Messerschmidt Bf109 Buchon flying at Farnborough airshow in 2010
The Messerschmidt Bf109 Buchon is essentially a Rolls-Royce Merlin-engined Bf109. The Condor Legion left about 40 Bf109B/E’s for the Spanish Air Force to use upon its return to Germany in 1939. In 1943 the Spanish government agreed a licence production with Messerschmitt to produce 200 Bf109G’s. 25 dismantled airframes were sent to Spain in 1943 as pattern aircraft for future production, although engines, propellers, tailplanes and armament failed to arrive. By late 1944, when neither missing parts nor engine were available from Germany, Hispano Aviacion modified the airframes andi mproving relations between the Spanish government and the West from 1952 onwards, saw a more powerful engine sourced from Britain, the two-speed Rolls Royce Merlin 500-45. The combination of ex-German airframe and British powerplant was successful and the first prototype flew its maiden flight on 30 December 1954. This aircraft was built by Hispano Aviacion in Seville in 1959. It was one of 27 purchased at auction from the Spanish Air Force for the making of the 1968 film “Battle of Britain”. Wing tips were squared off, tail struts added and dummy machine guns fitted to the wings to more visually represent the Messerschmitt BF109E of the Battle of Britain period. Filming started in Spain, but later the 17 airworthy aircraft were flown via France to Duxford, UK. Upon completion of filming, the Buchons were put up for disposal. By now registered as G-AWHK, this was one of eleven taken by Texan pilot Wilson Edwards as payment for flying services during the filming. It was shipped to his ranch in Texas where it flew briefly as N9938 before being placed on static display in 1971 with the Confederate Air Force in Detroit. Acquired by the Old Flying Machine Company, it arrived at Duxford In May 1996, as G-BWUE and sold on to The Real Aircraft Company who rebuilt it to airworthy condition. The aircraft is marked as Bf 109G-2/trop ‘Red 1’, which flew on the Greek island of Rhodes in 1943
Size: 4336px × 3052px
Location: Farnborough Airshow, Hampshire UK
Photo credit: © Niall Ferguson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: aircraft, airshow, battle, bf109, britain, buchon, farnborough, fighter, flight, flying, german, luftwaffe, messerschmidt
