Already wealthy from the oil business, he said, “Fine, I’ll take the aircraft as IOUs,” dismantled them and shipped the crated fuselages, wings and tail units to his ranch in Texas.īetween Edwards’ care and the arid weather conditions where they were stored, the Buchóns remained remarkably well preserved over the decades, down to their original movie warpaint. As the filming went over budget, many scenes had to be recycled (as anyone who sees the movie multiple times will notice) and Edwards was offered the HA-1112s as payment. ![]() Edwards flew the lead Spitfire and assembled what he called “a squadron of bush pilots” to operate the others. When filming began on Battle of Britain, producer Harry Saltzman bought eight of the retired Merlin-powered HA-1112s from the Spanish government, plus enough parts to build 20 more. By the time of its retirement in December 1965, the Buchón’s future had already been presaged in 1957, when an HA-1112-K1L (a 1951 version using a Hispano-Suiza engine) portrayed the Me-109F of German ace Hans-Joachim Marseille in Der Stern von Afrika. Powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin 500-45 engine driving a Rotol propeller-both British imports more readily associated with its enemy, the Spitfire-the HA-1112 had a maximum speed of 413 mph, respectable for a 109 but irrelevant in view of its primary role, patrolling Spain’s North African colonial territories during the jet age. In 1942 Hispano Aviación obtained a license to produce Me-109G-2s, and its version had undergone several changes in engine, armament and overall configuration by the time the HA-1112-M1L made its first flight on March 29, 1954. The Me-109’s Spanish connection dates back to its use by the German Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War, after which some were sold to the victorious Nationalist regime of General Francisco Franco Bahamonde. Three of those recently returned to the air in rapid succession. In 2015 Edwards sold the last six of them to Air Leasing Ltd. Over the years he sold off his Spanish Messerschmitts, some ending up in museums either in their original form or modified to look more like Me-109s, others restored to flying status. IX and kept the remainder at his ranch in Big Spring, Texas. Ever since the 1969 Hollywood epic Battle of Britain, these perpetual adversaries have been kept flying to awe crowds at airshows and to be ready to dogfight again the next time a World War II movie project comes around, most recently 2017’s Dunkirk.Īfter Battle of Britain, 16 Buchóns were presented in lieu of payment to the film’s chief stunt pilot, Wilson “Connie” Edwards, who traded two back to the production company for a Spitfire Mk. ![]() If ever a pair of warbirds owed much of their survival to the film industry, it is the Supermarine Spitfire and the Messerschmitt Me-109-or more often in the latter case, its stand-in, the Hispano Aviación HA-1112 Buchón. ![]() Spanish-built versions of the Me-109 lend an air of authenticity to World War II feature films. Movie Messerschmitts Return to the Air Close
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