[Glider]

Originally Posted by Kurfürst

Nice copy paste job from spitliarperformance.

Nothing wrong with cutting and pasting original quotes, I have done the ame from your site.

However, the above pilot accounts describes the early manual propellor pitch system of the 109E, and this was superseded already in late 1939 by a fully automatic (CSP) system, which governed propellor pitch with a single lever system, and made tinkering with engine controls unnecessary. I am sure a number of early aircraft still had manual propellor pitch early in the Battle, especially those which converted to 109E early and still had early production machines, but the situation was hardly worse than in Fighter Command, where fighters for some time had to struggle with inefficient 2-pitch propellors.

I don't disagree but the RAF had switched to CSP by July 1940 I think and its clear that the Luftwaffe were still using older versions much later. The interesting question is how many 109's were still using the old props.

edit
All Spitfires were converted by 20 July, All Hurricane Units by 16th August

German pilots were instructed to make full advantage of this disadvantage of RAF pilots:
http://kurfurst.org/Tactical_trials/...g_Aug1940.html

The Spitfire and partly the Hurricane have two-pitch propellers. Climbing away with the Bf 109 and Bf 110 must be done with the best climbing speed or even higher speeds of about 280 – 300 km/h. On aircraft with two-pitch propellers with low blade angle the engine will experience a very high over-revolution, and on the other
hand with high blade angle high boost pressure – therefore in other words, performance loss.

I don't disagree with this either but would point out that the RAF witched to CSP very quickly and the above comment is of limited use.

The rest of your posting I deleted as it had nothing to do with the 109E. As you know better than I the 109F was a very different machine.

However what wasn't a cut and paste was the reference to the Yugoslav air force that supported the view that the 109 was a more difficult aircraft to fly, not a simple machine.

What often happens re the BOB is when people think it started, the UK more or les go from soon after the evacuation of Dunkirk, when do you consider the battle have really started.

Its worth noting that Leutnant Erich Bodendiek, II/JG 53 engaged in a 18 September combat did note that the CSP was a new one presumably the other aircraft were still using old ones