Swapping out the Messerschmitt Bf 109’s engine

It’s time to overhaul the engine in the Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-3.

In this image, the Daimler-Benz DB 601 Aa has been stripped down in preparation for its removal from the airframe. There is a tall tale floating around out there that the German mechanics could swap engines in just 15 to 30 minutes.

While German engines were made for “quick” changes, a 15-minute engine change is about equal to running a 10-second mile. Perhaps this myth, or pure propaganda, conveniently casts aside the hours of prep (cowlings, fuel lines, coolant, electrical and instrumentation systems) and simply focuses on the four big bolts that link the inverted V-12 to the airplane.

One of our mechanics, who has been carefully working on the rare airplane for days, relates, “You’d be lucky to get just the propeller off in 15 minutes.”