Messerschmitt's failure to resolve the stability and other problems of the Me 209 project during 1940 caused
Willy Messerschmitt to scrap much of the earlier design work when he commissioned
wind tunnel testing of new wing designs and the
cockpit canopy in January 1941. Other changes included dropping the
Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine and substituting
tricycle landing gear for the previous
tail-dragger landing gear. The revised design was formally redesignated as the Me 309 in May. The new fighter included a
pressurized cockpit, which would have given it more comfortable and effective high-altitude performance. Each of the new features was first tested on a number of Bf 109F
airframes, the
V23 having a ventral
radiator, the
V31 with a radiator and tricycle landing gear, and the
V30 having a pressurized cockpit. Low government interest in the project delayed completion of the first prototype until spring 1942, and trouble with the nosewheel pushed back the 309's first flight to July. When it did fly, the Me 309's performance was satisfactory – about 50 km/h (30 mph) faster than a standard Bf 109G – but not exemplary. In fact, the Bf 109G could out-turn its intended replacement. With the addition of armament, the aircraft's speed decreased to an unacceptable level. In light of its poor performance and the much more promising development of the
Focke-Wulf Fw 190D, the Me 309 was canceled.
Me 609 In an attempt to revive the project, initiated in response to a 1941
Reich Air Ministry requirement for a new
Zerstörer (destroyer) to replace the twin engined
Messerschmitt Bf 110, Messerschmitt's response was the Me 609. In order to meet the requirement of a new design in a minimum of time and with a minimum of new parts, the failed Me 309 project was used as the basis of the new fighter. The Me 609 would have joined two Me 309 fuselages with a new centre wing section. Only the two inner wheels of the joined Me 309's main
landing gears would have been used and would retract into the centre section. This resulted in an unusual four-wheel arrangement. The Me 609 would have had its cockpit in the port fuselage, the starboard being smoothed over. Two versions were planned: a heavy fighter with four or six
30 mm MK 108 cannon, and a
Schnellbomber (Fast bomber) variant with two 30 mm MK 108 cannon and a bombload of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) carried beneath the fuselages. By the time designs were being ironed out, the revolutionary
Messerschmitt Me 262 turbojet negated the need for further piston-engined fighter design.
Me 209 II In 1943, Messerschmitt made one last attempt at creating a replacement for the Bf 109 in the form of a second Me 209 design, totally different from the original
Me 209. It was essentially a modification of the existing 109 airframe, Messerschmitt designers not wanting to invest the time and trouble in a new design like the Me 309. ==Specifications (Me 309)==