Walkaround: Messerchmitt Bf 109E-4
I just bought a Tamiya 109E off of ebay. I thought it would be fun to go back in to my archives and find my photos of the 109 at Thunder Over Michigan a few years ago. This was Russel's restored E that I believe was recently sold and is now in England. Skip Holm was flying her that weekend and was really impressive. It was the first time I had heard a DB engine...what a growl! These are kind of a generic walk around but they can help as a reference.
Jim
Great reference pics...and welcome to the site. 🙂
I remember seeing this airplane when it first came over from England, at Chino while they were trying to get the radiators connected to the engine - it couldn't fly 15 minutes without overheating! Good to see they solved that.
For those who don't know, this 109 was actually flown by Hans Joachim Marseille during the Battle of Britain - back before he became "Marseille".
I wonder which airplane Skip liked best - this or the SR-71 prototype when he was a test pilot at Lockheed?
That sure is a beautiful restoration! And the history! Must be nice to have more money than the annual budget of some countries just to be able to buy & maintain one of these planes! LoL!
Hi Jim. That Tamiya looks great, love what you did to it and in that natural light it almost looks real...
Thanks for the kind words...and the backstory. This airplane looks more like a model than a model. It is a beautiful machine, hopefully my Tamiya will do it justice. Last I heard, an overhauled DB engine was north of $600,000 and good for about 200 hours. That is dedication.
Jim
Great reference photos!
Stunning pictures! I am busy building an e7 which served in Sicily in 1941 as an escort to Malta(Jg26). The kit includes 250Ib bombs and a 500Ib bomb. I am wondering if it would be accurate to put Bombs on the aircraft or would the aircraft only be carrying drop tanks? This is the most relevant place to ask this question so I am sorry if this is off-topic.
Thanks Matthew! I am by no means an authority on all German air operations. From what I have read Jg 26 was successful in air to air combat thanks to their leader Hpt Joachim MĂĽncheberg. Just a cursory search shows that he was more interested in running his score up against RAF Hurricanes than any other possible mission. That said, I would think drop tanks were preferred. I'm sure there are more folks on here that have a better handle on specific history. Thanks again.
Jim
Thank you for the response! I think I will stick to the drop tanks as this is a fighter. Funnily enough I am actually going to paint the aircraft as that of Joachim MĂĽncheberg!