Hispano Aviación HA-1112

Hispano Aviación

Industry	Aerospace, Aircraft manufacturing
Founded	1942
Headquarters	Seville , Spain
Products	HA-1109, HA-1112 (license-built variants of Messerschmitt Bf 109)

Template:Infobox aircraft

The Hispano Aviación HA-1109 and HA-1112 are Spanish-produced variants of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2, manufactured under license during and following the Second World War.

Design and development

File:HA-1112-M1L Buchon C4K-102.jpg

One of the final HA-1112-M1L Buchóns, repainted with Luftwaffe insignia to resemble a German Bf 109, still airworthy. It is identifiable by its exhaust pipes positioned atop the nose, similar to the Spitfire (equipped with a retrofitted tri-blade propeller).

In 1942, Spain secured a licensing agreement with Messerschmitt to construct the Bf 109 G-2 model; however, critical components such as the DB 605A engines, propellers, instrumentation, and armaments were to be imported from Germany. Due to Germany’s inability to fulfill its own military demands during wartime, let alone supply Spain, only twenty-five incomplete airframes (missing tails) and fewer than half of the required technical drawings were delivered. As a result, Hispano Aviación opted to substitute the DB 605A engine with the locally produced 1,300 hp HS 89-12Z. This modification led Messerschmitt AG to designate the project as Bf 109 J. The HS 89-12Z engine was successfully tested in flight on a Bf 109 E used as a test platform in Barcelona in 1944. Subsequently, the initial HA-1109-J1L completed its first flight on March 2, 1945 in Seville, featuring a VDM propeller and a provisional engine mount. Between 1947 and 1949, the remaining twenty-four airframes flew equipped with Escher-Wyss propellers but never reached operational status.

The HA-1112-K1L, an enhanced variant introduced in May 1951, incorporated improvements to the Hispano-Suiza HS 17-12Z powerplant installation. Armament options included one or two Breda caliber .50 (12.7mm) machine guns along with Pilatus rocket pods carrying eight rockets each of an eighty-millimeter diameter. Its three-bladed de Havilland Hydromatic propeller earned it the nickname Tripala ("three blades").

Although initially planned for production of two hundred units starting from its maiden flight in 1951, only sixty-five examples were ultimately manufactured. The Hispano-Suiza engine was an upright V12 configuration rather than the inverted V12 Daimler-Benz DB601 and DB605 engines originally used in the Bf 109 series. Despite this difference, its compact dimensions allowed it to fit well within the Bf 109 airframe and convincingly portray the Bf 109 in the German film Der Stern von Afrika ("The Star of Africa") released in 1957 about Luftwaffe ace Hans-Joachim Marseille. The original Bf 109 design from model F onwards featured an asymmetrical tail-fin aerofoil with leftward deflection to counteract torque induced by the Daimler-Benz’s clockwise rotation. This characteristic was not altered for the Tripala despite its Hispano V12 rotating counter-clockwise; consequently, during takeoff the combination of tail design and engine rotation caused a pronounced rightward swing that was challenging for pilots to correct.

Additionally, a tandem two-seat trainer version was developed as the HA-1110-K1L.

HA-1112-M1L

File:Air Zoo December 2019 020 (Hispano Aviación HA-1112 Buchón).jpg

Hispano Aviación HA-1112 Buchón exhibited at the Air Zoo

File:Me109 at Airpower11 02.jpg

The privately owned Hispano HA-1112-M1L Buchon known as "Rote Sieben" (Red-7), restored in Germany to resemble a Bf 109 G

The ultimate model in the series was the HA-1112-M1L Buchón (meaning Pouter, a male dove in Spanish). Its maiden flight occurred on 29 March 1954, powered by a 1,600 hp Rolls-Royce Merlin 500-45 engine paired with a surplus Rotol four-bladed propeller acquired from the United Kingdom. The installation of this engine, featuring a chin intake, altered the characteristic silhouette of the original Bf 109 airframe. This aircraft was essentially a makeshift combination of outdated parts, fitting for its role in overseeing Spanish colonial holdings in Africa, where advanced technology was unnecessary and largely inaccessible within isolated Spain during that period. Armament included two 20 mm Hispano-Suiza 404/408 cannons and two sets of eight 80 mm rockets from either Oerlikon or Pilatus. The type remained operational until 27 December 1965.

In film

Thanks to their extended service life, Buchóns have frequently been featured in various war film productions portraying Bf 109 fighters. Notable appearances include Battle of Britain—where they flew alongside CASA 2.111 bombers, themselves Spanish-built variants of the Heinkel He 111—as well as Der Stern von Afrika, Piece of Cake (TV series), Memphis Belle, Dunkirk, and The Tuskegee Airmen. In one sequence from Battle of Britain, Buchóns also doubled as the adversary aircraft, the Hawker Hurricane.

Variants

File:Hispano HA.1112 K-1L BuHispano HA.1112 K-1L Buchon (5381943866).jpg

HA-1112-K1L Tripala displayed at Museo del Aire, Madrid

File:Hispano Aviación Ha 1112 Buchon.jpeg

Original Spanish Air Force livery on a Hispano Aviación HA-1112-M1L Buchon at Museo del Aire, Madrid

File:Hispano HA.1112M1L Buchon '-+10' (G-BWUE) (22723895345).jpg

HA-1112 Buchón in 2015 retaining the paint scheme used during the filming of the 1969 movie Battle of Britain. It also appeared in the 2017 film Dunkirk

File:Hispano HA.1112M1L Buchon 'Black 2' (G-AWHK) (36053481566).jpg

HA-1112-M1L featured in both Battle of Britain and Dunkirk, here shown with a temporary paint scheme applied for the latter

HA-1109-J1L

Introduced in 1945 – , this initial batch comprised 25 units derived from German-built Bf 109 G-2 airframes but equipped with Hispano-Suiza 12Z-89 engines instead of Daimler-Benz DB 605A powerplants. Propellers were sourced from VDM or Escher-Wyss. These aircraft were not employed operationally.

HA-1109-K1L

First appearing in May 1951 – , this version marked the initial production run of what would become the HA-1112-K1L. It featured a Hispano-Suiza 12Z-17 engine coupled with a de Havilland Hydromatic propeller installed in an enhanced configuration. Armament included two Hispano HS-404 20mm cannons and multiple 80mm rockets. This model consisted of 25 conversions from HA-1109-J1Ls.

HA-1109-M1L

A single prototype modified with a Rolls-Royce Merlin 500-45 engine, converted from an HA-1112-K1L.

HA-1110-K1L

A two-seat trainer powered by a Hispano engine that saw operational use. Only one unit was built.

HA-1110-M1L

A proposed two-seat trainer variant equipped with a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine; this project did not proceed beyond planning stages.

HA-1111-K1L

A conceptual two-seat trainer powered by Hispano engines featuring wingtip fuel tanks; this remained a project only.

HA-1112-K1L "Tripala"

Produced starting in 1951 – , this operational model totaled 65 units, including 25 conversions from HA-1109-K1Ls.

HA-1112-M1L "Buchon"

Debuting in 1954 – , this final operational variant was fitted with a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and armed with two Hispano HS-404 20mm cannons plus multiple 80mm rockets. A total of 172 were constructed.

HA-1112-M4L

A Merlin-powered two-seat trainer used operationally; one new build plus one conversion from an HA-1110-K1L.

Aircraft on display

• 56 – HA-1112-K1L exhibited as a static display at the Museo del Aire located in Madrid.
• 67 – HA-1112-M1L maintained in flying condition by Spitfire Ltd. based in St. Helier, Jersey.
• 133 – HA-1112-M1L operational and housed at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia. This aircraft has been modified by Meier Motors to resemble a Bf 109.
• 156 – HA-1112-M1L currently held in storage at the Musée de l'air et de l'espace in Paris.
• 164 – HA-1112-M1L displayed at the Bomber Command Museum of Canada situated in Nanton, Alberta.
• 171 – HA-1112-M1L presented as a static exhibit at the Air Zoo located in Portage, Michigan.
• 186 – HA-1112-M1L exhibited statically at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington.
• 193 – HA-1112-M1L kept airworthy at the Erickson Aircraft Collection situated in Madras, Oregon. This aircraft was restored to resemble a Bf 109 by Pacific Fighters.
• 199 – HA-1112-M1L displayed statically at the EAA AirVenture Museum located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
• 211 – HA-1112-M1L on display as a static exhibit at the Museo del Aire in Madrid.
• 235 – HA-1112-M1L preserved in flying condition at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum based in Addison, Texas. This aircraft was removed from public exhibition when the museum closed indefinitely on January 1, 2024 and is scheduled for relocation to North Texas Regional Airport in Denison, Texas.

Specifications (HA-1112-K1L)

File:Cockpit HA 1112-M1L Buchon G-BOML.jpg

Cockpit HA-1112-M1L Buchon

See also

Sources

• The original photographs and information for this article were sourced from Museo del Aire, Cuatro Vientos, Madrid, Spain
• Fitzsimons, Bernard, ed. Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 11, pp. 1193–1194, entry "HA-1109/1112".
• http://simviation.com/fsdcbainmm.htm
• https://web.archive.org/web/20081016094929/http://www.xs4all.nl/~tozu/me109/foreign/109-spain.htm
• Monográficos Aéreos: H.A. 1112-M1L "Buchón" - Pedro Miguel Paniagua Magán - ISBN 978-84-921179-0-1

External links

• Hispano HA-1109