5 Facts About The Bf 109’s FASTER Rival

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was Germany’s main fighter during WWII. However, did you know that at one point, Heinkel attempted to win the Air Minstry’s favor with another fighter plane, the Heinkel He 100?

5. It was the faster aircraft in the world at one stage

The plane would set a world speed record of 463 miles or 746 km/hr.

4. It didn’t see full-scale production

Only a handful of prototypes were built. Arguments over why the He 100 wasn’t chosen vary from political interference to the costly design, and even the engine used only being allowed for Messerschmitt aircraft.

3. The aircraft remains fairly unknown

Shortly after it broke the record, Messerschmitt’s Me 209 broke speed records achieving a top speed of 469 miles, or 755 kilometers an hour.

2. Its design was wholly modern for its time

It featured a rounded streamlined fuselage seating the engine at its traditional place in the nose, the cockpit set over midships. It also had a tapered empennage that terminates at the single, low-profile vertical fin.

1. Despite this, the He 100 remains an interesting aircraft of what could have been for Germany during WWII

The He 100 development program led to the production of nineteen aircraft. It also served as a propaganda tool and was even featured in the lead-up to WWII as the He 113.