Wealthy historian locked in £300k court battle with aircraft restorers over tribute to top Nazi pilot

Résumé détaillé

Retired accountant and history buff Terrence Coakley is suing Spitfire AA810 Restoration who he claims to have lent a six-figure sum to rebuild a German Messerschmitt Bf 109.

Published: 13:16 GMT, 11 November 2026 | Updated: 13:44 GMT, 11 November 2026

A wealthy historian is locked in a £300,000 court battle with a group of aircraft restorers over his tribute to a top Nazi pilot.

Retired accountant and history buff Terrence Coakley is suing Spitfire AA810 Restoration who he claims to have lent a six-figure sum to rebuild a German Messerschmitt Bf 109 and paint it in the colours of Luftwaffe pilot, Gunther Rall.

Mr Rall, who died in 2009 aged 91, was the third highest-scoring fighter pilot in history, having shot down 275 enemy planes in aerial duels while seeing combat during the invasion of France, the Battle of Britain, and on the Eastern Front.

He flew a Messerschmitt Bf 109, known as the Me109, the workhorse of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War.

His plane was considered to be the scourge of the RAF during the Battle of Britain but the restoration project is causing fresh pain for Mr Coakley who says he lent the cash to the restorers to enable them to acquire a rare collection of Second World War artefacts.

He agreed that Spitfire AA810 Restoration would restore the parts and then Mr Coakley would curate the display.

In a dramatic turn of events, the case was brought before a judge at Central London County Court, after Mr Coakley's legal team applied for an urgent injunction ordering Spitfire to 'deliver up' the historic memorabilia.

They claimed they had fears that the company had tried to sell off some of the items.

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