Messerschmitt Bf 110D, WNr. 3869, VJ + OQ
History
The surviving fuselage section of the Messerschmitt Bf 110 at Imperial War Museum Duxford is one of the most historically important remnants of a Luftwaffe aircraft preserved in Britain. The fragment comes from the aircraft flown by Rudolf Hess during his dramatic solo flight to Scotland on 10 May 1941. Hess attempted to fly secretly from Germany to Britain in the hope of negotiating peace between the two nations without Adolf Hitler's approval.
The aircraft was a Messerschmitt Bf 110D, carrying the markings VJ+OQ and Werknummer 3869. After a long flight across the North Sea, Hess became lost over Scotland and eventually bailed out near Eaglesham, south of Glasgow. The aircraft crashed heavily in the countryside, breaking apart on impact. Much of the wreckage was destroyed or scattered, but several sections survived and were later collected for preservation.
Today, the rear fuselage section and a cut-out panel from the aircraft are preserved within the collections of the Imperial War Museums. The preserved remains include structural skin panels showing the original Luftwaffe construction methods and traces of wartime camouflage paint. These artifacts are associated directly with Hess's failed mission, one of the strangest diplomatic episodes of the Second World War.
The fuselage section has been displayed at Imperial War Museum Duxford as part of the museum's aviation collection. Duxford itself is a former RAF fighter station with deep links to the Battle of Britain and later became one of Europe's leading aviation museums.
The artifact is particularly significant because so few original Bf 110 aircraft survive today. Most were destroyed during or after the war, making the Duxford fuselage section an important surviving piece of German aviation history. Historians and aviation enthusiasts often view it not only as a relic of the Luftwaffe, but also as evidence of Hess's extraordinary and ultimately unsuccessful peace mission.