On March 24th 1943, German pilot  Günther Seraphim of the JG 5, suddenly experienced engine failure on his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2 “Yellow 3”.

The circumstances forced him to make an emergency landing in the water near the Norwegian coast, near the town Rørvik.

There, he was rescued from the water by a Norwegian named Olette Blikø and her 16-year-old son, Birger.

The plane crashed into the water with its nose first, with the tail upright. The aircraft was also discovered in this position by the divers.

According to the serial number 146449, they found out that the plane belonged to the staff of the IV group JG 5. The aircraft was recovered on May 22th, 2010 from a depth of 67 meters.

The recovery was performed by teams from NLM, BLHF, Nærøy Aquaservice, Folla Diving Club and the crew aboard the ship “Camilla”.

Restoration
Experts at Norsk Luftfartsmuseum are now restoring this fighter at Bodø.

Some vital main parts are rebuilt by companies abroad.

The tail is already rebuilt in Hereg, Hungary in the workshops of Karl Birczak. The wings are now being assembled in the same workshops.

The aft portion of the fuselage, being of a special construction, is assembled in the workshop of Leichtbau GmBH in Freising, Germany.

The front section is being assembled in the Museum’s workshop in Bodø. When finished, the aft fuselage will be mated to the front fuselage in Bodø.

A second group of volunteers are busy restoring the engine in the premises of MoMek situated in a town (Mo I Rana) just south of Bodø. The DB 605 A-1 engine is of a V-12 type. In the Messerschmitt the engine is installed upside down.

A cooperation with the aviation museum at Sola, Stavanger benefits both museums. A trade of parts and work helps to save both money and time spent on both projects.

Having collected original parts for a Messerschmitt project long before the recovery of “Yellow 3” enables us to speed up the rebuild considerably.