Messerschmitt Bf 109G-5, WNr. 15343, "Schwarze 11", RJ+VH
History
The Messerschmitt Bf 109G-5, serial number Wnr. 15343, is one of the rare surviving examples of the G-5 variant of Germany's most famous World War II fighter aircraft. It was built in 1943 by Erla, a major aircraft manufacturer in Leipzig, as part of the G-series which featured improvements in engine performance and cockpit pressurization (a key feature in the G-5 subvariant).
This particular aircraft was assigned to 5. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3), a fighter wing of the German Luftwaffe. It was marked with the tactical number "Black 11."
On December 4, 1943, while flying a mission from Schiphol Airfield in the Netherlands, the aircraft was engaged by American fighters. It was shot down near the Dutch town of Breda by a P-47 Thunderbolt of the 487th Fighter Squadron, part of the US Army Air Forces.
The German pilot, Kurt Sorssdorf, survived by bailing out of the aircraft. He landed safely, but the aircraft itself crashed near a farm. The wreck was only partially visible after the crash—only the tail fin stuck out of the ground. German forces later buried the rest of the wreckage to conceal it or clear the area.
Decades later, the wreckage of Bf 109G-5 Wnr. 15343 was recovered and eventually came into the hands of Dutch aviation restorer Jan van Huuksloot in the 1990s. A meticulous restoration process began, involving both the recovery of original parts and the creation of new components to faithfully reconstruct the aircraft to its wartime configuration.