eS ad ‘Messerschmitt Bf 110F-I fighter-bombers of IlSKG 210 (Schnelles Kampf-Geschwoder). Unit emblem on the nose comprises o mop of the British Isles in red with 0 yellow ring sight superimposed, the whole on o white shield edged in block. MESSERSCHMITT’S . EARLY IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST twenty-four years ago, the Messerschmitt BF 110Cs of what represented to Hermann Goering the flower of the Luftwaife, the élite Zerstorergeschwader, were poised at bases in Norway, France and the Low Countries for the opening of the Adlerangriff, the aerial offensive that was to bring Britain to her knees. Goering’s flower had, in fact, already begun to wilt, for although, Messerschmitt’s Zerstorer Still enjoyed the myth of its invineibility established by German propagandists, and had maintained its false reputation against limited opposition during the battles of Poland and France, opening. skirmishes with RLA.F. Fighter Command during attacks on channel convoys in the previous month had sown the first seeds of doubt in the minds of the German High Command that this strategic fighter would mect all the claims made for it by the loquacious Reichsmarschall. Tnsolar as the aircrews of ZG 2, ZG 26 and ZG 76 were con- cerned, however, their Bf 110C was still confidently considered a match for anything that the R.A.F. could throw against it; Confidence that was destined to be rudely shattered within a few weeks. From virtually the first operation in the so-called “Attack Of the Eagles”, the unescorted BE 110Cs received a disastrous mauling from the Brownings of the more nimble Spitfires and Hurricanes by which they found themselves opposed. Rather than serve as escorts as was their planned rOle, so hard put were they to defend themselves that the farcical situation arose in which they had (o be afforded the protection of escorting single- seat Bf 109Es! By the end of August, the BE 110C should have been withdrawn from the “Battle”, at least, in the fighter role, but despite the fact that the losses ‘suffered were out of all pro- portion to the effect that they achieved, they were retained partly as a result of grossly exaggerated success claims made primarily for the benefit of the Reichsmarschall, and partly because of the overall fighter shortage being experichced by the over-entended ‘utwaife. ‘With the Messerschmitt Bf 110 the Luftwaffe introduced a new class of combat aircraft, the strategie fighter, the merits of which hhad been propagated by air strategists for a number of years, despite the technical objections to such a warplane void by ai craft designers. ‘The new class of “ZerstOrer”, or destroyer air- craft, aterm borrowed from naval parlance, captured the imagina- tion of Goering and many high-ranking officers of the fledgling Luftwaffe in the mid “thirties; an aircraft capable of penetrating deep into enemy territory, clearing a path through interceptor formations for the bombers, and accompanying the ‘bomber formations themselves. "There was nothing wrong with the concept and many aircraft designers had toyed with it. It was simply that it made conflicting Vol. 20 No. 1 ZERSTORER requirements on the aircraft, one of which could only be fulfilled at the expense of the other, and the result had to be a compromise. ‘The Zerstorer had to possess a performance comparable with that of the lighter interceptors by which it would find itself opposed, and it had to be manoeuvrable if it was to successfully fend off fighter attacks on the bomber formations that its task was (o defend. Yet, in order to possess sufficient range to accompany bomber formations it had to carry a very considerable amount of fuel, and this serious weight penalty demanded two engines swith a detrimental effect on manoeuvrability EARLY DEVELOPMENT Official ideas on a Zerstrer crystallized towards the end of 1934. fut'an indication that the Technical Department of the RLM ‘vas not entirely sold on ths type of warplane ts given by the fact kata development contract for such an aircralt-was awarded the. Bayerische ‘Flugzeugwerke which, headed by” Dipling Willy Messerschmitt, possessed fewer than sox hundred personne! tnd was engaged in the licence manufacture of the Heinkel He 45G. "The Secretary of State for Air and Inspector-General ofthe Lafiwafte, Erhard. Mich, had een an-ardent opponent. of Messerschmitt since the ate “twenties and the delivery of the M-20 transport to Lufthansa, of which Mich was then a director, ‘A Messerschmitt Bf |10D-3 of ZG 76, the Hoifisch-Gruppe.A MESSERSCHMITT BF 110C-4B OF 5./ZG | (WESPEN-GESCHWADER)‘A Messerschmitt Bf I0E fitted with the so-called DOBBAS experimental freight. ond equipment container. The DOBBAS had an empty weight of £882 Ib. (400 ke) and a disposable load of 3,527 Ib. (1 600 kg). and the ‘compartment measured 9.18 ft. (2.8 m) in width, was 6.56 ft. (2.0 m) long ond had an everali height of 3.77 ft. (1-15 m). and he ensured that Messerschmitt’s small design office received no worth-while development contract. Major (ater General) ‘Wiemer, director of the RLM’s Technical Department, supported Milch's view of Messerschmitt, but when he was replaced by Major (later General) Loeb, who endeavoured to take an un- prejudiced view, decisive change in the prospects of BEW came about. "Together with the Arado Flugzeugwerke, the Ernst Heinkel A.G.. and the Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau, BFW was awarded a ‘development contract for a single-seat fighter, although it was clearly stated that no production contract would follow, From this development contract was to stem the BI 109 destined to bring Messerschmitt international acclaim, but metal had not even been cut on the prototype when, during November 1934, design studies for the Bf 110 ZerstOrer began, and in that year BEW manufactured only six aircraft of Messerschmitt design (Bf 108 Taifun light planes). Few believed that Messerschmitt ‘would in evolving an acceptable Zerstirer. Indeed, there is every reason to believe that Milch and others expected a failure which would bring about Messerschmitt’s downfall. ‘At the time design work was initiated on the Bf 110, the most powerful indigenous aero engine was the Junkers Jumo 210B Which offered only 610 h.p.. and it was all too obvious that a pair of these power plants wouid be inadequate to lift the quantities ‘Of fuel demanded by the required range and which, in turn, dictated a comparatively large and heavy fighter, and still provide ‘2 performance comparable with that to be expected from the Bf 110's future opponents... Fortunately, the Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft was developing a new twelve-cylinder liquid- ‘cooled engine, the DB 600, which promised more than 1,000 h.p. and on the premise that’ power plants of this type would Available for installation in the prototype, and during the summer (of 1935, the first metal was cut on the Bi 110 V1, a rakish, low- ‘wing, cantilever monoplane with an all-metal. stressed-skin structure and a retractable undercarriage. ‘Work began on two further prototypes, the VI. and V2, ‘during the autumn, and on May 12, 1936, with Rudolph Opitz at the controls and by two pre-production DB 600 engines each rated at 900 hup., the Bf 110 VI flew for the first time from Augsburg. A level speed of 316 m.p.h, (500 km/h) was Pope 88 attained in lightly loaded condition at an early stage in the flight trials in which the BY 110 V2 and V3 joined on October 24 and December 24, 1936 respectively, but the official trials that began at the Rechlin test centre in mid-January 1937 revealed that the ‘more sanguine expectations for the aircraft ‘could never. be realised, even with the appreciably more powerful engines proposed for the production model. It was true that maximum. Speed compared quite favourably with that of the best cons temporary single engined singleeaters, but one word recurred frequently in the official test pilots’ reports on manoeuvrability and handling —sluggish! It was also evident that flight endurance fell short of expectations and that any increase in fuel tankage would only, aggravate the shortcomings in acceleration and manoeuvrability Despite the Rechlin reports on the Bf 110 V2, which ranged from half-hearted enthusiasm for the aircraft’s speed to outright deprecation of its controllability, manoeuvrability and accelera- MESSERSCHMITT BF 1/0G-2tion, the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke received instructions to proceed with the construction of four further machines for service Salvation, The, ufames of then sera; wich wer, Ss, nated BE i ‘were completed between August 1937 and March’ 1938, but delays in the DB 600 production schedule had arisen as a result of serious teething troubles, and it was therefore necesary t0 install 610 hp. Junkers Jumo 3108 engines diving two-blade, variable-pitch airscrews. With DB 600s the BY 110 ‘was on the underpowered side, but with Jumo 210Bs . .. 1 Two further pre-production airframes were built, these being intended to take pre-production DB 600A engines of 960 h.p., but the Daimler-Benz engine still had to be cleared for installation and, ‘as.a temporary measure, the two airframes, which were designated Bi 110B-0s, were fitted with 670 h.p. Jumo 210G engines, the first of these flying on April 19, 1938, both being re-engined with the DB 600A in the following summer. During the autumn of 1938, production began of the BF 1108-1 which, powered by DB 600A engines, cared the highly lethal armament of two 20-mm, MG FF cannon in the lower half of the fuselage nose and four 7.9-mm. MG 17 machine guns in the ‘upper half of the nose, the concentration of fire being expected to knock any bomber out of the sky. No Luftwaffe unit was equipped with the Bf 110B-1, the newly-formed Zerstérer- verbinde, ‘Goering’s élite, being temporarily equipped with ile-seat Bf 109Cs and BF 109Ds while the bugs were wrung Out of the new twin-engined Zerstorer. Turbulence around the tunderslung radiator baths necessitated their transfer from the engine nacelles to a position outboard of the nacelles, forward of the flaps, and the rigidity of the rear fuselage structure had 1 Four MG 17 machine guns Reema tek we a ae i a Te tora aoe aoe pierre oor 17 Tan MG TSI cannon’ (20mm ‘Woand S80 rpg) 7 Quick reese nose cowling for 18 Tw See Giewn oy nd 4 Pilots instrament pas 19 Ammunition containers 3 Bilovs “Go-mm' bullerresising 30 Aerial mast Sunde, 10 Plots REVI gun sight (73mm 400 Fp.8) 25 Tain 'MG. 8 machine guns 3 Tealing serial mot B Spherral oryuen betes 3b Rear finlagesrucare 31 Flying control cables to rudders na clevators BF 110G-4/R3 SPECIFICATION Power Plant: Two Daimler-Benz DB 6058 twelve-cylinder inverted Vee liquid-cooled engines each rated at 1.475 h.p. ‘at 2.800 rpm. at sea level, 1,355 hip. at 2,800 fp.m. at 18,700 fe. (5 700 m). Performance: Maximum speed, 342 m.p.h. (550 km/h) at 22,900 fr. (6 980 m), 311 m.prh. (500 km) at sea level: range (max. external fuel), 1,305 mls. (2 100 km); time to 18-446 ft. 5500 m), 8 min.; service ceiling, 26,000 ft. (7 925 m). ‘Weights: Empey, 11,220 Ib. (5090 kg): normal loaded, 20.700 Ib. (9 390 kg); maximum loaded, 21,800 Ib. (9 888 kg). Dimensions: Span, 53 fe 4] in. (16.25 m): length, 4l fe. 62in. (1267 m); height, 13 fe. 1} in. 3.9 m): wing area, 413 sqft. G7.17 me}. 5, C00 D jetisonabie, fue {inks “or subes for two 2I-cm focket prosenien) Bom Zip Under ing coolant radia cclation, ‘piper fo emai nec ot Undercarriage obo sacrearlage main eet 32 Master compass 3 Elevators 436 Rear savigation 34 Raiders with serodynamie hora sseaere yes Engine bearer (ete) Dateien ens “DR” 60SB 12 Slider Taverted-yee Tiauid SPoled engine 3 va Automauc lendme-edge stats ie eae 0 Bor 198 tm: 39 imp. eal rope hb nd ich contol Sect tot et 2.5 ets ‘Seleeating fue celts (57.3 gals Selling c Js Under fusctage mot cack with provision for 530-6 SO Bee ooh (S00 ke) 2200: iy, 1000 eg) Bombs ge 2 = MG 10 Engine struments externally ‘mounted in cowing $22 saree Pore 89bbe increased to eliminate vibration of the tail assembly under certain flight conditions “The decision (o abandon the DB 600 in favour of the redesigned DB 601 incorporating direct fuel injection and improved super- charging capacity led to the termination of BF 110B-1 production afier relatively few aircraft of this type had been delivered—the majority of these being used for armament, engine, and other tests-—and the introduction of the BF I10C in its place. The pre- production Bf 110C-0 aircraft were essentially. re-engined Bi TIOB-1 airframes for service evaluation, but the BE 110C-1 embodied some structural strengthening. ‘The Bf 110C-2 intro- BF 1106 and duced revised electrical systems and new radio, but was otherwise similar to the initial production model and was similarly powered by 1,100 h.p. DB 601A engines, the C-3 and C-4 sub-types being. similar respectively to the C-1'and C-2 apart from having im- Proved MG FF (Ocrlikon) cannon, The Zerstorerverbinde began to receive BE 110C fighters during the late spring and early summer of 1939, and on the eve ‘of World War II possessed 195 machines on first line strength pplus reserves. The BF I10C saw limited service during the brief Polish campaign, its task being primarily that of low-level strafing. and it was first encountered by the R.A.F. on December H sub-variants | ow mater | oN | erp] ee ~er bee =o eu | tas Pex [iene [esate [> Sa |se [Re ‘Rese Stine Sion a a or me eae aie [eels eee tas sige oa ec 25MG 151. aml ee | he ee ee Pe : : = eee [eos |e cama] : = oS lew ie : === ‘ie a = foe a ae cr = ese : ~ : a. + ea] > : = z el ae ; 7 a os G3 | Loneranse | 4 7m amg, [igen new — ae ihc wea =| zi 3 ee a eee [aS Geir Fi Gees” [Re acm = Dag eo es eg te : 2 ee Tix aes (oo rne) eevee) | irae | Puc tery ante iT RESrGoneer | Fant 3F “Typ a Ete!” | Roa poare ae aoe bar co a ; = : : ee Tiration aa] > : 7 ‘ = ae 14, 1939 when an unescorted force of twelve Wellingtons was intercepted over the Heligoland Bight by a mixed force of BL 10SEs and Bf 110Cs, with sorry consequences for the Wellingtons. By the end of 1939, 2 total of 337 BF 110s had been manufactured by Messerschmitt’s Augsburg plant, and other components of the German aircraft industry had joined the Bf 110 production programme, further sub-variants appearing in service, including the BE 110C-4B fighter-bomber with 1,200 h.p. DB 60iN engines ‘and external racks for a pair of 350-li. (250-kg) bombs beneath the fuselage centre section, and the Bf 110C-5 reconnaissance: fighter in which the MG FE cannon were replaced by a camera, "The importance of the Bf I10C in the Luftwaffe’s armoury increased with the progressive equipment of ZerstOrergeschwader 1, 2, 26 and 76 with this type, and some 350 were available for the use of Lufiflotten 2 and 3 for the invasion of France and the Low Countries, although this number had fallen to about 220 when the same’ Luftfiotten joined combat with the R.A.F. inthe “Battle of Britain”. The disastrous consequences fo the ZerstSrer units of this conflict, as well as to the reconnaissance staffeln and the one ground attack unit, Erprobungsgruppe 210, which also operated the BY 110C during the “Battle”, are too well known {0 call for further comment here, but despite this singular failure, production of the aircraft continued unabated, a total of 1,083 being manufactured during 1940, : ‘The reason for the continued quantity production of the BE 110 was not due to any inability on the part of the Luftwaffe to‘A Messerschmitt Bf I10C-4 of ZG 26 over the Western Desert. ZG 26 was known as the “Horst Wessel" Geschwader. appreciate the shortcomings of the aircraft. On the contrary, a ‘successor 10 the BE 110, the Me 210, liad been ordered in the Summer of 1938 when it was anticipated that this more potent aircraft would begin to succeed its predecessor during 1940, one thousand having been ordered before the first prototype had fiown. In the event, the Me 210 proved a sorry failure: a failure which, incidentally, was to enable Messerschmitt’s arch enemy. Erhard Milch, to demand his resignation from his positions of Chairman of the Management Committee and General Director of the Messerschmitt AG. Thus, although production of the BF 110 had begun to taper off in. 1941 when only 784 machines were manufactured, followed by 580 in 1942, large-scale produc- tion had to be resumed to fill the gap left by its intended successor. no less. than 1.580 pouring from the: assembly lines. in 1943, followed by 1,525 in 1944, production finally terminating in the ‘early weeks of 1945 with a last batch of forty-five machines ‘A Messerschmitt Bf 1 {0E-2(N with DB 601N engines CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT A number of attempts were made to adapt the Bf 110 for special- ised rdles, early examples being represented by the Bf 110C-6 bomber interceptor with a.30-mm. MK 101 cannon in a ventral fairing, and the C-7 intruder with a strengthened undercarriage to permit a 2.200-Ib. (1 000-kg) bomb load. The BY 110D was essentially similar to the C-model but offered improved range capabilities for the long-range escort role. the. pre-production. BF 110D-0 featuring an immense, non-jettisonable ventral tank containing 230 Imp. gal. (1.050 I) of uel. The loss in performance resulting from this tank was so severe that it was discarded from the production BF 110D-I which, instead, had provision for two 198 Imp. gal- (9001) tanks. beneath the wings. The BF L1OD-2had shackles for two 1,100-Ib. (500-kg) bombs instead of the fuel tanks, while the D-3 long-range fighter-bomber could carry both bombs and long-range tanks. By the summer of 1941, the C- and D-models of the BF 110 had virtually disappeared from the European theatre, although they ‘were to be found in numbers in the Middle East and Russia Further structural strengthening and racks for four 110-Ib. (S0-kg) bombs under the outer wing panels resulted in the Bf 110E-1 which, with the standardisation of the DB 601N engine which permifted an increase in the normal bomb load from 2,645 Ib, 07200 kg) to 4,410 1b, (2.000 kg), became the BF I10E-2, the E-3 being a reconnaissance version with reduced armament and two 198 Imp. gal. (900 1) drop tanks. The F-model signified a switch to the 1,300 hp. DB 601F engine, and apart from this power plant change, the F-1 and F-3 were similar to the E-1 and E-3, but the F-2/was a bomber interceptor carrying four 8.26-in. QI em) WG.21 rocket missile tubes underwing, and the F-4 was the first version of the basic BF 110 to be built specifically for the hight intercept rdle, AS early as July 1940, the Messerschmitt fighter had served in the night fighting role, two Gruppen being equipped with standard Bi I10Cs for this purpose, but the BF ITOF-4 night fighter featured a position for a third crew member and two 30-mm. MK 108 cannon in a ventral (ray ‘When it became obvious that the Me 210 would not be available to replace the Bf 110, and that production of the older aircraft would have to continue, a number of improvements, were intro- duced, the most important being the provision of 1,475 h.p. DB 6058 engines, and from that time on sub-variants came fast ‘and furious, the hasic models being the Bf 110G and Bf 110H. ‘The pre-production BY 110G-0 was generally similar 10 the F-model apart from its engines, increases in maximum loaded ‘and maximum landing weights, and increased versatility in the type of bomb foads. "The BC 110G-0 could carry any of the following bomb loads beneath the fuselage: two 580-Ib, SC or SD 250 general-purpose bombs, two 1,100-Ib. SC or SE 300 general-purpose bombs, one 2,205-Ib. PC 1000 armour-piercing bomb plus one SD 250 or ‘SD 500, one 2,205-Ib. SC 1000 and one SE S00 general-purpose ‘bombs, or one AB 500 container for incendiary or fragmentation bombs, this being released like an ordinary bomb and discharging its contents at a pre-determined height by means of an air-burst fuze. In addition, the four ETC 50 wing carriers could each carry an SC or SB 50 bomb or an AB 24 fragmentation bomb container. "The first major production G-model, the Bf 110G-2, differed from the pre-production G-0 in having a strengthened under- carriage, a re-set fin and enlarged rudder and rudder trim tab for better single-engined flight. a modified rear end to the canopy t0 ppermit the mounting of twin 7.9-mm. MG 81 machine guns on a flexible mount, an additional oil tank in the fuselage, improved cold starting arrangements, and the provision of sicel engine bearers. The final production H-model. the Bf 1OH-2, differed from the G-2 in havinga modified nose for the improved mounting of two 30mm. MK. 108 cannon, further strengthening of the Tuselage, the Undercarriage attachment points and the under- carriage i(self, stilened vertical tail fins. a plastic shaft for chang- ing the incidence of the tailplane, an_hydraulically-retractable {ailwheel, and some changes in the instrumentation and equip- ment, The sub-variants of both the G- and H-models are listed separately in tabular form. ‘Although the Messerschmitt Bf 110 was manufactured in extremely large numbers and was undoubtedly one of the most important aircraft employed by the Luftwaffe throughout the ‘war years, it provided eloquent testimony to the rule that in ‘combat aircraft design a compromise between entirely conflicting requirements must result in a mediocrity, but as the first serious attempt to produce a strategic fighter, the “one-one-oh” is assured of its place in aviation history.