Once World War I ended, Germany was forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, which forbade the nation from maintaining an air force. But when Hitler rose to power in the early 1930s, he began to rebuild the Germanic air force from scratch.
One of the earliest aircraft that the German military secretly tested was Willy Messerschmitt's famous Bf 109. It quickly became one of the most advanced fighters of its time.
The Bf 109 was first flown during the Spanish Civil War as part of the Condor Legion that helped General Franco.
By the time the Luftwaffe regained power before the outbreak of World War II, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 was the backbone of the German air force. It would also become the most produced and used aircraft in history.
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was broadly used in all fronts. It flew over western and eastern Europe, Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic with various combat configurations.
Its tremendous versatility made it able to perform well as a fighter, bomber, escort, and support aircraft. It was no coincidence that by the time World War 2 was over, the most highly decorated German pilots flew exclusively aboard customized Bf 109s.
Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, topsecret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.
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