's creditors to lift the bankruptcy order. It was officially formalized on April 27, 1933.
Thus, in May 1933, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG started virtually from scratch, with only 82 people employed. Messerschmitt headed the company together with Rakan Kokotaki. However, Erhard Milch, the former managing director of Lufgansa, and now the head of the State Secretariat for Aviation Affairs, who had a strong antipathy towards Messerschmitt, although he was unable to leave the company without orders at all, achieved the limitation of its work only to licensed production. The first orders were for 30Do.11 and 24 He.45 , but they allowed BFV to revive, and by the end of 1933 the company already had 524 employees.
In the elections of 1933, the National Socialists, led by Hitler, came to power. In their government was Messerschmitt's worst enemy - Erhard Milch, the former managing director of Lufthansa and a convinced Nazi, who was appointed Minister of Civil Aviation shortly before the elections. They did not get along, oddly enough, on personal grounds. Milch did not forgive the designer for the death of his close friend, who died in an accident of one of the Messerschmitt models, and swore that he would not see government orders.
Therefore, the designer had to urgently acquire his own high-ranking patrons in the new power structures. One of them was Hitler’s deputy in the party, Rudolf Hess, himself a passionate aviator. The second is a former pilot, World War I veteran Theo Kroneis, who worked under the future commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe Goering. But even despite such connections, Messerschmitt “at the top” had a reputation as a reliable businessman-manager, but a worthless designer, whose models never meet deadlines and constantly struggle. The new German authorities, however, entrusted him with an order for the production of 12 aircraft designed by Heinkel and made it clear: not to design anything himself! But the stubborn German showed character - unfortunately for the whole of Europe, which soon had the opportunity to become acquainted with Messerschmitt’s new “product”.
Meanwhile, the designer Messerschmitt, together with Walter Rethel who joined them fromArado , released the M35 sports monoplane, designed the eight-seat light passenger M36 by order of Romania, and again prepared the light M37 by order of Romania. As a result, when the BFV received an order to prepare a light aircraft for the Challenge de Tourisme Internationale of 1934, the M37 was quickly redesigned to meet new requirements under the designation Bf.108. Even before the first flight of the Bf.108, despite the lack of experience in developing combat aircraft, the company began developing a single-seat fighter Bf.109.
In 1934, the Ministry of Aviation announced an open competition to design a new fighter for the Luftwaffe. The fact that a big war was just around the corner, and with it the expected golden shower of military orders, was not a secret to any of the industrialists. Therefore, three “monsters” of the then German aircraft industry - Arado, Focke-Wulf and Heinkel - entered the competition for the tender. Messerschmitt was also allowed into the competition (realizing that there would be no second chance like this, the designer used all his connections to get among the applicants), but they unofficially made it clear that he had nothing to count on winning. However, he decided to win! Because for a long time I had been hatching a project for a machine the like of which world aviation had never known. Its competitors relied on the experience of the previous war, when air battles were called “dog fights” - they valued maneuverability rather than speed. Messerschmitt understood earlier than others that the time of biplanes acrobatically tumbling in the air was over, and victory would belong to new machines - high-speed, powerful monoplanes, rapidly gaining altitude and just as quickly diving at the enemy. This is how the experimental Bf109 model appeared before the eyes of the government commission. It made a strong impression on the officials - although the general opinion was still in favor of the Heinkel He112 aircraft. But by this time Messerschmitt had his own “hand” in the Ministry of Aviation. The post of head of the Technical Directorate was taken by the former pilot Udette, who seriously limited Milch’s power ambitions. At first, Udette didn’t believe in Bf109 either. But he quickly admitted his mistake and became one of the most ardent “lobbyists” for the plane, calling it “the best in the world.” Unbeknownst to Messerschmitt, his probable enemy, Great Britain, also helped. German intelligence was aware that the British were developing their own new generation Spitfire fighter, the design and main characteristics of which were strikingly similar to the Bf109. After the intelligence report, even in the inert bureaucratic mind, a worm of doubt began to appear - maybe Messerschmitt is right? And the future really belongs to his machine, if the enemy’s technical thought is moving in the same direction?
The rest, as they say, is history. During subsequent flight tests, the Bf109 fighter confirmed that it has no equal in Germany.
Although the 1935 tests revealed a clear favorite - the Heinkel He 112, many were impressed by the speed, rate of climb and diving qualities of the Messerschmitt machine, designated Bf 109. In 1936, Messerschmitt won a final victory over its competitor in the final tests, during which the He 112 pilot did not dare to repeat the Bf 109 maneuver and dive from a height of 7 kilometers.
In 1935, BFW began to expand rapidly. During the year the company received orders for 90 Ar.66, 115 Go.145, 70He.45, 30 He.50 and 32 Bf.108. This rate increased the following year when it was createdMesserschmitt GmbH, and land for a new plant was acquired in Regensburg. The international reputation acquired by Willy Messerschmitt after the release of the Bf.108 andBf.109 grew so much that on July 11, 1938, the board of directorsBFW decided to change its name to Messerschmitt AG, and Messerschmitt himself became chairman of the board and managing director.
By that time, many companies, including Focke-Wulf and Arado, began to produce aircraft under license from Messerschmitt. In 1939 the main producersBf.109 Erla Maschinenwerke in Leipzig and Gerhard Fieseler in Kassel became the main supplier of Messerschmitt fighters, but Wehner Neustader Wengtseuigwerke in Austria was chosen. Messerschmitt AG itself began to expand sharply since 1940. In addition to the plants in Augsburg and Regensburg, production was launched at the plants in Kematen near Insburg, and then at the plants in Leipheim, Schwadisch Hall, Dingolfing, Oberpfaffenhofen, Markersdorf and Oberammergau, which were mainly engaged in subcontract work. In October 1944, Messerschmitt's factories in the Augsburg and Regensburg area alone employed 33,000 people.
In the late 20s - early 30s, Messerschmitt also created light sports aircraft for aerobatics M-28 and M-35, and a 12-seat high-speed passenger aircraft that could reach a record speed for that time - 220 kilometers per hour. The latter was in operation until 1943. Willy Messerschmitt gained worldwide fame from the four-seater sports aircraft Me-108 Typhoon, on which many world speed records were set. Until now, the design solutions of the Me-108 are considered as a classic basis for the development of aircraft of a similar class.
In 1936, when the war began in Spain, the Bf109 seriously competed with the fastest fighter in the world at that time - our I-16. By the way, it was the successes of the Soviet aircraft in the Spanish skies that forced senior officials to make a completely insane decision from the point of view of the German “Ordnung”: to send prototypes of the Bf109 to Spain for a baptism of fire. At first, Messerschmitt's enemies rubbed their hands - his machines, which had not passed the full test cycle, more often broke down than took off. But each such breakdown only led to new improvements. And, by the end of the Spanish campaign, the E-series Bf109s that entered service with the Condor Legion squadron (the pilots nicknamed them “Emils” - that was Messerschmitt’s middle name) established parity in the air with the Soviet I-16s. And later, during the air operation "Battle of England", they prevailed not only over the outdated British Harriers, but also over the newest Spitfires. Until the middle of World War II, the Bf109 had no equal in the skies of Europe. Compared to the German “winged bullet” (as the newspapers dubbed the fighter), the Allied planes gave the impression of hovering in the air.
On April 26, 1939, on an Me-209 aircraft, German test pilot Fritz Wendel set an absolute speed record for propeller-driven aircraft - 755.1 kilometers per hour. This record lasted exactly 30 years and was broken only in 1969. However, the most successful model, according to experts, turned out to be the ME-109 fighter, the most popular vehicle of Hitler's military aviation - the Luftwaffe during World War II
In the photo: Willy Messerschmitt (left) and Adolf Galland (Commander of Fighter Aviation).
In the photo: Ernst Udett (Luftwaffe inspector) and Willy Messerschmitt.
The Messerschmitt Design Bureau also created the largest transport glider of that time - the Me-321. Put into production in 1941, the "Giant" was able to lift up to 22 tons of payload. Then the glider was also produced in a motor version.
In total, during the war years, the Messerschmitt company produced about 35 thousand Bf109 fighters - a record in the history of aircraft manufacturing. Another record was that all this time, dozens of brands of Allied fighters were actually opposed by one German (only towards the end of the war did the FW190 join him)! There is a third record - 352 enemy aircraft shot down by the best ace of World War II, Eric Hartman, flying only the Bf109. But by the end of the war, the Messers' advantage in the air had disappeared without a trace. They were competing with the new “growth” of Soviet aviation. Messerschmitt and his colleagues in England and the USA were not going to put up with the dictates. The British were especially successful, arming their air defenses with the latest technological miracle, inaccessible to the armies of other countries - radar.
The tireless Messerschmitt designed more and more new models. But neither the Bf109 fighter, which returned the world speed record to Germany, nor the giant Bf321, capable of carrying a tank, nor other new products from BFW went into production. The war was drawing to a close, and with it, Willy Messerschmitt's career was coming to an end.
However, shortly before his final collapse, he was still able to make another aviation sensation, also being among the pioneers of jet aviation, creating the Me-262, which set a new speed record. The twin-engine jet fighter made its first flight on July 18, 1942, and went into mass production in 1944. The Me-262 could reach speeds of up to 870 km per hour, 200 kilometers more than any other aircraft of this year could “squeeze out”. And the Me-163 A rocket fighter, piloted by Heini Dittmar, was the first in the world to overcome the speed mark of 1,000 km per hour.
The Me262 model became the first jet aircraft to prove itself in combat. But Messerschmitt’s machine was late - at first it was designed as an interceptor, then, on Hitler’s personal instructions, it was repurposed as a fighter-bomber, and at the very end of the war it was again “thrown” into interception. As a result of this bureaucratic leapfrog, time was lost: only dozens of vehicles out of the thousands assembled managed to make combat missions. At the end of the war, the Me262s remaining in hangars and airfields were dismantled for trophies by the winners. And for a long time afterwards, military experts noted the striking similarity of the American F-86 Saber and our Su-9 with the Messerschmitt “rocket plane”.
The designer himself, unlike many of his colleagues, did not want to cooperate with the Americans. After serving two years in prison on charges of using concentration camp prisoners in his factories, Willy Messerschmitt went to Spain, to join Franco, who did not forget the services rendered to him in 1936.
After the war, Willy Messerschmitt lost not only the right to design aircraft, but also his main aircraft factory in Augsburg. Meanwhile, Messerschmitt AG plants were located throughout Germany. The need for combat aircraft disappeared, and workers at Messerschmitt factories retrained to produce three-wheeled scooters and sewing machines. Willy Messerschmitt himself continued to work in his specialty, developing several training and supersonic aircraft for Spain and Egypt. However, none of them could even remotely approach the importance that the Me-109 had. The Messerschmitt era ended, and in post-war Germany his talent remained unclaimed.
To save the business, as well as to protect the company’s personnel from mass layoffs, Willy Messerschmitt persistently sought civilian orders that corresponded to the equipment of his factories and the qualifications of his employees. Having learned about Flitz Fend's developments, Messerschmitt agreed in 1952 to start production of Flitzer minicars at the Regensburg Steel & Metal Construction Company (R.S.M.) plant in Regensburg. Despite the “neutral” name, the company was directly related to Messerschmitt AG.
Flitz Fend was happy with the collaboration with Messerschmitt for three reasons. First, Messerschmitt paid Fend well. The second is that despite the collaboration of Messerschmitt AG with the Nazis, the authority of this company made it possible to quickly promote Fend cars not only in Germany, but also abroad. The third is the R.S.M. plant. produced "Flitzers" and subsequent models in mass quantities. And this, among other things, meant a good future for Flitz Fend himself (an engineer who created a mass-produced car is worth something!).
In 1952, Fend developed a new car, the Fend 150, which was presented to the public in March 1953. The car was nicknamed Kabienenroller (rolling cabin) - KaRo. One way or another, this development of the German aircraft designer was improved by the designers of R.S.M. Its design, according to rumors, was refined by Messerschmitt himself, and the new minicar began to be produced under the name Messerschmitt KR-175. The KaRo was similar to airplanes due to its low coefficient of aerodynamic drag, extremely low weight and aviation-style cabin layout (the passenger sat behind the driver). The KR-175 was equipped with a single-cylinder two-stroke Sachs engine with a displacement of 175 cm3 and a power of 9 hp. For just DM2100 (versions for the disabled were cheaper - from DM1500) you could buy a nimble little car, reliably protected from bad weather and reaching speeds of up to 90 km/h. For reference: the most popular of all people's cars of our time - the Volkswagen Kofr (Beetle) - at that time cost DM 4150.
After 2.5 thousand copies of the KR-175 were produced, major changes were made to the KaRo design: the Fichtel & Sachs engines were equipped with an electric starter and an improved automatic clutch design (the reliability of earlier versions caused many complaints from consumers). Meanwhile, Fend began developing a new model.
Pictured: KR-200
In the early spring of 1955, the Messerschmitt KR-200 car was presented to the public. It differed from its predecessor in a more powerful engine, improved interior layout, and more efficient air intakes for the engine cooling system. The view from his “cabinet light” was wider. In addition, the new car received standard pedals with a familiar layout (many KR-175s had the clutch lever on the steering wheel). 16 thousand Messerschmitt KR-200 cars were produced.
In the mid-1950s, Willy Messerschmitt was allowed to get involved with airplanes again, so Flitz Fend founded his own automobile company called Fahrzeug und Maschinenbau Regensburg (FMR). From that time on, Fend's cars were produced at his own factory, although for marketing reasons they still bore the Messerschmitt name. Until 1964, until the production of Messerschmitt cars was stopped, the FMR plant, all in Regensburg, produced 27 thousand Messerschmitts of various modifications...
Appetite comes with eating, and buyers of extremely cheap cars liked the sports version of the minicar with a cabin designed in the image and likeness of the cockpit of a two-seat fighter. In response to this, at the end of 1957, FMR presented the Messerschmitt TG-500 Tiger to the public. As the name suggests, the car received a “huge” 500 cm3 two-stroke Sachs engine, improved aerodynamics and - attention (!) - a fourth wheel. Yes! "Tiger" is a four-wheeled minicar with a traditional aviation interior layout for Messerschmitt cars. The Messerschmitt TG-500 was a fast sports car, but it cost twice as much as the KR-200. Incredibly, this car is more spacious inside than, for example, the new Austin Healey Sprite with a more conventional layout. Between 1958 and 1961, 950 Messerschmitt TG-500s were produced. To this day, the Fend/Messerschmitt “Tiger” remains one of the most tasty morsels for collectors of extraordinary cars...
In the photo: Willi Messreschmitt
The creator of the German aviation miracle returned to his homeland only in 1959 and restored his company, which later became part of the MBB aviation concern. He was the honorary chairman of the Messerschmitt - Bölkow - Blom concern; holder of a significant number of shares in this concern.
In the photo: Willy Messerschmitt
In total, by the end of his life (he died on September 16, 1978 in Munich), Willy Messerschmitt had several hundred patents, and his aircraft of various types were produced in a respectable edition of 45 thousand copies.
After the death of Willy Messerschmitt in 1978, one of the former Me262 pilots made a sensational statement: as if he was the first to break the sound barrier in April 1945! And although there is no documented evidence of this, specialists and aviation historians took the pilot’s statement seriously - like everything that was associated with the name of Messerschmitt.
Postal block issued for the 25th anniversary of the death of W. Messerschmitt.
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It has already been repeatedly discussed here how Yakovlev drowned Sukhoi and Gurevich, Magaziner stole engines, crests ruined St. Petersburg tank building, and the Georgians made an atomic bomb. Let's see how it was for them, over the hill.
As it was in Germany.
On January 30, 1933, NSDAP leader Adolf Hitler was appointed Reich Chancellor of the Weimar Republic. One of the most important tasks of the new government was the elimination of restrictions in the field of weapons imposed on Germany by the Versailles agreements and the creation of full-fledged armed forces. Already in May 1933, the Reich Ministry of Aviation was created, headed by Hermann Goering, who was entrusted with the organization of the air force - the Luftwaffe.
At the beginning of 1934, the technical department (T-AMT) of the Reich Air Ministry developed technical requirements for a modern single-seat monoplane fighter, which was supposed to replace the Henkel He-51 and Arado Ar 68 biplanes. These characteristics, together with the order of prototypes, were sent to leading aircraft design firms - Heinkel, Focke-Wulf and Arado Flugzeugwerke. Willy Messerschmitt was (suddenly!) denied a development contract on the grounds that his company (Bayerische Flugzeugwerke, (Bf.)) had no experience in creating high-speed combat aircraft. The technical department was of the opinion that if Messerschmitt could create a fighter, the latter would not be able to compete with the aircraft of more experienced designers Walter Rethel and Ernst Heinkel. The head of the aviation secretariat, Erhard Milch, fully shared this opinion. He even believed that if Messerschmitt was successful, he would still refuse Bayerische Flygtsoigwerke (Bf.) to place an order for production.
The hostility between Willy Messerschmitt and Erhard Milch stretched back to 1929 and worsened even more with Lufthansa breaking the contract for ten transport aircraft already being assembled in Augsburg. Messerschmitt considered the termination of the contract illegal, and BFW, due to the inability to return the advance to Lufthansa, was forced to declare bankruptcy. The war between Messerschmitt and Milch escalated. By the time of the resurrection of the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke, Milch, to whom Hitler himself was indebted, was appointed chief of the secretariat for aviation affairs. Since Milch was now often replacing Goering, the head of the secretariat quickly gained enormous power, which allowed him to limit Messerschmitt's work and his company's orders to licensed production only.
Not receiving orders from the German Ministry of Aviation, Messerschmitt was forced to apply for permission to develop aircraft in the interests of foreign countries. Its co-manager R. Kokotaki managed to conclude a contract with the Romanian company ICAR from Bucharest for the development and sale of licenses for the production of several models of light aircraft. This gave rise to ill-wishers to accuse the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke of neglecting national interests. As a result of a loud scandal, proceedings with the Gestapo and the intervention of Rudolf Hess, the Technical Department involved Bavarian aircraft manufacturers in the development of a new fighter.
Legendary BF.109
The Bf.109's main competitor during testing was Ernst Heinkel's He 112 fighter.
After reviewing the technical specifications, the design team immediately began developing a new combat vehicle. Given the complex relationship with the Ministry of Aviation, Messerschmitt assessed the likelihood of receiving the main order as very low.
Because of this, it was decided to move away from strictly following the technical specifications and work on a proactive basis. Messerschmitt later recalled that if he focused on the technical specifications, the result would be a very mediocre aircraft.
The aircraft developed by the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke incorporated almost all the technical innovations of that time. The work on the project used the company's developments in creating the high-speed sports aircraft Messerschmitt Bf.108 Taifun. The new fighter was an all-metal monoplane with well-designed aerodynamics. It had retractable landing gear and an enclosed cockpit. To ensure high speed, a special small wing with extendable flaps was developed. It was assumed that the aircraft would be equipped with a new Junkers Jumo 210 engine with a power of 610 hp, but work on the airframe progressed much faster than work on the new engine, and the British Rolls-Royce Kestrel VI engine with a power of 695 hp was chosen to replace it.
The new fighter made its first flight on May 28, 1935. In accordance with the naming system adopted in Germany, it was designated Bf 109V1. In September 1935, the car was transported to Rechlin to the Luftwaffe training ground for comparative tests. Airlines Arado, Focke Wulf and Heinkel also presented their prototypes - Ar 80, Fw 159, He 112. The main battle took place between the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke and Heinkel fighters. Despite the fact that the speed of the first was 17 km/h higher than the speed of its competitor and it was easier to control, Luftwaffe specialists initially preferred Heinkel’s car. The famous World War I ace pilot Ernst Udet (who later became an ardent supporter of the aircraft’s adoption) also gave unflattering reviews of the Messerschmitt fighter.
The next prototype, the Bf 109V2, already equipped with a Jumo 210A engine, began test flights in January 1936. In two more modifications, Bf 109V3 and Bf 109V4, the requirements for strengthening weapons were taken into account. Significant changes were also made to Heinkel's fighter. In March 1936, having still not made a choice, the Luftwaffe placed a pre-production order for 10 fighters from both manufacturers. In August of the same year, Messerschmitt 109 was first demonstrated to the general public during the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games in Berlin. At the beginning of 1937, after military tests in real combat conditions, the Bf.109 was accepted into service as the main fighter of the Luftwaffe.
From book "Unknown Messerschmitt"(L.L. Antseliovich)
“The tour of Hitler and his retinue around the workshops of the plant in Augsberg continued. Messerschmitt acts as a diligent guide. “My Fuhrer, now I offer to see one of my new planes,” he turned to Hitler. And after an affirmative nod, he pointed with his hand to the massive gate in the side wall of the workshop, which silently slid away along the wall, opening a wide passage to the adjacent large and bright hangar. There, a huge four-engine long-range bomber appeared in all its glory, sparkling with varnish, to the amazed gaze of the guests. So far it was only a carefully made wooden model. An excited murmur spread among the generals of the Ministry of Aviation. If Hitler expressed satisfaction and interest with his entire appearance, then on Milch’s face one could easily see irritation and annoyance.
The sensitive Messerschmitt immediately assessed the situation. Yes, he did not count on a favorable assessment by the military of his project. He put his vision of what it should be into this long-range strategic bomber and designed it with money raised for it by the late General Walter Wever. Today Willy Messerschmitt had the last chance to receive an order for the serial construction of this bomber, convincing the head of state of the need for such an aircraft for Germany.
Addressing Hitler, the excited Messerschmitt, raising his left hand towards the model, announced that this plane, with an unprecedented speed for a bomber of 600 km/h, would deliver bombs weighing one ton to a distance of 6 thousand km, and began to explain what technical solutions this is ensured. Hitler listened attentively, crossing his arms tiredly over his stomach. His knowledge in the field of aviation was much more modest than in other areas of weapons. And he really valued Messerschmitt as the highest specialist in his field. It seemed to him that you couldn’t do without such an attack aircraft if you were thinking about military victory over your enemies. But Milch immediately expressed doubt about the reality of the flight characteristics declared by Messerschmitt.
Messerschmitt had a long-standing strained relationship with Milch. Since a series of accidents of his passenger M-20 and M-20v occurred in 1930–1931, in which several officers, Milch’s friends, died, he considered Messerschmitt to be to blame for everything. As director of Lufthansa, Milch revoked the contract for the supply of Messerschmitt aircraft and thereby caused the bankruptcy of the BF-W aircraft plant. Milch considered Messerschmitt a very impudent and weak designer. He did his best to prevent Messerschmitt from issuing orders for new aircraft, being convinced that there were more worthy and reliable aircraft designers.
Now Milch tried in every possible way to belittle Messerschmitt’s new development and noticed to Hitler that they had ordered such aircraft for a long time to Dornier and Junkers, but nothing good came of it. And what Messerschmitt shows is a passed stage.
Touched to the quick, Messerschmitt very emotionally, gesticulating with his hands, but firmly objected that bombers could not be built at such a speed, since Germany did not have such powerful engines as they have now.
Messerschmitt's ongoing reasoned defense of his project and the resulting discussion have already begun to persuade Hitler to the need to give priority to this four-engine bomber project. After all, Messerschmitt again created an outstanding example in this class of combat aircraft. But Milch did not give up. He was not afraid to go against the Fuhrer’s already established opinion and recalled that Germany was experiencing enormous difficulties in the supply of aluminum and other non-ferrous metals necessary for aircraft construction. Therefore, the Ministry of Aviation is convinced that a twin-engine bomber is optimal, since its construction requires significantly less scarce materials.
Hitler hesitated: he knew that Milch also expressed the opinion of his boss Goering, who was responsible for combat aviation. He did not want a new conflict and thought that for now he should refrain from deciding in favor of the Messerschmitt Bf-165 long-range four-engine bomber project.
This failure, of course, upset Willie - there was a chance to get a long-term government order for the car that you got and which you consider very necessary for Germany. But life goes on, and he will use the groundwork for this project in the next ones. He's not used to giving up. His long-range bomber will still fly! "
Who are you, Herr Milch?
Born on March 30, 1892 in the family of pharmacists Anton and Clara Milch. In 1910 he was refused entry into the Imperial Navy due to the fact that his father was Jewish.
In 1921, he began working for the Junkers aviation company and in 1928, thanks to his intrigues and toughness in eliminating competitors, he became the chief executive officer of Lufthansa. Through incredible efforts, he made this company one of the most advanced and promising in the world. He considered Lufthansa his brainchild and was proud of it.
Having become one of the leaders of German aviation, Milch began to actively denounce Hugo Junkers. As a result, the latter, a pacifist by conviction, was unreasonably accused of high treason, but was not tried in exchange for his transferring his company into state ownership. Since the late 1920s, Erhard Milch was closely associated with the Nazi movement and provided financial and transport services to prominent figures of the Nazi party: he gave Hitler an excellent airplane, and every month he transferred 1,000 marks from the company fund to Goering.
When the question of appointing a ministerial secretary of state first arose, the chief of the secret police, Rudolf Diels, arrived in Goering’s office with the Milch dossier. The secret police collected information on all officials, industrialists and financiers. From the dossier it follows: the mother is Aryan, the father is Jewish. Therefore, in the eyes of the Nazis, Milch is a Jew.
According to the principles of the party, Milch not only could not be Goering’s secretary, he should no longer run the national airline. But everything was not so clear if Goering himself was interested in this, who declared: “I myself will decide who is a Jew here and who is not.”
On November 15, 1941, the head of the Technical Directorate of the Ministry of Aviation, Ernst Udet, shot himself in Berlin, and Milch took his place.
Milch led the ministry quite actively, but made a number of mistakes, including with jet aviation (which can be discussed in a separate article).
In the Soviet Union, a short, blunt-nosed plane, nicknamed “donkey” by the pilots, became a real symbol of the country’s seemingly indestructible military power. The characteristic silhouette of the I-16 was seen by tens of thousands of people at air parades and was depicted on postage stamps and propaganda posters. In Nazi Germany, the brainchild of Willy Messerschmitt was also a symbol of the growing power of the Third Reich and the invincibility of its air force - the Luftwaffe. This book, based on declassified archival documents, eyewitness accounts and other sources, provides for the first time the most detailed history of the creation, testing, production and combat path of two iconic combat vehicles in the most little-known period - before the start of World War II. Particular attention is paid to the confrontation between two machines in the skies of Spain during the civil war in this country (1936–1939).
Who are you, Willy Messerschmitt?
Who are you, Willy Messerschmitt?
The history of the Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighter began in 1934, although the very idea of creating a fundamentally new, modern fighter appeared in Germany even earlier. The birth of the Bf-109 was, first of all, the result of a behind-the-scenes game characteristic of the history of the Third Reich and, in particular, of its official creator, Willy Messerschmitt. This game began back in 1931 and was inextricably linked with the successes and rise to power of the National Socialist Party - NSDAP.
So who was Willy Messerschmitt, this “gloomy German genius”?
His path to fame and recognition was not just thorny. To follow it to the end required incredible perseverance and faith in one’s own strength. He had enough of both, although perseverance sometimes grew into obstinacy, and self-confidence into delusions of grandeur.
Wilhelm (Willy) Emil Messerschmitt was born on June 26, 1898 in Frankfurt am Main. He was the second son from the second marriage of Ferdinand Baptist Messerschmitt and had four brothers and sisters: Ferdinand born 1884, Rudolf (Bubi) born 1902, Maria (Maia) born 1901. and Elizabeth (Betty, later Ella) [The names in parentheses are those that were used within the family.] born 1907. His father dreamed of becoming a mechanical engineer and studied at the Zurich Polytechnic University, but was forced to continue his father’s business - wine trading in the Messerschmitt store at Langestrasse 41 in Bamberg. Initially, his father's elder brother Andreas was supposed to become the successor to the family business, but he emigrated to the United States. In 1906, Ferdinand Messerschmitt and his entire family moved to Bamberg and took over his father's business.
In 1908, Willy Messerschmitt was assigned to the so-called New Gymnasium. Young Messerschmitt had diverse interests, because his uncles, who lived in Munich at that time, were examples for the boy. He was particularly influenced by the rather successful animal artist Pius Ferdinand Messerschmitt and the doctor of philosophy and geometry Johan Baptist Messerschmitt, who lived in Switzerland. For Willie, everything was interesting: natural science and technology, he was an excellent drawer and painter, and he read a lot and enjoyed it. When Willy Messerschmitt saw the testing of the Zeppelin Bodensee airship in Friedrichshafen the same year, and the following year, 1909, visited the International Aviation Exhibition (ILA) in Frankfurt am Main [This was the first aviation exhibition in Frankfurt am Main, it later moved to Berlin and until the Second World War it was the largest in Europe. In the mid-50s, the ILA was moved to Hanover, and in 1992 it returned to Berlin, where it continues to this day.], then his childhood interest in flying machines turned into a real passion, which from that moment became the meaning of his whole life.
At the age of 12, Willy Messerschmitt began building rubber-engined aircraft models, which became more and more complex - from a “whatnot” to a highly simplified monoplane. The father was very pleased with his son's success, and in the fall of 1910 he sent Willy to the Bamberg Real School.
In September 1913, young Willy Messerschmitt became one of the assistants of Friedrich Hart (Harth), one of the pioneers of aviation in Germany, who had been experimenting with gliders of his own design for three years on the Ludwager Kulm hill, about 20 km north of Bamberg, near the town of Schesslitz. By this time, Hart and his small group began building a third glider, the S-3.
Experiments with the S-3, which took place in late December 1913 - early 1914, showed that Hart and his assistants were moving in the right direction, and the group decided to build a new glider - the S-4. Messerschmitt has been involved in the development and construction of this aircraft from the very beginning. In the summer of 1914, the S-4 was ready, and it was decided to test it in the Rhone - the Mecca of German gliding. On August 1, 1914, Hart's new glider took off. A few days later, World War I broke out in Europe. The members of Hart's group go to the front one after another, and soon Messerschmitt is left alone. Moreover, of all Hart’s assistants, he was the only one who could continue his work. But at that time he was only 16 years old!
From time to time he visits Ron and one day discovers that their barn, built in the town of Heidelstein, has been destroyed and their glider has been rendered completely unusable. Hart, who had hoped to continue testing the S-4 while on vacation, was deeply disappointed by this incident of vandalism. However, his despondency was short-lived. Corresponding with Hart in 1915, Messerschmitt offered his services to build a new glider. Receiving advice in letters, the 16-year-old designer single-handedly builds his first aircraft, the Harth-Messerschmitt S-5, which cost him 235 Deutschmarks [Apparently, some parts from the old design were also used for its construction.].
At the end of August 1915, Hart came on vacation and soon went to Rhone with Messerschmitt and their aircraft. The first flights of the S-5 revealed that the airframe was somewhat heavy on the tail. Hart and Messerschmitt no longer have time to modify the tail: one was finishing his vacation, and the other was on vacation and the school year at the Higher Realschule in Nuremberg would begin.
And the correspondence began again. In 1916, Hart and Messerschmitt decided to build a new glider - an improved version of the S-5. During the development of S-6, the partners began to have their first disagreements. One was embarrassed by the age of his partner to organize a factory for the construction of gliders, and the other had already gained knowledge and experience, as a result of which the authority of the older comrade began to fade.
Meanwhile, the S-6 was built and successfully tested at the end of the summer of 1916. The best flight was on August 15th. Within 3.5 min. The Hart-Messerschmitt S-6 glider flew at a height of 15 meters and 200 m.
In 1917, Messerschmitt passed exams at the Higher Realschule in Nuremberg and received a matriculation certificate. A few months later, he is recruited to undergo basic military training, but at military training Messerschmitt unexpectedly falls ill and is admitted to the hospital, from where he, by hook or by crook, seeks a transfer to the flight school in Milbertshofen, where Hart served, where he stayed from June to November 1918 of the year. The end of the First World War allowed Messerschmitt to enter the Technical University of Munich and continue his design activities.
In 1918, Hart and Messerschmitt created another new glider, the S-7, which at the end of May was built in the workshops of the Bavarian Aircraft Factory (Bayerischen Flugzeugwerken - BFW) [In 1909, the Otto Aircraft Factory (Otto-Flugzeugwerken) was renamed BFW, which , in turn, was renamed the Bavarian Motor Works (Bayerische Motorenwerke AG) in 1922, and in 1926 became the state-owned Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG (BFW) with its head office in Augsburg.], where Hart served as chief designer. Since only Hart could conduct flight tests of the new glider model, they were postponed until his vacation in October 1918.
The first tests of the new design showed that, like the S-5, it was overweight on the tail, and takeoff with a wind force of 10 m/s ended in a severe accident, the consequences of which could not be eliminated on the spot.
Despite the failure with the S-7, Hart and Messerschmitt gained invaluable experience, which they decided to implement in the next model, the S-8. Tests of this glider took place in the Rhone in the summer - autumn of 1920. In parallel with the S-8, Messerschmitt single-handedly developed another design - the S-9, completely different from all previous ones. It was a tailless glider with forward-swept wings! In addition, the S-9 was the first to use a full-fledged aerodynamically shaped fuselage, rather than a rack-and-tube structure connecting the wing and tail.
Messerschmitt's interest in tailless aircraft many years later allowed another German "nugget" Alexander Lippisch to create the world's first missile interceptor, the Me-163 Komet. Messerschmitt later recalled: “My interest in tailless aircraft led me to work with Lippisch, who had been experimenting in this area for many years.”.
In 1921, Messerschmitt and Hart decided to take part in the first gliding competitions in the Rhone. They intended to use the S-9 there, but unforeseen difficulties in testing it, associated primarily with its aerodynamic configuration, did not allow them to accomplish their plans. After much debate between the partners, S-8 was entered to participate in the competition.
On September 13, 1921, Friedrich Hart set a world record for the duration of a non-stop flight of 21.5 minutes in an S-8 in Rhone! However, such a successful flight was interrupted by a disaster, and Hart was seriously injured, which left him permanently disabled.
With the prize money, Messerschmitt and Hart opened the company Segelflugzeugbau Harth und Messerschmitt Bamberg, Bischofsheim-Rh?n and hired glider pilot Wolf Hirt, Messerschmitt’s classmate at the University of Munich, whose tasks included not only testing new Hart-Messerschmitt gliders, but also training of glider pilots on a commercial basis.
For the gliding school that is opening from Segelflugzeugbau Harth und Messerschmitt, Messerschmitt is building another glider model at BFW, this time a training one, the Harth-Messerschmitt S-10, which was developed even before the Hart disaster. Then he laid down 4 more copies of the S-10 in the new workshop in Bischofsheim, which were to be ready for the next Rhône competition, where they were to be “exposed” to the public.
Glider competitions in Rhone at the end of the summer of 1922 took place under unfavorable weather conditions, in which the S-10 gliders proved to be very reliable designs, but Messerschmitt was no longer very worried about this: a new project S-11 was already maturing in his brain - a further development of the S -9 in light of the latest aviation achievements.
However, the S-11 misfired - the flight characteristics turned out to be unsatisfactory, and Messerschmitt is developing and building the next airframe, the S-12, which also became an intermediate step towards the implementation of his constructive ideas. It was at this moment that Hart became a “brake” of progress for Messerschmitt - the student surpassed his teacher. Realizing this, on September 18, 1922, Hart notified Messerschmitt by letter of the termination of their partnership.
By the end of the year, the Segelflugzeugbau Harth und Messerschmitt company, like the entire German economy, was on the verge of bankruptcy. Inflation reached its peak in early 1923. The exchange rate of the German mark against the dollar falls not daily, but hourly and reaches one trillionth [In December 1923, 1 dollar was already 4,200,000,000,000 marks!] of the pre-war level. Payment in “hard” currency from foreigners studying at the glider school does not help Messerschmitt in this situation. Having received financial support from his older brother, who, after the death of his father in 1916, took over the family business on his shoulders, Willy Messerschmitt pays the company's bills and liquidates the company, while the gliding school goes to Wolf Hirt.
After the failure with the S-12, Messerschmitt understands its reasons and, inspired, takes on the development of a new, significantly modified design of the S-13. This airframe contained practically no signs of the earlier designs of the Hart-Messerschmitt tandem, and it was clearly visible that Willy Messerschmitt had finally freed himself from Hart's influence and that he had found his own design style.
After several successful flights, the S-13 was destroyed and Wolf Hirt suffered a broken pelvis. The disaster occurred due to poorly manufactured one of the control rods. But it wasn't all bad! After the disaster, the glider was repaired and sold to a certain Count Hamilton from Sweden, which is confirmed by the list of winners of the 1923 Rhône competition, in which it is number 55.
The champion in the Rhone in 1923 was the pilot Hakmak, who, on another Messerschmitt S-14 glider, won the first prize for the highest altitude flight (303 m) and the second prize for the longest flight. For these achievements he received special awards - the Albert-B?hm Cup and the honorary medal of the German Glider Association. In turn, the designer of the record-breaking glider received an honorary award from the Georges Foundation (Georgenstiftung), while Messerschmitt became only the second recipient! It is worth noting that S-14 was just the thesis work of Willy Messerschmitt, a student at the Technical University of Munich!
After a real sensation in the Rhone, Messerschmitt, at the age of 25, with the support of his older brother Ferdinand, opened his own company, Flugzeugbau Messerschmitt Bamberg. Now a freshly graduated engineer and entrepreneur could devote himself entirely to aircraft manufacturing and force the attention of the international circle of specialists to pay attention to his successes.
It should be noted that all of the above events took place on the soil of Bavaria, that is, where the National Socialist movement was born. On November 8, the so-called Beer Hall Putsch took place in Munich under the leadership of the Nazis, which was suppressed by the government. The NSDAP was banned. It was after this that Hitler, as one of the party leaders and instigators of the putsch, gained all-German fame.
In 1924, with the participation of the United States, the German economy stabilized and, despite the Versailles restrictions, technology-intensive industries began to develop rapidly. In the spring of that year, the Nazi organizations achieved their first significant success, gaining more than 2 million votes and winning 32 seats in the Reichstag, Germany's highest elected legislative body.
At this time, against the backdrop of rapidly developing events, Messerschmitt, on the basis of the S-14 glider, by order of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Unterfranken W?rzburg company, was building its first aircraft, or, more accurately, the S-15 motor glider.
In the spring of 1924, pilot Karl August von Schönebeck, after several runs, tried to get the S-15 into the air, but was unsuccessful. Due to insufficient power (10 hp) of the installed 500 cm 3 Victoria engine, the plane only jumped and crashed. After repairs and some modification, the customer provided Messerschmitt with another, more powerful (22.6 hp), Douglas power unit with a volume of 700 cm 3. This variant was designated S-16.
At the end of May, the S-16 entered testing; it was taken into the air by former military pilot Hauptmann Heinz Seywald, an employee of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Unterfranken W?rzburg company, which united seven Reichswehr engine factories. The new aircraft proved its viability, and Messerschmitt received an order to build two more S-16 aircraft: the single-seat S-16a and the two-seat S-16b, which were to be delivered to the customer before the next Rhône competition.
To fulfill this order, Messerschmitt rents one of the workshops of the Murmann brewery in Jacobsberg near Bamberg and recruits eight people to permanently staff his company.
Despite the fact that the debut of the S-16a (“Boobie”) and S-16b (“Betty”) in the Rhone was unsuccessful: both vehicles were destroyed by the customer’s representative, pilot Seywald, Messerschmitt achieved the main thing - he was noticed and counted on for his vehicles in the future.
The winner of the Rhone competition in 1924 in the class of motor gliders was the famous ace of the last war and the future head of the Technical Directorate of the Imperial Ministry of Aviation, who played an important role in the fate of Messer, Ernst Udet [Udet was the most successful German fighter pilot of the First World War who remained in alive. He had 62 victories. The first was the legendary “Red Baron” Manfred von Richthofen with 80 victories, who died in 1918.] on Kolibri.
With the success and failure of the S-16, a new stage in Messerschmitt’s career began, in which he became not only a famous designer of quite successful light and sport aircraft, but also a successful entrepreneur. It is at the peak of this stage that one of the heroes of our story, the Bf-109, is born.
After the Rhone competitions of 1924, Messerschmitt came to the conclusion that good money could be made on the rising wave of the aviation boom, and he completely concentrated on the development and construction of light aircraft, which were then understood as training and sports machines with low take-off weight and insignificant power. installations that had a fairly high production profitability.
Pretty soon, almost no light aircraft competition in Germany was complete without the participation of Messerschmitt designs, and they most often took prizes. The fact that Willy Messerschmitt wanted to develop only airplanes from now on was immediately reflected in the designation of his designs. The letter S was replaced by the letter M, from Motorflugzeuge - airplane, which also indicates the name of the designer. The numbering of the models continued, and this was caused not by tribute to the collaboration with his teacher Hart, but by the opportunity to emphasize that he, Messerschmitt, had been in this business for a long time.
In a short time, the name Messerschmitt became synonymous with aircraft with the highest weight ratio and elegance of aerodynamic shapes.
Messerschmitt developed the first “real” aircraft, designated M-17, at the end of 1924 on the basis of his two-seat motor glider S-16b, commissioned by the Würzburg Aero Club, the founder of which was the already familiar Arbeitsgemeinschaft company. German flying clubs were created under the patronage of the Reichswehr; Hauptmann Kurt Student from the Central Aviation Committee of the Military Administration, who at the same time headed the semi-secret technical aviation department in the Reichswehr Armament Directorate, was responsible for this “sports” direction. It was the Student who did everything possible to support and develop interest in flying in Germany.
For its instructors, former pilots of the First World War, the flying club paid for the construction of two copies of the M-17. Soon another aircraft was sold [Currently, this aircraft (Werk-Nr. 25, D-779) is on display at the German Museum in Munich.]. This time the customer was another flying club, in Fürth, which trained pilots for the company Nordbayerischen Verkehrsflug-GmbH-NOBA [One of the most interesting European airlines operating domestic flights. For more than 10 years it fought for its existence against its main rival, the airline Deutsche Luft Hansa AG (DLH). The aviation laws Gesetz?berdie Reichsverwaltung of December 15, 1933 and the Verordnung?berden Aufbauder Reichsluftfahrtsverwaltung of April 18, 1934 put an end to this and many other small private airlines in Germany.].
The implementation of orders for the M-17 allowed Messerschmitt to expand production, and in the fall of 1925 his company moved to one of the workshops of the former ammunition plant near Bamberg. In total, during 1925–1926, Flugzeugbau Messerschmitt Bamberg produced about 8 units of the M-17 aircraft.
What Messerschmitt accomplished with his first aircraft seems incredible today. Here is just a short list of the M-17's successes.
Competitions in Bamberg, May 2–4, 1925: pilot Seyvald on the M-17 Ello with 24 hp. With. ABC-Scorpion engine wins first place for the highest altitude flight and second place in long-range flight.
The M-17 (D-612) took part in the international aviation competitions dedicated to the transport exhibition in Munich (from July 15 to October 11, 1925) (September 12–14), and in it the pilot Karl Kronaiss won first places in the categories of flight at altitude and in flight for speed (the prize amounted to 6 thousand Deutschmarks). Later, together with the young pilot Mayer, he won fifth place (1500 DM) in the relay.
The S?ddeutschlandflug-1926 competition was the only aviation tournament of that year, taking place from May 31 to June 6. This time the M-17 was unlucky. Mayer on M-17 (D-779) took only tenth place, and the even less experienced “athlete” E. von Konta on M-17 (D-887) took thirteenth. However, in piloting technique, von Comta won first place and a prize of 4,500 Deutschmarks!
In the period from September 20 to 29, 1926, von Conta, together with the famous sports pilot and journalist Werner von Langsdorff, flew from Bamberg to Rome over the Alps on an M-17 (D-887). This was the world's first light aircraft flight across the Central Alps! The M-17 covered a distance of 1620 km in 14 hours and 20 minutes. The media praised this record flight as a feat of the German crew and a triumph of the German aviation industry! Naturally, the laurels of fame went to Willy Messerschmitt.
However, Messerschmitt would not be Messerschmitt if he did not strive to jump higher than everyone else. In parallel with the release of the M-17 in the fall of 1925, he began developing the next design - his first metal passenger aircraft for local airlines, the M-18, which became one of the most amazing successes of the young designer and entrepreneur!
The 28-year-old designer completely succeeded in converting his company Flugzeugbau Messerschmitt Bamberg to the so-called metal technology within one year. History has never known such examples! Messerschmitt had already established himself as a talented designer and a successful entrepreneur, and now he also acted as an excellent organizer with a keen sense of technological simplifications.
The order for the development and construction of a four-seat metal passenger aircraft for domestic airlines, the M-18, was made by the founder and head of Nordbayerischen Verkehrsflug GmbH, Theo Kronaiss.
Kronais knew Messerschmitt well from various aviation sports competitions. Thus, at international competitions held from September 12 to 14, 1925, Theo Kronaiss’s brother Karl took two first places in the M-17. It was there, in Munich, impressed by his brother’s success, Theo Kronaiss made an offer to Messerschmitt to develop a passenger limousine plane for him and put forward a number of stringent requirements for it.
According to Kronaiss, on the basis of the M-17, a four-seat passenger aircraft with a metal fuselage was to be created, with minimal empty weight, but, if possible, with a large payload while complying with current strength standards for passenger aircraft, with good takeoff and landing characteristics and acceptable cruising speeds, with a relatively low-power engine. The purchase price could not exceed 25 thousand Deutschmarks, that is, significantly less than the price of existing competing aircraft!
A few days later, Messerschmitt gave Kronais a positive answer, and he informed him that he would build an all-metal aircraft that would meet all the stated requirements. Believing in the abilities of the young designer, Kronaiss placed an order for four aircraft and invited Messerschmitt to become a co-owner of the airline.
After calculating and refining the design on a wooden model, Messerschmitt laid down the first two machines (Werk-Nr. 27 and 28). The strength of the structure was determined by its calculated flight weight - 1000 kg. The engine chosen was a 7-cylinder star-shaped air-cooled Siemens-Halske Sh 11 engine with a power of 80 hp. With.
The M-18 made its first flight on June 15, 1926, and, according to Theo Kronaiss, it took place “in rain and wind; lasted 20 minutes, which was enough to show good flight qualities". After short factory tests, this copy of the M-18 received registration number D-947, and on July 26 it made its first passenger flight. However, Kronaiss did not receive exactly what Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau GmbH, Bamberg ordered.
Yes, the M-18 was a four-seater car, but there were three passenger seats! Kronaiss wanted a plane with four seats for passengers. The requirement of the airline Nordbayerischen Verkehrsflug GmbH, F?rth was implemented in the next copy of the M-18.
The second car, Werk-Nr. 28, after some modification of the design due to the placement of a fourth passenger seat and the estimated flight weight increased to 1200 kg, received a more powerful engine (100 hp). In addition, Messerschmitt changed the wing design: instead of a box spar with four struts, he used a single tubular spar, which also forms the leading edge. In other words, he used a design often used in wooden glider wings! This non-standard solution caused a heated discussion among aviation specialists, but the fact that such a design turned out to be the only correct solution proves Messerschmitt’s foresight as a designer.
After passing a short test program, the second copy of the new aircraft, along with the registration number D-1118, received the new designation M-18b.
By the beginning of the summer season of 1927, there were already four M-18s in the Nordbayerischen Verkehrsflug GmbH, F?rth park [These were: M-018a Habicht (Werk-Nr. 27, D-947); M-18b (Werk-Nr. 28, D-1118); M-18b Franken (Werk-Nr. 29, D-1133) and M-18b (Werk-Nr. 30, D-1177).]. With these aircraft, Kronaiss was unrivaled in the domestic air travel market: he could sell tickets at half the price of other airlines!
Since, under an agreement between Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau GmbH, Bamberg and Nordbayerischen Verkehrsflug GmbH, the F?rth M-18 was leased and because the young aircraft manufacturing company had virtually no experience in producing all-metal aircraft, Messerschmitt experienced some financial difficulties to build further copies of the aircraft. Despite this, in the spring of 1927, the next 3 M-18b vehicles were laid down in Bamberg.
To improve the financial position of the company, Messerschmitt develops and builds a light sports aircraft M-19 specifically for participation in the Sachsenflug 1927 competition. In advance, through his brother-in-law Georg Madelung - one of the leading employees of the German Aviation Research Institute - Willy Messerschmitt learned the formula for the technical assessment of aircraft presented for competitions and left no chance for competitors to win. The competition organizers were even forced to allocate additional funds to award other laureates!
While Messerschmitt was working on his all-metal M-18 aircraft, a new aircraft manufacturing company, Bayerischen Flugzeugwerke (BFW), was formed in Munich through the merger of the Bavarian Aircraft Factory and the bankrupt company Udet-Flugzeugbau GmbH. The existing production capacity of the newly formed company, which had far-reaching plans, was clearly not enough, and the company negotiated with the Gebr metallurgical plant about the purchase of factory space. BFW soon acquired the Rumpier-Werke AG plant in Augsburg, 45 km from Munich.
On July 30, 1926, Bayerischen Flugzeugwerke AG with an authorized capital of 400 thousand Reichsmarks (RM) received official registration. Its founders included: the German state, represented by the Minister of Railways (RM 250 thousand), the Republic of Bavaria, represented by the Minister of Trade (RM 100 thousand), and the banking house Merck, Finck & Co., M?nchen (RM 50 thousand) .
Thus, two competing aircraft manufacturing firms, subsidized by the state, began to exist on Bavarian soil. Naturally, the governments of Germany and Bavaria had a plan for their unification. After months of negotiations, on September 8, 1927, the merger of Bayerischen Flugzeugwerke AG and Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau GmbH was announced. In essence, Bayerischen Flugzeugwerke AG bought Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau GmbH for RM92 thousand. For this money, BFW only received all the rights, technical documentation and technological equipment for the M-18a and M-18b. Minus the amounts of bank loans, Messerschmitt received RM 26 thousand in profit, which he was obliged to pay with a five percent premium by June 30, 1928. By the same date, Messerschmitt was supposed to receive about 50 thousand RM compensation for the transferred stocks of materials, assemblies and parts.
Messerschmitt contributed his skills, knowledge and energy to the common pot, and BFW added financial capabilities. Accordingly, there was a division of responsibility: Messerschmitt took on the design work, and BFW took on the production of aircraft. According to the terms of the agreement, Messerschmitt became one of the directors of the company, and the names of the aircraft he designed had to include an indication of his last name. That is, Messerschmitt's aircraft still carried the standard designation "M".
Shortly after the merger with BFW, Messerschmitt and all his employees moved to Augsburg, where three unfinished copies of the M-18b were completed and 12 more vehicles ordered by the Ministry of Railways (RVM) were laid down. In addition, in a short time, Willy Messerschmitt launched the production of the U 12b Flamingo training aircraft [In the mid-20s, it was recognized as the best aircraft in its class. From 1926 to 1929, 115 cars were produced. It was built under license in Latvia, Hungary and Austria. Wingspan, m – 10.00; length, m – 7.40; height, m – 2.80; wing area, m 2 – 24.00; weight, kg: empty aircraft – 550, normal take-off – 800; Siemens Sh 11 engine, 80 hp. With.; maximum speed, km/h – 145; cruising speed, km/h – 122; practical range, km – 450; practical ceiling, m – 3800; crew, people – 2.], inherited from the bankrupt Udet-Flugzeugbau GmbH and its modifications, entry-level aircraft – BFW l Sperber [The main difference between the BFW 1 and the U12b was the new fuselage, the frame of which was made of steel pipes. The first flight of an aircraft equipped with a Siemens Halske Sh 12 engine took place in the fall of 1927.] and BFW 3 Marabu [Lightweight version of the U-12b / BFW l with a less powerful Sh 11 engine (86 hp) and reduced weight.] developed before his arrival.
In parallel with the establishment of mass production, Messerschmitt was building in Augsburg the all-metal passenger airliner M-20, which he had developed in Bamberg for the national airline Deutsche Luft Hansa AG, Berlin (DLH). The aircraft was supposed to be operated on medium-range routes (up to 800 km) and carry up to 10 passengers. The M-20 had a very difficult fate and almost put an end to the career of its designer.
Initially, the design of the aircraft did not contain any surprises, but as soon as flight tests began, problems popped up like a jack-in-the-box. On February 26, 1928, the first prototype (Werk-Nr.371) of the M-20a variant suffered an accident on its first flight, barely having time to get off the ground! The loss of the prototype was not as terrible as the death of its pilot - one of the best DLH test pilots, Hans Hackmack, crashed on the M-20a, which was the reason for a long-term feud between Messerschmitt and the director of the airline, the future State Secretary of the German Ministry of Aviation, Erhard Milch. Many years later Milch said: “Who needs him, this Messerschmitt? In the areas in which he works, we have much better designers than Messerschmitt."[Irving D. The rise and fall of the Luftwaffe. The life of Field Marshal Erhard Milch. M.: Yauza, 2006. P. 361].
Analysis of this flight showed that there was indeed a technical error - the skin of the trailing edge of the wing was torn off during takeoff. Hakmak misjudged the situation and left the car at 80 m. Experienced test pilots came to the conclusion that if the pilot had not thrown himself out of the plane, the disaster could have been avoided. Apparently, Hakmak’s decision was influenced by a recent flight incident (fire) that happened to him during testing of one of Ernst Heinkel’s aircraft.
Be that as it may, DLH canceled its original order to build a pair of M-20s. Despite this, Messerschmitt engineers began work on modifying the aircraft. The second prototype of the M-20a variant first flew on August 3, 1928. This time the tests were successful, and in July 1929 it was transferred to trial operation at DLH.
Having received favorable reviews of the improved M-20a, the management of Deutsche Luft Hansa AG Berlin renewed the contract for the supply of Messerschmitt medium-haul airliners. After several accidents involving the M-20, DLH again changed its attitude towards the Messerschmitt airliner, and BFW again had to prove that their aircraft was one of the best in its class, and in the end it succeeded.
Messerschmitt was a very ambitious and ambitious man. Therefore, when in 1928, under pressure from the Reichstag, the government decided to completely abandon its stake in BFW shares, Messerschmitt did not miss his chance.
By that time, he was closely acquainted with the daughter of a major financier, Baron Stromeyer-Raulino [Tobacco King, owner of the famous tobacco company Tabakfabrik Joh. Pet. Raulino & Comp. At this time, his capital was more than RM 20 million.] - Lilli von Michel-Raulino [After World War II, they legalized their relationship and got married.], which allowed him to obtain the necessary money through family channels to buy back the shares being sold. On July 1, 1928, the Strohmeyer-Raulino family received 82.5% of the shares for RM 330 thousand, and the rest went to Messerschmitt for RM 70 thousand, and he became one of the directors of the company [The board of the company consisted of: Otto Strohmeyer - chairman; Paul Rippel, F. Scankoni and Hellmann are members of the board; Fritz Hille and Willi Messerschmitt – commercial directors.].
In new hands, BFW prospered for a couple of years. But already in 1929, serious flaws were discovered in the design of the M-20 aircraft, which, as mentioned above, led to several disasters. As a result, DLH refused the contract for ten M-20 vehicles and demanded the return of the advance payment already paid. The rapidly growing crisis quickly finished off BFW, and at the end of 1930 it was declared bankrupt. And then Messerschmitt received unexpected support from the NSDAP. It was at this critical moment that Rudolf Hess paid attention to the company. Hess was at the same time a good acquaintance of Willy Messerschmitt himself, as well as one of Hitler’s closest collaborators, who by that time was closer than ever to the position of Reich Chancellor. Hess already enjoyed enormous influence in Augsburg and managed with his will to suspend the court decision ordering the company's equipment to be auctioned off on June 1, 1931. As a result, the company existed for another year, which was enough to get things going. In the end, on the wave of its national success, the NSDAP leadership even insisted that DLH renew its order for the supply of ten M-20s of various modifications.
Most of the BFW M-20s produced were operated by German airlines for more than six years, and from 1939 were used by the Luftwaffe as training aircraft, with some examples surviving until 1943. The most “long-lasting” was the M-20b2 Harz (Werk-Nr. 546; D-2341, D-UKIP), transferred to DLH in September 1932, and then sold to the Brazilian airline VARIG, which operated it until 1948.
After developing the M-20, Messerschmitt and his assistants created several unclaimed aircraft models.
Even before the denationalization of the BFW, at the beginning of 1928, the Reich Ministry of Railways ordered Willy Messerschmitt to develop a light two-seat training aircraft for flight schools.
The new aircraft, designated M-21, was supposed to replace the obsolete Udet U-12 Flamingo. According to the project, two versions of the aircraft were developed: M-21a with a Siemens Sh 11 engine with 80 hp. With. and Sh 12 with a power of 100 hp. With. In the fall of 1928, after successful tests conducted by Theo Kronaiss, the aircraft were handed over to the customer, but it did not reach serial production.
At the end of 1929, the Reichswehr ordered Willy Messerschmitt to design a night fighter-reconnaissance aircraft. The new project was designated Bf-22. Already during the construction of this twin-engine aircraft, it became clear that the aircraft was not suitable for the role of a fighter, but rather a light reconnaissance bomber. At BFW the aircraft was designated M-22. After several accidents and disasters in the summer and autumn of 1930, the program was stopped as unpromising.
Meanwhile, the political situation became more and more favorable for the NSDAP every month. At the same time, things were going better and better for BFW, which was gradually strengthening its position. Of course, success had to be paid for - sponsorship of the National Socialist movement. Thus, during Hitler’s election campaign, Hess, as his secretary, was provided with the M-23 aircraft by Messerschmitt, a further development of the M-19, which helped him to participate much more actively in campaign events.
The next model after the sports M-23 was the passenger M-24, ordered by Messerschmitt’s long-time partner, Nordbayerische Verkehrsflug GmbH. In 1928, she proposed to BFW to create a new passenger aircraft capable of carrying up to eight passengers. Work on the project took very little time, and by the end of the year Willy Messerschmitt presented his development - the M-24a. Assembly of the first prototype (Werk-Nr. 445) began in the winter of 1929. The aircraft was equipped with a Junkers L 5G six-cylinder engine producing 375 hp. With. The first flight of the M-24a took place on July 8, 1929. Tests revealed minor flaws in the aircraft, and it was sent for revision. Repeated tests began only at the end of October of the same year. This time the customer was satisfied, and the first M-24a was delivered to Nordbayerische Verkehrsflug GmbH in February 1930. The second aircraft (Werk-Nr. 446) was built by order of the Reich Ministry of Railways and transferred to DVL in May 1930. Initially, a 320-horsepower BMW Va was installed on it, but it was soon replaced by a standard Junkers L 5G.
Following the first two M-24a, eight more copies of a new modification of the aircraft, the M-24b, were ordered. This aircraft was equipped with a 440 hp Bristol Jupiter engine. With. It was planned to produce several specialized versions of the aircraft, including a passenger seaplane, postal, ambulance, photo surveillance and multi-purpose agricultural. In reality, only two vehicles were produced (Werk-Nr. 515 and 516), but things did not go further than testing.
At the turn of 1930–1931, Willy Messerschmitt planned to release an improved version of the M-23 trainer with a four-cylinder, in-line Argus As engine with a take-off power of 120 hp. With. On the new aircraft, designated M-27, the structure was strengthened and a new wing was installed. The first prototype (Werk-Nr. 539) was ready in the summer of 1931. After completion of factory tests, two more copies of the M-27 were built (Werk-Nr. 609 and 610). In 1933, both of these vehicles were lost in accidents due to engine failure, and BFW test pilot Willi Stehr had to jump with a parachute both times. After these accidents on the M-27, it was decided to use a modified Argus As 8R engine, with which the aircraft received the designation M-27b. From June 1933 to February 1934, nine copies of this modification were built (Werk-Nr. 611–619).
The large number of developments that were carried out at BFW with the arrival of Messerschmitt, described above, became possible only thanks to the fact that Willy Messerschmitt organized a special design bureau. From January 1930, the bureau was headed by Kurt Tank, who later became no less famous than Messerschmitt himself. In 1930 alone, the BFW company, which was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, spent RM 17,850 on development work! Expenses for development work were not covered by income from small-scale production of aircraft. Like many other aircraft manufacturing companies, BFW received subsidies from the state, but despite this and the financial injections of Strohmeier-Raulino, it was still teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.
Under the direct leadership of Tank, who left the BFW in September 1931 due to conceptual differences with Messerschmitt, about two dozen projects were developed, among which are: three-engine modifications M-18d, M-20 and M-24, a four-engine version of the M-20 , postal M-28.
At the beginning of 1931, BFW's financial affairs became so depressing that RVM invited the company to negotiate a merger with the oldest aircraft manufacturing concerns Heinkel GmbH and Dornier Metallbau GmbH. The conditions of affiliation put forward by Heinkel and Dornier meant the complete legal liquidation of the BFW, which was not suitable for either Messerschmitt or Otto Strohmeyer-Raulino. Despite all the measures taken, on June 1, 1931, the Augsburg court declared Bayerischen Flugzeugwerke AG bankrupt and Messerschmitt was forced to reanimate Messerschmitt-Flugzeugbau GmbH (MTT-GmbH). Richard Bauer was appointed director, and Messerschmitt concentrated on design work.
In October 1931, a competition was announced to create a light sports aircraft to participate in the Europa-Rundflug 1932 international races, with a subsequent order for six aircraft. Messerschmitt could not miss this event and developed a completely new sports aircraft, designated M-29. It was an aerodynamically elegant low-wing aircraft that incorporated several revolutionary ideas for its time, and was also quite cheap to produce. Among the innovations implemented in the M-29, one can note the first use of a cantilever shock-absorbing landing gear strut with a wheel fairing. To improve takeoff and landing characteristics, Messerschmitt used slotted Handley-Page flaps. The vertical tail unit also underwent modernization and received a full-size rudder. The double cabin received a sliding glass canopy.
On April 13, 1932, the first prototype of the M-29 flew for the first time under the control of factory pilot Erwin Eichel. Despite the fact that the aircraft's first flight ended in a minor accident, the M-29 proved to be a very reliable machine. Thus, the first prototype after repair was able to fly for 100 hours without the intervention of mechanics. The good flight qualities of the aircraft allowed MTT-GmbH to win the tender and immediately receive a contract to build five more M-29 aircraft by the start of the race. Although all of them were left without prizes at Europa-Rundflug, and two suffered fatal crashes on August 8 and 9, the experience of creating such a high-speed aircraft later served Willy Messerschmitt with great service in the design of the multi-role training Bf-108 and the hero of our story - the Bf fighter -109.
In December 1932, with the support of the NSDAP, the BFW company was able to resolve all its legal issues and resumed operations on May 1, 1933. Thanks to constant government orders and loans, BFW's financial position has stabilized. Thus, in 1934, BFW received two government orders for the licensed production of 54 combat aircraft for the Luftwaffe, which allowed it to increase the company's staff sixfold in just seven months. In November 1935, the company received orders for 390 aircraft: 70 He-45, 90 Ar-66, 115 G-145, 35 He-50, 50 Ju-87 and 30 Do-11. In addition to licensed production, BFW was engaged in the development and production, albeit mostly in small series, of its own designs. Willy Messerschmitt wanted the opposite...
As you know, in 1933, the Reichs Air Ministry (RLM) was created in Germany, which began the secret revival of the German Air Force - the Luftwaffe, the existence of which Hitler officially announced in March 1935. Moreover, the highest leadership positions in the Luftwaffe were occupied by the same people as in the RLM: Minister of Aviation Hermann Goering became Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe in May 1935; Erhard Milch, State Secretary, since February 1939, combined the position of inspector general; Ernst Udet, head of the Technical Directorate, simultaneously held the position of inspector of fighter and bomber aircraft.
The young Luftwaffe needed the most modern combat aircraft, including fighters, which were supposed to replace the existing Ar-65, Ar-68 and He-51.
The dream of building aircraft was born to little Willie at the age of five, when the son of a Bavarian wine merchant first saw a Zeppelin floating in the sky over Lake Constance. At age 15, he became interested in gliders, and a year later, in a barn adjacent to his father's wine cellar, he built and tested his first design using fabric-covered plywood. The hand-launched glider, having flown ten meters, clumsily plopped into the ground...
After school, he became an assistant to the famous gliding pioneer Friedrich Hart, who, in turn, helped the boy enter flight school during the First World War. Willy dreamed of becoming an air ace like the “Red Baron” Rittfen - the guys of that time did not see any other future for themselves. But the war somehow passed by and did not bring the expected glory. Hart was always there; together they built the Hart-Messerschmitt S8 glider, on which the teacher set a world record by staying in the air for exactly 21 minutes.
In 1923, Willi-Emil Messerschmitt graduated from the Munich Technical High School. With an engineering degree, in the same year he founded his own company, Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau, which settled in a ruined army warehouse on the outskirts of Bamberg - without Friedrich Hart. Primitive motor gliders were assembled: wings with a two-stroke engine with strange names Bubby, Betty... They said that the young man named each model after his next beloved. When the two-seat monoplane Ellie—that was the name of the neighbor’s daughter—was laid on the slipway, Messerschmitt promised to test it personally. He took off into the air and received a “baptism of fire”... he lay in the hospital room for a long time after landing with his wheels up!
Nevertheless, the experience gained in the work allowed Messerschmitt to design the M18 transport aircraft with a pilot and three passengers. For the first time, an all-metal aluminum structure was to go into production. Out of the blue, 12 aircraft were ordered by Theo Kroneyss, the pioneer of local airlines Nordbayerische Werkersflüg. The success allowed Messerschmitt to receive the required subsidies from the Bavarian government.
When in 1926 the Bavarian Transport Ministry and the banking house Merk, Fink und Co. founded Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW), it was impossible to imagine that in the coming world war this company would produce 40 thousand combat aircraft - almost half of the aircraft production of the Third Reich!
From the workshops of this particular production in Augsburg, the famous Messerschmitt models with the letters Bf on the fuselage rolled out and took to the air (only at the end of World War II they were changed to Me). The birth of each of them took place in agony: during the tests, accidents occurred one after another, which especially worried the customer. Messerschmitt was involved in the design, retaining his patents, and mass production was established at BFW. For the first time, a private and almost state-owned company separately retained their legal personality, although in fact they operated as a single entity.
The creation of new models was successful: in parallel with the M21 training biplane, which was intended to replace the legendary French Flamingo, they assembled (only one!) M22 bomber with two engines, and soon the 8-seat all-aluminum passenger M24 took off. The era of civil aviation had begun.
Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau managed to obtain a direct government order from BFW for passenger ships, and thus the now famous Lufthansa was born. The fast mail plane M28, adapted to any airfield conditions, according to experts, is ready to deliver letters and parcels even today. But what a time it was when money turned into nothing in a day, investments meant nothing, falling in price faster than the speed of an airplane. The Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau bankruptcy order was not put into effect only by chance; Messerschmitt himself later called it a “heavenly miracle.” It was officially canceled on April 27, 1933.
Foreign delegations often visited Messerschmitt's factories. Soviet aircraft designer Alexander Yakovlev, who visited Germany twice, described the German aircraft designer in his memoirs: “Gloomy and gloomy, tall, with blue-black thinning hair, a convinced member of the Nazi party, seemingly cold and impassive, but in fact does not tolerate any criticizing and exploding at the slightest provocation.” When Yakovlev didn’t like the prototype of the Messerschmitt Bf209 fighter, which, by the way, never went into production, and he told Messerschmitt about it, he could barely contain his anger.
Harsh, suspicious, arrogant, and repeatedly humiliated, Messerschmitt considered himself the only authority in aviation. It is not surprising that he had many open and secret enemies both in the Ministry of Aviation and in the air force itself - the Luftwaffe.
In the elections of 1933, the National Socialists, led by Hitler, came to power. Their government included Messerschmitt's worst enemy - Erhard Milch, a former director of Lufthansa and a convinced Nazi, who was appointed Minister of Civil Aviation shortly before the elections. Messerschmitt “at the top” has a reputation as a reliable manager, but a worthless designer, whose models never meet deadlines and constantly break down. The new German authorities made it clear: do not design anything yourself! But the stubborn German showed character.
In 1934, the Ministry of Aviation announced an open competition for a new fighter for the army. The fact that a big war was just around the corner, and with it the expected golden shower of military orders, was no secret to any of the industrialists. Three “monsters” of the German aircraft industry – Arado, Focke-Wulf and Heinkel – entered the competition for the tender. Messerschmitt was also allowed to participate in the competition (realizing that there would be no second chance like this, the designer used all his connections to get among the applicants), but they made it clear that he had nothing to count on winning.
However, “Furious Willie” decided to win! Because for a long time I had been hatching a project for a machine the like of which world aviation had never known. His competitors relied on the experience of the previous war, when air battles were called “dog fights” - in them maneuverability was most valued, and not at all speed. Messerschmitt realized earlier than others that the time of biplanes acrobatically tumbling in the air was over, and victory would belong to new machines - high-speed, powerful monoplanes, rapidly gaining altitude and just as quickly diving at the enemy.
This is how the experimental Bf109 model appeared before the eyes of the competition commission. It made a strong impression; German intelligence by that time was aware that the terminally ill Englishman Mitchell was finishing the development of his own new generation Spitfire fighter, the design and main characteristics of which were strikingly reminiscent of the Bf109. In the inert consciousness of the officials and generals who were preparing the war, a worm of doubt began to appear - perhaps Messerschmitt was right and the future really belonged to his machine, if the enemy’s technical thought was moving in the same direction? At the 1936 Berlin Olympics, guests raised their heads and looked at planes of completely new shapes flying overhead. These were Messerschmitt fighters!
The rest, as they say, is history. During subsequent flight tests, the Bf109 fighter confirmed that it has no equal in Germany.
Willie never flew his cars after his unfortunate teenage accident. But he created them at an unprecedented pace. This pace increased with the registration of the large Messerschmitt GmbH, and land for a new plant was acquired in Regensburg. In 1938, he actually forces BFW to change its name to Messerschmitt AG and, having collected the necessary votes, authoritarianly promotes his candidacy for the post of chairman and managing director.
There was no time left for family. When Willie thought about this question, it was, alas, too late... By that time, many companies, including Focke-Wulf and Arado, began to produce aircraft under his licenses. In addition to the plants in Augsburg and Regensburg, production was deployed at the plants in Kematen near Insburg, and then at the plants in Leipheim, Schwabisch Hall, Dingolfing, Oberpfaffenhofen, Marksdorf and Oberammergau, which were mainly engaged in contract and subcontract work. By the end of the war, the company had 45 thousand workers and employees.
By the way, Willy Messerschmitt, long before the war, created light sports aircraft for aerobatics M28 and M35. Russian versions of these machines from the Yakovlev design bureau, practically unchanged, easily broke one world record after another until the mid-80s of the last century. If there were a Nobel Prize in aviation, it would definitely go to Willy Messerschmitt for the four-seater sports plane Me-108 Taifun, which set many world speed records. Until now, the design solutions of the Me-108 are considered as a classic basis for the development of aircraft of a similar class.
The war, however, took place... During the air operation "Battle of Britain", Messerschmitt aircraft prevailed not only over the outdated British Harriers, but also over the newest Spitfires. Until the mid-40s, the Bf109 had no equal in the skies over Europe. In comparison with the German “winged bullet” (as the fighter was dubbed by the newspapers), the Allied planes gave the impression of hovering in the air.
On April 26, 1939, pilot Fritz Wendel set an absolute speed record for propeller-driven aircraft in a Messerschmitt aircraft - 755.1 km. at one o'clock. This record lasted exactly 30 years and was broken only in 1969. Messerschmitt's Augsburg bureau also created the largest transport aircraft of the pre-war years, the Bf321. It easily lifted more than 20 tons of cargo, that is, it could easily transport tanks. Many are still asking the question: where did thousands of German tanks come from in the Kursk tank battle that covered half of Europe under their own power without refueling? Then the glider was also produced in a motor version.
The tireless Messerschmitt designed new and new models, forgetting about time. And the war was drawing to a close, and with it, the designer’s career was coming to an end. However, shortly before the final collapse, he made another aviation sensation: being among the pioneers of jet aviation, he created the Me262. The car could reach a speed of 870 km. per hour, which is 200 kilometers more than any other aircraft of those years “squeezed out”. And the Me163 A rocket fighter, piloted by Heini Dittmar, was the first in the world to overcome the speed mark of 1000 km. at one o'clock. Today these aircraft are among the exhibits of the Munich Deutsche Museum.
The Me262 became the first jet aircraft to prove itself in combat. But Messerschmitt’s machine was late - first it was designed as an interceptor, then it was repurposed as a fighter-bomber, and at the very end of the war it was again “thrown” into interception. As a result of the bureaucratic leapfrog, time was lost: only dozens of vehicles out of the thousands assembled managed to make combat missions. At the end of the war, the Me262s remaining in hangars and airfields were dismantled for trophies by the winners. For a long time afterwards, military experts noted the striking similarity of the American F 86 Saber and Soviet Su 9 with the Messerschmitt “rocket plane”.
In 1945 it was all over. The victorious countries banned Germany from having an aviation industry. Professor Messerschmitt, unlike many of his colleagues, did not want to cooperate with the Americans and, after serving two years in the camp, left for Spain. The creator of the German aviation miracle returned to his homeland only in 1959 and immediately began to rebuild his company. Later, he transferred it to the Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blom aviation concern, as if repeating towards the end of his life his pre-war economic experiment in cooperation with a partially state-owned enterprise.
The honorary chairman of the concern named after himself, Professor Willy Messerschmitt, died on September 16, 1978 in Munich at the age of 80...
Addition:
Willy Messerschmitt had several hundred patents, and his aircraft of various types were produced in a respectable edition of 45 thousand copies.
After the war, Willy Messerschmitt lost not only the right to design aircraft, but also his main aircraft factory in Augsburg. Meanwhile, Messerschmitt AG plants were located throughout Germany. The need for combat aircraft disappeared, and workers at Messerschmitt factories retrained to produce three-wheeled scooters and sewing machines. Willy Messerschmitt himself continued to work in his specialty, developing several training and supersonic aircraft for Spain and Egypt. However, none of them could even remotely approach the importance that the Me-109 had. The Messerschmitt era ended, and in post-war Germany his talent remained unclaimed.
To save the business, as well as to protect the company’s personnel from mass layoffs, Willy Messerschmitt persistently sought civilian orders that corresponded to the equipment of his factories and the qualifications of his employees. Having learned about Flitz Fend's developments, Messerschmitt agreed in 1952 to start production of Flitzer minicars at the Regensburg Steel & Metal Construction Company (R.S.M.) plant in Regensburg. Despite the “neutral” name, the company was directly related to Messerschmitt AG.
Flitz Fend was happy with the collaboration with Messerschmitt for three reasons. The first is that Messerschmitt paid Fend well. The second is that despite the collaboration of Messerschmitt AG with the Nazis, the authority of this company made it possible to quickly promote Fend cars not only in Germany, but also abroad. The third is the R.S.M. plant. produced "Flitzers" and subsequent models in mass quantities. And this, among other things, meant a good future for Flitz Fend himself (an engineer who created a mass-produced car is worth something!).
In 1952, Fend developed a new car - Fend 150, which was presented to the public in March 1953. The car was nicknamed Kabienenroller (rolling cabin) - KaRo. One way or another, this development of the German aircraft designer was improved by the designers of R.S.M. Its design, according to rumors, was refined by Messerschmitt himself, and the new minicar began to be produced under the name Messerschmitt KR-175. The KaRo was similar to airplanes due to its low coefficient of aerodynamic drag, extremely low weight and aviation-style cabin layout (the passenger sat behind the driver). The KR-175 was equipped with a single-cylinder two-stroke Sachs engine with a displacement of 175 cm3 and a power of 9 hp. For just DM2100 (versions for disabled people were cheaper - from DM1500) you could buy a nimble little car, reliably protected from bad weather and reaching speeds of up to 90 km. at one o'clock. For reference: the most popular of all people's cars of our time - the Volkswagen Käger ("Beetle") - at that time cost DM 4150.
After 2.5 thousand copies of the KR-175 were produced, major changes were made to the KaRo design: the Fichtel & Sachs engines were equipped with an electric starter and an improved automatic clutch design (the reliability of earlier versions caused many complaints from consumers). Meanwhile, Fend began developing a new model.
In the early spring of 1955, the car was presented to the public MesserschmittKR-200. It differed from its predecessor in a more powerful engine, improved interior layout, and more efficient air intakes for the engine cooling system. The view from his “cabinet light” was wider. In addition, the new car received standard pedals with a familiar layout (many KR-175s had the clutch lever on the steering wheel). 16 thousand Messerschmitt KR-200 cars were produced.
In the mid-1950s, Willy Messerschmitt was allowed to get involved with airplanes again, so Flitz Fend founded his own automobile company called Fahrzeug und Maschinenbau Regensburg (FMR). From that time on, Fend's cars were produced at his own factory, although for marketing reasons they still bore the Messerschmitt name. Until 1964, until the production of Messerschmitt cars was stopped, the FMR plant, all in Regensburg, produced 27 thousand Messerschmitts of various modifications...
Appetite comes with eating, and buyers of extremely cheap cars liked the sports version of the minicar with a cabin designed in the image and likeness of the cockpit of a two-seat fighter. In response to this, at the end of 1957, FMR presented the Messerschmitt TG-500 - Tiger to the public. As the name suggests, the car received a “huge” 500 cm3 two-stroke Sachs engine, improved aerodynamics and - attention (!) - a fourth wheel. Yes! "Tiger" is a four-wheeled minicar with a traditional aviation interior layout for Messerschmitt cars. The Messerschmitt TG-500 was a fast sports car, but it cost twice as much as the KR-200. Incredibly, this car is more spacious inside than, for example, the new Austin Healey Sprite with a more conventional layout. Between 1958 and 1961, 950 Messerschmitt TG-500s were produced. To this day, the Fend/Messerschmitt “Tiger” remains one of the most tasty morsels for collectors of extraordinary cars...
After the death of Willy Messerschmitt in 1978, one of the former Me262 pilots made a sensational statement: as if he was the first to break the sound barrier in April 1945! And although there is no documented evidence of this, specialists and aviation historians took the pilot’s statement seriously - like everything that was associated with the name of Messerschmitt.
On September 15, 1978, Wilhelm (Willy) Messerschmitt, a German aircraft designer famous for fighter aircraft, died in Munich.
Biography of Willie
Messerschmitt was born on June 26, 1898 in the German city of Bamberg, in the family of a wine merchant and successful businessman. After the death of his father, Wilhelm's mother married Professor Karl von Marr for the second time.
The future designer became interested in modeling at the age of ten, and at the university he created real aircraft and conducted various experiments with friends. After graduating from school in 1917, he was almost immediately drafted to the front in connection with the outbreak of the First World War.
After the end of hostilities until 1923, Willy studied at the Technical University of Munich. While still studying, in 1921, he created the S8 glider, which was able to set a world record by flying the greatest distance. While still a student, Messerschmitt founded his own company, Messerschmitt Flugzeugbau GmbH.
Messerschmitt aircraft
If we talk about the achievements of Willy Messerschmitt, then first of all, we should note the Messerschmitt Bf.109 fighter, work on which the designer, together with Walter Rethel, completed in 1934. This model is rightfully considered a true masterpiece of aircraft design. During World War II, this aircraft was the main striking force of the Reich aviation.
In addition, Messerschmitt was one of the first designers to create jet aircraft.
Moreover, the Me.262 turbojet bomber and fighter, created in 1944, became not only the first jet aircraft to be mass-produced, but also the world's first jet aircraft to take part in military operations.
The famous fighter Me.163, equipped with a liquid rocket engine, in 1941 became the first aircraft to exceed a speed of 1000 km/h.