Messerschmitt Bf 110
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The two/four-seat Messerschmitt Bf 110 served as fighter, nightfighter
and attack/bomber/reconnaissance aircraft from 1939 to 1945. The first
model was planned in 1934 and the first prototype flew in May 1936. It
was designed to act as a heavily armed escort fighter to protect
bombers deep into enemy territory. Special Zerst�rer (destroyer)
wings were formed in early 1939, composing mainly of Bf 110C's as they
joined the Luftwaffe. The Zerst�rer were a pet project of Hermann
G�ring and he so highly valued them that most of the best fighter
pilots were assigned to the wings. In September 1939 the ZG wings
easily destroyed the remaining Polish Air Force, most of whose planes
were crippled on the ground by
Junkers Ju 87s. Then the ZG wings shot down 12 out of a formation
of 20 RAF Wellingtons that attempted to bomb the German fleet in a
daylight raid. In the Norwegian campaign in April 1940 a small group of
Bf 110s annihilated the few Gladiators sent against them over Oslo.
Since the land troops that were supposed to capture the Oslo Airport
had not appeared, the planes boldly landed and took over the airport by
sheer bluff. However, in the Battle of Britain the big Bf 110s were as
vulnerable to the Spitfires and Hurricanes as the bombers they were
supposed to protect. Therefore the short-range Bf 109s had to stretch
to limits to protect both the bombers and their escorts. In 1941 almost all the ZG wings were transferred to North Africa, the Balkans and the Russian front, over which the skies were less perilous. The Bf 110D's could carry extra fuel, while the E's and F's, powered by 1300hp DB 601F engines, carried bomb loads up to 2,005kg or reconnaissance cameras. Nearly all the previous models were armed with a nose armament of two 20mm cannon and four machine guns, and a single machine gun in the rear for defense. Additional 20 or 30mm guns were added in boxes under the thin fuselage. In 1942 the Bf 110 should have been phased out. But the failure of the Me 210 helped push development of the Bf 110G with 1,475hp DB 605B engines. Though considered obsolete by 1942, the Bf 110 was easy to fly and more capable in carrying extra loads. The inevitable need for night interceptors triggered a great increase in the production of the Bf 110 - the output was 580 in 1942; in 1943 it skyrocketed to 1,580 and in 1944 it numbered 1,525. The G model carried a crew of three or four in addition to extensive radar and heavy batteries of 20 or 30mm cannon firing ahead or diagonally upward to shoot down Allied bombers (the Schr�ge Musik installation). The Bf 110 could exceed 480km/h despite their heavy burden and large flame-dampers on the exhausts and could shoot down RAF bombers with deadly efficiency. Many even intercepted US bombers in daylight, but when the P-47 or P-51 escorts appeared, the once-glorious Zerst�rer had no chance. |
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Technical data and/or diagram of Messerschmitt Me 110. |
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Schr�ge Musik - the lethal tactics of German nightfighters that brought down hundreds of British heavy bombers. |
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A crash-landed Bf 110C-5 on a grassy runway. |
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The Me 110D-3s were equipped with external fuel tanks to give them an even longer range. |
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An intimidating view of a low flying Bf 110. |
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A "shark's jaw" Me 110G. Note the elaborate radar system in the frontal part of the fuselage and on the wing tips. |