Warbird Information Exchange

Im reading a book now which touched lightly on the ME-109K. The last variant of the ME-109 which saw combat. Are there any flying or being restored to fly? Was it a really good fighter, or not? Thanks in advance.

In short, nope and nope. I do not believe any K-models have survived.
https://me109.info/web.php
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/we ... _109K.html

The surviving/reproduction G-10's would be the most similar in appearance to the K model.
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/6067477
https://www.airliners.net/photo/Untitle ... /4989767/L

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There is maybe a project for Bf-109K Wk.Nr. 334253 in Germany although I do not know the goal of the project or status.

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"They done it, they done it, damned if they ain't flew." December 17, 1903

Here is it, http://www.arsenal-45.de/home.html

Other webpages seem to indicate they are going to recreate a Bf 109 K-4 based on a data plate and original parts as well as newly manufactured items.

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I think there are about 2 or 3 K projects worldwide.Gregors Arsenal 45 is one of them.

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If the CO ask,s you to be Tail End Charlie...Just Shoot Him..A Piece of Cake

Found this from 2008, but no real proof. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/kurfurs ... t-t42.html
I'd be very surprised and pleased if an actual K model survived.

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Only parts survive- but as others have noted, there are a few projects bubbling along that might eventually see air beneath their wings.

As to whether it was a good fighter, well... it was fast as he|| with that monster DB 605D capable of bursts of over 2000 HP in emergency power, but there were no corresponding improvements to the control system to tame that power- it still had ground-adjusted elevator trim tabs, for crying out loud. A pilot familiar with the 109 could use that extra power to his advantage, but by the time the K entered service in late 1944, a solid majority of Luftwaffe pilots were relatively new, and didn't have the training to understand how to get the most out of his aircraft.

Overall, despite being a diehard 109 fan all my life, I have to admit the Fw 190D was a more effective and easier to handle fighter in all respects.

Lynn

Thanks everyone for your comments on this post. it looks like that perhaps someday in the far off future there might be a ME-109K in flying condition. I was going to ask if there are any DB605 engines to be had. On FB I see that Mike Nixon has a DB605 that he is working on. I don't know if it is static, or being returned to running condition. There can't be very many of these engines in existence I would think. Thankyou to everyone.

I would guess that there are around 15-20 DB601/605 engines either currently running or in the rebuild process and perhaps a couple Jumo 211/213 for future rebuilds.
Some restored Buchon/Bf-109's are using RR Merlins and I believe an Allison is also being adapted for use as well.

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The Erickson collection HA-1112 Buchon has been re-engined with an Allison and a Bf.109 lookalike cowling. See here: http://www.ericksoncollection.com/messe ... 109ha-1112
You can see the exhausts running down from the Allison block to the low mounted stubs on the first photo.

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A Little VC10derness - A Tribute to the Vickers VC10 - www.VC10.net

Many years ago my dad had a BF-108 (Nord 1002) Taifun. It had the French engine and prop and this required lead ballast in the tail. Our friend Jimmy Hunt, had an HA-1112 (ME-109) project and he mentioned that when they redesigned it with the Merlin 500 engine and four bladed prop, the manufacturer added a lot of weight in the tail to compensate for the nose heavy condition. I can't remember if it was 52 or 82 pounds, but it was a significant weight to get the CG in the proper position. It would have added to the miserable flying characteristics.
As a design, you are adding this counterweight to the tail that has no aerodynamic properties. If you hit a bump on landing or put the weighted tail in motion in flight, it would take even more control input pressures and muscle to "make the airplane do what you want it to do." With the bigger engine the airplane might fly faster, but be less stable and a miserable gun platform. It might be able to carry a heavier bomb or rocket load but without larger tail surfaces, the nose would be all over the place and very inaccurate. For example, one thing they got right on the TBM Avenger is that it is a big huge stable weapons delivery platform.
To me, the question on the ME-109G versus the ME-109K would be "How much heavier and how is that weight distributed on the airframe?" I'm currently reading a book titled "Angels In The Sky" . The Israeli revolutionaries are flying the Czech built ME-109 called the Avia S199 "Mule". The Czechs took a supply of HE-111 surplus JUMO engines and props and stuck them on G airframes with lots of mods. The design is far past the breaking point of bad aeronautical engineering. They crashed them on takeoff, in combat, or on landing on every mission. The Israelis had brilliant pilots, some of them had DFC's, DFM's, Navy Crosses, etc, from the Second World War. The design was about impossible to fly.
BTW, the german pilots considered the F model to be the best flying of all models.

Wow, that looks *so* much better than the always-odd-looking, fat-chinned Merlin-powered Buchon. The 109 is one of the great planes, it deserves to look like its best self.

That's one way of looking at the situation. The other side of the argument is that we continue to lose examples of what is a significant type in its own right: the Hispano HA-1112.

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I don't think the world is going to run out of Hispano HA-112's anytime soon. Several are in museums as Buchons and several more are painted as ME-109G's but have not been reconfigured to anything other than their HA-112 designation. THe Allison conversion looks great and of course may have improved or degraded the aircraft's performance depending on whether it changed the engines center of thrust and the aircraft's CG. It does look great. Spare parts for Allisons are drying up so, my vote is to not waste an Allison on a Buchon unless someone is going to put it on a two place version and attempt to make flight instruction available.
Maybe the best outcome would be for a few of the static Buchons painted as ME-109Gs to have a static display DB installed and free up those Merlins for other allied types that are actively being restored to fly.

Virtually every T-6 flying has at least that much ballast in the tail to put them into CG limits.