Willy Messerschmitt would join the Bavarian
Aircraft Works (BFW) in 1927 as chief designer
and engineer. Willy was a firm believer in
the notion of “light weight construction”,
taking separate load-bearing parts and merging
them into a single re-enforced firewall, thereby
saving weight and improving performance. The
BF108 “Taifun” sports-plane would
soon make the theory fact, it going on to set
numerous speed records.
The Luftwaffe watched
the engineering triumphs of Willy Messerschmitt
with considerable interest, and following the
success of the Taifun the company was invited
to submit a design for the 1935 fighter contest.
Their entry was the incredible BF109, arguably
the best fighter of World War 2. Willy Messerschmitt
would become a favored son of the Nazi party,
and Messerschmitt AG was established
with their backing on July
11, 1938.
With the renaming , the company's RLM designation
changed from “Bf” to “Me”,
although existing iterations, such as the Bf
109 and 110, retained their earlier designation
in official documents.
After World
War 2, the company was not allowed to produce
aircraft, and like Heinkel they turned
their attention to the manufacture of a cheap
three wheeled bubble cars, known as Kabinenroller
(cabinscooter). The KR175 / KR200 were
built in a time of post war austerity, and
despite the many drawbacks of such a vehicle
those that owned one were considered very fortunate. Rumors abounded that the Messerschmitt’s
were being constructed from old aeroplane parts,
but this was untrue. Nevertheless the Fritz
Fend designed bubble cars would reach cult
status, a red KR200 even being owned for a
time by Elvis Presley.
The cars were actually
made by Fritz Fend's own company in the Messerschmitt
works at Regensburg, Willy Messerschmitt having
little to do with the vehicles other than ruling
that they carried his name. Fend's aircraft
influence certainly showed itself in his desire
to achieve a light yet stiff frame with low
wind resistance from the tandem seating with
aerodynamic steel body. This resulted in a
surprisingly high performance from 175 and
later 200cc single cylinder two-stroke engines.
Some would say that his ultimate achievement
with the Kabinenroller was the four-wheeled
TG500 or 'Tiger' with a twin cylinder 490cc
engine capable of higher speeds and sports
car handling. However, there is little doubt
that the best developed and most successful
was the three-wheeled KR200. Production of
the KR200 ceased in 1964. |