Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/R-3, WNr. 160756, "Gelbe 4"
History
Constructed in 1943 at Messerschmitt's Regensburg factory, Bf 109G-6/R3 WNr. 160756 was tailored for operations in tropical and desert climates. This variant, known as the "Gustav," was equipped with a DB 605 engine and featured modifications to enhance performance in challenging environments. While it was designed for such conditions, the aircraft did not have the sand filter typically installed for desert operations.
The aircraft was assigned to I./JG 4 (1st Group, Fighter Wing 4) and was based in Maniago, Italy. It bore the tactical code "KT+LL" and the individual aircraft number "Yellow 4" .
On July 25, 1944, Unteroffizier René Darbois, a native of German-annexed Lorraine who claimed he was forced to fly for the Luftwaffe, piloted this Bf 109G-6 on his first combat mission. Instead of engaging in combat, he flew directly to the U.S. Army Air Forces airfield at Caserta, Italy. Upon landing, he surrendered both himself and the aircraft to the 72nd Liaison Squadron Flickr.
Following its surrender, the aircraft was shipped to the United States for evaluation by the U.S. Army Air Forces. It was stripped of all Luftwaffe markings and assigned the Foreign Evaluation number FE-496. The aircraft underwent testing at Wright Field, Ohio, and Freeman Field, Indiana, to assess its performance and capabilities Smithsonian Lucht- en Ruimtemuseum.
In 1948, the aircraft was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air Museum (now the National Air and Space Museum) along with other World War II aircraft. It was stored at Park Ridge, Illinois, and later moved to the museum's storage facility at Silver Hill, Maryland, near Washington, D.C. During the mid-1970s, as plans for a new museum building on the Washington Mall became definite, the Bf 109G-6 was one of the first aircraft restored for exhibition. Due to the lack of information on the aircraft's original markings, restorers applied the camouflage and markings of aircraft number 2 of 7th Squadron, III./JG 27, flown in the Eastern Mediterranean in late 1943. The restoration was completed in April 1974
Today, Bf 109G-6/R3 WNr. 160756 is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., as part of the World War II Aviation exhibition