Messerschmitt Bf-109 G-10/Hispano Aviación Buchón HA-1112-M1L

Courtesy of Randy Malmstrom

Messerschmitt Bf-109 G-10/Hispano Aviación HA-1112-M1L. This particular aircraft was built as an HA-1112-M1L Buchón by Hispano Aviación under a 1943 license from Messerschmitt and was fitted with an upright Hispano-Suiza V-12 engine rather than the inverted Daimler-Benz typical of the Bf-109, and thus had a modified exhaust structure. After the lifting of the arms embargo in 1952, a Rolls-Royce Merlin 500-45 engine running a 4-blade propeller was introduced for the Buchón. This aircraft was one of about two dozen that were acquired by Group Captain Hamish Mahaddie from the Spanish Air Force during the 1960’s to serve as substitutes for the Messerschmitt Bf-109 for the film “Battle of Britain.” After the film was completed, pilot Wilson “Connie” Edwards acquired most of the aircraft and had them shipped to his ranch in Big Spring, Texas. Jack Erickson bought this Buchón from Edwards in 1989 and it was on static display at Erickson Aircraft Collection when it was located at Tillamook Naval Air Station in Tillamook, Oregon (see my older photo). The rebuild of this aircraft was initiated by Pacific Fighters in Idaho with an effort to use true RLM colors; the finishing was done at Erickson (led by David Reed) now located in Madras, Oregon and rebuilt as a Messerschmitt Bf-109 G-10 and includes the 20 mm cannon firing through the nose. The canopy was built from scratch by David Reed. It has been fitted with an Allison V-1710 engine and using some avionics for the P-38. The cowling from the Evergreen Aviation & Aircraft Museum’s G-10 was borrowed to create drawings to make this new cowling. The propeller is modified from a Hamilton Standard from a Douglas DC-3. The tail fin has been made asymmetrical as per the Bf-109 specifications (unlike that of the smaller Buchón rudder and vertical stabilizer). Armament for the Buchón included two Hispano-Suiza 20 mm cannon and 80 mm rockets (although that is not how this rebuild is represented with 13 mm machine guns atop the cowling). It seems to be painted in the markings of Luftwaffe ace Hermann Graf. My photos.

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During its entire production run, the Bf-109 was also built by Erla, Arado, Focke-Wulf, Fieseler (the Erla factories built approximately one-third of the 109’s produced between 1937-45), and Hispano Aviación under a 1943 license from Messerschmitt. Designed with a Daimler-Benz DB 605D inverted V-12 engine. The landing gear were attached to the fuselage by a forging of electron magnesium alloy at the firewall aft of the engine mount so that the wings could be removed without any additional supports for the fuselage for ease of maintenance – and for ease of rail transport if need be (see photo and diagram). Because of the narrow fuselage, the gear struts are splayed outwards. The wheels are mounted “crooked” at about a 25 degree camber and as a result, tend to turn inwards making them roll straight. Because of the torque created by the engine, the left landing gear strut is given increased pressure (equivalent to 100 PSI) so when parked, the aircraft does not have a level stance. The wheel wells are lined with canvas, and there are no inner wheel well doors since the wings of the aircraft were not fitted with a mechanism for a clamshell arrangement. Armed with two 13 mm machine guns atop the cowling and a 20 mm or 30 mm cannon that was mounted through a sealed tube between the engine’s cylinder banks. The reduction gear offset the propeller shaft away from the crankshaft so the tube for the cannon sits down in the inverted-V of the cylinder banks. The cannon barrel fit the entire length of the engine block to a point just past the propeller spinner. The automatic, spring-loaded movable slats on the wing leading edges droop down at lower speeds for improved handling, and the ailerons drooped when the flaps were lowered, increasing flap area (versus fixed “slots” on the Fieseler “Storch” for example).

Category: ReferenceApril 29, 2017

Messerschmitt Bf-109 G-10

Messerschmitt Bf-109 G-10/Hispano Aviación Buchón HA-1112-M1L

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