Photo: Platinum Fighters
In the three years preceding the start of the Second World War, another major conflict was raging in Spain. Taking advantage of the fighting between the country's Republicans and Nationalists, Nazi Germany sent personnel there to gain battlefield experience for what would come later. Many of the German soldiers and airmen who fought in the Spanish Civil War did so as part of a military unit called the Condor Legion.
Fighting on the side of the Nationalists, the unit became notorious for its strategic bombing tactics, and will forever remain in the history books as the one responsible for the bombing of Guernica, an operation considered a war crime even after it happened, as it made no difference between military targets and civilians.
The Condor Legion's aerial component relied on Messerschmitt Bf 109 airplanes for its missions. The plane had its first flight in 1935, and during World War II became the fighter plane with the most aerial kills of the war – for instance, during the invasion of the Soviet Union, these planes, of which around 34,000 were made, shot down thousands of Russian plans at the cost of just 350 of their own.
The Bf 109 was powered by a Daimler-Benz engine and a single three-bladed propeller. It could reach speeds of 520 kph (320 mph), climb to a maximum altitude of 12,000 meters (39,000 feet), and fly for as much as 1,144 km (711 miles).
The plane you're looking at now is part of that incredible breed of machines, and one that flew under the control of the Condor Legion pilots. Serial number 6*88, it is believed to be the only Condor Legion Messerschmitt Bf 109 to be privately owned, and one of just two known survivors of the Spanish Civil War (the other one is presently with the Deutsches Museum in Germany).
We find ourselves talking about this plane because it recently popped up for sale on Platinum Fighters. We're told that after its service with the Condor Legion ended, the plane continued to be flown by the Spanish Air Force until 1950, went it was benched from official duties.
It continued to fly with other pilots until 1958, and, according to its seller, that might just make it the longest-serving airplane of the 109E variety. That would be the variant powered by the more powerful Daimler-Benz engine and capable of carrying heavier weaponry.
The plane as you see it has been in the possession of its current owner since 1981, and it is currently being restored in Germany. It's a process that began back in 2012, but work on it still doesn't seem to be over. The bird is offered as is, and the asking price is no less than $6 million.
The Condor Legion's aerial component relied on Messerschmitt Bf 109 airplanes for its missions. The plane had its first flight in 1935, and during World War II became the fighter plane with the most aerial kills of the war – for instance, during the invasion of the Soviet Union, these planes, of which around 34,000 were made, shot down thousands of Russian plans at the cost of just 350 of their own.
The Bf 109 was powered by a Daimler-Benz engine and a single three-bladed propeller. It could reach speeds of 520 kph (320 mph), climb to a maximum altitude of 12,000 meters (39,000 feet), and fly for as much as 1,144 km (711 miles).
The plane you're looking at now is part of that incredible breed of machines, and one that flew under the control of the Condor Legion pilots. Serial number 6*88, it is believed to be the only Condor Legion Messerschmitt Bf 109 to be privately owned, and one of just two known survivors of the Spanish Civil War (the other one is presently with the Deutsches Museum in Germany).
We find ourselves talking about this plane because it recently popped up for sale on Platinum Fighters. We're told that after its service with the Condor Legion ended, the plane continued to be flown by the Spanish Air Force until 1950, went it was benched from official duties.
It continued to fly with other pilots until 1958, and, according to its seller, that might just make it the longest-serving airplane of the 109E variety. That would be the variant powered by the more powerful Daimler-Benz engine and capable of carrying heavier weaponry.
The plane as you see it has been in the possession of its current owner since 1981, and it is currently being restored in Germany. It's a process that began back in 2012, but work on it still doesn't seem to be over. The bird is offered as is, and the asking price is no less than $6 million.
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