c/n 139. Spanish Air Force serial ‘C.4K-75’. Spanish built Hispano Buchon, modified to correctly resemble a Bf109G-4 and fitted with a DB605A engine. Operated by Flugmuseum Messerschmitt, part of the Airbus Group, this was its first Legends appearance. It is seen taxiing in after displaying. 2015 Flying Legends Airshow. Duxford, Cambridgeshire, UK. 12-7-2015

The following info for D-FWME is taken from the Flying Legends website and gives some idea how difficult it is to operate a ‘109’:-

“1950: Probable year of construction 16/10/1958: Allocated to the 71st squadron. 24/10/1958: Arrives at the 71st squadron. 01/04/1965: 471st squadron 18/10/1965: Acquired by Maestranza Aerea de Sevilla. 12/12/1965: Decommissioned after 216 hours, 50 minutes of pure flying time at Tablada AFB. 07/1966: Purchased by Battle of Britain movie production, transported to England (T.G.Mahaddie / Spitfire Productions Ltd) with the registration G-AWHG. Modified to look like a Bf 109 E-4. 14/05/1968: Flies as a Yellow 11 (‘Gelbe 11’) and Red 14 (‘Rote 14’) in the film ‘Battle of Britain’. 01/1969: Damaged during take-off from Le-Havre. Ferrying flight for the film ‘Patton’. 07/1970: Paul Jameson, Betchworth, UK (condition: disassembled) 21/02/1973: Fairoaks Aviation, Blackbushe, UK 08/1974: Aircraft sold in the USA: Meryl D. Schulke, Orlando, FL with the registration N3109G 25/10/1974: David C. Tallichet, Chino CA 05/1986: MARC (MILITARY AIRC REST CORP, ANAHEIM, CA), Chino, CA, as N3109, restored in Casper, WY 28/05/1986: Aircraft crashes during a test flight in Casper, WY and is restored to resemble a Bf 109 for static display. 1994/95: Sold to buyers in La Ferté Alais / France. Some time later, the fuselage is taken to the company Bitz Flugzeugbau in Augsburg, Germany. The wing areas remain in France 10/1997: Aircraft purchased by MAC (Messerschmitt Air Company) in Albstadt. Over the following years the plane is restored from scratch and made airworthy by Dieter Beck, Werner Grammel, Wilhelm Heinz and Siegfried Knoll, and is modified to use a DB 605 engine. 23/08/2004: Another maiden flight as Bf 109 G-4, flown by Walter Eichhorn. 16/07/2005: Suffers serious damage while landing at Albstadt-Degerfeld airfield. The pilot Siegfried Knoll is unhurt. MAC carries out a total of 103 flights with an overall flight time of 32 hours. 2007: The owners at the time want to sell the aircraft and contact what was then EADS. Negotiations run smoothly and EADS becomes the new owner of the Rote Sieben (Red 7). 13/04/2008: Maiden flight after successful restoration by MAC. 15/04/2008: During the second flight after restoration, the plane suffers a belly landing in Manching after problems with the landing gear. 19/02/2009: Another maiden flight takes place after repairs in Manching.