WWII Tech Pubs Briefing

Written by
Daniel Gebhardt

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Messerschmitt Bf 110c's of I./ZG 26 escort waves of Luftwaffe bomber units heading for England at the beginning of the Battle of Britain, a battle that was to demonstrate only too well the limitations of the heavy fighter concept.

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Overview

In June 1934, the RLM issued specifications for the Rüstflugzeug III for a one- or two-engined aircraft with a crew of three to four, a main armament of two 20 mm cannons and a defensive armament of two MG 15 machineguns. The Zerstörer should be attain a top speed of 400 kph at an altitude of 6000 m, have a range of 2.000 km and be able to reach a ceiling of 10.000. In July 1934, three prototypes were ordered. These were the Focke-Wulf Fw 57, the Henschel Hs 124, and the Bf 110. Only the Bf 110 lived up to the expectations of the RLM and its designers.

At Messerschmitt, Robert Lusser, the head of the Konstruktionsbüro, was put in charge of project P1035. As with the Bf 109, the design deviated considerably from the original specifications. The design focussed exclusively on the Zerstörer , with parallel development of a reconnaissance and fighter plane on the same platform instead of integrating all three roles into one plane type. The project was approved and in August 1934 the construction of three prototypes and one fuselage (intended for stress testing) was ordered. In January 1935, this order was expanded by another seven aircraft (the Nullserie), also covering the reconnaissance (Bf 161) and fighter (Bf 162 Jaguar) versions.

The design that was chosen for the Bf 110, borrowed heavily from the 109 and featured a long fuselage with a long glass canopy accommodating a two-man crew. The wings were of trapezoid shape and double rudders were planned in order to increase the field of fire for the rear firing machinegun. Primary armament was four MG15 machineguns (7.9mm), power was to be provided by two Jumo 210 engines (19.7 liter bore), at the time the most powerful aircraft engine available A first mock-up was completed by 1935, however the prototype made its maiden flight on May 12th 1936. During initial tests, it was apparent that the speed of top speed of 510 kph clearly exceeded the requirement of 400 kph. However, altitude performance turned out to be a problem, only 8.000 m were reached where 10.000 m were called for, so the V3 prototype was completed with the DB 600 engine instead of the Jumo 210.

The B-0 series (sometimes called A series) was produced between August 1937 and March 1938 and used Junkers Jumo 210G engines, as the Daimler Benz DB 600 was considered to be unsuitable for a modern fighter. The nose was lengthened by 30 centimeters and armament was substantially increased by fitting two Oerlikon MG/FF 20mm cannons under the nose. The B-0 series was followed by the identical B-1 series, which went into service with the Luftwaffe during the summer of 1938, with the Zerstörergruppe Lehrgeschwader 1 being the first unit to receive them. No Bf110 B saw combat service.

The C-0 pre-series model was a major redesign, and introduced the Daimler Benz DB601A-1 engine in late 1938. The change in engine made major redesigns necessary, in the course of which the wingspan decreased by 80 centimeters, fuselage length by 70 centimeters but  gross takeoff weight increased from 5650 to 6750 kilograms. Despite this weight increase, perfomance increased across the board

Mass production of the Bf 110 was started with the C-1 model, which retained most of the features of C-0. Armament consisted of 4 MG17 machineguns (7.9mm) and two Oerlikon MG/FF mounted under the nose. For the first time, a rear firing MG15 was also introduced. Later in the war, the surviving C-1s were converted to glider tugs, designated C-1/U1 and used among other things to tow the Me321 Gigant with a team of three. The C-2, C-3 and C-4 models differed from the C-1 in electrical equipment and guns mounted, where the C-3 and C-4 received the new MG-FF/M cannons able to fire Minengeschoß shells that had increased destructive power compared to regular HE shells. The C-5 model was a reconnaissance version, and the C-6 a tank buster mounting a 30mm gun. During the Battle of France the Bf 110 was tried successfully as a bomb carrier, and employed as such in siginificant numbers during the Battle of Britain. Apart from mounting an under-fuselage bomb rack, no modifications were necessary and many C series served in that role.

The D series was a development of the C series that focussed on increased range, to this, drop tanks and a fixed under-fuselage tank were added at the expense of firepower, models build were the D-0 through D-4. The E series was a dedicated tactical bomber, series built were E-0 through E-3. Both these series were based on the C series and only modified to accommodate their respective tasks.

The Bf 110 F was born out of the failure of the Me 210 project and intended as a stop-gap measure. The most important modifications was the use of the DB601F engine providing 1350 horsepowers. The first mass produced version was the F-2, a heavy day fighter. When American heavy bombers appeared over Europe, the original armament turned out to be ineffective and was increased by an under-fuselage gun pod containing two MG 151/20 cannons or Nebelwerfer rockets mounted under the wings. The F-4 was a dedicated nightfighter and was employed in configurations both with and without radar. Also, “Schräge Musik”, two upward firing 30mm guns could be mounted.

In 1943, Messerschmitt stopped production of the 110 series. However, production was continued at the Gothaer Waggonfabrik plant, which had long been involved in the production of Messerschmitt aircraft. With the availability of the DB605B engine, yet another updated version of the Bf 110, Ausführung G, went into production, whose main features was the use of the DB605 engine providing 1475 horsepowers and MG 151/20 cannons replacing the aged MG-FF cannons. The G-2 was intended for use as a Tagzerstörer (heavy day fighter), while the G-4 was designed as a nightfighter and provided with radar. A large number of conversion kits was available for both types, among them a 37mm gun and twin Mk108 30mm cannons replacing the MG 17 machineguns as well as bombs, rockets, “Schräge Musik” and gun pods. With these types, the Bf 110 was produced until December 1944 when all production of multi-engined fighters ceased in favor of single-seat fighters and jets.

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Variants

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Note: In addition most previous R-kits concerning fuselage bomb racks, underwing bomb racks, underwing tanks, Mk108 cannons and Schräge Musik were available and in many cases combined, leading to a multitude of R and U designations.

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Specifications

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