Messerschmitt Bf 109-G4 Red 7

Music: Marsch des Jagdgeschwaders Richthofen by the band of the Luftwaffe

The Messerschmitt Stiftung's "Rote Sieben" (Red Seven) was built as a Hispano (CASA) license built Bf-109, the Hispano HA-1112 M-1L Buchón in 1950 with c/n 139. After delivery she first served with the Ejercito del Aire with serial C.4K-75.

After being stuck of charge she was stored on Tablada before being sold to the United Kingdom in 1968, registered as G-AWHH. She starred as a Bf-109E "yellow 11" and "red 14" in the famous movie "The Battle of Britain". For another role in a movie she was reconverted into a P-51 "Mustang". Therefore a fake belly-cooler was attached. But she unfortunately crashed during a take-off and was severely damaged.

After her accident she was sold to the USA being registered as N3109G and restored to flying condtion. She was flown for the first and last time from Casper, Wyoming in 1986 as she crashed on take-off. After she was "repaired" to represent an Bf-109E-4 in static condition and in open storage. She was in a terrible state when she arrived in Augsburg, Germany in the 1990s where a couple of enthusiasts had the ambitious plan to restore her to Bf-109G-4 "Gustav" specifications, including the Daimler-Benz DB605 engine. Her first owner gave up on the plan fairly soon an in 1998 she was moved to the Messerschmitt Air Company (MAC) at Albstadt-Degerfeld. There she would undergo an expensive and time consuming restoration, that took over 30.000 hours. The work was completed in 2004 and on October 8 of that year she was presented to the public; the Rote Sieben had come to life!

On July 15, 2005 disaster struck as she was involved in a crash landing. While she touched down at her home, Albstadt-Degerfeld, the main gear collapsed resulting in a violent ground spin. The engine broke of the fuselage and the fighter was heavily damaged. At that point it wasn't clear if she would ever take the skies again. While being repaired the MAC was having difficulties to raise the funds to finalize the needed work and in December 2007 she was adopted by the Manching based Messerschmitt Stiftung. On April 2, 2008 she made, with Walter Eichhorn as her pilot, her first 15 minute test flight.

But then on April 15, 2008, just two weeks after her first flight, disaster struck again. While on approach to Manching, the pilot, Walter Eichhorn, found out that the right main gear of the 109 wasn't locked. After several attempts he found himself forced to make a wheels-up landing. The "Rote Sieben" was damaged, but thanks to the superb landing of Eichhorn the damage was kept to a minimum. After the previous accident in 2005, this mend that yet another round of repairs where necessary. After the repairs were made the "Rote Sieben" made her first flight on February 19, 2009 with Walter Eichhorn as pilot.

Copyright © 2011 Malcolm Auld

This video and audio material may not be reproduced in any form (except as an embedded video on any other website), without written permission.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Messerschmitt
• Bf
• 109-G4
• Red
• Me109
• Flugzeuge
• der
• Luftwaffe
• jagdgeschwader
• kampfgeschwader
• zerstorergeschwader
• WW2
• World
• War
• Two
• RIAT
• warbird
• aviation
• airplane
• aircraft
• fighter
• Daimler-Benz
• DB605

[SupernalOne]

hmmm - I can see everyone getting over WW2 (except the Jews of the world) and being aircraft enthusiasts together - but it's a bit off-putting to see the war marking still painted on, these are civilian aircraft now - re-enacting the terrible war seems in bad taste somehow -- at least there's no swastika on the tail, I can take the iron cross - a German loves Germany, that's natural

[auldm]

@SupernalOne The aircraft are displayed in their historical context I personally would like to see the swastika displayed as that would be historically accurate. Banning a symbol only makes the ideology behind it more interesting for the wrong reasons. The swastika was an ancient symbol, It remains widely used in Indian Religions to this day specifically in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, primarily as a sacred symbol of good luck.

[SupernalOne]

@auldm

sure, tho the nazi swastika was distinct in being reversed and tilted -

You're younger than me, maybe the hatefullness of the 3rd Reich didn't get to you as much - I was in Normandy two years ago, the beaches & war museums, and the cemetaries & mausoleums make it more real - I admire the German technology, but continue to spurn the ideology that used it for a war of conquest - sort of a point of honor: I don't forgive evil, ever - even by displaying a swastika, except on a war trophy

[auldm]

@SupernalOne I completely agree with you the war was evil and destroyed so many lives but the Nazi’s had to be stopped. The German aviation technology of the time, in many ways was a marvel. That is what I am trying to celebrate here, these thoroughbred flying machines.

[andi67sa]

O Gott Leute, hört das mit den politischen Kommentaren denn nie auf??? Ist jeder Deutsche automatisch ein Nazi?? Ist jeder VW den ein Hitlerauto? Ich kanns echt nicht mehr hören!!

Ich freue mich einfach an dem schönen DB-Sound und sehe die Maschinen gerne in der Luft, da gehören sie einfach hin.....

Ach ja, die Maschine hier ist eigentlich ein Umbau aus einer spanischen Bouchon ....also kein Naziflugzeug

[auldm]

@andi67sa Maschinen haben nicht politische Sichten. Sie tun nur, was dort wünschen erarbeitet.

[Treetop64]

@bambinonero

That's like saying "Wonder how Grumman feels about having it's name printed on a Klan aircraft..."

Not every German was a Nazi, dude.

[qwertyiop0]

Is this Farnborough 2010 airshow? I'm surprised this BF 109 flied more than 1000 kilometers from Germany to UK

[goreziad]

when you erase history, you forget history, when you forget history, you repeat history. leave the fucking swastikas on it.

[SuperFallschirmjager]

That model of ME-109 the G4 series is my favorite design as a distinctive fighter aircraft and it shows its slick design. The ME-109 is no#1 favorite fighter aircraft.

[FiveCentsPlease]

@elementx9

It's explained that it was a recognition aid, similar to the bright colors painted on the numbers, cowlings, and spinners used to identify units. Official painting instructions from 1944 refer to it as an identification aid. Another common explanation is that they were intended to throw off the aim of enemy gunners, though this is commonly dismissed as myth.

[elementx9]

does anybody know the point of the spiral spinner, other than looking awesome obviously?

[haltnsabbelstfu]

Why are british planes so ugly?

[acepilot1997]

@Treetop64 No! I said that I found it ironic that this warbird was painted to look like a mustang and had a fake air scoop attached to the belly for a movie. It says in the description in Paragraph 2 near the bottom.

[TheMuffdivr]

You can tell immediately where this airshow is, where post WWII conditions imposed on Germany by the allies, specifically the UK and USA, dictated that no more Swastikas were to be displayed. So Hakenkreuze in Deutschland have been "verboten" ever since. Nowdays the US acts as though those "rules" are something contrived by Germany. All I can say to that is, just more typical "Yankee Bullshit", which is of course what they're best known for. Can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with BS.

[oscarthegrouch68]

just because there was a swstika on the tail of these aircraft did'nt mean the pilots who flew them were all pro nazi's. Im sure some of these pilots would of been disgusted with what nazism stood for, and some of these men would absolutely been against the nazi party... they just joined the luftwaffe for the sake of pride for their country, not to mention that they were appauled by hitler and the fasciast nazi party

[pauloratm]

 Thing is...109´s look beautiful!