A spectacular simulated combat between a Spanish Buchón fighter and two British Spitfires

@DefAviation ES 1·22·2024 · 21:35 0

This year will be the 85th anniversary of the beginning of World War II, and therefore there are few airplanes from that era still flying.

The HA-1112 Buchón fighter on display at a Michigan museum with its Spanish roundels
The new life of a Spanish HA-1112 Buchón fighter converted into a German Bf-109G

We have an example of this in the famous airplanes that starred in the Battle of Britain (1940). Of the British fighters that fought in it, 16 Hurricanes and 75 Spitfires remain in flying condition (the number of Spitfires is explained, to a large extent, by the admiration and devotion that the British feel for that magnificent plane). However, only three Messerschmitt Bf-109s remain in flying condition. That figure makes the historic German fighter a true rarity.

Due to the shortage of Bf-109 fighters, when the film "Battle of Britain" (1968) was filmed, in order to play the role of German fighters in the combats seen in it , its producers bought 27 Hispano Aviación HA-1112 Buchón fighters, the Spanish version of the Bf-109, equipped with the same Rolls-Royce Merlin engine as the Spitfire. Today 12 Buchones are preserved in flying condition, one of them transformed into a Bf-109G.

One of those Buchones, the HA-1112 M1L G-AWHK, participated in a simulated combat with two Spitfires (the single-seat Mk.IX TD314 "St.George" and the two-seat Mk.IXT NH341 "Elizabeth ") at the 2022 Headcorn Battle of Britain Airshow. High Flight has published this video of that exhibition today (turn up the speakers, the sound is amazing):

Here you can see some screenshots of this excellent video. This is the Spanish HA-1112 M1L Buchón G-AWHK fighter, decorated like a German Luftwaffe aircraft. It is one of the planes that were purchased from Spain for the aforementioned film "Battle of Britain". Its Spanish military registration was C.4K-102 and it flew with the 7th Wing of the Spanih Air Force at the Tablada and El Copero airfields.

The Spitfire Mk.IX TD314 "St.George", an aircraft built in late 1944. In 1948 it was sold to the South African Air Force, which in turn sold it to be scrapped in 1954. It was recovered in 1969 in Johannesburg, passing through various hands from South Africa to Canada, finally returning to the United Kingdom in 2009. Since 2011 it has belonged to the Aero Legends association.

The two-seat Spitfire Mk.IXT NH341 "Elizabeth" fighter, an aircraft built in early 1944 and delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force in the middle of that year. This aircraft fought in World War II, shooting down an authentic Bf-109 near Caen, France, on June 29, 1944, when it was piloted by Lieutenant Hugh Charles Trainor. NH341 was shot down on 2 July 1940 near Caen. Its remains were recovered by the Battle of Normandy Museum in Bayeux, France, where it was on display until 1996. The aircraft returned to England in 2015 and was restored by Aero Legends.

In the video we can see a simulated aerial combat between these veteran aircraft. A smoke emitter has been installed on the Buchón to represent the role of an airplane hit by Spitfire shots.