Battle of France 109E vs Spitfire Video is still in progress
I'm sorry for the delay but this video has grown a bit. One of the complexities is figuring out just what configuration the 109E was in during the Battle of France. I had though that they were still using Variable Pitch props, but now I think it's more likely the vast majority had constant speed props.
You can't tell by looking at pictures because they only visual clues are in the cockpit. There are very few cockpit photos of 109Es. Even then, it's not a sure thing because many planes were field modded with constant speed props and could still have the old variable pitch control on the instrument panel.
The 109 pilot manuals give us strong clues. The contant speed prop is in the manual from Dec. of 1939, but seems to indicate that not all 109Es were being built that way. The July of 1940 manual indicates they were, but the Battle of France happened during the later part of that gap.
I'm going with a 109E with a constant speed prop for the comparision, and that discussion is actually taking up a lot of space in the video, but I think it's important.
As always, thanks for your Patronage.
Greg
Comments (5)
Sounds complicated. Undoubtedly multiple configurations in play owing to pre-existing and new fighters coming online. Not to make it harder, but I would be interested to understand whether & how jagdstaffel handled standardization within their units. Were 'obsolete' planes upgraded? Handed down to units in less competitive theaters? Did Darwinian selection take care of this?
Can't wait Greg. Maybe in BF109E part 2 you could go into the differences between German fighters trying to roam into the British Isles and the complexities they faced, as you have done with P47 and other allied fighters range and drop tank options going the other way later in the war...? Si, Christchurch, NZ.
Keep up the good work greg
Fighting AI slop with one patreon payment at a time.
Greetings Greg, Malcolm V Lowe writes in his Bf 109 D/E (Blitzkrieg 1939-40, Osprey Dogfight series, 2022.) "Early Bf 109Bs were fitted with a wooden Schwarz two-bladed fixed-pitch propeller, but later production examples had VDM two-bladed variable-ptich propeller units - there was no differention by Bf 109B sub-type in Messerschimtt documents to tell between them." Later he writes about the "Emil" "A three-bladed VDM varible-pitch metal propeller unit was standard for the Bf 109 E - most previous models had relied on a two-bladed variable-pitch propeller." I don't know if its of any help, its a third (or secondary source) at best. Still, thank you for all this work and I'm very much looking forward to the video.