Country of origin:

Germany

Description:

Two-seat twin-engine long-range fighter

Power Plant:

Two 821 kw (1,100 hp) Daimler-Benz DB 601A-1 twelve-cylinder VEE liquid-cooled engines

Specifications:

Armament:

Two 20 mm MG FF cannon and four 7.9 mm machine guns firing forward; one 7.9 mm (0.1 in) MG15 machine gun flexibly mounted firing aft.

History:

The prototype of the Messerschmitt Bf 110 (Bf 110V-1 – D-AHOA) series made its first flight on 12 May 1936 in the hands of Bayerische Flugzeugwerke A-G test pilot Hermann Wurster. Designed as a long-range multi-seat escort fighter, the type was to be capable of penetrating deep into enemy territory, possess sufficient range to accompany bomber formations, and be manoeuvrable enough to fight opposing single-seat single-engine fighters. In the event the Bf 110 was unable to adequately perform these tasks and was used as a maid of all work, being used to best effect as a night fighter with a crew of three late in the war when fitted with radar. Total production of the type was approximately 6,060, though some records show 6,170 were completed.

In 1935 construction of the prototype Bf 110 V1 commenced, being of all metal stressed-skin structure with a retractable undercarriage and powered by two 746 kw (1,000 hp) DB 600 engines. Further prototypes were built, the Bf 110 V1 being flown by Rudolph Opitz on 12 May 1936, achieving a speed of 500 km/h (316 mph). It was followed by the V2 and V3 in October and December that year. Pre-production aircraft were completed in August 1937, being known as the Bf 110A-0 which was followed by the Bf 110B-0, these being powered 500 kw (670 hp) Junkers Jumo 210G engines, the DB 600 engines not being available.

Development continued throughout the war, a variety of models being built, such as the Bf 110D-2 which could carry two 500 kg (1,000 lb) bombs. Although produced in large numbers and, although operationally one of the most important German aircraft, it was the result of a compromise and had great difficulties when opposed by single-seat single-engine fighters.

The Bf 110 was used for reconnaissance, and as a bomber, being able (in the Bf 110D-G4 model) to carry a bomb load up to 700 kg (1,540 lb). It saw service in a number of theatres; in the Balkans, Mediterranean, North Africa, and during Operation Barbarosa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. However, it was during the Battle of Britain that its failings came to the fore, when, used as an escort for Junkers Ju 87s, Heinkel IIIs and Dornier Do-17s, it received a mauling from the RAF’s Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires. One of the main claims to fame of the Bf 110 was on 18 December 1939 when 24 Wellingtons flew on an armed reconnaissance sortie over the Schillig Roads, the Jade Estuary and Wilhelmshaven, and nine were lost to the Bf 110C-1s of 1 and 2/ZG76.

Production continued during the war, during 1943 reaching a peak of 125.75 aircraft per month. The two top scoring German night fighter aces spent almost their whole combat careers flying the Bf 110: Major Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer being credited with 121 bombers; and Major Helmut Lent being credited with 102 bombers. One of the most interesting armament installations in the type was the Schrage Musik, this being two 20 mm MG FF cannon arranged to fire upwards and forwards from behind the rear cockpit, the aircraft approaching from below and behind the bomber in a blind spot to devastating effect.

One of the most famous Bf 110s was that flown by Deputy Fuhrer, Rudolph Hess, who flew to the United Kingdom to attempt to negotiate a peace between Britain and Germany. Hess took off from the Messerschmitt works at Augsburg, Germany on 10 May 1941 in a Bf 110E-2/N (VJ+OQ – Werk nr 3869) to fly to Scotland where he bailed out over the property of the Duke of Hamilton where he was taken into custody. Some parts of this aircraft are held by the Imperial War Museum in London.

Only a few complete Bf 110s survive. One, a Bf 110G-4 (730301) captured at Knokke, Belgium in 1944, which was tested by the RAF (AX772), is on display at the RAF Museum at Hendon. A Bf 110G-2 is undergoing restoration at Eisenstadt, Austria; and another is in Italy under restoration.

In late 1993 the remains of a number Bf 110s were recovered in Russia and shipped to the Alpine Fighter collection at Wanaka, New Zealand, the plan being to restore one to airworthiness and one for static display. These were: Bf 110C-1 (werk nr 3084), damaged at Memmingen, Germany in August 1941; rebuilt as a Bf 110E-2 (werk no 4502 0 code M8+ZE) but crashing near Murmaschi, Russia on 11 March 1942; Bf 110F-2 (werk no 5052 – code TI+LE); and a fourth, serial unknown, recovered from its crash site.

However, work on these aircraft did not really commence and, after being shown in their dismantled state at a Warbirds over Wanaka Airshow, and after storage for some little time, they were exported to Germany where ‘LN+NR’ serial 5052 has been restored for the Berlin Technical Museum, being rolled out at Friedrichshafen on 16 September 2000. This machine was hit by ground fire whilst in action over the Karelian Peninsula on 11 January 1943 and made a wheels-up landing on Lake Pyavozero, which was frozen. The crew from 13 (Z)JG5 Zerstorer Jagdgeschwader survived but the aircraft sank when the lake thawed.

Others which survive include: a Bf 110D-0 of 1/ZG76, lost on 24 May 1940, which was recovered in late 1995 from Lake Upmasjaure in North Sweden and conveyed to the Auto and Technik Museum in Sinsheim, Germany for restoration. Further examples have been found in fresh water lakes in Europe and at crash sites in the vast former Soviet Union, and are expected to be recovered for museums.