Veterans Meeting

WWII was not only a fight between military forces, but also between different construction offices - like that of the German Messerschmitt AG against the Soviet OKB Jakowlew.

Finally, the Bf-109 became the standard fighter plane of the German Luftwaffe. Messerschmitt built some 35,000 units of this plane between 1937 and 1945 - thus the Bf-109 became the most-built fighter in history. Although, at the beginning of the war, the plane was dominating its competitors, Messerschitt was falling behind in the course of time, despite constant improvements - not only against the planes of the Western Allies, also against those from the East.

There, Jakowlew, due to a lack of powerful engines, was concentrating on lightweight constructions: based on the rather inferior Jak-1 they developed the Jak-3, at that time the smallest and lightest fighter plane of the world. Despite its weaker engine and a lighter armament, the Jak-3 was dominating the Bf-109 in terms of speed and maneuverability in a way that the German Luftwaffe advised its pilots to avoid duel situations with the Jak-3 below a flight level of 5,000 m.

At the AirPower09, however, these former rivals will meet in a friendly way.