World War II Database

1.  Bill says:
26 Sep 2010 02:22:25 PM

During World War II fighter production totalled 47% of all German aircraft.

Messerschmitt Bf 109 production was over
30,000 fighters, this accounted for 57% of
all fighters produced. By 1942 the Bf 109G
made up 2/3 frontline fighter strenght.

FIGHTERS, FIGHTERS, FIGHTERS!

Number of Messerschmitt Bf 109's built per year, from 1939 to 1945.

1939 449
1940 1,693
1941 2,764
1942 2,665
1943 6,154
1944 14,000
1945 2,969

In July 1943 725 Bf 109G's were accepted by
the Luftwaffe. Production climbed to 6,300 in 1943, to over 14,000 in 1944.

In 1944 the Germans trained 3,600 new pilots along with many ex-bomber pilots as well. Many of the new pilots had less than 160 hrs
flight training.
The Germans were losing 1,000 aircraft per month on the Western front, and between 400
and 500 on the Eastern front.
In Febuary 1944 the Luftwaffe lost 33% of its
aircraft, and 18% of its pilots. For the
replacement pilots and lack of experience
life expenctancy was a couple of combat
missions. The few combat experienced pilots
the Luftwaffe had, were just too few, to make
any difference.

Note*

General Information Only

My Opinions, Conclusions and Freedom of Expression do not reflect the position of
ww2db in anyway.

2.  Bill says:
29 Nov 2010 04:16:08 PM

The American method of mass production was
never adopted by the Germans.
German production required more labor hours
and skilled labor than US equivalents.
German aircraft manufactures did their best
to overhaul the labor-intensive production
methods.

Even during the first two years of the war,
delivery of aircraft was set at a pre-war level, aircraft were well built, even the
cockpit had leather seats for the pilot.
Production was hampered by constant changes
in design, manufactures used different types
of hardware and small aircraft asemblies that
should have been standard in the industry.

Example:
Henschel used eleven different types of
countersunk rivets on the same aircraft!

This created a bottleneck not only at the place of manufacture, but in the field making
repairs. This must have driven the ground-
crews crazy, and I'm sure there was a lot of
improvising.

Later during the war, with shortages of the
materials needed to produce the weapons and the demand on the suppliers to keep pace with
delivery of sub-assemblies and hardware it was amazing anything was built.

3.  Bill says:
6 Apr 2012 02:34:55 PM

Almost 2/3 of all Bf 109s lost or written off were due to accidents involed takeoff and landings.
By 1944 the Luftwaffe re-built war weary
single-seat 109s into two-seat trainers for
pilot training and familiarization for both new pilot's and ex-bomber and dive-bomber pilot's. About 96 aircraft were converted as trainers out of a planned 900 before wars end.
Bf 109G-4 and G-6s were converted the 20mm cannons were removed but retained the two machine guns in the upper cowling.
Part of the fuselage fuel tank was removed to provide space for the instructor sitting behind the student pilot, by removing the fuel tank this reduced half its fuel capacity
the Bf 109G-12 always flew with one 66 gal. drop tank.
The Italians received the Bf 109G-12 trainer
for pilot conversion from the Macchi C.205
and Fiat G-55 fighters to the Bf 109Gs

4.  Bill says:
20 May 2012 03:36:30 PM

LUFTWAFFE TRAINING: THE EARLY YEARS

At the start of WWII pilot training was at a slow pace, this was the same for aircraft production. German wartime production didn't
step up until 1943.
Pilot trainees started with six-months at a training depot or boot camp with drills physical training, weapons training, map reading and other military subjects, after graduating it was two-months of elementry flight training on single-engine trainers, those trainees that washed out were sent to be trained as navigators, bombardiers or gunners, others were sent to maintenance schools.
By this time the student pilot would have
between 100-150 hrs. of flight time and received his pilot wings here the student would be selected for fighters, bombers, dive-bombers, reconnaissance or light aircraft like the Fieseler Fi 156 Storch.
Another two-months training on single or twin-engine aircraft, and receive fifty to sixty more hours of flight training, for another six-months. Pilots selected to fly four-engine aircraft went on to advanced training.

RUSH'EM THROUGH:

By 1944 pilot training was cut to five months
some pilots had as little as one hundred and sixty hours flight training with little or no added training with the lack of fuel,
spare-parts, aircraft and instructors most
of whom were reassigned taken from training schools, to operational units continued to bleed the training schools even more.

LOSSES MOUNT:

By the second-half of 1944, the Luftwaffe suffered 2,000 pilots lost the replacements
didn't have the training or flight experience
necessary to survive in combat, many were lost on the first or second mission, the old veterans tried to teach them how to survive and what they needed to do in combat, but the veterans were few in number to make any difference.
Feburary 1945 the Luftwaffe flight training ceased to exist the last of the instructors
and other specialists and pilot trainees were assigned to the Luftwaffe ground forces men who weren't trained as infantry were thrown into battle, suffered heavy losses.

5.  Bill says:
27 Jan 2015 12:08:35 PM

109 REDUX:

Many of the Messerschmitt BF 109G-12 trainers were
rebuilds of older 109 fighters. After rebuilding, they were sent to the fighter training schools. Correction in comment #3 the Bf-109G-12 didn't have a 66 Gallon drop tank, but carried 300 liter
80 gallon drop tank.
The fuselage fuel tank held 240 liters/60 gallons of fuel giving the Bf-109 trainer 35 minutes of flying time, not enough to train a new fighter pilot in one training mission, the drop tank extended the flying time for the student plot.

POST WAR:

Surviving Bf-109G-12 trainers served with the new Czech air force after the war. Avia built their version powered by a Jumo engine as the CS-92, until replaced with Russian equipment.
Bulgaria and Yugoslavia received them as war booty and operated along side Bf-109 fighters in the post war period, until replaced with Russian equipment

6.  Bill says:
30 Oct 2016 03:55:53 PM

FIGHTERS, FIGHTERS, FIGHTERS!

Besides the Messerschmitt Werks, different aircraft manufactures also produced the Bf 109 single-seat fighter. Did you know that during WWII about 2/3rds of all damaged Bf 109's involved landing and take off accidents. Besides building new Bf 109's, damaged aircraft were also re-built...

AGO, ARADO, ERLA AND WNF's assembly lines built the Bf 109 other aircraft manufactures also re-built damaged airframes.

NEVER HEARD OF WNF:

WNF (Wiener Neustadter Flugzeugwerk) based in Vienna, Austria, repaired Ju 88's, He 111's, and other Luftwaffe aircraft. WNF built over 8,500 Bf 109 fighters. After WWII the company was broken up.

7. Curt says:
24 Nov 2023 07:01:35 AM

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war the Arabs flew Spitfires against Israeli ME-109s. Belive 109s purchased from Czechs.