Now that I have basically all my books out, I find that I really don't have much on the 109. Without starting a major snot-flinging hassle, what would you people recommend as a good general reference book on the 109 that doesn't cost much more than $40 or so?
Jim,
Unfortunately, no single book covers all versions of the '109 well. Most people agree that the best reference for understanding distinctions among post-1940 versions is:
Prien and Rodeike: 'Messerschmitt Bf 109 F, G, & K Series' (Schiffer [USA], 1993; 208 pages; approximately US$35)
The choice for earlier versions is less obvious, but I would recommend:
Michulec: 'Messerschmitt Me 109, pt. 1' (Aircraft Monograph series, No.
16; AJ Press [Poland], 2001; in English; 113 pages; approximately US$24)or:
Radinger and Schick: 'Messerschmitt Bf 109 A-E' (Schiffer [USA], 1999;
136 pages; approximately US$35).These books don't show a lot of modeling-related detail, however. If your primary interest is the latter, then two good choices would be:
Nohara and Shiwaku: 'Messerschmitt Bf 109E' (Aero Detail series, No. 1; Dai-Nippon Kaiga Co., Ltd. [Japan], 1989; in Japanese and English; 64 pages; approximately US$30)
and:
Nohara and Shiwaku: 'Messerschmitt Bf 109G' (Aero Detail series, No. 5; Dai-Nippon Kaiga Co., Ltd. [Japan], 1992; in Japanese and English; 100 pages; approximately US$35)
Charles Metz
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