Original Item: Only One Available. This is an exceptionally rare original German WWII Luftwaffe KG 13B aircraft control stick grip, the type of compact multi-function fighter control used in some of the Luftwaffe’s most famous combat aircraft. Closely associated with late-war German fighters, including the Messerschmitt Bf 109 family, the KG 13 series placed critical aircraft and weapons controls directly in the pilot’s hand. This example retains its original identification plate, flip down weapons trigger, upper push button, and much of its original grip assembly. Although most of the lower control column shaft is now missing, the surviving approximately 10” assembly is an impressive cockpit artifact from the era of the Bf 109, Fw 190, and other advanced Luftwaffe fighters.

The original data plate is marked:

Bauart: REP (79)
Baumuster KG 13 B
Gerat-Nr. 102-288B
Werk-Nr. 2329
Anforderz. Fl 47930
Hersteller: haq
B
38

The manufacturer code:

haq

is associated with Luftfahrt-Apparatebau GmbH of Berlin, a wartime manufacturer of aircraft equipment and accessories. The surviving data plate is one of the strongest collector features of the piece because it identifies the assembly specifically as a KG 13 B and records its individual Werk-Nr. 2329.

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 requires little introduction. Designed during the 1930s by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser at Bayerische Flugzeugwerke, it became the backbone of the Luftwaffe fighter force and one of the defining combat aircraft of WWII. Its official designation remained Bf 109, reflecting the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke company name under which the original design was developed, although “Me 109” became an extremely common contemporary and postwar name and was used even by many German pilots themselves.

When it first appeared, the Bf 109 incorporated features that placed it firmly among the new generation of high performance monoplane fighters, including all metal stressed skin construction, an enclosed cockpit, retractable landing gear, and a liquid cooled inverted V12 engine.

The aircraft first saw combat with the German Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War, where Luftwaffe pilots and engineers gained valuable operational experience before WWII. It subsequently fought from the opening campaigns in Poland and France through the Battle of Britain, Mediterranean, North Africa, defense of Germany, and the enormous air war over the Eastern Front.

The Bf 109 was continuously developed throughout its service life. What began as a prewar interceptor evolved through numerous variants into a fighter, bomber escort, fighter bomber, reconnaissance aircraft, and specialized high altitude and all weather platform. Although the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 increasingly supplemented it from late 1941 onward, the Bf 109 remained a front line fighter until the collapse of Germany in 1945.

More than 33,000 Bf 109 airframes were produced, making it one of the most extensively manufactured fighter aircraft in history. Its long production run also meant that cockpit equipment and control arrangements evolved considerably as armament, engines, and mission requirements changed.

The KG 13 family of control grips was part of that development. Instead of requiring a fighter pilot to remove his hand from the control column to operate important functions, the grip incorporated switches and triggers that could be reached while maintaining control of the aircraft. In air combat, where fractions of a second mattered, placing weapons and other controls directly beneath the pilot’s fingers provided an obvious advantage.

The most visually distinctive surviving component on this example is the flip down trigger assembly at the upper front of the grip. This type of arrangement allowed the pilot to operate aircraft armament while gripping the control stick. The trigger could be folded or repositioned depending upon the installation and operational requirement.

There is also a surviving push button at the top of the grip.

This KG 13B is missing the B2 button seen on some related KG 13 installations. Certain KG 13 variants used an additional externally mounted push button attached to the upper grip by a clip or band. Depending upon the aircraft installation, such an auxiliary control could be associated with stores release functions such as a bomb or drop tank.

On this example, the external button itself is absent, although the mounting clip remains present. This is an interesting surviving feature because it shows where the additional control was once fitted.

The KG 13 family should not be regarded as exclusive to a single Luftwaffe aircraft type. Surviving wartime documentation and known examples show KG 13 series grips installed in several fighter aircraft configurations, including members of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 families, with later versions also associated with aircraft such as the Me 262. The exact arrangement of buttons, wiring, control boxes, and designation numbers varied according to aircraft and installation.

For that reason, while the KG 13 series is strongly associated with the Bf 109 and this example has traditionally been identified as a Messerschmitt control stick, we do not have an aircraft serial number, recovery history, or other provenance establishing the exact Bf 109 from which this particular grip originated.

The importance of the control stick to a fighter pilot is difficult to overstate. During combat the pilot was simultaneously controlling pitch and roll, monitoring engine and flight instruments, operating the throttle, tracking enemy aircraft, communicating by radio, and firing his weapons. The control grip was therefore one of the most constantly handled pieces of equipment in the cockpit.

That association gives original control grips an immediacy that ordinary detached aircraft hardware often lacks. This was not simply a structural fitting hidden inside an airframe. It was designed to be held continuously in the pilot’s hand during takeoff, formation flying, combat maneuvering, weapons employment, and landing.

The Bf 109 became particularly associated with some of the most successful fighter pilots of WWII. Erich Hartmann, credited with 352 aerial victories and generally recognized as the highest scoring fighter ace in history, achieved his victories while flying with Jagdgeschwader 52, principally on the Eastern Front. Hans-Joachim Marseille, credited with 158 victories, became famous for his combat record over North Africa while flying the Bf 109.

The type was also flown by fighter pilots from Germany’s allies, including Finland, Italy, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Hungary. Finnish pilot Ilmari Juutilainen, the highest scoring non-German fighter ace of WWII, was among the notable foreign pilots associated with the type.

Through constant development, the Bf 109 remained a dangerous opponent through the final months of WWII. The cockpit itself evolved along with the aircraft, and surviving original controls provide collectors with a tangible connection to the environment in which Luftwaffe fighter pilots actually operated these machines.

This example is offered in good functional condition overall, although some repair work remains to be done. Much of the original lower shaft is missing, so it should be understood as the surviving KG 13B grip and partial control stick assembly rather than a complete full length control column.

It measures approximately:

10” long

The original data plate, surviving flip down trigger, upper push button, absent B2 button with its mounting clip still present, and truncated shaft configuration are all important features of the piece and have been preserved as found.

Original Luftwaffe cockpit controls are considerably more difficult to encounter than ordinary aircraft fittings, and an identifiable KG 13B with its original manufacturer plate has immediate appeal to the advanced aviation collector. The combination of the Luftfahrt-Apparatebau manufacturer code, Werk-Nr. 2329, surviving weapons trigger and controls, and strong association of the KG 13 family with iconic Luftwaffe fighters makes this an outstanding cockpit display piece for a Messerschmitt Bf 109, Luftwaffe fighter, German aircraft instrument, Fw 190, or advanced WWII aviation collection.