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The Me-109 was a light air superiority fighter that served as the foundation of the German Luftwaffe from 1936 until the end of World War II in 1945 and served in other European air forces until the mid 1950s. The Me / Bf 109 was the second most produced fighter just under the Russian Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik. There were just over 36,000 IL-2s made versus 34,000 Me / BF 109s produced. Roughly 28% of the entire Luftwaffe consisted of Bf and Me 109 variants.
The 109 served many different purposes throughout the length of the Second World War. They provided air support during the invasion of Poland and entirely outmatched the Polish PZLP.11, which just a few short years previous was one of the most advanced fighters around. They served throughout the invasion of France, thoroughly thwarting the French Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 and the Dewoitine D.520. They fought during the battle of Britain against the Supermarine Spitfire and Hurricanes, the former of which proved to be the Messer’s first true challenge of the war. 109’s counted for 534 losses from the beginning of the Battle of Britain on July 10th, 1940, until the close of the battle, at the end of October that year. They fought on the eastern front with the intent of completely wiping out the Red Air Force both in dogfights in the air and during land raids. They also escorted German heavy bombers throughout Operation Barbarossa. Most Me-109 pilots found their success in the eastern front, the most notable of whom became Erich Hartmann, the highest scoring fighter ace of all time, with 352 kills.
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The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seattle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer. Text by Steve Smith.
