Messerschmitt
Me110 (Bf110)


Designed by Prof. Willy Messerschmitt, the original project began it's life in 1936. Two years later the first prototype flew in 1938. It was too late for the Spanish civil war but saw it's first action in Poland on 1 September 1939

The twin engined plane had twice the range of the Me109 but was not to have the same high status as its illustrious stable mate. Göring stated that the Me110s would be amassed into "destroyer units" or "Zerstörer" and announced that they would become "the strategic fighter elite of the Luftwaffe". Instead their large size, slower speed and poorer performance meant they became sitting ducks for the faster Spitfires

Me110 at Hendon Battle of Britain Hall, England

Description
Item
Role :
Twin engined day & night fighter, fighter-bomber, reconnaissance and ground attack aircraft
Wingspan :
 53 ft 4 in (16.2 m)
Length :
 40 ft 4 in (12.3 m)
Height :
 13 ft 1 ¼ in (3.9 m)
Wing Area :
 413 sq ft (37.17 sq m)
Engine :
 2 X Daimler-Benz DB 605 12 cylinder inverted Vee liquid cooled
B.H.P. :
Each engine - 1.350 hp @ 5,700 rpm
Max Armament :
Many used. Typical Me110G night-fighter had2 X 30mm MG108 cannons & 2 X 20mm MG151/20 cannons in the nose fuselage, firing forward. 2 X 20mm MG FF cannons firing oblequely upwards from rear cockpit & 2 X 7.7mm MG81 machine guns on flexible mountings firing aft.4 X 21cm rocket tubes carried under each outer wings to attak daylight bombers. This is rounded off with 2 X bomb carriers fitted to the under fuselage with a capacity for each to carry typically a 500kg (1,100lbs) bomb
Highest Max Weight Loaded :
 Weights varied considerably, according to mark and variation. Typically, a G-2 tropical specification with 1 X 1000kg and 1 X 500kg bomb would weigh 10,045kg (22,100lbs)
Max Speed :
Varied greatly, according to mark and variation. A typical Me110 night fighter would achieve 544km/h (340mph)
Initial Climb Rate :
 5,490 m (18,000 ft) in 8 minutes
Max Service Ceiling :
 32,000 feet
Range :
 Me110G night-fighter could achieve 2,080 km (1,300 miles).
Service - First Flight :
1936
Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of WWII ISBN 0-517-67964-7

Me110 at Hendon Battle of Britain Hall, England
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