In the early 1930s, a competition was held to replace the aging He 51 and other biplane fighters. Out of four designs, the Bf 109 was selected and would mark the beginning of the fabled Bf 109. At first, it was powered by a Rolls-Royce engine, but later developments switched out the engine for the Junkers Jumo. Although the Bf 109 A might be thought of by some as the first production variant of the 109, it was actually the Bf 109 B. The 109 A production run was abandoned because the planned version of the B variant would've included a 20 mm cannon firing through the propeller hub. However, cooling issues prevented the use of the cannon and instead another 7.92 mm machine gun was added. The Bf 109 B-1 would be powered by the Junkers Jumo 210D, and it propelled the 109 to speeds up to ~467 km/h (292 mph). It was far slower than the Merlin-powered Hawker Hurricane, and the 109 wouldn't receive a major engine upgrade until the Bf 109 D, which introduced the Daimler-Benz engines.
The Bf 109 B-1 was introduced in Update 1.49 (aka 1.70.1945) "Weapons of Victory". Being the first production variant of the 109, the B-1 is quite lacklustre when it comes to performance and armament. It lacks any cannons, and the Jumo engine only produces around 650 hp. With a maximum climb rate of only 10.2 m/s, players should practice side climbing to gain an altitude advantage over enemy aircraft. Many opponents will be in biplanes, and they will easily outturn the 109 in a dogfight. Thus, players should use its excellent structural limit of 790 km/h (493 mph) to make boom and zoom passes on enemy fighters. Also, the B-1 comes armed with only two 7.92 mm machine guns, so it will take many rounds to down an enemy aircraft. Targeting the pilot will be the best option to quickly and efficiently take down enemy aircraft.
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Belt | Belt filling | Armor penetration (mm) at a distance: | |||||
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10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 2000 m | ||
AP-T/AP-I/AI | 9 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
AP-T/AP/AI/AP-I | 13 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
AP-T | 9 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
AI/AP/AP/AP/AI | 13 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Flight performance | |
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Weaponry |
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