Messerschmitt BF 109E-3 - Seattle, WA - Static Aircraft Displays on Waymarking.com

Located at the Museum of Flight are a large number of static aircraft on display. One of them is a Messerschmitt BF 109E-3. The Museum of Flight website contains a page devoted to this aircraft and it reads:

By far the most-produced fighter ever (over 33,000 estimated), the Bf 109 served actively in various air forces around the world from the mid-1930s until the mid-1950s. Small, agile, and well-armed, it proved a serious weapon in the hands of an experienced pilot.

Perhaps the most noteworthy of the many versions of the Bf 109 was the Bf 109E, which ruled the skies over Europe until mid-1940 when it first encountered the Supermarine Spitfire.

In 1972, Douglas Champlin began looking for a restorable Bf 109 for his collection. After several fruitless searches, he acquired a Spanish-built Hispano HA 1112 and reconfigured it as closely as possible to the original. Locating a Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine and associated cowling proved impossible, so a DB 605 was substituted.

Modification work was undertaken by Art Williams in Germany. This included not only the engine change, but also redesign of the wingtips and other related items.

The Champlin Collection Bf 109 was manufactured in Germany during 1942 or 1943. It is thought to be one of the original batch of twenty-five aircraft supplied to Spain. All instrumentation is German, and of the identifiable Spanish-manufactured parts, many appear to be identical to the original German versions.

Appropriate to the aircraft's history, the cowling and engine are most likely from Bf 109E J392, the initial Dornier-Swiss-built aircraft delivered in 1945. The Champlin Collection Bf 109 has appeared in several movies, including Patton and Battle of Britain. Currently, the Bf 109E is displayed in the Battle of Britain colors of the noted Luftwaffe ace, Hans "Assi" Hahn.

A nearby placard also highlights this Messerschmitt BF 109E-3 in more detail and reads:

One of the most recognizable fighters of all time, the Bf 109 first flew in 1935. Some 33,500 were built. Its was during the Spanish Civil War that the world first took note of the Bf 109. That was also provided German pilots valuable combat experience that made Germany's Luftwaffe all the more effective and deadly in World War II.

An original engine cowling from a Swiss Bf 109 and a Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine were mated to a Spanish HA-1112 airframe in 1973 to prduce this composite representation of a Bf 109E-3. It is finished in the markings of Captain Hans "Assi" Hahn of Jagdgeschwader (JG) 2 during the Battle of Britain. Hahn was officially credited with 108 victories during the war.

Type of Aircraft: (make/model): Messerschmitt BF 109E-3 Tail Number: (S/N): c/n 186; Registration No. NX109J Construction:: original aircraft Location (park, airport, museum, etc.): Museum of Flight - Personal Courage Wing - 1st Floor inside / outside: inside Other Information:: Not listed Access restrictions: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Photo of aircraft (required - will be interesting to see if the aircraft is ever repainted or progress if being restored)
Photo of serial number (required unless there is not one or it is a replica)
Photo(s) of any artwork on the aircraft (optional but interesting)

Tell why you are visiting this waymark along with any other interesting facts or personal experiences about the aircraft not already mentioned.

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