Why do the British obsess over the Supermarine Spitfire when the Messerschmitt Bf 109 was superior?

Question

It was produced in greater numbers than the Spitfire, 34,852 Bf 109s vs 
22,685 Spitfires (including derivatives of both). It was also superior in performance and armament.


From the British Imperial War Museum:

"It was faster than the Spitfire at high altitude, could dive more rapidly and carried a more effective armament of two cannon and two machine guns."

As a German I have always found the British fascination with the Spitfire rather odd.

Answer 1

The Spitfire had carburettors but the Me109 had fuel injection which was an advantage flying upside down. It also had bigger guns. However, the Spitfire had better manoeuvrability which probably made them fairly equal .

In the Battle of Britain, the British fighters had the advantage of being able to refuel quickly whereas the Germans had to get back to France or come down in the channel.

Britain also had an advantage of getting damaged planes back into action by way of a very efficient parts operation whereas the German  planes were sent back to the factory, so higher losses were negated too.

In respect of “best plane”, both sides were continually developing them , so at any one point, the Spitfire was best ( it was mk 24 by the end of the war) and at another point the Me109 was.

Answer 2

The British, most pathetically, had no Vril saucer.

Answer 3

The BF109 was a great aircraft,  but like most other aircraft it did have it flaws which why the Germans went ahead and built the FW190. both  aircraft where  a good match  for the spitfire 1 and 5 but by the time  the spitfire mrk 9 came into service the 109 190 where at a disadvantage in many respects.  however  all the aircraft mentioned  were capable of taking on each other and defeating an opponent providing the pilot had the experience . 

Answer 4

Obsessed that make 30 Obsessions the British have this year an interest in things on planet earth is NOT an Obsession



spitfire first Built 1938 

The first prototype BF 109 flew in October 1935—powered by a British Rolls-Royce engine, since even the Jumo was not yet available. The Jumo-powered Bf 109B, armed with four 7.92-mm (0.3-inch) machine guns, entered service in 1937 and was immediately tested in combat in the Spanish Civil War.



the Spitfire was superior to the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter in a dogfight since it had considerably better turning ability than its German arch-rival.



RANGECombat ranges were comparable. Both designs were initially designed to defend airbases against enemy bombing, and that was reflected in their range figures on internal fuel—680 km for the Spitfire I A/B and about 660 km for the Bf 109E.



A German Me 109 E is in pursuit of a British Spitfire Mk. I. The Spitfire turns as tightly to the left as possible which is more tightly, than the German Me 109 is able to do. The better climbing and diving qualities of the latter are of no use to the pilot in this situation: the bullets from the two machine guns and the two cannon simply pass harmlessly by the tail of the pursued Spitfire and into empty space.



Following feedback from pilots of the Condor Legion, Messerschmitt also modified the Bf 109 prototypes with a 20 mm cannon mounted between the engine cylinder banks, firing through the propeller hub. However, the vibration from the cannon was so severe that it proved to be unworkable. This problem was resolved much later in the war. In the meantime, several alternatives were trialled. The Bf 109B utilised an engine-mounted machine gun in place of the cannon. This, too, proved to be problematic.



The Bf 109C featured a redesigned wing to accommodate two 7.92 mm machine guns, with ammunition boxes stored in the fuselage. The system worked in tests, but failed under the strain of air combat. The Bf 109D carried four guns – two in the nose and two under the wings. Bf 109E-1s carried the same armament. The E-3 models, though, were equipped with a 20 mm cannon under each wing, installed in two streamlined blisters along with a 60-round ammunition drum. Finally, the issues with the engine-mounted cannon were resolved in the F-4 model, which flew with a 20mm cannon that proved to be very accurate.



When it came to maximum speed at level flight there was little to choose between either model: Spitfire (365 mph, 587 km/h), Me 109 E-1 (354 mph, 570 km/h). The Spitfire was somewhat faster at altitudes above 20,000 feet, it was slower at lower altitudes. The slight difference at level flight was of scarcely any significance, but when climbing—at least at altitudes below 20,000 feet—and diving, an Me 109 pilot would be likely to leave any Supermarine Spitfire struggling in its wake.



Overall the spitfire was better and May 1940 to October 1940 proved that when we won the Battle of Britain



with 2 x 20mm cannons a 4 303" machine guns out manoeuvred the 109 and had about the same fire power  except the 108 could not fire its top Guns without blinding the Piloti



as for Quantity, the workhorse was the Hurricane and the Germans needed more because the RAF was shooting faster than the Luftwaffe was shooting down Spitfires 



More than 1700 Luftwaffe (German air force) planes were destroyed.



The Royal Air Force (RAF) lost 1250 aircraft, including 1017 fighters



Eventually, 14,000 Hurricanes would be built and 22,000 Spitfires (including Royal Navy Seafires). that is 36,000 fighters against Germanys 35,000



Loosing about 700 more than the RAF from May to October 1940 saved the UK from Invasion that was only 5 months the Luftwaffe never recovered then attacked the USSR



only an Idiot would do that

Answer 5

Well, the tank-tard is a German.  Now it all makes sense!

Answer 6

Who won the war ?

Answer 7

We Won.

Even with Superior aircraft the Hun were no match for British chappies.

Spanked them proper.

Stick their technological prowess where the sun dunt shine.

Answer 8

The main British fighter in use in 1940 was the Hurricane, not the Spitfire.

Answer 9

How was it we shot so many 109s down? The Spitfire was more agile so in a dogfight superior speed and armament was negated.

Answer 10

It helped save their nation during the "Battle for Britain". It was a David vs Goliath type of battle. That would be the main reason I can think of.

Answer 11

Its one of the wartime myths that all countries have



not correct sidney

the 109 had more range, far better armament and a fuel injected engine (the spitfires was carburetor)

 (this meant to 109 could just be put straight into a dive if necessary - the spitfire couldnt . It had to roll over onto its back if you wanted to dive quickly in order supply a centrifugal force to produce an artificial gravity so the carburretor would work correctly (not much point being able to turn quicker if all the plane you are chasing has to do is push the stick forward. By the time the spitfire rolled over and dived to follow him he would be long gone



it took a hellova lot more man hours to build a spitfire than a 109 (so took a lot more war effort)



 To achieve its maximum speed all the rivets on the spitfire wings  had to be ground down so as to be flush with the wings



the spitfire had an external radiator - shoot that and it was game over for the spitfire cos it wouldnt take long for the engine to seize

 

(hi "barry"

total UK aircraft "destroyed" - 1744

total german aircraft "destroyed" 1977

BUT a lot of those german aircraft were bombers not fighters

And those are only aircraft "destroyed"

But many UK aircraft were shot down (not necessarily crashed) but were repaired and put back in the air again (so were not "destroyed")

This dont apply to german aircraft - they get shot down they stay down



 Also by end battle of britain UK losses were higher than german losses



  It was germany switching to bombing london during the battle that saved fighter command

  NOT because of pilot losses , but cos of pilot fatigue

Answer 12

We don't, Tank Boy. You're the only one who seems to be obsessed with this kind of thing.

Answer 13

Apparently in July 41 the Russians tested an Me109 that landed by error on their side. It had guns on the top of the fuselage that the pilot couldn't use because the muzzle flash blinded him, it was very hard to bank without "barrelling" and had shocking forward and lateral visibility.  



That was a major moral boost because the Russians fighters in the first year of their war were, on paper, def inferior. 



So there!

Answer 14

But the Spitfire was more maneuverable, which means it was usually better at shooting the adversary.



The production numbers don't mean anything.



And the British like their plane because, even if they were not as good, they managed to win.