Battle of Britain Movie

[jester_587]

Hello, I am in contact with a museum that Is looking for pictures of their aircraft from the movie Battle of Britain. The museum is the Kalamazoo Museum in Michigan and their aircraft flew as a ME-109 with the marking RED 13 in the Movie. The aircraft is actually a Spanish built HA-1112. Some how the pictures have been lost over the years and the Museum is writing an article for the Warbirds International magazine and needs pictures. The aircraft is currently on static display and painted in its original Spanish color of purple. I have already uncovered that the aircraft is actually marked with the wrong serial number and that is being corrected. The aircraft was also painted to look like a Hurricane for the Movie because there simply weren't enough of them, and 3 of the HA-1112's were painted in British colors for various parts of the movie. However, there is only 1 picture of the plane marked as RED 13 which I also found and sent in to the museum, and it remains the only proof other than paperwork that the aircraft was in the movie. If any body knows anything or knows somebody that may know something please let me know ASAP as the article is being written now. I can be contacted through my E-mail at: [email protected] Or [email protected]
Dave

 

[vikingBerserker]

Why not just grab pics from the movie?

 

[Crimea_River]

Terry (Airframes) is your best authority in this forum on these planes. If he doesn't chime in, send him a PM.

The Buchons used in the movie have since been dispersed all over the world. Some still fly and have likely been repainted. You may find some useful info in this thread http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/start-finish-builds/movie-double-bill-26048.html

 

[Airframes]

Most of the Buchons carried more than one number, in Red and Yellow. These were 'Fablon' self-adhesive numbers, changed as required, in order to give the appearance of even more than the 27 aircraft obtained for the movie. Some even had one number on one side, and a different number on the other. There were, I believe, at least three 'Red 13s' at any one time !
There was a recent article in a British aviation magazine (Aeroplane, I think), covering the discovery of a great hoard of 'stills' taken during the production. Perhaps the author can help, or put you in touch with the owner/photographer. I'll find some details and post them here.
One thing which might help; as a general guide, those Buchons with a three-blade prop were normally used for ground-running and taxying scenes, and those with the four-blade prop for air to air scenes.
Any Buchon extant today, particularly outside of Spain, is virtually guaranteed to have appeared in the movie; had it not been for Hamish Mahadie buying and/or leasing these aircraft, they would have been scrapped around the time the movie was made (1968 ).