Was the German Bf 109 fighters a success?

Answer 1

Yes. They had a very good kill ratio and were quite good gun platforms.

There were some problems such as the landing gear (which was prone to collapse on hard landings), short flight time (early models) and had the sideways flip open canopy (harder to bail out of).

Otherwise pretty good manouverability, after first models all came with canons in the prop hub (very deadly) and some in the wings. Had a very reliable engine and since it was injected rather than carburetor (like British fighters) they could fly upside down and dive without rolling over (both probs with the hurricane and spitfire).

Since they were made throughout the war and even prior to the war they should be considered a success. Adolf Galland flew one (General fighter arm, over 150 kills) until he was sent to fly jets, Eric Hartmann the greatest ace ever (over 350 kills) flew 109s for his entire career. Both of them survived the war (if you were wondering).

The fighter of course went through several revisions throughout the war and had many on site modifications. Better engine, bigger canon in the hub, larger fuel tank, under belly fuel tank, bomb carring capability, 37mm canon pods under wing, plus numerous other minor mods over its lifetime. The war started with the basically D model followed quickly with the E then the F and finally the G (still in production at wars end). Several other models were attempted.

Answer 2

Yes, it was a success. The major problem was that the Germans did not make its manufactur a priority, so they had too few to make a difference at the end of the war.

Answer 3

Yes--They were Germany most successful fighter Plane of WW2!!!!