title: Messerschmitt Me 509
text: # Messerschmitt Me 509
  
  The Messerschmitt Me 509 was an all-metal fighter project, underway in Germany during World War II.
  
  ## Development
  
  Not much information about this project has survived. It was based on the Me 309 but with the engine located behind a pressurized cockpit, much in a similar manner to the US Bell P-39 Airacobra.
  
  The engine was a Daimler-Benz DB 605B driving a three-blade propeller, and armament was to consist of two 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns and two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon. The tricycle landing gear from the Me 309 was retained, which worked better on the 509, due to the lower weight on the nosewheel - the Me 309's nosegear had collapsed during trials. The smaller nose would have improved visibility. The project was cancelled along with the Me 309, but the Japanese made a similar aircraft, the Yokosuka R2Y Keiun, which suffered from engine overheating.
  
  ## Specifications (as designed)
  
  Data from
  
  General characteristics
  
  * Crew: 1
  * Length: 9.94 m (32 ft 7 in)
  * Wingspan: 11.27 m (37 ft 0 in)
  * Height: 3.98 m (13 ft 1 in)
  * Powerplant: 1 × Daimler-Benz DB 605B v-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,085 kW (1,455 hp)
  * Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propeller
  
  Performance
  
  * Maximum speed: 760 km/h (470 mph, 410 kn)
  
  Armament
  
  * Guns:
  
     * 2× 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131 machine guns
  
     * 2× 20 mm (0.787 in) MG 151/20 cannon
  