Historian seeks return of fighter parts in £300,000 court dispute

Terrence Coakley, a retired accountant and aviation historian, is in a £300,000 court dispute with aircraft restoration company Spitfire AA810 Restoration over parts bought for a planned Messerschmitt Bf 109 restoration. He says he lent the company money to acquire the parts and wants the aircraft and associated artefacts returned or the outstanding sums repaid.

The project was intended to restore the German fighter in the “Black 13” colours of Luftwaffe pilot Gunther Rall and display it at museums in Britain and the United States. Coakley’s barrister told Central London County Court that he contributed about £190,000, with further funding from his aviation heritage charity; the parts’ location is now unclear, and Coakley sought an urgent order amid concerns some items might be sold. Rall, who died aged 91 in 2009, was credited with shooting down 275 aircraft.