At the same time, technical innovations were tested on the model, some of which were then adopted in the Bf 109 fighter aircraft.

After the first Bf 108 was completed and flown in on June 13, 1934, around 885 were produced up to 1945. Most of them were intended for the Luftwaffe and were used for retraining purposes or as courier aircraft.

Since production was transferred to France during the Second World War, the French could continue production after the war. The Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Nord (SNCAN) used the Bf 108 as the basis for the further development of the model and, after 1945, produced a further 300 of the Nord 1001 and 1002 successor models.

Numerous records and sporting successes were achieved by the Bf 108 between 1934 and 1971. In particular, the design is closely associated with the name of the German sports pilot Elly Beinhorn, who gave the aircraft the nickname “Taifun” (typhoon) after crossing three continents in one day in 1936.