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Officially, the Bf 108 was developed for the German participation in the Tour of Europe, which was to be
held in 1934 in Poland, . The RLM decided late to participate in this international sporting event,
probably due to the unhappy economic situation; only in September 1933 did the companies Bayerischen Flugzeug Werke (BFW), Fieseler and Klemm receive the specifications for the new aircraft. The criteria for participation in the competition were technically demanding and spoke of a four-seater tourist aircraft; up to that point, two-seater aircraft had always taken part in the competition. The main aim of the organizers was to stimulate the development of new techniques benefit of (civil) aviation; in this case, the challenge would have been to create a practical and economical tourist plane.
As a result, the 1934 competition envisaged, rather than reaching high speeds, the reduction of the take-off and landing run, the appropriateness of the instrumentation, the view from the cockpit, the comfort of the cabin and the maintenance time. The evaluation criterion was therefore focused on the overall ergonomics of the project.

Willy Messerschmitt and his team, including Robert Lusser and Richard Bauer, immediately worked on the project internally called M 37,later defined by the RLM as Bf 108
(i.e. Me 108). In a short time, a tourist plane was built four seats with a comfortable cabin (width 1.15 m), around which the machine was, in fact, built. With the Bf 108, Messerschmitt achieved what for its time could be define the ideal aircraft: single-engine, aerodynamically close to perfection, low-wing monoplane, without bracing, entirely
metallic with flaps and fuselage- could implement its project, it was necessary to introduce new technologies in the construction of aircraft. In the meantime, the construction of duralumin structures with embedded rivets had been perfected and patented, to the point of imagining its use on an industrial scale. retractable rudder. The 108 was to become
the ideal compromise between slow flight and low landing speed, high cruising speed, relatively low fuel consumption and great flight safety. In order for the Messerschmitt team

The rear part of the fuselage was made with two duralumin shells reinforced by stringers; the cabin was also made of light metal. The design had taken into account the visibility of both the pilot and the passengers and the relative ease of access from the ground for everyone. Most of the cabin glass was openable and could be released in an emergency. The single-spar wing was also made of duralumin. Since the speed of landing was not only a requirement of the competition but a determining element for the safety of civil aviation, Fowler-type flaps and also slats were used. The license for Germany was granted to Messerschmitt by the British manufacturer Handley-Page, who in turn obtained the license for Great Britain for the single-spar metal wing (shell construction). The landing speed could also be reduced by increasing the wing surface area, but this would also increase the weight. A peculiarity that was difficult pilots. The competition announcement did not include engine specifications and the choice fell on the Hirth HM 8 U.
This 8-cylinder air-cooled in-line engine was compact and well-suited to the airframe. One of the six aircraft built for the competition was powered by an Argus As 17, similar to the Hirth, but with V-shaped cylinders inclined at 90°, resulting in a different cowling shape.

July 1934 under the command of Carl Franke. The competition was to be held in 10 weeks! The aircraft crashed a few days later during the slow flight test and the accident cost the life of the pilot, Freiherr Wolf von Dungern. Messerschmitt had to do everything to prevent the aircraft from being grounded. The tour of Europe saw the four Bf 108
As place themselves in places five, six and sixteen; one aircraft had to be disqualified due to a navigation error by the pilot. This was a flattering result that did not fail to raise hopes. The Bf 108 As also placed very well in the various technical tests, even though the pilots had been penalised by the limited time available for training. The Bf 108 A was the fastest of the competing aircraft; it is a pity that the regulations of this edition did not provide for any additional points! Among the German participants, the Messerschmitt aircraft were the best: the two competitors Fieseler Fi 97 and Klemm Kl 36, both of mixed construction, soon ended up in oblivion. After the conclusion of the Tour of Europe, it seemed that the much vaunted Bf 108 A would follow the fate of the other two German competitors. Of little help was the record-breaking flight, carried out on 13 August 1935,
by the famous aviator Elly Beinhorn with the Bf 108 A "forgotten and dusty in the back corner of the hangar of the Bayerischen Flugzeugwerke", from Gleiwitz to Istanbul and back to Berlin. For a 3,570 km flight the aviator took 13.5 hours. This record earned the aircraft the nickname "Taifun", but no production contract.
The use of airfoils in combination with small ailerons was difficult to explain. The wings could also, once the bolts had been removed, be rotated through 90° and folded back against the fuselage. The landing gear, fixed under the fuselage, could be retracted by hand and was of extremely simple construction. It consisted of oil shock absorbers, a
technique first used on Messerschmitt's M 29. To prevent landing on the belly, there were optical and acoustic warning devices in the cockpit, since a retractable landing gear was a novelty for most

BF 108 A
The first prototype of the Bf 108 A, the V-1 (WNr. 695, code D-IBUM), the only one with a wooden wing, made its first successful flight on 28 racing aircraft, even a new aircraft construction technology was developed. Everything changes if one considers the content of a strictly confidential correspondence, received by the chairman of the board of directors of the BFW on 20 October 1933, referring to the upcoming order for a fighter aircraft ("fast courier, requiring only one crew member") and a bomber ("first-class commercial aircraft"), as well as the possibility of building a large factory in Augsburg! It seems that the Bf 108 was nothing more than the dress rehearsal for the future Bf 109 (and the Bf 110)1. If, in 1935 the Luftwaffe had needed, in addition to a good fighter, also a reliable liaison aircraft, the Bf 108 would have been ready for series production!

BF 108 B
After the Luftwaffe decided to adopt the Bf 108 as a liaison aircraft, some modifications were made to its construction. The wings received normal-sized ailerons and the spoilers were eliminated. The wingspan was increased and in the meantime automatic slats were installed for 2/3 of the leading edge.
For series production, the Argus AS 10 C engine was adopted; with its 176 kW (240 HP) it powered a two-bladed propeller, generally made of wood, by the Schwarz company.
The engine allowed the machine, whose maximum take-off weight was 1,400 kg, a significant power reserve. Larger tanks increased the autonomy to 1,000 km; the maximum speed reached 300 km/h, the cruising speed 260 km/h and the landing speed, thanks to the flaps, dropped to 72 km/h! The adoption of variable pitch propellers improved the rate of climb and the radius of turn. Visibility was improved thanks to modifications to the canopy and increased comfort, thanks to a luggage rack accessible from the outside.
In addition, the aircraft could be quickly equipped for various tasks, including flight school or the transport of
mail and newspapers.
In this form, the aircraft was mass-produced in Augsburg starting in the autumn of 1936 with the designation Bf 108 B. Subsequently,
production was transferred to Regensburg. In addition to the military, it found several operators, more or less civilian.
In the following years, the Bf 108 B accumulated a series of records, which increased its fame also outside Germany, favoring its export. The baptism of fire of the Bf 108 B took place in Spain, with the Legion Condor, on the front line as a liaison aircraft. As the conflict continued, most of the Bf 108 Bs were requisitioned by the Luftwaffe and used operationally. The comfort of the B version, together with its low fuel consumption, speed and good flight behavior, were and still are today exemplary for an aircraft of this class.
A brief note on the sub-versions of the Bf 108 B: the Luftwaffendienstvorschrift recognized only the designation Bf 108 B. For internal reasons within the company, the codes Bf 108 B-0, B-1 and B-1s were introduced. B-0 were the pre-series machines, also equipped with different engines, B-1 was the normal series machine and B-1s were the aircraft with special equipment. Among the latter, there were models equipped with variable-pitch propellers and also aircraft equipped with special equipment, such as radios, additional instruments, special paint schemes or other. The same thing is true for the hypothetical Bf 108 B- 2 version, which passes unchecked through the specialized literature. This designation, which appears in English-language publications and is attributed to any Taifun of the Luftwaffe, is not supported by the manufacturer's documents.

SPECIAL VERSION
BF 108 (D)TROP
This particular aircraft was a series machine modified as specified by several experimental units of the Luftwaffe,
in particular the Erprobungsstelle Tropen.
The conversion of the aircraft took place most likely in Erding; they were then sent to the units via the Bari sorting yard. "Tropenausrustung" (tropicalization) did not only mean the change of a few components: the entire aircraft had to be adapted to operate in sand and dust conditions. The large temperature range, the sometimes considerable humidity, the wind and the dust took a heavy toll in terms of components, which quickly wore out.
The following is just an example of the necessary interventions: the machines had to be made again of wood or mixed materials. Most of the internal compartments had to be protected from sand with a Simmerit-type sealant. The ball bearings had to be heavily greased. The cabin had to be painted ivory, not white, and the seats had to have light-colored padding. Most of the materials had to be able to withstand high temperatures. The engine air had to be constantly filtered.
Other examples concern the fuel filtering and the emergency equipment. These brief notes already make it clear that the conversion work was considerable and had to be carried out at home in specialized workshops.

BF 108 C
This version, of which only two were produced, differs from the B version in the installation of the 200 kW (270 HP) Hirth HM 508 C engine. In July 1939, the pilot Hermann lllg
established a world record in the class  if C reaching the altitude of 9,075m.

BF 108 D
In the years 1940/41 the Bf 108 B was updated by Messerschmitt, to further adapt it to the needs of the Luftwaffe, at that time the only user of the machine. The external characteristics of the new Bf 108 D series were the rudder with compensation beak and a fuel manifold under the rear half of the cabin. The latter constitutes the only definitive distinctive sign of the Bf 108 D, since there are machines of the B version that have received the late type rudder! One of these is the KG + EM reproduced in the modeling article. A further characteristic of the D series was the generalized use of the variable pitch propeller. Argus or Messerschmitt P7 propellers were used, virtually indistinguishable. The on-board electrical system was switched to 24 volts. Thus modified, the aircraft was put into series production in the autumn of 1941 as the Bf 108 D-1. A part of the machines was transformed in Erding into the Bf 108 D-1 trop version.
Most of the Ds served the Luftwaffe as front-line liaison aircraft until the end of the war. Together with the B series, they were for years a coveted spoil of war by the Allies. The so-called Bf 108 D-2 version is ultimately only the result of the interpretation of some English authors. Under this designation there are no officially any aircraft of the Luftwaffe. The D version had folding wings like the previous one and the landing light was external and not integrated in the wing root.

CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES IN FRANCE
From the end of 1941 until February 1942, production of the Bf 108 was transferred to Les Mureaux in France, at the Société Nationale de Construction Aéronautique (SNCAN), a company that operated under Messerschmitt license. However, series production, which continued until the liberation, was never satisfactory. Thereafter, aircraft continued to leave the production lines in exactly the same form with the designation Nord 1000, as the company had been renamed Nord  Aviation. With the designation Nord 1001 to Nord 1004, production continued with various French engines. With this, the production of the Bf 108 had not yet come to an end. In 1941, work was continued on the Me 208. The construction and development of this aircraft was handed over to SNCAN and in July 1943 the first flight was made, amidst a thousand difficulties. The course of the war prevented the mass production of the Me 208. After the conflict in France, the aircraft was fully developed and, equipped with Renault or Potez engines, with the designation Nord 1101 “Noralpha”, or Nord 1104, it was produced for several years with great success for the French armed forces. Finally, in 1959, a prototype equipped with a turboprop was built under the designation “Nord 1110”!

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