Bf 109 Purchased by Air Ministry

[magnu]

I have been reading Sandy Johnstone s book Spitfire into war based on diary s he kept from August 1939 onwards and came across a reference to a Bf 109 purchased by the air ministry from the Luftwaffe before the war which he almost got to fly. the OC flying took it for an air test and was unable to extend the landing gear and belly landed it. Diary date October 26th 1939 RAF Northholt ( Bf109 was based there)
Haven't heard any mention of this aircraft before and was wondering if anyone else had any more info on it have had a search on the net but haven't turned up any more info

 

[Airframes]

I read the same book (which I still have) and wondered the same. I seem to recall reading elsewhere that this aircraft (I think a '109D) was eventually written-off in another forced landing, or maybe a crash, but I could be wrong.

 

[Snautzer01]

I never came acros a Bf 109 purchased by the Air ministry. Only captured examples were used.
Maybe he is talking about the one that landed in france and was taken to England for further testin and comparison flights.

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/aircraft-pictures/messerschmidt-109-raf-ae479-pics-24400.html

 

[magnu]

I never came acros a Bf 109 purchased by the Air ministry. Only captured examples were used.
Maybe he is talking about the one that landed in france and was taken to England for further testin and comparison flights.

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/aircraft-pictures/messerschmidt-109-raf-ae479-pics-24400.html

No this is from October 1939 so is too early for any captured aircraft.

Terry I was also thinking it would have been a D, presumably written off in the belly landing, bit hard to get spares by then. Or in another crash soon after and wasn't around for very long so very little is known of this aircraft

 

[Snautzer01]

Could you post the page ?

and it isnt to early for captured planes. -->> Civil war Spain 1 early type Bf 109 landed at wrong airfield was tested by the french and later on moved to russia. tested there and sent to a recce unit To be recaptured by the germans again rebuild to e7 standard and sent to the front again......

 

[magnu]

All the info I have on it is from the book in the first post. Ill try to copy it and post it tonight

 

[magnu]

This is the relevant passage October 26th
However I nearly got to ride in a Messerschmitt. Apparently the Air Ministry brought a Me 109 from the Luftwaffe some time ago for evaluation purposes and had based it at Northholt. So ,coming across it sitting outside a hangar on my way to lunch last Thursday I asked if I might be allowed to fly the machine later in the day. The OC Flying was very decent about it and told me to borrow flying kit whilst he first gave it an air test. An hour later, standing on the tarmac helmet in hand , I waited for him to land but as soon as the messerschmitt joined the circuit, it was obvious that something was amiss, for it was being put through some very unorthodox manoeuvers overhead. One of the ground crew reckoned the undercarriage had jammed and the pilot was trying to shake it lose. The diagnosis must have been spot on , for the machine made a belly-landing in the middle of the field , thus ending my chance of clocking up another type in my flying log book.

 

[Snautzer01]

if the date is correct it either is a till now unknown purchase of the Am ( the purchase being a Bf109 almost impossible with all the research that has been done) or a typo of the writer.

No Bf109 was bought from the Luftwaffe so probably as Peter Evans of LEMB suggested it is a Bf108 Taifun.

A couple of them were in the UK at that time and in english hands

 

[A4K]

The AM purchased a Heinkel He-70 from Germany in about 1935 or so, in exchange for a Kestrel or early Merlin motor...the latter of which was tested in the aircraft. Is there a chance the author was referring to this??

 

[magnu]

With so little to go on it is nigh on impossible to say with absolute certainty that this was a Bf109. However Sandy Johnstone was an experienced pilot and would have known one when he saw it.
I will have a try at finding out some more info by looking into RAF Northholt and aircraft purchased by the Air Ministry 1937/38
and see what I can find

 

[btaylor]

Hello,
I just found this post, so apologies for its resurrection!
This may have been the '70' that my Grandfather, then a flight test engineer, "collected" from Germany with Ronnie Harker. I remember him talking about the Heinkel having a stuck undercarriage and that he was flying over his home wondering if they were going to survive the "landing". I don't recall it being a crash landing though

The AM purchased a Heinkel He-70 from Germany in about 1935 or so, in exchange for a Kestrel or early Merlin motor...the latter of which was tested in the aircraft. Is there a chance the author was referring to this??