Assembly model 1:144 fighter Messerschmitt Bf 109A/B Armory AR14104

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter that, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, was the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first entered service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. It was still in service at the end of World War II in 1945. It was one of the most advanced fighters when it first appeared, with an all-metal monocoque design, enclosed lantern and retractable undercarriage. It was powered by an inverted V12 liquid-cooled aero engine. Allied aircrews and some German aces called it the Me 109, although this was not the official German designation. The aircraft was designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser, who worked at Bayerische Flugzeugwerke in the early to mid-1930s. It was designed as an interceptor. However, later models were developed to perform a variety of missions, serving as escort bombers, fighter-bombers, day, night, all-weather fighters, attack and reconnaissance aircraft. It was supplied to several nations during World War II and served in several countries for many years after the war. The Bf 109 is the most produced fighter in history, with 34,248 airframes produced between 1936 and April 1945. A portion of the Bf 109 was produced in Nazi concentration camps through slave labor. The Bf 109 was flown by three of the most successful fighters of all time, who scored 928 victories between them flying Jagdgeschwader 52, mostly on the Eastern Front. The most successful Erich Hartmann got 352 victories. The plane was also flown by Hans-Joachim Marcel, the most successful ace in the North African campaign, who shot down 158 enemy aircraft (about a third of the time). It also flew many aces from other countries fighting Germany, including Finn Ilmari Juutilainen, the highest-scoring non-German ace. He scored 58 of the 94 confirmed victories in the Bf 109. Pilots from Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Italy also flew the fighter. Thanks to constant improvements, the Bf 109 remained competitive with the latest Allied fighters until the end of the war.