Me109 filming for "SAS - Rogue Heroes"

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In April 2021, our Me109-E4 was transported down to RAF White Waltham and the former base at RAF Bentwaters to be used in filming several key scenes for the BBC1 series "SAS - Rogue Heroes".  When we arrived at the first location, our aircraft was joined by several privately owned Me109-G aircraft: Spanish Buchons, several of which had been used in the 1969 film "The Battle of Britain".  Some of them had actually flown to the shoot; and one flew over us and landed on the landing strip as we arrived. There were also two Me108s. 

Our aircraft brought the total number of vintage "Luftwaffe" aircraft on site to 10.  Our aircraft, however, being an "E" was the only one authentic to the period.  Our Me109 was painted over its usual colour scheme with a special kind of paint - to give it the iconic desert colours - but it retained the large number 6 on its sides.  It would be painted over again for the second location shoot a week later, to make it look like a different aircraft at a different location. 

The SFX team had to photograph our aircraft from every conceivable angle in every light condition in order to replicate it in CGI, and also to modify the Buchons on-screen to hide their "modern alterations" to make them resemble aircraft of the correct period.  We think they did a pretty good job of it

Our team spent a total of 8 nights over two separate weeks, working through the night, moving both our aircraft and the others repeatedly into different positions.  Our aircraft was used for many of the close-up shots, including where the principal character of the series jumps onto the Me109 and smashes a joy stick in the cockpit (the actor got so carried away, he actually smashed our joystick to pieces - the production crew hadn't told him it was not a stage prop for him to wreck).  In the various scenes where the SAS team attack the Luftwaffe airfields, you can spot our Me109 always with the large number 6 visible.   

These photos were taken on the location shoots and show both aircraft and the others that were there, and also other photos of the sets.

The 6-part series premiered on BBC1 in November 2022.