Luftwaffe fighter ace reunited with Bf 109

Flight Global ^ | 7/18/2010 | Craig Hoyle

[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.

[xrmusn]

I apologize for the ‘4 bagger’, kept getting a ‘failure to connect to server message’ and apparently it was connected and receiving and transmitting....

xrmusn

[xrmusn]

I apologize for the ‘4 bagger’, kept getting a ‘failure to connect to server message’ and apparently it was connected and receiving and transmitting....

xrmusn

[PLMerite]

“I flew the 109 almost 2,000 times. For me, there’s nothing better, and of
course, there’s always this rivalry between the 109 and the Spitfire. And I
am often asked: which plane I think is better. I tell them I shot down 10
Spitfires, and that’s my answer.”
- Major Hans-Ekkehard Bob JG 54, JG 51, JG 3, EJG 2, JV 44

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Can you tell me what scale your 109 is?

[Finny]

Aw, you're sweet! So is your wife, of course! She just has more sense than me and probably better hearing!!!

You and my husband are kindred spirits. When he first had me come to put the headphones on to listen to the sound of the Me 109, he said the same thing about it being the supercharger that was responsible for that unique sound it made when it was in a dive.

The sound of powerful engines has always thrilled me to the core. Just hearing a well-tuned Corvette firing-up in a parking garage gives me goose-bumps. I've never heard a real PT boat live, but I've heard them in films, and think I'd go nuts if I was around them "live." The first time I ever heard a real steam locomotive (the Daylight on one of its special and rare outings), I just about came unglued. THEN when it blew its steam whistle, even from around the bend before I could actually see the train, I just lost it. I started jumping up and down and making a spectacle out of myself. So count yourself lucky for having a more sensible (and less embarassing!) wife! ;^)

[Finny]

Yes, and the Me 109 was also a much more "bad-ass" looking plane (!) than the pretty Spitfire with its large, eliptical wings. But the Spitfire could roll faster and was more maneuverable at lower speeds, which dogfighters often had to employ.

"I should like an outfit of Spitfires for my squadron,"replied renowned Me 109 pilot Adolph Galland when asked by Hermann Goering what he would like for the air battle over England. The comment did not endear Galland to his superiors!

[European Guest]

Well, before the Messerschmitt-Stiftung (EADS) bought it, the plane was owned by my Uncle.

Regards from southern Germany!

Andreas