About the Me-109

The name “Messerschmitt Me-109” needs no introduction for any Aviation enthusiast around of the world.

Describing the importance of this single airplane in the History of the Aviation would take thousands of pages and has being the subject for countless publications since its creation, seventy years ago.

Designed as an all-metal monoplane fighter and using the cutting-edge mass-production techniques of its time, the Me-109 was the first modern fighter in an epoch (1935) in that the aviation was still dominated by biplanes made from wood and canvas. Also, it was the only fighter to operate in the front line during all the Second World War, having being the “spine” of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force), from 1936 to the end of the War, in 1945, and keeping himself a hard adversary to any enemy aircraft.

It was produced more than 35,000 of Me-109, in dozens of variants, including versions produced after the War, in Spain and Czechoslovakia. The version produced in Spain, named “Buchón” (native bird of Spain) was employed by the Spanish Air Force until 1967!

However, despite of that huge number, very few exemplars of Me-109 survived to the present day. That way, displaying (or even to SEE) a preserved Me-109 is a privilege for few people.

Therefore, is an honor for us, of the “Brazilien Messerschmitt Project”, to take the mission to bring this bird to live again and give more people the chance to see one of them!

About the Project

The Brazilien Messerschmitt Project was born almost 10 years ago (in 1997) as a private project of the designer, researcher and aviation artist Lauro Ney Batista and it is the result of a long and personal history - detailed in his homepage: Lauro Ney Batista's Aviation Page (Portuguese only).

In resume, the project was born from the need of Lauro Ney to demonstrate his ability on the construction and restoration of old airplanes.

At that time, after have being deceived with the aviation in Brazil for many times, Lauro Ney concluded that his personal vocation and and professional skills belonged to the “old time” aviation. So, he supposed he would be more happy and more helpful to the aviation itself working as a restorer or replica builder in some museum, than working in the modern aerospace industry.

Due to the absence of that kind of activity in his country, Lauro Ney decided to search for a job outside Brazil.

But, for that purpose, he knew it was necessary to demonstrate his abilities in that area and concluded that “Nothing better than have, as a portfolio, an accurate replica of one of the most famous Warbirds of all times”. In that moment, the “Brazilien Messerschmitt Project” was born.

However, despite Lauro Ney’s efforts to find a placement, the time passed and he and his replica project stayed in Brazil.

On the other hand, although the immense difficulties to carry on this kind of projects in Brazil, the 109 replica project managed not only to survive, but also grew and became a cultural and historical project supported by Lane Design, a company belonging to Lauro Ney himself.

At present, the Brazilien Messerschmitt Project incorporates not only its initial purpose of construction of a replica, but also gathers a lot of educational and cultural proposals in the area of aviation, for example, the creation of an Aerospace Business Center and an Aviation Museum in its hometown.

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