Country of origin:

Spain

Description:

Single-seat fighter monoplane

Power Plant:

[HA-1112-M1L]

One 1,193 kw (1,600 hp) Rolls Royce Merlin twelve-cylinder VEE liquid-cooled engine

Specifications:

History:

At the conclusion of fighting in the Spanish Civil War in April 1939 the Nationalist air arm possessed some 40 Messerschmitt Bf 109Bs and a number of Bf 109Es.  In 1942 the Spanish Ministerio del Aire obtained a licence to manufacture the Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2 and 25 airframes, which were broken down into main assemblies, together with pattern drawings, jigs and tools were to be delivered in 1943, with engines and armament. A further 200 airframes were to be delivered later.  Further airframes were to be manufactured by La Hispano-Aviacion.

However, due to the situation of World War II in Germany at that time, only incomplete drawings and partially complete airframes were supplied.  Construction of the aircraft commenced at Seville in 1944 and, as Germany was unable to supply further airframes or any engines, the early Spanish aircraft were fitted with a Hispano Suiza 12-Z-89 twelve-cylinder VEE engine, which was an upright engine, in place of the German inverted unit.  Power was 970 kw (1,300 hp).  The first example of this model was flown on 2 March 1945 as the HA-1109-J1L.  The second aircraft flew on 10 July 1947 and the remaining 23 airframes were completed to similar standard but the Hispano Suiza engine was found to be unsatisfactory in service.

These engine difficulties resulted in the French-manufactured Hispano-Suiza 12-Z-17 engine of similar power being chosen, driving a de Havilland Hydromatic engine, this model, the HA-1109-K1L flying for the first time in May 1951.  With an armament of two 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Breda-SAFAT machine guns, it had a max speed of 650 km/h (404 mph).

A number of variants of the design were developed to meet requirements, mainly differing in the type of armament fitted.  The HA-1109-K2L had two 12.7 mm (0.5 in) Breda machine guns over the engine and could carry eight 80 mm Oerlikon air to ground rockets under the wings. The HA-1109-K3L dispensed with the machine guns; and the HA-1112-K1L had a 20 mm Hispano HS-404 or HS-804 cannon in each wing.

In 1953 a mock-up of a Rolls Royce Merlin 500-45 engine arrived at the Hispano plant at Jacinto and work commenced to fit this engine to the airframe, the new aircraft to be known as the Buchon (a high-breasted pigeon), the prototype being known as the HA-1109-M1L. This aircraft achieved 674 km/h (419 mph) at 4,000 m (13,120 ft).  This was followed by the HA-1109-M2L and HA-1109-M3L which also differed principally in the armament installed.  Prototype of a two-seat conversion trainer of the Merlin variant became known as the HA-1112-M4L. The Merlin engines and Rotol propellers were both purchased from surplus stocks in the United Kingdom, the HA-1112-M1L being fitted with a four-blade Rotol propeller.

The Merlin engine had an intake under the nose and this altered the lines of the airframe visually.  In Spanish service the Merlin-powered aircraft was known as the C.4K and was mainly used in the ground-attack fighter role.  In the mid 1950s an agreement was reached between Spain and the United States which meant 270 North American F-86F Sabres would be supplied.  However, the Buchons continued in service into the 1960s.  They are known to have been used in Spanish territories in Africa.  The last aircraft was reported to have been retired on 27 December 1965.

In 1967 Group Captain ‘Hamish’ Mahaddie on behalf of Spitfire Productions Ltd acquired from open storage at Tablada, Spain, 28 examples of the Spanish-built Messerschmitt Bf 109 for the film ‘Battle of Britain’. The film company contracted the Spanish Air Force to bring 18 of these aircraft up to airworthy standard.  The aircraft were used in other movies to represent Luftwaffe Bf 109s, these including ‘Der Stern von Afrika’; ‘Memphis Belle’ and the ‘Tuskegee Airmen’.  Examples were also used to represent the Hawker Hurricane in ‘Battle of Britain’.  After the filming most of the aircraft were sold, a number ending up in the United States.  At least 17 examples are known to have been registered to private owners in the United States and all the film aircraft in the United Kingdom were allotted British registrations.

A Buchon G-BOML, based at Duxford in the United Kingdom, was conveyed to Wanaka, NZ in April 1992 where it was displayed at the biennial Warbirds over Wanaka Air Show.

Over the years a couple of ex-Spanish Air Force Buchons have been fitted with Daimler Benz engines, particularly in Germany, one of these, a Bf 109G-10 visiting New Zealand for one of the Warbirds over Wanaka events.  However, despite the many thousands of Daimler Benz DB-603 engines built, the engine type is rare.

Another Buchon, a HA-1112-M1L registered G-AWHK and operated by Historic Flying Ltd in the United Kingdom at Duxford, was imported to New Zealand in early 2016 where it took part in the biennial Warbirds over Wanaka event at Easter that year.

A HA-1112 C.4K-1112 Buchon (c/n 184 – serial 4761-15), which was purchased for the film ‘Battle of Britain’ in 1969, has been imported to Australia for restoration.  A number of the aircraft used to represent Messerschmitt Bf 109s in the film were obtained by an American collector, Connie Edwards, and placed in long-term storage.  This particular aircraft was not used for flying sequences and was not painted in pseudo Luftwaffe colours.  It was retained for use as spares to keep the airworthy aircraft in the air but is thought to have been used for filming of cockpit shots at Britain’s Pinewood Studios.

Four of the Buchon aircraft from the Edwards collection were reported to have been obtained in late 2015 by an Australian operator. It was reported these aircraft were to be restored in the United Kingdom and one was to be shipped to Pays Air Services at Scone, NSW for restoration, arriving in mid 2016.  Amongst the aircraft shipped to the United Kingdom was a two-seat variant, the C.4K-1112 formerly registered G-AWHC (c/n 1109) for the ‘Battle of Britain’ film, which was on a number of occasions used as a camera ship during the filming.  A number in recent times have been returned to airworthiness in the United Kingdom.