Ooops! Almost forgot! I was stationed in Augsburg, Germany in 1983. I think it was just south of town where I came across the Messerschmitt factory - still open. Though I'm sure they weren't making 109s ;-) Even had a Messerschmitt sign out front!
Posted on 07/18/2010 6:41:53 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
The UK's 70th anniversary commemorations of the Battle of Britain attracted an unusual visitor to the Royal International Air Tattoo: a rare Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter.
Owned by EADS, the aircraft is one of only a handful of the more than 34,000 Bf 109-class fighters produced which remain airworthy. Also known as "Red Seven", the aircraft was built in 1958 and served with the Spanish air force until 1965, before later taking a starring role in the 1969 film The Battle of Britain.
Now carrying Luftwaffe markings, the Bf 109 was due to mark the anniversary by flying in formation with two of the type's former adversaries: the Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire.
Designed by Willy Messerschmitt, the aircraft is now piloted by EADS historic flight pilot Klaus Ecker. But 93-year-old Bf 109 fighter ace Maj Hans-Ekkehard Bob also climbed into the cockpit at RIAT.
(Excerpt) Read more at flightglobal.com ...
Hidden in a barn somewhere in the Czech Republic lies an intact ME109 which was dragged there by the farmer after it crash landed in his field.
After all these years my friend’s family is still afraid to tell anyone.
If the plane is still intact and good condition, he can get a lot of money from the Imperial War Museum,Smithsonian or a private collector.
Ooops! Almost forgot! I was stationed in Augsburg, Germany in 1983. I think it was just south of town where I came across the Messerschmitt factory - still open. Though I'm sure they weren't making 109s ;-) Even had a Messerschmitt sign out front!
After the war, then? According to my research, during the war, the Merlins powered both the British Spitfire and the American P-51 Mustang.
Yes, you are correct.The BMW plant that made the german engines was destroyed in the bombings so the spanish went to RR which had a limitless supply of engines post war.The plane had some really evil landing tendancies due to the narrow landing gear.But what the hell when it flew it was a sight to see.Go to youtube and type in BF-109 and watch a couple of rebuilt examples fly.Most impressive to say the least.
Nice plane, but the tail markings are incorrect.
That’s true that the tail markings are incorrect. My understanding is that the decals with the correct markings are available. I’ve just been too lazy to order them :-)
The cool thing is that the plane is made of foam. Makes it easy to recover from “inadvertent landings”. Just break out the glue gun and 10mins later you’re ready to go!
You don’t have a do it yourself swastika kit? LOL.
:-) No, if I tried to make one on my own it would look like crap.
I understand why they did it as they sell a lot of these in Europe but at the very least they should have left the tail devoid of any markings.
By the way, my resident expert says "cool plane!" He really likes the retractable landing gear. Not retracting the gear "spoils the look of the thing" (remember Moggy in Piece of Cake!).
Wow. That is too cool!
Yup. They used Hartmann’s markings on this. Hard to imagine shooting down that many aircraft. Just amazing.
Unfortunately it doesn’t come with the retracts. The gear pop-off so you can fly it either way. A lot of folks put them on and since I, too, agree that it looks/flies better with the retracts, I bought another wing to experiment with and install them too.
Yes, I’ve seen some great footage and love the audio, too —the sound alone ... YOW! Even as a woman, I thrill to the sound of that powerful, hot-rod, airborne engine ... I can only imagine what it must have been like to hear the sound of a dozen of them. Terrifying, if you weren’t German!!!
Beautiful little plane. I bet you have a lot of fun with it!
Nazi swastikas are outlawed in Germany and possibly elsewhere, so many companies don’t put them on the decal set; the like selling stuff over seas and don’t want to make a special stock item just for Germany. You may have to get a special decal sheet if you want a tail swastika for a model.
Will you marry me?Women who love this stuff are quite rare indeed.The supercharger makes one hell of a howling noise in a dive and is absolute music to the ears.I checked with my wife and she said no dice.:)
where I came across the Messerschmitt factory
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
“No”, replied the Dutch Ace, “All those Fokkers were Messerschmitts.”
where I came across the Messerschmitt factory
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
“No”, replied the Dutch Ace, “All those Fokkers were Messerschmitts.”
where I came across the Messerschmitt factory
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
“No”, replied the Dutch Ace, “All those Fokkers were Messerschmitts.”
where I came across the Messerschmitt factory
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
“No”, replied the Dutch Ace, “All those Fokkers were Messerschmitts.”
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