Weapons That Count

Not all important military figures were men who actively served in the armed forces. Some of the people who had the biggest impact on military history were not those doing the fighting, but where the ones who designed the tools that they were fighting with. This was certainly true of Willy Emil Messerschmitt, who was a German engineer who built some of the most savage fighter planes during World War II.

Messerschmitt was responsible for the best weapon that the Luftwaffe had to offer: the Messerschmitt Bf 109. It was designed in 1934 and was mass produced as Germany began to rearmor itself during the years between the first and second World Wars. It was also the most produced fighter plane in the history of military aviation, as over 35,000 planes were assembled to help the German army take to the skies for victory. Besides this remarkable plane, Messerschmitt was also responsible for the Messerschmitt Bf 209, which was one of the fastest planes ever built and was able to break the global air-speed record. His company also went on to introduce jet-powered fighters into military service in later years.

However, Messerschmitt's rise to the top of the German aircraft industry was not an easy path. In fact, prior to the outbreak of World War II, his company had to go as far as to declare bankruptcy in 1931, following a couple of plane crashes of Messerschmitt's M20s. Still, when the German army began to reconvene, Messerschmitt's services were called on to design fighter planes for the Nazi army. His services to the party would come back to haunt him in later years, though, when he was tried in a post-war court for his wartime activity. He was sentenced to two years in prison for being an accomplice to the Nazi party. He returned to his company, which was no longer permitted to manufacture aircraft and turned his attention to making sewing machines and small cars. When the ban was lifted in 1955, Messerschmitt once again began to design improved aircraft with designs that continue to have influence on the industry today.