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Two examples of the BF-109 'G model, one airworthy, one residing in the Smithsonian in DC. They made a bunch of these and they constitute a lot of surviving examples.

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The 'greenhouse' framed cockpit was a good example of the Nazi regime's limited ability to produce complex perspex shapes at this stage. Everyone was using bubble canopies by this point of WW2.

If you look at most German aircraft of the era, they feature extensive framing on the perspex cockpit pieces. Making large perspex bits with good optical quality is hard. It is a challenge for restorations nowadays because all the moulds and tooling are gone.

And here's an HA-112 'Buchon', a Spanish license-built version of the BF-109. The engine is a Rolls-Royce Merlin, changing the nose shape significantly. A very popular stand-in for the Messerschmitt in film. There's a lot more Rolls motors around than Daimler originals.

There was a Spitfire the Germans captured and put a Daimler in . You can find photos - it looks really weird.

Here's the story of the 'Messerspit' aviationhumor.net/messerspit-t The original Free French pilot was murdered during the retribution for the 'Great Escape', one of those sad bits of wartime trivia.

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