Messerschmitt Me 209 V1

In the pre-World War II era, Heinkel and Messerschmitt competed to see whose design would achieve a higher top speed and thus set a new speed record. The Messerschmitt company thus began work on a project in 1937 called Project 1059. The RLM accepted this project and gave it the designation Me 209. Three prototypes were ordered, with the understanding that in addition to the record machine, a prototype fighter version of the machine would also be built.
This first prototype with the serial number Werk-No. 1185 and the civilian registration D-INJR was flown on 1 August 1938 by Dr. Ing. Hermann Wurster at the Augsburg-Hauenstetten airfield. The machine as such had many defects such as fumes entering the cabin, the landing gear could not be retracted at speeds greater than 250 km/h, the engine did not work evenly, poor cooling caused it to overheat. When manoeuvring at higher speeds, the chassis tended to extend spontaneously. The oil was leaking out and staining the cab's visor. and, of course, the view was even worse than from the "100". The machine had a tendency to suddenly go into a dive. The rudders also performed unsatisfactorily.
As such, the aircraft did not meet the requirements required of it. However, due to the destruction of the second prototype and the setting of a new speed record by Heinkel's competitors, it was decided to modify the machine, mainly by fitting a new Daimler-Benz DB 601 ARJ (DB 601 V10) engine.
On 26 April 1939, the modified machine, in dark blue paint and piloted by Fritz Wendel, broke the Heinkel He-100 V8 speed record of 746 km/h by 9.176 km/h and increased the record speed to 755.138 km/h, a record that remained unbroken until 16 April 1939. August 1969, when the American Darryl G. Greenamyer reached a speed of 776.449 km/h in a modified Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat called Conquest I.
The Germans also used this success in propaganda where, however, the aircraft was ordered to be represented in all publications as the Bf 109 R - i.e. as a developmental advance on this version.
Currently, part of the machine (the fuselage, although probably not complete) is on display at the Aviation Museum in Kraków, however the aircraft needs to be refurbished.


MURAWSKI, Marek J. Luftwaffe Aircraft 1933-45 : Part 2. 1st ed. Intermodel, 1997. 262 p. (16 p. bar. appendices). ISBN 80-901976-3-9

Messerchmitt Me 209 V1

Několik fotek z Krakovského muzea (Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego)

http://www.airwar.ru/enc/fww2/me209.html

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