WOW280 Messerschmitt Bf 109 ‘Adolf Galland’

Description

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 was designed by Dr. Willy Messerschmitt, who it could be argued transformed aircraft design around the world for a generation. Messerschmitt helped Germany rebuild its Luftwaffe and enabled it to become one of the most potent air forces in the world. The initial prototype first flew in 1935, powered by a Rolls Royce Kestrel V12 liquid cooled engine. The wing was a low wing monoplane design that housed a narrow track retractable landing gear using spring loaded edge slats and manually activated trailing edge flaps. In other words this design allowed the aircraft to fly at high speed whilst retaining low airspeeds required for take-off and landing. Our latest version is a Bf 109E and was the first model to be powered by a Daimler Benz DB601A engine with a rating of just under 1,100 horsepower. The Bf 109 undertook many further improvements as the war progressed with over 30,000 being built, it soldiered on until the final days of WW2 and was flown by many of Germany’s top aces including Galland and Hartmann.

Adolf Josef Ferdinand Galland (19 March 1912 – 9 February 1996) was a German Luftwaffe general and flying ace who served throughout the Second World War in Europe. He flew 705 combat missions, and fought on the Western Front and in the Defence of the Reich. On four occasions, he survived being shot down, and he was credited with 104 aerial victories, all of them against the Western Allies.

Galland, who was born in Westerholt, Westphalia became a glider pilot in 1929 before he joined Lufthansa. In 1932, he graduated as a pilot at the Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule (German Commercial Flyers’ School) in Braunschweig before applying to join the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic later in the year. Galland’s application was accepted, but he never took up the offer. In February 1934 he was transferred to the Luftwaffe. In 1937 during the Spanish Civil War, he volunteered for the Condor Legion and flew ground attack missions in support of the Nationalists under Francisco Franco. After finishing his tour in 1938, Galland was employed in the Air Ministry writing doctrinal and technical manuals about his experiences as a ground-attack pilot. During this period Galland served as an instructor for ground-attack units. When Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, Galland once again  flew ground attack missions. In early 1940, Galland managed to persuade his superiors to allow him to become a fighter pilot. The rest as they say is history!