This Messerschmitt Bf 109 is colorized in a Condor Legion scheme. It was part of Jagdgruppe 88 – J/88 of the Condor Legion fighting in the Spanish civil war on the Nationalists side vs the communist side. The Condor Legion was active from July 1936 to March 1939, they helped the Spanish and used this battleground to test and develop fighting and bombing strategies that would be used throughout the Second World War. During the Spanish Civil War they fought communist, Russian airplanes like the
Besides a diversity of aircraft the Condor Legion included ground combat units which used Panzer I light tanks and 88 mm Flak 18 guns.
The Condor legion fought aerial battles vs Russian I-15 and I-16 Polikarpov fighters; the SB-2 Tupolev bomber; and the Polikarpov R-5 reconnaissance and light bomber for example. This Bf 109 E-3 with construction number 790 is the oldest existing Messerschmitt Bf 109 to have seen combat.
The Bf 109 was returned to Germany in 1950. It carries fictitious markings of the Jagdgeschwader 51 Mölders which fought on all fronts during the war and its pilots won more awards than any other fighter wing of the Luftwaffe.
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The photos are from the Deutsches Museum in Munich but after we saw it the museum opened a second location. Check out its current location before you start your trip.
Excellent photos, thank you.