The Messerschmitt!
Perhaps the greatest and most well known German aeroplane ever built has been added to my site. The Messerschmitt Bf 109 needs no introduction; the walkaround is of the Australian War Memorial's Bf 109G-6, which is unique among survivors in that it still wears its original World War Two applied colours and has been conserved rather than restored. To this day the AWM is discovering more about the background of their war prize. While its military past with the Luftwaffe is not entirely clear, post war it has something of a convoluted history, being seized by Australian customs during an ill-conceived import attempt. It was with Sid Marshall's collection at Bankstown after being sold by the AWM, then returning by circuitous route through impounding, in 1987. Thankfully, it takes pride of place within the AWM's Anzac Hall for the public to appreciate.
The second Bf 109 featured also has an Australian connection, the famous 'Black 6' was captured in Libya in November 1942 by 3 Squadron RAAF, its commanding officer Wg Cdr R.H. 'Bobby' Gibbes flew the machine during trials. Fast forward to April 1962 and an attempt was made at making the aeroplane airworthy at RAF Wattisham, although it wasn't until a shift to RAF Benson in July 1983, where a more serious and fulfilling restoration saw the aeroplane fly again, in 1991. After an all too brief airshow display career in the early 1990s - take a look at the Bf 109 Gallery for images of it at Duxford in 1995 and 1997, it suffered a tragic crash - thankfully without loss of life, which grounded it forever. It has been restored to as near original condition as possible and, like the AWM example, will be enjoyed for many years to come by the museum going public. The photos of it on this site were taken in the Milestones of Flight Hall at the RAF Museum, Hendon in 2009. I hope to go back to Hendon to do a more complete walkaround of this aeroplane in future. Click on the image below to go to the Bf 109 pages.
