Hobby Master Archive

1/48 scale pre-finished. Die-cast metal with a minimum of plastic. All markings pad applied for superb results. Canopy slides open. Comes with a pilot that can be removed. Comes with display stand. Landing gear is fully retractable and can be displayed up or down. Propeller is metal. Extremely sought after by collectors.

Hobby Master 1/48 Air Power Series HA8712 BF 109E-3 “Werner Molders” Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 53, May 1940

The first German mass produced 109 fighter was the Bf-109E that has been mistakenly referred to as the Me-109. The Bf is the designator for the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) (Bavarian Aircraft Works) that produced the original aircraft. In 1938 Messerschmitt took over BFW but throughout WWII German handbooks and documents referred to the aircraft as the Bf-109. By the end of 1939 the Bf-109E (Emil) had replaced all other 109 variants and equipped 13 Gruppens with 40 aircraft each. The Bf-109 was the main single-engine aircraft until the Fw-190 came along.

Werner Molders scored his first victory on September 21, 1939 as Staffelkapitan of 1./JG 53 “Pik As” and became known as “Vati” (Daddy) Molders. In October 1939 he became Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 53. On May 27, 1940 Molders scored his 20th victory, was promoted to Hauptmann. On June 5, 1940 Molders was shot down and taken prisoner but was released two weeks later when France after France surrendered. While returning to Germany for a funeral the He-111 he was in crashed killing him and the pilot. Molders' final tally was 101 aircraft.

Specifications Bf-109E-4 Single-seat day fighter Crew - 1 Dimensions Wingspan - 32 ft 4.5 in Length - 28 ft 8 in Height - 11 ft 2 in Performance Powerplant - 1 X Daimler-Benz DB 601Aa 12 cylinder inverted-vee liquid cooled, 1,150 h.p. @ 2,400 rpm on take-off Propeller - VDM electrically-operated controllable-pitch fully-feathering 3-blade metal screw Fuel - 88 Imp. Gallons in fuselage behind pilot and under his seat. Speed Maximum - 375 mph @ 12,300 ft Cruising - 298 mph @ 62.5% power Stall - 75 mph landing with flaps extended Range - 412 miles @ 62.5% power @ 16,000 ft Initial Climb Rate - 3,100 ft/min Service ceiling - 36,000 ft Weights Empty - 4,440 lbs Gross Loaded - 5,520 lbs Armament 2 X 7.9 mm MG 17 MG, 1,000 rpg mounted on engine crankcase firing through propeller 2 X 20 mm MG FF cannons, 60 rpg mounted in wings