The airfield is just a grass strip of maybe 1.000 meters long, of which there are literally hundreds in Germany. But mention the name Hahnweide to an aviation enthusiast, and he will get shivers down the spine. Hahnweide stands for the biggest gathering of vintage aircraft in Europe: the Oldtimer Fliegertreffen!
Organised by the Fliegergruppe Wolf Hirth for the first time in 1981, this year after a rather long break the 20th edition was held. Usually the fly-in is held roughly every three years. However in 2019 Covid threw a spanner in the wheel, and the following years the situation was too unsure. Only this year the organisation was confident enough to arrange the much longed for next edition. In total some 350 volunteers of all the aeroclubs based at Hahnweide put their free time and lots of effort in organising the event. And they definitely delivered result again! Unfortunately bad weather the days before the start of the event prevented quite a few of the 380 aircraft that had been registered cancelled their participation. But in the end still 247 aircraft from 12 different countries showed up, including many very rare oldies. It is hard to choose, but some of the highlights are shown here.
The amount of Messerschmitt Bf.109’s that have been built is only surpassed by the Cessna Ce.172 and the Ilyushin Il-2: some 35.000 in total. It formed the backbone of the German Luftwaffe during World War Two, but today only a handful are left. And airworthy ones are even rarer, until recently there was only a single one that actually flies regularly. However that changed when the restoration of Werk Nummer 1983 was finished earlier this year. This is the only remaining E-version or ‘Emil’ as it was called. Here it is pictured during take-off while still retracting the main gear.
Built in 1939, the aircraft was shot down on January 14th, 1942 over Murmansk, Russia. In 1993 the wreck was recovered and in 1995 restoration started. Only in 2023 restoration had progressed so far a second ‘first flight’ could be made, with well-known British pilot Charlie Brown at the stick. And here at Hahnweide the beautifully restored aircraft was finally shown to the public for the first time, where it arguably stole the show. A great sight and sound, or “Well done boys” as Charlie Brown put it!
With a Bf.109 participating, of course there had to be a Spitfire as well. And not just any Spitfire, but a real war veteran. Built by Vickers-Armstrong in 1943, this fighter was heavily involved in World War II. It was credited for damaging a Bf.109 and shooting down a FW.190 as well. After being decommissioned by the Royal Air Force it was sold to the Royal Netherlands Air Force where it served another ten years. Next was target tug duties in Belgium followed by a movie career! MH415 flew in the movies ‘The Longest Day’ (1962) and ‘The Battle of Britain (1968). Famous stunt pilot Connie Edwards then took it with him to his ranch in Texas as payment for his work in the last movie, together with amongst others no less than 13 Spanish built Bf.109s. It spent the next 46 years there, mostly in a barn.
Only in 2014 a part of his collection was sold, including MH415. After restoration the classic fighter was bought by Flying Legends in Germany, who amongst others also own a P-51 Mustang and F4U Corsair. It should be in good hands there, as according to owner Georg Raab they “not only intend to keep the fleet of warbirds flying, but also preserve the history, technical knowledge and passion around aviation in general and these historical machines in particular.”
Painted in the colours of the Royal Navy, this Stinson AT-19 (or Reliant I as the British called it) only moved to Europe in 2023. Being built in 1944, it was delivered directly to the British Royal Navy under a lend-lease contract. It spent its military life in India, or Ceylon as it was called at the time. After being demobbed it returned to the USA where it spent over 60 years with multiple owners, before moving to Europe. It is now based at Altenrhein in Switzerland and is adorned with a small nose art and nickname ‘Dot’.
Although it doesn’t look like a warbird, this Spartan 7W Executive actually is one! Built in 1937, during World War II it was impressed with US military designation UC-71. After serving for 2,5 years it was returned to its owner and reverted back to its original civil registration, which it carries to this day. One can only imagine how often it has to be polished to keep this perfect shine, making its skin look brand new instead of almost 90 years old!
The Spartan Executive was, as the name suggests, meant for the upper class. It was fully handmade and made to order only. The aircraft was built entirely of metal, with retractable landing gear, and the powerful Pratt & Whitney engine made it a fast aircraft as well. The spacious cabin had four or five luxury seats, heating, ventilation, mood lighting, sound insulation and, of course still normal in those days, ashtrays. Everything a gentleman needed while on a business trip.
In the end only 34 aircraft were built, not counting the two prototypes. But no less than 19 of these are still extant and registered today!
Not surprisingly, for an airshow in Germany, multiple Buckers were present. Here a Bu.131 Jungmann, one of many, does a nice fly-by, and also quite a few Bu.133 Jungmeisters showed their shape on the ground and in the air. Both types were designed and built before World War II, with the Bu.131 as basic trainer and the Bu.133 as advanced trainer. Most numerous was the Jungmann, both in Germany and abroad. Yugoslavia operated over 400 aircraft, in Spain hundreds of aircraft were built under licence as Casa 1.131 and also in Japan over 1.000 examples were license built as Ki-86 for the army and as K-9 for the navy.
This specific example that was license built in Switzerland by Dornier for the Swiss air force, where it served as primary trainer with registration A-87. It is based at Langenlonsheim in Germany.
Although it certainly looks like one, this is not an actual Yak-11, but an in Czechoslovakia licence-built Let C-11. The Yak-11 Moose (as it was known by NATO) was developed from the Yak-3 fighter aircraft to serve as an advanced trainer. The just over 4.500 aircraft built were used by the former Soviet Union and many of its satellite states, but also quite a few African and Asian countries operated the Yak-11 or the Czechoslovak C-11. This particular example did serve in the Czechoslovak air force, but not much is known about its operational history. In the nineties of last century it surfaced in the United Kingdom where it was restored to flying condition, painted in Eastern German Air Force markings. As such it was sold to Germany, where a few years later it was repainted in the current Soviet AF colours as 15 white.
The aircraft taking off in the background is a PZL-106A ‘Kruk’ (Crow), a dedicated crop duster built in Poland. This demonstrated its STOL (short take-off and landing) capabilities while spraying some 1.300 litre water (in this case) over the field.
This flaming red beauty is a Beechcraft model 17, nicknamed Staggerwing. This name comes from the rare position of the wings. Unlike with most biplanes, the upper wing is positioned behind the lower one, what is called a ‘negative wing stagger’.
This fine example is flown by Filip Rochette and is based at Keiheuvel in Belgium. He discovered it in a barn in the USA, where it had been standing for 17 years. At that moment the engine only had 4 hours on the clock, but as it was totally rusted it needed a thorough restoration. This was done by well-known Raymond’s Aircraft Restoration or RAR in Antwerp, Belgium, who finished the work in 2018. The aircraft was originally delivered in 1938, making it a real old-timer at 87 by now. During World War II there was a big shortage of aircraft, and many civilian aircraft were impressed. This example was taken into service with the United States Army Air Force as UC-43D with serial 42-53005. When the war ended, it was returned to its owner and converted back to its civilian registration. The aircraft is in immaculate condition and is definitely not showing its age!
The Dornier Do.27 is the first German built aircraft that was produced in large numbers since World War II. Over 600 have been built, with the German air force and army as largest customer with 428 aircraft, but also the Swiss air force used 7 and in Spain 50 aircraft were licence built by CASA as C.127 for their Esercito del air. Many have ended up in civilian hands and in Germany alone some 60 are still airworthy. Only 185 meters of runway are sufficient to land a Do.27, so it can operate from almost every sports airfield.
No less than 9 were present at Hahnweide. Two of them, including this D-EQXG, belong to QUAX Flieger, an association that was founded in 2006 and has 820 members all over Germany. They operate a few dozen oldtimers from different airfields scattered through the country and fly-ins are organised on a regular basis.
Also abundantly present at Hahnweide were Piper J-3 Cubs and Pa.18 Super Cubs. Designed just before World War II as a trainer aircraft for the general aviation community, the American military also quickly embraced the simple but effective design of the J-3. Many thousands were constructed during the war under the designation L-4 Grasshopper, with one rolling out of the factory every 20 minutes during the peak of the war! They were especially used for training new pilots in the USA, with over 80% of all United States military pilots receiving their initial flight training in Piper Cubs. Many were also sent over to the European and African front where reconnaissance and liaison duties were their main tasks. After the war ended, hundreds of these were left behind and they were happily adopted by locals. Nowadays worldwide thousands of L-4s and J-3s still fly, being over 80 years old, proving the concept of simplicity compared with usefulness. Another testimony of that is the fact that the successor, the Pa.18 Super Cub, was also built by the thousands and of those also hundreds are still active today.
The one depicted here, nowadays in the well-known Cub-yellow, was one of those left behind in Europe after the war ended. It came over from Denmark for the Oldtimer Treffen, and the pilots stayed in their tent under the wing during the event. They even used the wing strut for their laundry!
Maybe not as old as many other participants, but still exactly 50 years old this year, is this Cessna 337 EC-MYM. Together with sistership EC-IPL the typical push-pull aircraft displayed as the “Quixote Patrol”, named after Don Quichot. Although both Cessnas are painted as Vietnam era USAF O-2 Skymasters, they are actually both Reims built Cessna FTB.337G Super Skymasters. Both served in the Portuguese air force for a few decades before being sold on the civilian market in 2007. This one ended up in storage in Valencia, Spain, but some 10 years later it returned to the air. Nowadays it lives at Madrid-Cuatro Vientos, where next to the main Spanish aviation museum many warbirds are based, both privately owned and with a couple foundations. Both Cessna 337s are part of the Fundación Aeronáutica Antonio Quintana, named after the former chairman of the Royal Spanish Aeronautical Federation.
Definitely not the rarest warbird type is the T-6 Texan or Harvard. But the many different operators and therefor also many different colour schemes and markings make them very interesting. And of course the typical sound they make, caused by the tips of the propeller going faster than the speed of sound, adds a special dimension.
This particular example is based in Sweden and is painted in US Navy colours. Its last military operator though was the Royal Swedish Air Force, where it got the type designation Sk.16A. The Swedes have their own aircraft designation system based on the role of the aircraft, in this case Sk for Skolan (meaning school) which implies a training aircraft. The number 16 means it is the sixteenth training type in service and follow up letter A is used to differentiate subtypes.
Its life began in 1942 when it was delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force, where it served until 1946. It was then sold to Sweden where it served for 25 years before being decommissioned in 1972. It was destined to be scrapped after its service, but fate decided otherwise. It escaped the scrap man and was sold to a collector. It changed hands a few times but only in 2002 restoration to flying status started. That would take until the spring of 2025, with a first flight on May 30th, only some three months for making its big public debut at Hahnweide.
In total 15.495 Texans and Harvards have been built. Biggest users were the US Air Force and Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the British Royal Air Force. However also South Africa was a major user, with over 700 aircraft. They were operated for 55 years, from 1940 until 1995, and during their retirement ceremony 55 aircraft made a flypast. After World War II ended, some 300 aircraft that had been supplied under the lend-lease conditions were shipped back to the USA. The rest served the SAAF for decades to come. A few different versions were operated, both US built AT-6D and T-6G and Canadian built Harvard IIA and III. D-FASS is one of the latter, and was used by the SAAF with serial 7429. The air force roundel is the version that was used from 1958-1981 and depicts a dark blue ground plan of the Castle of Good Hope outlined in white with a gold springbok. In 1981 this was replaced by an eagle. Although primarily a training aircraft, in 1976 a dozen Harvards were painted in camouflage colours and equipped with rocket pods for operations in Angola, during the so-called Border War between Angola and South Africa. 7429 was one of them, making it a rare one.
Doing pleasure flights, together with two sister ships, was this replica of a Junkers F13. Very characteristic for this type is the aluminium body with the groves, the same material the more famous big brother of the F13, the Junkers Ju-52, is built from. The type was built shortly after World War I and was the beginning of a new era in passenger transport by air. In the 1920’s the F13 was responsible for over one third of all air traffic. Apart from a regular landing gear, they could also be equipped with floats or skis.
Although a few still exist in museums, no airworthy F13s are left. Therefor some replicas have been built. The project has been financed by the CEO of Rimowa, a German suitcase producer who uses the same kind of material (duralumin) and uses the slogan ‘The luggage with the groves’. After seven years of research and construction work, based on the original blueprints and a laser guided scan of the example in the aviation museum at Paris Le Bourget, this aircraft made its first flight in 2016. Since then two more have been built, and the threesome made multiple sightseeing flights carrying four passengers each on every trip. The pilots are out in the open, but the passengers enjoyed the luxury of a closed cabin.
To finish the overview, because it is so rare and beautiful, one more shot of the Bf.109. Here it is seen taxiing in after its display, with Charlie Brown at the stick. The aircraft proudly displays the markings rote 12 (12 red) and the badge of 5./JG5 or 5 Staffel, Jagdgeschwader 5 (5th squadron of Fighter Wing 5), the unit it was operated by when it was shot down in Russia in 1942.
The tens of thousands spectators, almost 40.000 over the three days, proved again that the love and fascination for aviation in general and the historical treasures and rarities in particular still remain very high. Luckily, although no date is fixed yet for the next edition, the organisation is confident another Oldtimer Treffen will be held in a few years’ time. We will be there!
This article was also published in Vayu Aerospace & Defence Review