Spitfire vs. BF-109

[MorNot]

Except horizontal turn radius is just one of the many things to consider in a dogfight of that era. The 109s had better power to weight ratio, an engine that wouldn't stall at negative Gs and (until Hispano cannons became common) heavier firepower than the Spitfire. The truth is they could fight each other to a stalemate, but in the Battle of Britain that meant a stalemate over enemy territory for the 109.

[viper]

There's a decent video by Mark Felton called 'Messerspit - The Frankenstein Fighter' where in 1942 the Germans put a DB605a engine in the fuselage of a captured Spitfire MkVb. The result was an aircraft noticeably superior to either in altitude and climb rate.

[brianmacadam]

Certainly the Spit had better turning radius, however the 109 had better dive characteristics . The two aircraft very comparable in combat ability.

[tsegulin]

The Germans learned early on to avoid WW1 style turning combat. The Bf-109E had significant advantages over the Spitfire when used with 'boom and zoom' style combat.

[MrJake-yxll]

Lest we forget the fuel injection advantage the 109 had over the Spit with carburetors.
The Germans wasted no time in figuring that one out and came up with dogfight Maneuvers that cause the carburetors to do what carburetors do when compared to fuel injection in way and that way Dogfight countermeasures.
At the end of the day the respective pilots figured out what they could and could not do with their equipment and carried the day.
At that point it went from a Dogfight fight to a Catfight.
Decades later Grumman engineers saluted this observation and aptly named the legendary variable Wing area twin engine twin Aviator F-14 as none other than --TheTomcat.

[joelex]

That large wing area affected top speed and climb rate as well. The two planes were remarkably evenly matched with the skill and experience of the pilot being the decisive factor.

[MrReasonabubble]

I think of the Spitfire as pretty small by the standard of fighters of that era. I was actually surprised that the Bf109 is even smaller.

[crazybird]

Make whole plane wing for instant turns

[ColtonRMagby]

The BF-109's larger turning radius made it easy for Spitfire pilots to take them out of the air with a short burst.

[michaelshepherd]

You're missing many other factors. The turn rate at at different speeds. The spitfire was a tight turner at higher speed. The 109 had slats and due to this had a better turn rate and lower speeds.

[therealjames]

BF-109: I see, so you've made yourself a bigger target!

[MrBurgerman]

Thanks dude now i can fight spitfire in war thunder with my yak :)

[shannonmonroe]

Both aircraft had their advantages like the fuel injection and 20mm cannons on the 109. IMO though it came down to the pilot flying the machine.

[braydenlovetere]

Bf-109 is an energy fighter while the spit was more of a turn fighter

[Workerbee-zynx]

109 was a small bird, spitfire were large and comfy.

[_studios]

Real pilots know it’s all about speed though.

[dougdarby]

Higher wing loading was not only a factor with the BF109 but also the FW190 This meant higher stall speed in addition to turn radius and in a dogfight accelerated stalls could be deadly

[mtb]

a lot of noticeable differences down to the landing gear, the guns, & even fuel injection vs carburetor. I swear through, if they would have put a fuel injector in the Spitfire a lot sooner than they did, there would be no Battle of Britton. One hell of a plane lol

[juergenwest]

Wasn’t the head to head victory ratio between the two in favour of the Messerschmitt?

[casematecardinal]

Wing loading isnt the only factor in capabilities or turning circle for that matter but it tends to be a drcent indicator of turning abilty head to head at certain speed regimes.