A diagram of the Me 609 fighter
The Messerschmitt Me 609 was a short-lived experimental fighter that was never commissioned to battle or to be used by the Luftwaffe. The project for building the Me 609 was initiated from a Reich Air Ministry request for a new heavy fighter to replace the Messerschmitt Bf 110. The Me 609 was developed from the Messerschmitt Me 309.
Prototypes[]
The Me 609 was going to use the failed Me 309 prototype to form its base. It would have joined two Me 309 fuselages with a center wing section which had two inboard wheels for the fighter's landing gear.[N 1] It kept the Me 309 tricycle arrangement which lead to the Me 609 having six wheels. The cockpit was on the left side of the fighter, while the right side was smoothed out. It would have been used as a heavy fighter and a bomber, but as time passed, there was no longer any need for piston-engined fighter designs, as the Me 262 with its jet engines was taking over the Me 609's roles.
Specification[]
The Me 609 measured 9.52 m in length and 3.24 metres in height, with a 16.00 metre wingspan. Empty weight was 6,100 kg, increasing to an all up weight of 9,930 kg, which included a useful load of 3,830 kg. Power would have been provided by a pair of DB 605 engines, each providing 2,000 hp, giving the Me 609 a max speed of 425 mph (685 km/h). Armament would have consisted of 2 Mk 108 30 mm cannon, supplemented by a bomb load of 2,000kg.[3]
References[]
Notes[]
Sources[]
- ↑ Scutts, Jerry. Combat Legend Messerchmitt Bf 109. Airlife Books (2002), ISBN 1 84037 364 4 Page 77
- ↑ Nowarra, Heinz. Aircraft & Legend Messerschmitt Bf 109, English Edition. Haynes Publishing Group (1989), ISBN 0 85429 729 4 Page 230
- ↑ Nowarra, Heinz Page 307
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