Editing Light fighter (section)

====Germany====
[[File:Me 109E-4Trop JG27 off North African coast 1941.jpg|thumb|left|The German Bf 109 was the second smallest major fighter of WWII, and produced in greater numbers than any fighter in history.]]
The German [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]] entered service in 1937 as a high speed interceptor and became the most-produced fighter in history, with nearly 34,000 built. The design philosophy of the [[Messerschmitt Bf 109|Bf 109]] was to wrap a small airframe around a powerful engine using Messerschmitt's "lightweight construction" principle, which aimed to minimize the weight and number of separate parts in the aircraft.<ref>[http://www.chuckhawks.com/best_fighter_planes.htm "The Best Fighter Planes of World War II"]. Retrieved July 1, 2016.</ref> By concentrating wing, engine and landing gear weight in the firewall, the structure of the Bf 109 could be made relatively light and simple.<ref>Cross and Scarborough 1976, pp. 56–66.</ref> The Bf 109 was the second-smallest major fighter aircraft of World War II and the lightest in the European theater. The "E" version used in the [[Battle of Britain]] had an empty weight of {{convert|2,010|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref>Cross, 1962, "The Fighter Aircraft Pocket Book", p. 93.</ref> The more heavily armed and powerful G version used later in the war had an empty weight of {{convert|2,700|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. In comparison, its main fighter opponents{{clarify|date=January 2020}} weighed {{convert|2,100|to|5,800|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}