The Messerschmitt Bf110 (later Me110) was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II.

History

Based around the concept of the long-range Zerstörer or "Destroyer Fighter" the Bf110 enjoyed some success in the Polish and French campaigns. However, the Battle of Britain revealed its fatal weaknesses as a daylight fighter against more maneuverable single-engine aircraft. Eventually withdrawn from daylight fighting, the Bf110 enjoyed later success as a night fighter where its range, firepower and ability to mount a radar stood it in good stead.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. Later on there were dedicated ground attack versions which proved reasonably successful. All in all the Bf-110 served the Luftwaffe very well in various roles, except in its intended role as a heavy fighter.

After The Battle of Britain Bf-110 units largely moved to the Russian and Mediterranean theatres of war. The production of the Bf-110 was put on a low priority in 1941 and stepped up again in 1942 after the development of the Me-210, the Bf-110's intended successor, proved to be unsuccessful.

Armament

Early versions had four MG 17 machine guns and two 20 mm MG FF/M cannons fitted in the nose. Later versions replaced these 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. The defensive armamanet 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.