This has been on here for seven years, without a single comment? Anyway - twosided story. As a german, I'm grateful my ancestors lost WW2, because I feel obligated to ideas and principles rather then geographic locations, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the technological advancements made then. The aircraft engines developed in the 30's in germany (starting pre-Nazis) consisted of way advanced supercharging technologies, and direct injection more than made up for the crappy gasoline available then, compared to the US's 100/150 RON gas, and had advantages larger than that - because of the direct injection, scavenging load exchange was possible, with huge valve overlap, pretty much getting all the old gases out, new ones in and even cooling the surrounding surfaces. The overall engine design resembles, much more, a modern car engine than a car engine then did - four valves, all sodium-filled, supercharging by turbocompressor, though mechanically driven, direct injection, slightly longstroked, ... the BF 109 was, over time, equipped with a lot of engines, during early prototype stages, it was a Rolls Royce Kestrel with slightly over 20 liter displacement, later followed by the Jumo 210G, the first production aircraft engine employing direct injection, followed by the DB 600 and, finally, 605 engines, with some of the previous, carb-fed DB 600 used in research, development and so on, when the 601 wasn't available yet, but the 19.7 liter Jumo 210 was to be replaced by the 33.9 liter 601 anyway, due to it being significantly larger. The most-built aircraft engnie in the 3rd Reich, however, was the Jumo 211, with 35 liters, an enlarged version of the 210, and ... that combination, of a BF 109 and a Jumo 211, was to achieve the first air combat victory of the then-newly founded Israeli Air Force. These weren't exactly 109's, but czech licensed versions, that were equipped with a bomber-version of the Jumo 211, simply because they were left there at the end of WW2 and therefore, available. Out of all the numerous fighters the allied forces and germany used in WW2, only the Spitfire and the BF 109 were used throughout the entire war, for any other aircraft of that role, either wasn't in service yet (or not even developed yet), or had reached its limitations way prior to the end of the war. These two, therefore, are seen as most iconic, advanced and, overall, just well-thought planes. Technologically, of course, this is. Politically, I wouldn't have wished a single BF 109 to even be made, let alone successfully used, but that, I can put aside at times. Great photos, I definately will come back to look a tad deeper then I did right now...