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Messerschmitt Bf 109G – III./JG 11, Anton Hackl, Luftwaffe, Oldenburg, Feb 1944, with 3 Crew Figures 1/32

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£159.99

1 in stock

Corgi Aviation Archive 1/32 scale US34907: Messerschmitt Bf 109G of III./JG 11,  Luftwaffe. As flown by Anton Hackl, Oldenburg, Germany, February 1944. Complete with 3 diecast scale figures. A rare item which was originally intended primarily for US only issue. Limited edition of 1,510 models

Length 11.25 inches Wingspan 12.5 inches

Although devoid of any unit markings, Hackl’s fighter features his full scoreboard on the all-white rudder that denotes his position as a formation leader. With his score standing at 133 kills, Hackl had two fighters at his disposal in January 1944- he also flew an Fw 190A-6 on anit-bomber missions, keeping the lighter, more agile Bf 109G-6 for fighter operations. Leaving III./JG 11 May 1944, he then spent time with JG 76, II/JG 26 and JG 00, before returning to JG 11 as Geschwaderkommodore in February 1945. He survived the war with 192 kills to his credit, this tally including  32 heavy bombers.

The first German mass produced 109 fighter was the Messerschmitt Bf 109E, which is often mistakenly referred to as the Me 109. The Bf is the designator for the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) (Bavarian Aircraft Works) that produced the original aircraft. In 1938 Messerschmitt took over BFW but throughout WWII German handbooks and documents referred to the aircraft as the Bf 109. By the end of 1939 the Bf 109E (Emil) had replaced all other 109 variants and equipped 13 Gruppen with 40 aircraft each. The Bf 109 was the main Luftwaffe single-engine fighter aircraft until the Fw-190 came along.

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is one of the few fighters ever to be developed from a light-plane design. Willy Messerschmitt’s angular little fighter was built in greater numbers than any other fighter plane, the total reaching 33,000.

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 also shot down more Allied planes than any other aircraft, and stayed in service longer than most, having entered combat in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), fighting through World War II, and then going to war again in 1947, this time for the newly emerging state of Israel.

The great success and longevity of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 can be attributed to the simple directness of its design. In 1934, Messerschmitt engineers sought to place the biggest possible engine in the smallest possible airframe, and make that airframe easy to produce and repair. They succeeded admirably on all counts.

The first flight, in September 1935, was made with an imported Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine of 695 horsepower. Over the years, more than 100 variants of the basic design were created, including modifications introduced on Spanish and Czech production lines after the war. Larger and larger engines were installed, along with hundreds of pounds of additional equipment, and the tough little airframe took it. Examples from the final German operational version, the Bf 109K series, had a 2,000-horsepower engine and a top speed of 450 miles per hour; truly astonishing for a design begun in 1934. A little known fact is that this was the first aircraft to incorporate a slanted back pilots seat, which helped to reduce g forces in combat.

Throughout its career, the Bf 109 was pitted against new and powerful adversaries, notably upgraded British Spitfires and the North American P-51 Mustang. In the hands of a capable pilot, the Bf 109 inevitably held its own. Notoriously difficult to take off and land, and restricted to a 3 bladed propeller, the Messerschmitt nevertheless remained a formidable adversary until the last day of the war.

Designed to meet a Luftwaffe need for a single-seat fighter/interceptor, the Messerschmitt Bf 109 was first flown on May 28th, 1935. Its all-metal construction, closed canopy and retractable gear made the Bf 109 one of the first true modern fighters of WWII. This versatile aircraft served in many roles and was the most produced aircraft of the war and the backbone of the Luftwaffe, and was flown by Germanys top three aces, who claimed a total of 928 victories between them. Armed with two cannons and two machine guns, the Bf 109s design underwent constant revisions, which allowed it to remain competitive until the end of the war.

The Bf 109G was the most numerous version of this long-lived German fighter. Around 10,000 were produced in ten main variants. The 109G was used by every German day fighter unit, and by eight other countries. Ironically, this version of the Bf 109 was not meant to exist. It had originally been hoped that the 109F would be replaced by an entirely new fighter. The Me 209 had first flown early in 1939, but it was soon discovered to offer little or no improvement over the 109F, and at quite a considerable increase in complexity. Work began in 1941 on the Me 309, another failed attempt to produce a replacement 109. The only other successful German single seat fighter of the war, the Fw 190, was good at low level, but poor at high altitude. By 1941 the air war was moving to increasingly high altitudes, and so in the summer of 1941 the Messerschmitt design team began work on yet another version of the 109; the G (Gustav)

The 109G was designed around the DB 605 engine. This was heavier than the engines it replaced, but the same size, so could fit in the same fuselage designs. It produced a fighter that was heavier than the 109F, but faster. The new machine was also less manoeuvrable than the 109F, which was preferred by many of the fighter experts. The engine also caused two major problems. First, early versions were prone to engine fires caused by overheating oil. This was soon fixed. Second, the engine type suffered from low oil pressure. This second problem was never satisfactorily fixed.

The Bf109 was obsolescent towards the end of World War Two, yet it remained the backbone of the German Air Forces day fighter force and was flown by many of her allies. In production right up to the end of hostilities, more than 33000 were built second only to the Russian ‘Sturmovik’ as the most prolific military design, and post-war versions served with the Czech, Israeli and Spanish Air Forces, the latter until the mid-1960s with Rolls Royce Merlin engines; Some of these surviving long enough to be used in the classic ‘Battle of Britain’ film in 1968.

 

Sold By : Plane Store SKU: US34907 Categories: ,
Weight 3.9 kg