Messerschmitt Bf 110
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The Messerschmitt Bf 110 (or Me 110) was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II. Later in the war it was changed to fighter-bomber and night fighter operations, and it became the major night fighter type of the Luftwaffe.
History
Based around the concept of the long-range Zerstörer or "Destroyer Fighter" the Bf 110 enjoyed some success in the Polish and French campaigns. However, the Battle of Britain revealed its fatal weaknesses as a daylight fighter against single-engine aircraft. Its size and weight meant that it had high wing loading, which limited its manoeuvrability. Furthermore, although it had a slightly higher top speed than contemporary RAF Hurricanes, it had poor acceleration.Eventually withdrawn from daylight fighting, the Bf 110 enjoyed later success as a nightfighter where its range, firepower and ability to mount a radar stood it in good stead. It was also used as a ground attack aircraft starting with the C-4/B model, and as a bomber interceptor, where its heavy firepower was particularly useful. Later on there were dedicated ground attack versions which proved reasonably successful. The Bf 110 served the Luftwaffe extensively in various roles, except in its intended role as a heavy fighter.
After the Battle of Britain Bf 110 units were largely moved to the Russian and Mediterranean theatres of war. The production of the Bf 110 was put on a low priority in 1941, although it was stepped up again in 1942 due to problems and delays in the development of the Bf 110's successor, the Me 210. Although the Me 210 entered service in mid-1941, it was eventually withdrawn in favour of a further development, between it and the Me 410, which did not enter service until early 1943; there were insufficient aircraft to fully replace the Bf 110 in that role and it fought until the end of the war. The lack of a real replacement even resulted in the increase of Bf 110 production in 1944, in spite of hopes of phasing out the type.
Armament
Early versions had four MG 17 machine guns in the upper nose and two 20 mm MG FF/M cannons fitted in the lower part of the nose. Later versions replaced the MG FF/M with the more powerful 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons and many G-series aircraft had two 30 mm MK 108 cannons fitted instead of the MG 17 (or MG 151/20). The defensive armament consisted of a single, flexible mounted MG 15 machine gun. Late F-series and prototype G-series got this upgraded to a 7.92 mm MG 81 machine gun with a higher rate of fire and the G-series was equipped with the twin-version MG 81Z.The fighter-bomber versions could carry up to 2,000 kg of bombs depending on the type. Many G-series night fighters were built with the Schräge Musik off-bore gun system for shooting down bombers while passing underneath, equipped with two MG FF/M.
Variants
- Me 110 A-series - prototypes with two Jumo 210 engines.
- Me 110A-0 - The designation of the first four pre-production aircraft.
Notes
On May 10, 1941, Rudolph Hess, a senior Nazi official, used a Bf 110 to fly from Augsburg, north of Munich, to Scotland, in order to broker a peace deal between Germany and the British Empire.Operators
Specifications (Messerschmitt Bf 110C-4)
External links
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