November 11

What happened on November 11 in aviation and space history.

• November 11, 1937

  World speed record of the Bf 109 V13

  Record — On 11 November 1937, the Bf 109 V13 (D-IPKY), flown by Messerschmitt's chief test pilot Dr. Hermann Wurster and powered by a 1,230 kW (1,672 PS) DB 601R racing engine, set a new world air speed record for landplanes with piston engines of 610.95 km/h — the first time Germany had set this record. Converted from a Bf 109D, the aircraft was registered by the FAI and contemporary publications as a Messerschmitt Bf 113 (or Bf 113R).