The first German mass produced 109 fighter was the Bf-109E that has been mistakenly referred to as the Me-109. The Bf is the designator for the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) (Bavarian Aircraft Works) that produced the original aircraft. In 1938 Messerschmitt took over BFW but throughout WWII German handbooks and documents referred to the aircraft as the Bf-109. By the end of 1939 the Bf-109E (Emil) had replaced all other 109 variants and equipped 13 Gruppens with 40 aircraft each. The Bf-109 was the main single-engine aircraft until the Fw-190 came along.
Bf-109E-7 fighter-bombers were equipped with bomb racks and were capable of carry up to 500 kg. III./SKG 210 or Wespen-Geschwader (Wasp Squadron) was a ground attack unit and instead of the usual Bf-110 the unit was equipped with Bf-109E-7Bs. III./SKG 210 was soon re-designated III./ZG 1 and took part in the battles in the Balkans, North Africa and on the Eastern Front in 1941 – 1942. Bf-109E-7/B WNr 6027 “S9 CD” of Stab. III./ZG 1 was damaged when the landing gear collapsed in May 1942.