Сarrier-based fighter First flight: 1939 Messerschmitt

At the beginning of 1939, V. Messerschmitt offered the sailors a technical design for a carrier-based Bf 109T fighter ("trager" - aircraft carrier). By design, it was close to the Bf 109E, but differed by an increased area and wingspan. In this regard, the slats and ailerons were lengthened, and the flaps also had a large area. Between the fifth and sixth fuselage frames, an attachment point to the catapult leash was provided. The landing hook was attached to the seventh frame. The structure in the indicated place was reinforced to withstand heavy loads. The consoles could be folded manually relative to the longitudinal hinges located on the outside of the gun installation nodes. The wing span in the folded state was reduced to 4.1 m, but folding the consoles was a rather laborious operation, since it was first necessary to disconnect the flaps. The Bf 109T project was accepted, but the production of a pre-production batch was entrusted to Fisiler. Right on the assembly line, the conversion of ten Bf 109E-1 airframes into pre-production Bf 109T-0 began; Fieseler subsequently received an order for another 60 Bf 109T-1s.

DB-601A engines were installed on Bf 109T-0 aircraft. To increase the glide angle during landing approach, spoilers were additionally installed on the upper surface of the wing. The increased loads during landing on the deck required the strengthening of the landing gear. After testing in Travemünde in the winter of 1939-1940. they were supposed to be transferred for military trials to 1I / JG186. However, after the outbreak of World War II, it was decided to suspend all work on the completion of the Graf Zeppelin aircraft carrier, since the only aircraft carrier could not have the required combat stability.

The assembly of Bf 109T-1 fighters at the Fiziler plant was stopped shortly after the suspension of work on the aircraft carrier. However, the successful combat use of British aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean at the end of 1940 again drew the attention of the German leadership to this type of ships. "Fieseler" was instructed to complete the production of 60 Bf 109T, but without special "aircraft carrier" equipment. The aircraft was manufactured as a fighter-bomber version adapted for operation from short runways.

Attachments to the catapult and landing hooks were removed from the aircraft, ventral holders for 300-liter tanks, four 50-kg or one 250-kg bombs were installed. This version, released in the spring of 1941, received the designation Bf 109T-2. The aircraft of this modification were equipped with DB-601N engines, which ran on 96-octane SZ gasoline. With a takeoff weight of 2800 kg, the Bf 109T-2 fighter had a takeoff distance of 500 m (with a climb of 15 m). Its minimum flight speed was only 120 km / h, and landing - 130 km / h.

Such aircraft were considered suitable for use from small temporary airfields, typical for the northern regions of Europe. In particular, the Bf 109T-2 fighters were transferred to the arsenal of the I / JG77 group, based in the Stavanger region. The re-equipment of the group from Bf 109E-3 to Bf 109T-2 began in June 1941, with one detachment transferred to Trondheim (later it was called the "separate detachment Trondheim"). On 24 January 1942, 1/JG.77, still armed with Bf 109T-2, changed its name to I/JG5. Shortly thereafter, the 3rd detachment was transferred to Hurdle Island near Bergen, where a wooden runway was equipped with a length slightly larger than the deck of an aircraft carrier.

In March 1942, an attempt by the battleship Tirpitz, escorted by light forces, to attack the northern convoys en route to Murmansk ended in failure due to detection by submarines, but the lack of fighter cover over the German squadron also played a certain role. As a result, Admiral Raeder again raised the question of the need to complete the construction of the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin. The order to resume work on the aircraft carrier was received on May 13, 1942, but by that time the Bf 109T-2 was already considered obsolete.

The good takeoff and landing characteristics of the Bf 109Т-2 made it possible to send the surviving aircraft to the so-called "Heligoland fighter detachment", formed on April 10, 1943 on the island of the same name. About 30 Bf 109T-2 fighters continued to be in the Reich air fleet until the summer of 1944, and then they were transferred to the 1V / JG5 fighter group.

Photo	Description
	Drawing Bf 109T