This English language book, Messerschmitt Me 309 Development & Politics, is authored by Dan Sharp and Calum E. Douglas and was published on July 3, 2024.

Dan Sharp studied history at the University of Liverpool and has worked as a writer and editor since 1998. Having spent several years as the news editor of a regional daily newspaper, he switched to motorcycle magazines. As a hobby he began doing primary source research that has resulted in quite a few historical aviation books. These include Cold War – Sex, Spies and Nuclear Missiles (2013), Messerschmitt Me 262: Secret Projects and Experimental Prototypes (2013), Messerschmitt Bf 109: Secret Projects and Experimental Prototypes (2013), Dueling Above the Trenches – Sopwith Aircraft of the Great War (2014), D-Day Operation Overlord and the Battle for Normandy (2014), Luftwaffe Secret Jets of the Third Reich (2015), Spitfires Over Berlin (2015), The Hated Volksjäger: Histories of the Heinkel He 162 (2015), Luftwaffe – Secret Bombers of the Third Reich (2016), and Messerschmitt Me 262: Development and Politics (2023). Dan Sharp currently lives in Nottinghamshire with his wife and two children.

Calum E. Douglas is a professional mechanical engineer and aviation historian. He accidentally became a writer after discovering that many of the technologies of the Formula-One motor racing engines he was involved with had in fact been conceived in the Second World War. He has written two books on Second World War technology and is regularly invited all over the world to lecture about the history of high-performance piston engines. From Rolls-Royce to the Royal Aeronautical Society and many Formula One teams including Scuderia-Ferarri. He continues to research and write whilst working as a freelance engineer from his home in Scotland.

This tome represents an outgrowth of Tempest Books Secret Projects of the Luftwaffe. Volume 1 by Dan Sharp that covered Jet Fighters 1939-1945 (2020). Volume 2 in this series covers Bombers 1939 – 45, again by Dan Sharp. This Volume covering the Messerschmitt Me 309 is aligned with books in the Development & Politics series on the Messerschmitt Me 328 and the Messerschmitt Me 262. This 192-page portrait hard cover book [8.625” x 12”] features a gorgeous cover painting of the Me 309 head-on by Piotr Forkasiewicz. The rear cover features a color side profile and four black and white photographs that are included within the book. I counted 160 black and white photographs and fifteen 15 color photographs, manual drawings, and graphs. Thierry Vallet contributes ten color full page illustrations, including front and top views of Me 309 V1.

Dan Sharp and Calum E. Douglas addresses the development of the Me 309, beginning with extensive coverage of the Me 209 that was designed to break piston engine speed records. In fact, the speed record that it set of 469 mph on April 26, 1939, lasted until broken by Darryl Greenamyer in “Conquest”, his highly modified Grumman F8F Bearcat on August 16, 1969. Concurrently with the development of the Me 209 was the development of the next generation of engines from BMW and Jumo [BMW 603 and Jumo 211]. Of note is that the Me 209 V1 fuselage still exists at the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków, Poland. Reduction of drag was a priority, and evaporative cooling in the wing surface was used. This was fine for a speed attempt, but for a front-line fighter, evaporative cooling through the wing’s surfaces was never solved. Continued development of the Me 209 ended up with a fighter that became inferior to the latest Me 109 variant. February 25, 1941, saw a new specification issued to Messerschmitt for an evolved Me 209 that ended up with the new designation Me 309. While some work continued on the evolved Me 209, it was clear that the new program would go forward under the Me 309 designation.

The desire to convert the Me 209 to front line use led to major changes to the design. Page 24 shows off the Me 209 V1 with its short wings coupled with the cockpit behind the wing trailing edge. The custom DB 601 engine was basically good for one speed record flight, after which it would have to be replaced. Fighter design continued to be impacted by the slow development of more powerful engine designs, which greatly affected the progress of the Me 309, as well as its prime competitor, the Fw 190. Page 14 shows off the Jumo 211 and Jumo 213 engines that were competing with the BMW 603 engine. The demand that all German aircraft must be able to dive bomb also impacted the development of both fighters and strategic bombers.

Solving the cooling issues of an inline engine resulted in abandoning the evaporative cooling concept and a move towards a retractable radiator. Testing began on October 9, 1941, on the Bf 109 V31 [essentially a conversion from the Me 109F-1 standard] as illustrated on Page 56. The extended radiator was only intended for low-speed operations but also had the effect of raising the cockpit temperature substantially. Engineers claimed that this retractable radiator was an improvement over the Me 109F-1 cooling system, but comparative testing was never pursued. Notable is the change in main landing gear to a wide track to improve ground handling. The Me 309 V1 is displayed on Page 81 with its lowered radiator and tricycle landing gear. Notable in the bottom photograph is a tarp covered Me 262 V2 Schwalbe. Taxi tests revealed issues with the cooling system connections which were quickly addressed. Next up were the nose wheel flutter and braking overheating issues.

Daimler Benz was also fighting hotspot issues in its DB603 engine regardless of the cooling system. The Me 309 V2 was thought to have solved the nose wheel flutter issues during its taxi testing. The Me 309 V2 indeed did take to the air on November 29, 1942, but crashed on landing when the retracted nosewheel failed to fully extend and lock into position. The Me 309 V3 with a fixed, faired-in radiator took flight on March 3, 1943, to test its leading edge slats [Page 147], but by that time, the end of the Me 309 program was essentially done. The Me 309 was faster than the Me 109 by about 30 mph, but was less maneuverable than the Me 109. Flight tests of the Me 262 were also progressing and development resources were extremely limited. The continued demand that fighter development be compromised by the ability to deliver bombs continued to waste development resources [Page 180]. The sections include:

• Introduction
• Development Overload
• Essential Engines [Page 014]
• Untrustworthy Companies
• The Main Event
• Chapter 1: Me 209 To Me 309: 1938 To February 1941
  • Runners-Up
  • A Promising New Engine
  • Bf 209 V1 [Page 024]
  • Undercarriage Headache
  • Me 209 V2
  • Me 209 V3
  • Me 209 V4
  • Developed Me 209 V4
  • Evolved Me 209
  • Workers Removed
  • From Me 209 To Me 309
• Chapter 2: Standard Fighter: March 1941 To May 1942
  • Available Armaments
  • Nitrous Oxide
  • Me 309 Baubeschreibung
  • Mock-Up Inspection
  • The First 20 Machines
  • Augsburg V. Regensburg
  • Thick Wing Me 309 [Page 056]
  • Jumo 213 V. DB 603
  • Bf 109 With DB 603
  • Pressure Cabin and Ejection Seat
  • The Downward Spiral
  • Messerschmitt Versus The Me 309
  • The Competitor
  • Me 309 With Jumo 213
  • Me 309 Alternative
  • ME 309 Engine Mock-Up
  • The Me 210 Disaster
  • Bf 109 With Jumo 213
  • Me 109 ST
  • Me 309 Vs Bf 109H
  • Two Me 409s
• Chapter 3: Me 309 V1 Alone: June 1942 – September 1942
  • Fw 190 Rescued By The 603
  • The Third ME 409
  • 213 For Bombers, 603 For Fighters [Page 081]
  • Me 309 V1 Taxi Tests
  • ME 309 V1 First Flights
  • The Luftwaffe View
  • Me 309 V1 Modifications
  • Reversible Pitch Propeller
  • Troublesome DB 603 G
  • Nosewheel Testing
  • Fw 190 C In 1944
  • Radiator Drag Debate
  • Rough Running
  • Borrowed Parts
  • Jumo 213 Crisis
  • Ten Prototypes
  • Bomber Engines
  • Return To Regensburg
  • Me 309 A-1 And A-2
• Chapter 4: Against The 309: October 1942 – November 1942
  • The Troubleshooter
  • Passive Aircraft Protection
  • Jig-Building Prisoners
  • Frenetic Activity
  • Talking Down the 309
  • Me 309 For Everything
  • Me 155 Transfer
  • Beauvais’ Test Flights
  • Unfinished State
  • Me 309 V2
• Chapter 5: Pretender Enthroned: December 1942 Onwards
  • Me 309 Zwilling
  • Inferior Engines
  • Legs In The Swamp
  • The Me 309 Gap
  • Poor Rate Of Climb
  • Bf 109 With DB 603
  • Bf 109/603 = Me 209
  • Me 309 Cancelled
  • Aftermath
  • A Question Of Fuel
  • Build the G.55 Instead
  • Autopsy
  • Disconnected From Engines
  • ‘Too Late’
  • Afterlife [Page 147]
• Postscript
• Appendix I : Me 109 Intelligence Reports
• Appendix II: Me 309 Description August 1941
• Appendix III: Me 309 Miscellany
• Me 309 In Profile: Thierry Vallet [Page 180]
• Endnotes
• Bibliography
• Index

Model kit wise, kits available in 1/48, 1/72, and 1/144-scale. Classic Resin Airframes released a 1/48 multi-media resin kit in the 1990s followed by Squadron’s multi-media Czech Model kit in 2001.Several short run kits in 1/72-scale are available, but the latest were released from RS Models in 2016 where they covered the Me 309 V1, V2, and V4. Brengun released the Me 309 V1, V2, and V4 om 1/144-scale in 2020. Sadly, you are on your own for the Me 309 V3 with its fixed radiator. The diminutive Me 209 is available in 1/32, 1/48, and 1/72-scale. Huma Modell and RS Models have released the Me 609 [Zwilling-two fuselages] proposals in 1/72 with RS Models releasing theirs in 2017.

I certainly never expected a book this long [192 Pages] to be devoted to the Messerschmitt Me 309, but here it is. Development and Politics is the order of the day in this case. The wide swath of German development projects, even in 1941, is amazing. Optimism was the order of the day, but solving all the development issues was reality.The Me 309 was severely affected by Messerschmitt’s disaster with the Me 210 and its lasting political impact. The development on inline engines by BMW and Jumo never reached their promise in a timely fashion. The transition to tricycle landing gear introduced nose gear strength and braking issues that were never really resolved before the end of the war. There are a lot of unpublished design drawings and photographs to grab your attention. I was able to read this book over five days as Dan Sharp and Calum E. Douglas continued to add new twists to the tale. This is a must have book for the aviation historian and modeler.

My thanks to Casemate, Tempest Books, Mortons Books, and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this great book.

Highly recommended!

About Mortons Media Group was established in the 19th century and has been producing book-length publications since the early 2000s. The company established a dedicated books division in 2019, and Mortons Books has already earned a reputation for publishing high-quality titles by authors who are true experts in their field. For the best reads on rail, aviation, nostalgia and history, look no further. This book is part of their imprint: Tempest Books addresses all aspects of aviation history are covered in authoritative detail. The aviators and aircraft of the Second World War are profiled by our titles alongside more modern fighters, bombers, reconnaissance aircraft and transports. 'Secret projects' and experimental designs are also an important part of the Tempest Books portfolio.