The Messerschmitt Me 609 was a short-lived project which joined two fuselages of the Me 309 fighter prototype together to form a heavy fighter. The project was initiated in response to a 1941 RLM requirement for a new Zerstörer (heavy fighter) to replace the Bf 110 that would use a minimum of development time and new parts. Messerschmitt's response was the Me 609, which would use the failed Me 309 project to form the basis of the new fighter. The company had actually contemplated numerous twin-fuselage adaptations of its Bf 109 line including the Bf 109Z (which joined two Bf 109s) and the Me 409 (which used two Me 209 aircraft). Messerschmitt is a famous German aircraft manufacturer, known primarily for their World War II fighter aircraft, notably the Bf 109 and Me 262. ... The Messerschmitt Me 309 was a prototype German fighter designed in the early years of World War II to replace the Messerschmitt Bf 109. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1941: Events Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman to fly a bomber across the Atlantic Ocean. ... Reichsluftfahrtministerium (Reich Aviation Ministry / German Air Ministry / German Aviation Administration) Note: If you are looking for the RLM-GL/C list, please go to List of RLM aircraft designations The Reich Air Ministry (Reichsluftfahrtministerium or RLM), was a German civil service organization in charge of development and production of aircraft... The Messerschmitt Bf110 (later Me110) was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II. History Based around the concept of the long-range Zerstörer or Destroyer Fighter the Bf110 enjoyed some success in the Polish and French campaigns. ... (Bf 109 was the official Reichsluftfahrtministerium designation, though some late-war aircraft actually carried the Me 109 designation stamped onto their aircraft type plates. ... Messerschmitts designation Me 209 was actually used for two separate projects during World War II. The first, described below, was a record-setting single-engined race plane for which little or no consideration was given to adaptation for combat. ...

The Me 609 would have joined the two Me 309 fuselages with a new center wing section into which the two inboard wheels of the landing gear would retract. The Me 609 kept the Me 309's tricycle undercarriage which resulted in an ungainly 6-six wheel arrangement. The Me 609 would have had its cockpit in the port fuselage, the starboard begin smoothed over.

The finished project would have been used in both the heavy-fighter and high-speed bomber roles, but by the time designs were being ironed out, the revolutionary Me 262 negated the need for further piston-engined fighter design. The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (Swallow) was the first operational jet powered aircraft. ...

Although its cobbled-together appearance might lead one to suspect this doubling of existing airframes was a the move of a desperate design team, it should be noted that the North American P-82 Twin Mustang proved the efficacy of such an aircraft in Korea, where its superior speed and range made it one of the last piston-engined fighters to fight for the U.S. Air Force. The F-82 Twin Mustang was a long-range escort fighter and Night Fighter created by joining two North American P-51 Mustangs at the wings. ...

Specifications (Me 609, as designed)

Me 609 design

General characteristics

• Crew: one, pilot
• Length: 9.72 m (31 ft 11 in)
• Wingspan: 15.75 m (52 ft 6 in)
• Height: 3.43 m (11 ft 3 in)
• Wing area: m² ( ft²)
• Empty: 5,247 kg (11,660 lb)
• Loaded: 6,534 kg (14,520 lb)
• Maximum takeoff: kg ( lb)
• Powerplant: 2x Daimler-Benz DB 603, kW ( hp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 760 km/h (472 mph)
• Range: km ( miles)
• Service ceiling: m ( ft)
• Rate of climb: m/min ( ft/min)
• Wing loading: kg/m² ( lb/ft²)
• Power/Mass: kW/kg ( hp/lb)

Armament

• 2x 30 mm MK 103 cannons
• 2x 30 mm MK 108 cannons
• 500 kg (1,100 lb) of bombs

30 mm rounds The 30 mm Caliber is a standard size of heavy machine gun (specifically autocannon) ammunition used by NATO forces. ... The MK 108 (German: Maschinenkanone - Machine Cannon) was an autocannon (30mm calibre) manufactured in Germany during World War II by Rheinmetall-Borsig for use in aircraft. ...

Related content

Related development: Bf 109 - Me 209 - Me 209-II - Me 309 - Me 409 - Me 509 (Bf 109 was the official Reichsluftfahrtministerium designation, though some late-war aircraft actually carried the Me 109 designation stamped onto their aircraft type plates. ... Messerschmitts designation Me 209 was actually used for two separate projects during World War II. The first, described below, was a record-setting single-engined race plane for which little or no consideration was given to adaptation for combat. ... Messerschmitts designation Me 209 was actually used for two separate projects during World War II. The first Me 209 was a record-setting single-engined race plane for which little or no consideration was given to adaptation for combat. ... The Messerschmitt Me 309 was a prototype German fighter designed in the early years of World War II to replace the Messerschmitt Bf 109. ...

Comparable aircraft: P-82 Twin Mustang The F-82 Twin Mustang was a long-range escort fighter and Night Fighter created by joining two North American P-51 Mustangs at the wings. ...

Designation sequence: ZSO 523 - Ar 532 - Do 535 - Me 609 - Ar 632 - Do 635