109 sent to USA in 1941

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13 years 7 months

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I was looking on-line for something else and came across this newspaper report from mid-1941. Perhaps it is common knowledge, in which case my apologies, but, on the other hand, perhaps it will be of interest to some visitors here:

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12 years 8 months

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The remains of this 109E eventually made their way back to Britain , and today can be seen in the Battle of Britain hangar at Duxford.

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13 years 7 months

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Thanks for letting me know. There are presumably photographs of it 'on tour' around the United States.

These days, they'd do it like a British band on the road over there, complete with T-shirts saying "109 On Tour" on the front and a list of dates and cities on the back.

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I've always wondered.....what is it that would stop this 109 from being restored to airworthy condition? In theory could it be?

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11 years 2 months

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It could be restored to airworthy.
The truth, however, is that virtually all of the sheet metal would have to be replaced.
There would not be much left of, what is an historical artifact. Items can only be original once.
That being said, the standards to which some aircraft are being restored, have progressively risen to very impressive levels of originality.

Oh yeah, one would also require a great big steaming heapload of money, so there's that.;)

Andy

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I've often thought it would be nice if it could be restored back to a complete static condition. I like the crash diorama but the "half and half" restoration with one wing left as was doesn't to it for me personally...

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Why does it have newly made engine cowlings? Were the originals lost?

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The wreck did a lot of mileage between being shot down and ending up at Dux, and the cowlings and lots of other components went walkies years ago. I personally love the preserved original paintwork, original wartime finishes are very rare and need to be saved whenever possible. Its a great, sympathetic restoration.
Ideally, I'd love to see a spinner fitted at some point, although I'm guessing they don't grow on trees...

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I personally would like to see her on her undercarriage at somepoint! She's a great looking bird

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On page 713 of the Battle of Britain then and now there is a picture of Bf109E wrk nr 1190 at Hurn airport with Peter Foote holding a Bf109E spinner (I wonder where the spinner disappeared to?). He brought the remains back in 1966 apparently with the aim of restoring the fighter. I would personally love to see the 109 with its undercarriage down and with all it`s cowlings and spinner in place. It would certainly add a new dimension for taking pictures of this Battle of britain veteran.

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11 years 9 months

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I think I can help here........ Can't remember when I took these, part of a bunch on a Saturday morning visit

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11 years 9 months

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I also have this original of White 4 when she arrived in the States.

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11 years 5 months

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At one point after its arrival in this country Wrecks & Relics had this 109 listed at Buckfastleigh in Devon. What on earth was it doing there?

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24 years 2 months

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Back in the day..the late Peter Foote and others had plans for an aviation museum to be based at the Dart Valley steam railway. This never came to be as far I I know. Not sure if it ever made it to the west country.
The 109 spending many years in a small shed at Bournemouth, Hurn airport. With scant resources Peter did his best to restore and conserve before finally passing it on to the IWM. ( Along the way turning down many lucrative offers or so it seems).

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Love the photo, Tim Hart. Is there anything worth passing on, written or printed on the reverse side?

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At some point while in the US, the upper cowling was cut in half along its entire length to better show the engine while on display. Also, the fuselage and wing crosses were repainted hence why they look reasonably fresh even to this day at Duxford when compared to the poor appearance of the surrounding original paintwork on the unrestored sections of the airframe. Photographs of the airframe on display over the pond and photographs of the badly deteriorated hulk just prior to it coming back to the UK confirm this.

There was an extensive article written by Ken R. Johnson on the background story of this relic/wreck in the July 2000 edition of Aeroplane.

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11 years 9 months

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Yes there is, am currently travelling returning this weekend, will post details then.

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11 years 9 months

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Ian

Photograph is dated 15 June 1941

Hope you can decipher the type written commentary

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13 years 7 months

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Thank you, Tim. Sorry to take a while to acknowledge your post. I was away at the weekend.

Let me speculate a little. It looks like it was a press agency photo circulated to newspapers. The cutting that I put in Post # 1 came from a paper dated 7 June 1941, the day after its arrival at the theatre where it was put on display. The text of the PR blurb says it was on display there from 12 June 1941 and "13 June 1941" stamped on the back. My guess is that the photo came from the files of some newspaper that stamped the date the photo was used on the back. This would have been done each time the photo was published, perhaps to ensure they kept within the terms of the original licence to print or to ensure that the photo was not used too often - or both. Some newspaper even attached a clipping to the rear of the photo each time the photo was used.

Does any of that speculation tie in with what you can see on the reverse of the original, Tim?

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11 years 9 months

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I think your speculation is probably right, since looking more closely at the blurb, it would appear to have a date and time at the end, that is to say 6-6-41 at 5.40pm. So I agree with your suggestion that the 15th June was probably the date the photo was received by the paper. There is also a small commentary attached in Spanish, which needs some translation.

Best

Tim