Adlerangriff
Messerschmitt Bf 109 E

Eduard Limited Edition, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by Brett Green

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 E

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 A, B, C and D were powered by the Junkers Jumo engine. The Spanish Civil War presented the opportunity to test these revolutionary fighters in action, and they proved their worth in combat with Legion Condor over the skies of Spain. 

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 E series was the first of the family to be fitted with the Daimler Benz DB601A engine, resulting in a significant improvement in performance. 

Two variants were manufactured in parallel - the lightweight Bf 109 E-1 which retained the wing-mounted 7.9mm machine guns of the earlier Bf 109 B, C and D; and the Bf 109 E-3 which was fitted with one 20mm MG FF cannon in each wing. Both variants featured two additional 7.92mm machine guns in the cowl.

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-4 shared the armament of the E-3 but introduced a number of improvements, including a revised canopy.

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-4 fought alongside the Bf 109 E-1 and E-3 in the invasion of France and the Low Countries and the Battle of Britain in addition to later campaigns in the Balkans, North Africa and the Soviet Union.

Operation Adlerangriff

Unternehmen Adlerangriff ("Operation Eagle Attack") was the codename of a military operation by the Luftwaffe to destroy the British Royal Air Force.

By June 1940, the Allies had been defeated in Western Europe and Scandinavia. Rather than come to terms with Germany, Britain rejected all overtures for a negotiated peace. \

During the Battle of Britain, Hitler gave the German armed forces a directive that ordered provisional preparations for invasion of Britain. This operation was codenamed Operation Sea Lion.

Before this could be carried out, air superiority or air supremacy was required. The Luftwaffe was to destroy the RAF in order to prevent it from attacking the invasion fleet or providing protection for the Royal Navy's Home Fleet, which might attempt to prevent a landing by sea.

On 1 August Hitler gave the Luftwaffe's commander-in-chief, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring and the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe a directive to launch the air assault. The essential target was RAF Fighter Command. The service's destruction would deny the British their air superiority asset.

Throughout July and early August, the Germans made preparations for Adlertag - the first day of Adlerangriff. The date of the assault was postponed several times because of bad weather. Eventually, it was carried out on 13 August 1940.

The German attacks on 13 August inflicted significant damage and casualties on the ground, but, marred by poor intelligence and communication, they did not make a significant impression on Fighter Command's ability to defend British air space.

Göring had promised Hitler that Adlertag and Adlerangriff would achieve the results required within days, or at worst weeks. It had meant to be the beginning of the end of RAF Fighter Command, but Adlertag and the following operations failed to destroy the RAF, or gain the necessary local air superiority. As a result, Operation Sea Lion was postponed indefinitely.

Adapted from Wikipedia.

Eduard released the first in their 1/48 scale Bf 109 E series in 2012 with their Bf 109 E-1, followed soon after by the E-3 and E-4.

These are still great kits, and it is nice to see all the Bf 109 E variants available in the one box, I believe for the first time.

I built the Eduard 1/48 scale Bf 109 E-1 kit back in February 2012. You can find a Construction Feature on this model by following this link.

Let's take a look at this latest boxing of Eduard's Bf 109 E.

What's New

Inside the sturdy box, Eduard's Adlerangriff contains enough parts to make two 1/48 scale models - one Bf 109 E-1 or E-3; and one E-4. All the plastic parts necessary for an E-7 are there too, but decals don't cover this variant.

The contents of the kit comprise 322 parts in grey coloured plastic, 14 parts in clear, four photo-etched frets (two in colour), canopy masks, nine parts in grey resin; two parts in white resin; markings for 13 aircraft plus full stencil data.

The biggest differences between the earlier releases and this Adlerangriff boxing are the inclusion of both early and late sprues for the wings and the canopy parts; plus the inclusion of resin main wheels, tail wheel, tail wheel well and the seated pilot figure. 

The early wings feature machine gun armament only and no bulge on the lower wing. This is applicable to the Bf 109 E-1 and E-3.

The later-style wing is fitted with 20mm MG/FF machine guns. This configuration is typical of the Bf 109 E-4 and E-7.

The resin wheels look great. The spoke detail on the tail wheel is just gorgeous too. In addition to the wheels, Eduard has also supplied a resin tail wheel well and strut for both models.

The colour photo-etched frets are the latest Eduard style with glossy dials and half-tone printed harness straps. These will really spice up the cockpit.

The other photo-etched frets are brass, and supplies other details such as trim wheel chains, rudder pedals, radiator faces and small details.

The early clear sprue contains five parts for the Bf 109 E-1 and E-3.

The late version clear sprue has seven parts.

These include an optional windscreen with an opening for Galland's famous telescopic sight.

The inclusion of the seated pilot figure is a nice touch.

The figure is supplied as a single part.

Decals have been printed by Eduard.

Three decal sheets are included. These cover Battle of Britain era Bf 109 E-1, E-3 and E-4 subjects.

One large sheet contains the national markings, the next includes the main aircraft markings and the smaller third sheet supplies a full set of stencils.

A number of alternatives are included on the stencil sheet. Two stencil sheets are included.

A whopping 13 marking options are offered, with plenty of variety in camouflage and markings.

The Eduard 1/48 Bf 109 E in Detail

Eduard's surface textures were already established as world class by the time this kit was released, and the crispness, subtlety and variety of the recessed rivets and panel lines still stand up to close scrutiny today. They are fine and consistent over the whole airframe.

Control surfaces feature raised fabric strips and stitching.

Even without the photo-etched parts, detail is still very good. The plastic cockpit parts deliver an authentic front office. Harness straps are included on the decal sheet. If you are planning to use these, I recommend that you cut them out of the decal sheet and glue them to the seat complete with the backing paper.

Instrument dial decals are included too.

A full engine is supplied, but displaying it on the finished kit is optional. Note that the basic engine parts need to be fitted even if the cowling will be glued shut. The engine block mounts the exhausts and propeller, but the cowling will fit over the top if you follow the instructions properly. This is a good piece of design as the engine block will be visible through the front cooling slots of the closed engine cowl.

The engine and cowl guns look good. Individual exhaust stubs are provided. These are hollow at the end and have raised weld seams down the middle - don't sand these off!

The cowl itself is supplied in four pieces - the main upper cowl, two rear side cowl panels and the gun deck.

All control surfaces are separate - the flaps, leading edge slats, ailerons, elevators and rudder. Flaps are moulded with tabs that will pose them dropped without modification, but it will be very easy to slice off the tabs and reposition if desired.

Wheel wells are boxed in thanks to a single part in each side that incorporates the gear leg and main wheel bay linings.

The main wheels look good, each featuring a two-piece hub and separate tyres.

The canopies are supplied as three separate parts. For the late version, alternative parts are supplied for both the windscreen (including an opening for a telescopic sight) and the opening canopy section. External armoured glass for the windscreen is also included. The final clear part is the gun sight.

All the transparent parts are thin and free from distortion.

The 1/48 scale Adlerangriff boxing adds useful resin and 13 colourful marking options to Eduard's high quality, well detailed 1/48 scale Messerschmitt Bf 109 E that is quite straightforward to build and looks great when finished

Construction should be as pleasant as my Bf 109 E-1 was back in 2012.

This is a welcome and good quality package from Eduard.

Thanks to Eduard for the sample.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2020 by Brett Green
Page Created 20 October, 2020
Last updated 21 October, 2020

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