Chance to climb into cockpit of a German fighter
VISITORS to a Midland RAF museum can get the bird’s eye view which German fighter pilots had during the fight for the skies in the Second World War.
Two rare German frontline fighter aircraft, the Messerschmitt BF109G-2/Trop and the Focke Wulf Fw190A-8/U-1 have been announced as highlights at the “Open Cockpits Evening” taking place at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford on May 19-20.
With just 300 tickets available per evening, organisers are anticipating the event will be hugely popular with aviation fans eager to look inside two former Luftwaffe aircraft.
In addition, a wide range of transport aircraft, jet fighters and unique research airframes from each of the museum’s display hangars and within the museum grounds will be open on the night for close viewing.
The Messerschmitt BF109 G-2, designed by Willi Messerschmitt, was a wartime legend alongside the British Spitfire, American P51 Mustang and the Japanese Zero.
First flown in 1935, the Bf109 was obsolescent by the second half of the war – yet it remained the backbone of the German Air Force’s day fighter force and was flown by many of her allies. In production right up to the end of hostilities, more than 33,000 were built, second only to the Russian “Sturmovik” as the most prolific military design.
Post-war versions served with the Czech, Israeli and Spanish Air Forces, the latter until the mid-1960s – with Rolls Royce Merlin engines. The museum’s rare example of a Bf109 is a recent addition to the display at Cosford following its arrival in November 2016 and this is the first time the aircraft will be opened up for the public to have a closer look inside.
Also new to the line-up is fellow German fighter the fearsome Focke Wulf Fw190. Entering Luftwaffe service in August 1941, it was a single-seat single-engine multi-role fighter-bomber, capable of carrying a larger bomb load than the Bf109.
RAF Museum Cosford curator Al McLean said:“The event in May is a rare chance to see inside the two most iconic German fighter aircraft of the Second World War, positioned directly opposite their British counterparts.”
Tickets cost £12.50. For more details, visit www.raf museum.org/ cosford
The event in May is a rare chance to see inside the two most iconic German fighter aircraft of the Second World War RAF Museum Cosford curator Al McLean