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Today is anniversary of the second day of war between Germany against Czechoslovakia in 1938... in alternate history, I mean.

While most alternate history scenarios of that campaign simply claim total German air superiority as one of the key elements of hypothetical German victory, I would like to hear opinions how German fighters would fare against Czechoslovakian ones.

While Messerschmitt was clearly an entire generation ahead of biplane design of Avia, the differences between versions that were in combat units were not that big:

Germans had (according to sources I found) 510 Bf 109 of type B/C, Doras were still not operational.

Bf 109 B had 670 PS (661 hp, 493 kW) Jumo 210D engine (some sources say early aircrafts had earlier model of Jumo 210D engine with just 535 hp) and two 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns (some had a third one but it was very unreliable and seldom used). The max. speed was 465 km/h (298 mph). Wingload was 136 kg/m2 and power to weight ratio was 0,32 hp/kg, rate of climb: 10.9 to 10.7, time to altitude: 6 min 18 sec. to 5,000 m, service ceiling: 9,000 m

Bf 109 C had 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW) Jumo 210G engine and four 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns. The performance was quite similar to B variant (rate of climb was lower, 9.52 m/s, as the plane was heavier)

Czechoslovak Air Force had 328 Avias B-534 and Bk-534 (the latter was supposed to be a cannon equipped one, but it had a machine gun instead in most cases). It was powered by Hispano-Suiza 12Ydrs engine, 634 kW (850 hp) and has four (three in case of Bk variant) 7,62mm ČZ vz. 30 machine guns. Maximum speed was 405 km/h (252 mph; 219 kn) at 4,400 m (14,436 ft). Wing load : 90.2 kg/m2 (18.5 lb/sq ft), power to wight : 0.391 hp/kg (0.178 hp/lb, 0.292 kW/kg). Rate of climb was : 15.1 m/s (2,970 ft/min), time to altitude : 5,000 m (16,404 ft) in 4 minutes 28 seconds. Service ceiling was 10,600 m (34,777 ft)

Germans had more fighters that were faster (at least the max. speeds, at IV International Air Meeting at Zurich's Dübendorf airfield in 1937 the cruising speed difference was just 11 km/h), but some of them were lighter armed and had a weaker engine... B-534 was phenomenal climber so it was able to leave the fight despite the lower max. speed. Was advantage in numbers and max. speed enough for Luftwaffe to destroy the majority of Czechoslovak fighters in early weeks of WI war ? Would core of Czech Air Force survive and while Luftwaffe would run out of ammo/bombs/petrol/pilots (all of this were in short supply, ammo is believed to only last for 2 weeks ! of fights) to allow Czechoslovakia to gain air superiority, however unlikely this might sound ?

Other elements to consider :

- Czech Air Forces were disposed to field airfields, many of them unknown to Luftwaffe, so destroying the bulk of airplanes on ground was not likely.

- Older/simpler airplanes with enough spare parts and easy repairs would mean Czechoslovakian forces would get higher return rates of damaged airplanes

- German pilots would fight often over hostile territory, so they would be captured often, while Czech pilots might return to fight eventually.

- German pilots had less air training, some of them were total freshmen with just basic training. Experienced pilots from Legion Condor were still in Spain (mostly).

- Both sides used the older system with 3 fighter units, the modern system, that Luftwaffe was praised for was only introduced in winter 38/39.
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