Messerspit - The Frankenstein Fighter 

You never cease to amaze with these rare and obscure stories from WWII.

Here’s some more information on the Hispano HA-1112 Buchón: the Spanish Civil War was the combat debut of the Bf 109, named the B-E variants of the aircraft. During WWII, the Germans gave the Spanish manufacturer Hispano Aviación a license to manufacture the Bf 109G, a contract that Messerschmitt referred as the Bf 109J. About 25 airframes were sent to Spain, along with the necessary plans for building the aircraft. However, these airframes were incomplete, being without engines. The Spanish solved this issue by testing a Hispano-Suiza 12Z engine on a Bf 109E leftover from the Civil War. By 1945, the first HA-1109 Tripala (three-bladed) was being test flown and more would soon follow. Though the 12Z was an upright V-12, it’s tight cowling gave it more of a passing resemblance to its German cousins. But by the 1950s, the limited supply of 12Zs was beginning to run out, and the Spanish, now allied with the West as an anti-communist regime, bought Rolls-Royce Merlin engines and Rotol propellers that had been used on Hurricanes and Spitfires during the war. The Merlin-powered aircraft was the HA-1112 Buchón (Pouter). The distinctive cowling for the Merlin reminded Spanish pilots of doves that can inflate their crops. Both the HA-1109 Tripalas and the HA-1112 Buchóns were armed with two wing-mounted 20mm Hispano cannons and unguided rockets. With the development of jet aircraft, they were often relegated to patrolling Spanish territories in North Africa. The last of the Buchóns were retired in 1965, just in time for filmmakers to employ them in films such as The Battle of Britain, Memphis Belle, and Dunkirk. However, the Tripalas also saw action in the West German film Der Stern von Afrika (The Star of Africa), which was based on the exploits of Luftwaffe ace Hans Joachim-Marseilles, who was known by that title. But the Bf 109 wasn’t the only German aircraft that the Spanish built after the war. The Spanish manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) got licenses to build the Junkers Ju 52 transport (which became the CASA 352) and the Heinkel He 111 bomber (the CASA 2.111), which were also used in several movies and air shows after they retired. CASA also built licensed examples of the Bücker Bü 131 Jungmann (CASA 1.131) and the Bücker Bü 133 Jungmeister (CASA 1.133) training aircraft.

If a Spitfire and a Messerschmitt had a love child......."awe, look honey,. He has your nose."

While the engine was a DB 605 A as had been used in Bf 109 G's, the cowling actually was not from a 109 but from a 110, because it's shape matched the Spitfire fuselage square section almost perfectly and therefore reduced the amount of work needed. During the conversion, the whole electrical system and all of the electrical cockpit instrumentation, radio system and so on was changed to German devices. This was needed because the Daimler engine control ran on 24 V, while the Spitfire was set up at 12 V. Changing the whole system was easier than installing a 24 V system besides the 12 V and for German pilots and technicians the German technology was more familiar and easier to use. Not only the performance of the converted Spitfire was increased. The flying characteristics also got even better. That was because the changed thrust line coincidentally worked better with the airframe than the original thrustline. An interesting fact that Daimler figured out during testing is, the Spitfire cooling system was superior to the Messerschmitt cooling system. The Spitfire cooling system needed a smaller frontal surface for the same heat sinking capability. It easily cooled the bigger, more powerful DB 605 A. Daimler's explanation was that the Spitfire coolers were placed in a better position under the wing and got less disturbed airflow, making them more effective.

The Great Escape in itself is a fascinating story. Those men deserve to be remembered not just for their heroics during the war, but for their love of freedom during captivity.

Brilliant and excellent timing as I had a few minutes spare to watch immediately today!

I literally just finished ‘Young Frankenstein’ last night. What timing.

Gaijin: “write that down! Write that down!”

I live in Jersey and often drive by the field that he landed in, next to it is a well looked after memorial dedicated to piolt officer Scheidhauer, if you ever pass by stop for a moment and read the incription it's quite moving

Marks commenters are honestly some of the best on RU-vid. Every single one is nothing but praise and history!

How interesting! You never disappoint Mark, thank you.

80 years on, small remarkable stories of that conflict remain to be discovered and told. Thank you doctor.

What guts that guy had! If only he'd made it back after "The Great Escape!" I bet the Messerspit could fly inverted too as that early a model of the Merlin wouldn't've had the benefit of Miss Shilling's orifice in it's carburettors, the Messerschmitt had a fuel injection system. It must've been one helluva plane!

Dr. Felton I find such amusement in your videos. My girlfriend who has no interest in history loves listening to the words you use. My father got liberated by the Canadians in Holland. Keep going these lessons and stories should be taught to all history classes. And your respect for all sides of the war. God bless.

I was in the RAF from 1970 to 80 as ground crew. I went on to work for Bae for 17 years at Filton, Bristol. Then I ended up marrying a Yank and doing 20 years in USA. I have a reasonable knowledge of aircraft and their history. Or should I say, I thought I did lol. I absolutely love your channel as its unbiased brilliant content. Your constantly amazing us all with things we had no clue ever happened. We were darned lucky we had some of the best Designers on our side back then. Fate could have easily played it different. Thank you for the best research on all that you do.

Mark you are an absolute legend, you have taught thousands!

Another typically fascinating history lesson from Dr. Felton . Thank You .

Mark Felton is everything right with historians. Thank you for this video!

"....was actually superior to both the Spitfire AND the 109... " Historic proof that even when conflicting ideologies come together, they are worth far more than the sum of their parts. I sure hope this ancient idea eventually catches on, lest we start repeating Mark's videos.

In the early 1960’s my parents went on holiday to Majorca and met a german couple, he was a messerschmidt pilot and my father was a spitfire pilot and apparently they spent a lot of time arguing about which was the better plane!

I absolutely LOVE your presentations! There are some that I have gone back and watched several times!

Mark, keep doing these, owning obscure information about history is of great value to anyone that comes upon it.

I love Dr. Mark's intro rhythm - Dit, dit, dit, dit, dit, dit,duh, dau, dum, dum - it rings in my head, all, day, long 🙃

An amazing story with a sad ending for the pilot connected to the Great Escape. Thanks Mark.

Calling this thing the “Mess” from now on. Thanks Mark!

As a WW2 aviation buff for the past 50 years (since I was 8 years old!) I only heard about this hybrid aircraft in recent years, thanks to the internet. Very fascinating! I'm glad Mark gave us the inside scoop on this amazing bird!

What an amazing story. As a lifelong enthusiast of WWII history (aviation in particular) the information (much of which I've never heard before) and accuracy presented in your videos and the lengths you must go through to create them are simply unmatched and never cease to amaze me. Thank you. Sad ending to the story.

There's a reason Mr Felton has 1.48 million subscribers, and its because he pumps out quality bits of history we could've never known about had it not been for him and his history channel!

As I remember reading back when I was in high school, many years ago, Goring had some problems with pilots and losses of aircraft. As in the film "The Battle of Briton" he had asked if there was anything they needed or that he could get them to help them in their air combat. One pilot asked him for some Spitfires. In several publications, it was stated that the German's managed to either capture some or rebuild them from damaged Spitfires that the pilots bellied in or ditched close to shore during the war. How many they managed to put in flying condition varies. Both the Allies and the Germans managed to capture aircraft or were able to find enough parts from damaged aircraft that they could repair and fly them. The Germans, had gotten not only Spitfires but also managed to capture, P-38's, P-47's, P-51's B-17's, B-24's and a number of other aircraft from countries they occupied during the war and flew them with the Covert KG-200 Squadron on secret missions. I remember reading about one such B-17 that the pilot landed in a field but one of the main landing gear collapsed damaging the propeller on the outboard engine. Try as they could, the Germans were never able to find an undamaged prop to replace it. So they used one of their own that had a slightly smaller diameter that did not cause any problems. Toward the end of the war, many of these aircraft were shot down by German antiaircraft gun crews as the aircraft were being moved to a new location or by the Allied fighters. The information is hard to find, but it is out there.

Another fantastic episode. I'm quickly watching everything on this channel! Well done, Mark.

I grew up in Westhampnett and the airfield was a great place to explore . The first time I heard a Spitfire overhead I was about 10 years old and can still recall the amazing sound and visuals . Thanks for great video .

Another outstanding Video sir!...the Germans had so many "irons in the fire" at one time it's a wonder they could keep track of all the projects they had going on...but I guess this does speak to the German love of invention and engineering.

"I did not know this!" But I say this every time I view one of Mark Felton's videos. Thank you sir.

Now that is something I would have never heard about if you hadn't told me. Thank You so Much.

Was the loss of weight from the missing guns a factor in the improved performance, or did the Luftwaffe add ballast to compensate?

In twenty years, these planes are 100 years old, or damn close to it. That's something to think about! Thanks for digging out these little known treasures, Mr Felton.

An endless series of amazing stories! Thank you

Your documentaries are the proof that somewhere sits a lot of interesting & rare info on WW2. To find the vault...

Brilliant story! Dr Felton has dug up another nugget!

I always learn something new from Mark Felton! Thanks for what you do, no one does this format better than you.

The Messerschmitt superior engine was also fuel injected which prevented engine failure during diving or high G maneuvers. The Spitfires had carburated engines.

What a fascinating snippet of history! Thanks Dr Felton.

ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE INTRO MUSIC 🎵..my phone ringtone! ..just love it,gets me revd up

10/10 for discovering these fascinating little snipets of history.

Again you bring us an unique and compelling segment of World War 2 history. Thanks, Dr Felton.

Unbelievable! I'm like a child on Christmas morning when I see new Felton vids...

That is why everyone loved the Spitfire Mark 9 when it came out. It could easily compete with all the German fighters except the Me262--and the latter's small numbers rendered it a non-threat. Its updated Merlin engine greatly increased performance at higher altitudes over the Mark V and served until the end of the war. And then there was the Spitfire Mark 14, with its Griffon engine and clipped wings that was a terror for the Luftwaffe.

Wow, I never knew this, nice job Mark!

It's always a good day when Mark Felton releases another video

How does he come up with stuff I have never heard of before. I love this channel keep up the good work and thank you

"There's hardly an MP that knows anything about any countries. Show them a map of the world and most of them have a job finding the Isle of Wight." - Sir Humphrey Appleby

Love your videos, especially those that deal with the technologies of bygone eras. Thanks Dr. Felton.

Dr. Felton's videos are an instant click, but never clickbait!

Thank You Dr. Felton!!!👍👍Greetings from Helsinki, Finland

Mark Felton pumping out the content. Keep it up big man, never fails to dissapoint 👊

One of your finest "snippets", Mark: almost a film in this one. Many thanks!

One of the neatest and coolest "War stories" I've ever heard!!

Thank you for posting.

Thank you for these amazing stories Dr. Felton!

In 1942 or early '43, the MesserSpit would definitely have been one of the best fighters in the European theater, maybe the best, with a performance advantage over almost anything else in the sky at that time. Once the MK IX Spit was introduced and the P-51 with a Merlin instead of the Allison engine powered variant, and the P-47 Thunderbolt, or "Jug" as it was fondly referred to, the air war was much different, with the allies dominating the skies over Europe. Some was due to better performance aircraft and some was due to the majority of experienced Luftwaffe fighter pilots being shot down by 1943-'44. I really like the content of your videos and just subscribed to your channel. I am a WWII "buff" being born only nine years after the end of the war and having many family members who fought in the war. Your videos never cease to amaze me for the fact that even though I have read every book I have ever been able to find (hundreds) about the war, you are still able to find information that I knew absolutely nothing about or had never heard of! The air war has always been my favorite aspect of the war, especially the fighters of the era, but I had never heard of the MesserSpit! Keep up the good work, I look forward to more interesting stories like this!

Rule of thumb regarding the engines always seemed to be that the DB and the Merlin jockeyed back and forth during the war for which was the better engine at any one time; but most would say the DB was better at low altitudes, they see-sawed depending on their powerband and model at medium altitudes, and the Merlin was better at high altitudes. The Merlin 45 was just about to be replaced by the Merlin 60 at this point in time, too.

The Spit operated with a high pressure cooling system that allowed it to operate with half the radiator area of the 109.

Wow! Awesome! Dr. Felton you never cease to amaze! Thanks

Extremely interesting as always

Watching carefully to he pictures of the Messerspit, comes clearly at the eyes that the coupling was not from a ME109 (BF109), but from a ME110 (BF110), the upper part of the ME109 (BF109) cowling is straight, being round under, il the pics you can see that the Messerspit has a bulged upper side and an almost straight underside that is still not a ME109 (BF109) updown cowling. Even the propeller cone is still not the one from a ME109 (BF109) but a ME110 (BF110) instead. Anyway I find your video beautiful Mark and your voice fits perfectly wit the images of the WWII time.

Sucks what happened to the pilot. "The Great Escape" was one of my first "adult" books I read about World War Two and the atrocity of shooting and then cremating the victims horrifies me as much today as it did when I first read it. And, yes, B-17's/B-24's certainly did ruin a lot of fun during their raids!

As a person who was just recently researching about the Messerspit, the timing of this video superb! Great video as always!

as always superbly done and facinating too, thanks just noticed too 1.5m subs, congratulations well deserved.

Another fascinating video illuminating the lesser known mysteries of WW2.

Blows my mind this was real. Back when I played Microsoft's Comat Flight Sim III, this was an available mod to add to the game and was an absolute riot to fly. Thanks for another fascinating story!

Thanks for the curiosity stream heads up mark, quality documentaries are hard to find on most popular streaming services.

- Those Fockers bombed me granny’s chip shop! - You mean Focke-Wulfs? - No, these Fockers were flying Messerschmitts!

Absolutely astounding storyline as always mark felton and the absolute "ICON" ‼️®™️

Quite pleased to get another video today.

Fascinating as always, Dr. Felton.

Fascinating story. It is a tribute to the inherent qualities of the Spit that so many unfamiliar pilots flew it successfully. Too bad it was for the wrong cause.

This is absolutely fascinating, it’s a shame the Messherspit no longer exists today. Thank you for such an interning story, Mark.

Amazing story. I knew the Germans and Allied forces both had examples of each others planes ,but this hybrid I never knew about , thanks Mark.

Excellent from start to finish .. Thanks Mark 🙏

Nearly 1.5 million subscribers. Im so glad to See that good content pays off. Greetings from Germany

There must be hundreds of videos about D-day, Stalingrad and so on, some good ones, lots of crap. But the stories Mark comes up with are unique gems and presented in a very pleasing way.

Ah! That finally explains why I always thought the 109s in the film The Battle of Britain ‘looked wrong’ at the front end…they’re Buchons!

The concept reminds me of that scene in "Battle of Britain" where Galland (sp) asked Goering for a squadron of Spitfires. 😏

As always, an outstanding video!

Awesome video!!! Definitely would make an interesting modeling kit to kit-bash, and then present at a model show.

Ah something to cheer me up whilst sick in bed , thank you Mr Felton .

I would love to see some of this footage colorized someday. The color scheme seems so interesting.

I was literally laughing out loud. To think that the child of a Messerschmitt and a Spitfire would outperform them both is hysterical to me. Just goes to show where would everybody be if through the thirties and forties we all had to come together to fight space aliens. We are always stronger and better together than at War. But we never get to see that it is a pity.

Fantastic. Like many others, I knew of this particular Spit but didn't have the full story until now

Growing up In Spain as a young guy the Spanish Air Force flew heinkels and me109 with merlins because the db was unavailable….. but this story is fascinating !! From a mechanics point of view the the DB was innovative in that it was upside down …. So a fitter could work on the top end ( where it all happens ) stood on the tarmac .. once again thank you 🙏 Mark

The idea of the Germans building Messerspit’s in mass quantities is a terrifying idea. I am surprised Spear didn’t ramp up production.

I'm glad you mentioned Sheidhauer's participation in"The Great Escape." I recognize that The Great Escape story has been "done to death" but I still think you should do an episode or episodes on it sometime. Either that or the many escape attempts and few successes of Colditz, of which I am sure you are familiar. I enjoy your presentation method and I think your videos would do very well. I for one would be able to show friends and family so they can understand how incredible and ingenuous these escapes and escape attempts were.

I had to read that title twice. "awh, the 109 wasn't an ugly plane! How dare he" "WAIT THE MESSERWHATNOW?!"

Please Never change your Intro Song it’s so cool and really makes your videos more stand out!

Eric Brown would have been proud of you! Keep 'em coming Mark!

Therapist: "Don't worry, the Messerspit isn't real, it can't hurt you." Me watching MF Productions: *Confused screaming*

Wonder how much improvement to performance (over the "stock" Spit and the Bf109) was due to the removal of the weapons and ammo? That would be a significant weight reduction... Edit: Spelling is hard.

This is very well known, I still have an article in Flying review mag from the 60s about it. The DB 605 was not more powerful than the 45, they were compareable.The higher altitude compared to the 109 was purely down to far greater wing area/ lower wing loading and the higher altitude compared to the Merlin Spit was, as with the US air force, because service ceiling in the Luftwaffe was max altitude whereas in RAF it was altitude at which climb rate fell bellow 100 ft per minute. The superior climb rate was due to lack of guns/ ammo, as attested in the article by the german pilot.

Mark F can make obscure topics riveting. He's a great teacher!

This stuff is incredible. Take a bow Mark Felton