hw97karbine
Airman 1st Class
- 265
- Mar 23, 2025
The recovery:
On the afternoon of the 25th February the museum received a phone call with the news that aircraft wreckage was located during excavation works being carried out at St.Vincent de Paul residence. Staff from our museum gained the necessary permission from the authorities concerned to view the wreckage. It was immediately evident to us that the site was a dump containing wreckage from several different types. Upon gaining further approval from the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage and custodianship of the wreckage, our team members started to excavate deeper into the crater where parts were found. The unexpected discovery of a BF109 horizontal tail section was the beginning of an exciting few days. The makers plate initially indicated that the part belonged to an F2 variant. Further excavation revealed the wing root of a wing with a W.Nr still clearly visible. Loose rubble was cleared by hand off the wing surface. Once securely lashed at one of the attaching points, the wing was lifted to ground level from about 2 meters underground. Once the wing was lifted it was apparent that more of this aircraft was buried. The fuselage was still there although chopped up in 3 sections. Obviously this was done for ease of disposal
Regarding the 109 itself:
On 1st April 1942 between 17:10 & 18:58, Unteroffizier Hans Pilz of 5./JG 3 was shot down by AAA fire in his Messerschmitt Bf 109F-4/Trop ''Black 11'' ( Wr.Nr. 8668 ) off Luqa road, environs of Paola. German records note that Unteroffizier Pilz was last heard from when reporting that he was pursuing a British fighter at very low level over Valletta. Soon afterwards, Pilz crash-landed his fighter in a wheat field close to Rahal Gdid ( Paola ). The aircraft came to a stop in an inverted position, and locals rushed to free the trapped pilot. Somewhat surprisingly, he was offered a tot of whisky, which he declined. Within minutes, the Air Raid Police arrived, accompanied by a doctor who also offered Pilz a drink. This time it was accepted. The prisoner was led away and treated for his injuries and spent the rest of the war as a POW.
