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Messerschmitt Me 509

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Me 509
Model picture Me 509
General information
TypeFighter aircraft
ManufacturerMesserschmitt
StatusUnrealised project

The Messerschmitt Me 509 was an all-metal fighter project, underway in Germany during World War II.

Development

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Not much information about this project has survived. It was based on the Me 309 but with the engine located behind a pressurized cockpit, much in a similar manner to the US Bell P-39 Airacobra.

The engine was a Daimler-Benz DB 605B driving a three-blade propeller, and armament was to consist of two 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns and two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon. The tricycle landing gear from the Me 309 was retained, which worked better on the 509, due to the lower weight on the nosewheel - the Me 309's nosegear had collapsed during trials. The smaller nose would have improved visibility. The project was cancelled along with the Me 309,[1] but the Japanese made a similar aircraft, the Yokosuka R2Y Keiun, which suffered from engine overheating.[2]

Specifications (as designed)

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Data from [citation needed]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 9.94 m (32 ft 7 in)
  • Wingspan: 11.27 m (37 ft 0 in)
  • Height: 3.98 m (13 ft 1 in)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Daimler-Benz DB 605B v-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,085 kW (1,455 hp)
  • Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 760 km/h (470 mph, 410 kn)

Armament

  • Guns:

See also

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Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

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  1. ^ "Projekte : Projekt Me 509 (drop down)". me109.info (in German). Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  2. ^ Dyer, Edwin M. III (2009). Japanese Secret Projects:Experimental Aircraft of the ITA and IJN 1939–1945. Hinkley: Midland Publishing. pp. 78-80. ISBN 978-978-1857805.
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