Willy Messerschmitt’s very earliest designs, many of them done with Friedrich Harth, all had the designator “S” followed by the model number (S 12, S 13, etc.) When he first formed his own company, he kept the sequence of model numbers but used the designator “M,” (M 20, M 21, etc.)
I always assumed the M stood for Messerschmitt but never knew what the S stood for. Anybody know?
I got one answer on the Luftwaffe Experten forum, from a German who said S stood for Segelflug (sailplane) and M for Motorflug (motorplane). I’m suspicious of this, because the S 15 and S 16 were both powered aircraft; the S 14 was Messerschmitt’s last glider (other than the WWII Me-321, of course).
By: Peter D Evans - 18th February 2013 at 07:36
www.luftwaffe-experten.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=17543
Cheers
Pete
By: Stepwilk - 18th February 2013 at 00:30
Thanks, Peter. Damned if I can find the thread anymore, but no matter, I’ll go with the original answer that S stood for sailplane, M for motorplane.
By: Peter D Evans - 17th February 2013 at 20:09
Check out the LEMB thread again Stephan…
For those here who aren’t LEMB members, David Weiss of the Falcon’s Messerschmitt Bf109 Hanger has subsequently clarified that the S15 and S16 were motor sail planes. (Motorsegler)
Cheers
Pete
By: David Burke - 17th February 2013 at 18:39
‘S and M models’ -not sure this is the right forum for that!
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February 17, 2013 at 5:46 pm