NEW ORLEANS --
The National World War II Museum on Wednesday unveiled a Nazi fighter plane rarely exhibited in the U.S., and it will be displayed in a simulated dogfight with its British adversary.
The Germans built more than 30,000 Messerschmitt Bf 109 from 1939-1945, and the fighter scored more verified kills than any other World War II aircraft. They looped, dived and rolled in dogfights over London with British Spitfires during the Battle of Britain in 1940.
The museum's Supermarine Spitfire IVB has been part of its collection since 1998, two years before it opened. It will be displayed in a simulated dogfight with a Messerschmitt Bf 109-G, which is among only a handful in U.S. collections, though there are more on display in Europe, said Seth Paridon, the World War II museum's research director.
The recently purchased fighter was assembled with parts from crash sites, former manufacturers and some new pieces, said Tom Czekanski, the museum's director of collections and exhibits. Czekanski said the museum had been talking with the restorer in Austria for about two years.
"One of the nice things about this was that it was affordable," he said. "It was in the $200,000 range. Recently, we were offered one that was a whole airplane that had crash-landed on a frozen lake in Russia and sank in the spring. That was in the $800,000 range."
Some museum visitors skipped lunch Wednesday to view the fighter.
"My grandfather was an aviation mechanic in Hungary" and probably worked on Messerschmitts since the country was allied with Nazi Germany, said John Christian Futo.
Others had an even more personal experience with the planes.
"I was hoping to see this one," said Pete Hardiman, of Hillsboro, Ore., gesturing toward the Spitfire. "It was one of the aircraft that I first flew when I came to England."
For Christine and Derek Young, the Messerschmitt and Spitfire were a bonus. They had spent the past 10 days on a U.S. Civil War trail from Memphis, Tenn., to New Orleans, and were heading back home to London after their museum visit.
Derek Young said he's been a fan of Spitfires since he saw some fly during the 1960s.
"They're quite unique - the engine sound, and those elliptical wings," he said. "You look at it and, if you've any feeling for aviation you know it's something special."
