{"product_id":"german-wwii-me-109f-tropical-tail-fin","title":"GERMAN WWII ME 109F TROPICAL TAIL FIN","description":"\u003cp\u003eOne of the most exciting items we have been able to obtain in many years is this fabulous piece of one of the most famous aircraft of World War II, a tailpiece from the ME109F. The identification number known as the  Werk number 8735 identifies the tail of an aircraft that was part of the 111 Staffel of JG 26 in North Africa. The aircraft was destroyed by ground strafing in Libya 1942, the original identification tag for this aircraft is known to be in a US collection, we obtained this piece from a collection in Australasia, its history of how it appeared in the Melbourne area in the 1950s is shrouded in theory and suggestion and fact, initially it was thought that the destroyed aircraft was brought back to Australia as part of a war bond drive and at the end of the war broken up, however the list of aircraft taken back to Australia for the War Bond drives does not include this Werk number, we can only assume that it may have been taken back to Australia by the Royal Australian Air Force for close inspection and then destroyed at the end of World War II, thankfully a person unknown managed to save this important tailpiece with its complete swastika on both sides, the item has been photographed for one book only, Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings  book series by Kenneth Merrick, the tailpiece went through the hands of three different collectors in Australia and is now on the open market again, the bullet and shrapnel holes are evident in the photographs, on one side of the tailpiece the lettering has been applied “by the sign of the clapped out Swastika” indicating to us that it was displayed at the Royal Australian Air Force Museum at Point Cook. The Werk number of this aircraft is within 60 numbers of the aircraft that the famous fighter pilot, North Africa Hans Joachim Marseille, known as the Star of Africa, died in after his engine failed. A fabulous piece of history, World War II.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRef; 96480\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Regimentals Militaria Museum","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53004987105616,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0859\/4420\/5648\/files\/stock.jpg?v=1778679307","url":"https:\/\/regimentalsmilitaria.co.uk\/products\/german-wwii-me-109f-tropical-tail-fin","provider":"Regimentals Militaria Museum","version":"1.0","type":"link"}