“He actually thought the Messerschmidt ME-109 was every bit as good and maybe even better.”
IIRC the early Spits had gravity-feed fuel tanks so if the pilot got in the wrong attitude for too long the engine would quit. German 109s had no such issue.
“I flew the 109 almost 2,000 times. For me, there’s nothing better, and of course, there’s always this rivalry between the 109 and the Spitfire. And I am often asked: which plane I think is better. I tell them I shot down 10 Spitfires, and that’s my answer.”
- Major Hans-Ekkehard Bob JG 54, JG 51, JG 3, EJG 2, JV 44
IIRC the early Spits had gravity-feed fuel tanks so if the pilot got in the wrong attitude for too long the engine would quit. German 109s had no such issue.
This effect due to the Spitfires carb. vs. the ME-109 fuel injection came out in the 1969 Battle of Britain film.
They found that the Spitfire pilots would roll inverted before going into a powered dive. This would keep positive G on the carb. and prevent the engine from stuttering. It also kept the gravity fed header tank working....:^)