Tag Archives: Luftwaffe

Mighty Messerschmitt

This is a Messerschmitt Bf 109F, the backbone of the Lufftwaffe’s fighter force throughout the entire of the Second World War.

First flying in 1937, the Bf-109 was one of the most advanced fighters in the world, with an all-metal monocoque, fully enclosed canopy, retractable landing gear, and a liquid-cooled inverted-V12 providing 700bhp.

Over 30,000 units were produced for use in the Luftwaffe and the air forces of Nazi Germany’s allies, making it the most numerous fighter aircraft in history, with final units eventually retiring from the Spanish Air Force in 1965.

This incredible brick-built example of the Messerschmitt Bf 109F is the work of previous bloggee JuliusZ D., who has recreated the aircraft in stunning 1:33 detail.

Beautifully constructed in North Africa colours, there’s lots more gorgeous imagery to view at Juliusz’s ‘Messerschmitt Bf 109F-4/trop’ album on Flickr, where the model is also pictured alongside his fantastic Supermarine Spitfire that appeared here a few weeks ago.

And fortunately for TLCB’s home nation (and the rest of the world), good as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 was, it was that Spitfire that won in the end.

Behind Enemy Lines

After decades of peace, Europe is once more at war, thanks to an under-endowed dictator intent on re-colonisation. However the last time war raged along Russia’s borders, it was defending against, rather than fighting for, a maniacal despot.

This wonderful diorama depicts a small part of that fight, when in 1942 German ace Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke was shot down by a Soviet Air Forces Hawker Hurricane, crash landing on an icy lake.

His Messerschmitt Bf 109 slipped through the ice to the bottom of the water, but Wolf-Dietrich survived to continue his service in the Luftwaffe, before finally being killed in action in March of 1944, with a scarcely believable 162 victories to his name.

Constructed by Jonah Padberg, this beautiful creation captures the moment of Wolf-Dietrich’s crash, and you can visit the frozen lake on which he landed, before it claimed his Messerschmitt Bf 109 but not his life, via the link above.

Tornado

British warplanes have the best names. Names such as Vampire, Hurricane, Typhoon, Lightning, and this, the awesome Panavia Tornado. Still a mainstay of the RAF and Luftwaffe, the Tornado has been in service since the late ’70s with nearly 1,000 produced during a twenty year production run. This outstanding Lego version of the iconic variable-sweep wing multi-role combat aircraft has been built by Flickr’s Kenneth Vaessen, and is resplendent in German Naval strike specification, complete with Kormoran anti-ship missiles. There’s lots more to see at Kenneth’s photostream and it’s well worth your click – Go supersonic via the link above.