Kurt Steiner Collection
September 1982…
“My wife found a piece of metal during a walk in the woods. It looked like an old plowshare, and then she found another piece, and another. It soon became clear that these were old aircraft parts…”
This is how Mr. Steiner described the beginning of his passion for collecting, the beginning of the resurrection of the “White 13.”
During his regular trips to this location, he repeatedly found engine parts. Since some of these were similar, it quickly became clear that they must have come from a two-engine aircraft. He soon gathered enough information to realize that a Me110 had crashed here.
As Mr. Steiner had always been fascinated by the complicated technology of aircraft engines, he now began to collect and restore engines. A passion that has clearly stayed with him to this day.
When he finally acquired a Daimler Benz 605 engine, he began to develop a plan to rebuild an entire aircraft. The opportunity to purchase both wings and fuselage parts made it possible to realize this plan. Many thousands of hours of work later, we were finally able to admire the result on November 10, 2006. A Me109, which is now on display at the Aviaticum and is in “like new” condition. His family unveiled the aircraft, and the builder proudly presented his work to us all.
The Me109 shown is a reconstruction made from restored original parts and countless parts recreated based on original plans.
A private initiative which, now that it has been completed, makes many people’s hearts beat faster. An object which not only inspires the small community of pilots and those interested in technology with its sleek beauty and indomitable ferocity, but also an object which should remind all viewers of the suffering and hardship these aircraft brought upon people.
However, we must not only think of the enemies shot down by these aircraft, we must also remember the population of Wiener Neustadt, who suffered unimaginably as a result of the production of these planes.
Wiener Neustadt was a major production site for the 109. Approximately a quarter of all 109s produced during World War II came from the factories of Wr. Neustädter Flugzeugwerke. Accordingly, the Allied air forces were very interested in destroying these facilities.
Take a look at the pictures and imagine what was going on there….
Thank you, Mr. Kurt Steiner!
