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| Me 410 | |
|---|---|
 Me 410 A-1/U2, RAF Museum Cosford, 1985 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Heavy fighter,fighter-bomber |
| Manufacturer | Messerschmitt |
| Primary users | Luftwaffe |
| Number built | 1,189[1] |
| History | |
| Manufactured | May 1943-August 1944 |
| Introduction date | 1943 |
| First flight | 14 March 1942 |
| Retired | 1945 |
| Developed from | Messerschmitt Me 210 |
TheMesserschmitt Me 410Hornisse (Hornet) is aheavy fighter andSchnellbomber ("Fast Bomber" in English) designed and produced by theGerman aircraft manufacturerMesserschmitt. It was flown by theLuftwaffe during the latter half of theSecond World War.
Work began on producing a successor to theBf 110 in 1937, however, the resultingMe 210 proved to be unsatisfactory, leading to production being halted in April 1942. Various options were considered, including the ambitiousMe 310 derivative. Officials favoured an incremental improvement which was represented by the Me 410. Although visually similar to the preceding Me 210 and sharing sufficient design similarities that incomplete Me 210s could be converted into Me 410s, there were key differences between the two aircraft. Chiefly, the Me 410 was powered by largerDaimler-Benz DB 603 engines, had a lengthenedfuselage, and automaticleading edge slats.
During late 1942, theReichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) were sufficiently convinced by the programme to proceed with quantity production of the type, the first Me 410s being delivered during January 1943. Various models were produced, including the Me 410A-1 light bomber, the A-1/U1aerial reconnaissance aircraft, the A-1/U2bomber destroyer, and the A-2/U4night fighter. Upon their entry to service, the type was promptly flown on night time bombing missions in theBritish Isles, where the night fighters of theRoyal Air Force (RAF) typically struggled to intercept it.[2] The Me 410 was also used as abomber destroyer against the daylight bomber formations of theUnited States Army Air Forces (USAAF); it was moderately successful against unescorted bombers through 1943, but proved to be no match in adogfight with the lighter Allied single-engine fighters, such as theNorth American P-51 Mustang andSupermarine Spitfire. Following theNormandy landings, Me 410s were amongst the numerous Axis aircraft sent against the incoming Allied forces.
From mid-1944, all Me 410s were withdrawn fromDefence of the Reich duties and production was phased out in favour ofheavily armed single-engine fighters as dedicated bomber destroyers. The final role of the Me 410 was aerial reconnaissance. Only two Me 410s have survived in preservation into the twenty-first century.
The origins of the Me 410 are closely associated with the precedingMe 210. Development of this aircraft had been projected back in 1937 as a multi-purpose successor to theBf 110, which had some identified shortcomings even prior to seeing combat service.[3][4] Early on, confidence in the Me 210 had been high, to the extent that 1,000 aircraft were ordered off the drawing board; however, it would be a troubled programme. Flight testing revealed poor longitudinal stability and, despite modifications, was considered to be unsatisfactory.[5][6] While quantity production of the type proceeded, the Me 210 had a relatively high rate of accidents. This heavily contributed to production being halted on 14 April 1942; officials were keen to remedy the Me 210's problems and return it to production to minimise the economic loss incurred.[7][8]
Various modifications to the design were explored, including theMe 310, a radical high-altitude derivative that incorporated apressurised cockpit and more powerful engines.[9] This option was not favoured by many officials, who sought a less ambitious remediation of the Me 210. It was this preference that led to the emergence of the Me 410, which was visually almost identical to the Me 210.[10]
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The principal difference between the Me 210 and Me 410 was the adoption of the larger (at 44.5 litres, 2,720 cu in displacement) and more powerfulDaimler-Benz DB 603A engines. These engines each provided 1,750 metric horsepower (1,730 hp; 1,290 kW) compared to the 1,475 metric horsepower (1,455 hp; 1,085 kW) of theDB 605s used on the Me 210C[Note 1]. The extra power increased the Me 410's maximum speed to 625 kilometres per hour (388 mph), greatly improvedrate of climb, service ceiling, and the cruising speed, the latter being raised to 579 km/h (360 mph).[citation needed]
The more powerful engines also improved payload capability to the point where the aircraft could lift a war-load greater than could fit into thebomb bay under the nose. Consequently, shackles were added under the wings for four 50-kilogram (110 lb) bombs. The changes added an extra 680 kg (1,500 lb) to the Me 210 design, but the extra engine power more than made up for the difference. As with the Me 210, the Me 410's rear gunner used the same pair ofFerngerichtete Drehringseitenlafette FDSL 131/1Bturrets mounted on each side of the aircraft, each still armed with a 13 mm (.51 in)MG 131 machine gun, retaining the same pivoting handgun-style grip, trigger and gunsight to aim and fire the ordnance as the Me 210 did.[11]
The new version included a lengthenedfuselage and new, automaticleading edge slats. Both features had been tested on Me 210s and were found to dramatically improve handling. The slats had originally been featured on the earliest Me 210 models, but had been removed on production models due to poor handling. When entering a steep turn, the slats had a tendency to open due to the highangle of attack, analogous to the opening of the slats during the landing approach. (This problem was first observed on the Bf 109V14 and V15 prototypes for theBf 109E), which added to the difficulty in keeping the aircraft flying smoothly. However, when the problems with the general lateral instability were addressed, this was no longer a real problem.[citation needed] While the Me 410 came to be regarded as a relatively stable aircraft, it had a poorer rate of turn than the Bf 110 it was intended to replace.[12]
The wing panels of the earlier Me 210 had been designed with a planform geometry that placed theaerodynamic center farther back compared with the earlier Bf 110, giving the outer sections of the wing planform beyond each engine nacelle a slightly greater, 12.6° leading edge sweepback angle than the inner panels' 6.0° leading edge sweep angle. This resulted in unsuitable handling characteristics in flight for the original Me 210 design. The new Me 410 outer wing panels had their planform geometry revised to bring the aerodynamic centre farther forward in comparison with the Me 210, thus making the leading edge sweepback of the outer panels identical to the inner wing panels with both having identical 5.5° sweepback angles, which improved handling.[citation needed]
During late 1942, six Me 210As were taken off the assembly line for conversion to Me 410 standard.[10][13] Near the end of that year, the Me 410 V1 prototype performed itsmaiden flight. Shortly thereafter, theReichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) was suitably convinced by its performance to place a sizable production order for the Me 410.[10]
Deliveries of the Me 410 began in January 1943, two years late and continued until September 1944, by which point a total of 1,160 of all versions had been produced by Messerschmitt's facility inAugsburg andDornier plant inMünchen. There were various models produced to serve in distinct roles, including the Me 410A-1 light bomber, the A-1/U1aerial reconnaissance platform, the A-1/U2bomber destroyer, the A-2/U4night fighter.[14] When the Me 410 arrived, it was typically appreciated by its crews, even though its improved performance was not enough to protect it from the waves of high performanceAllied fighters that it routinely confronted at this stage of the conflict.
When performing night bomber missions against theBritish Isles, the Me 410A-1 proved to be an elusive target for the opposing night fighters of theRoyal Air Force (RAF).[2] The first unit to operate over the UK was V./KG 2, which lost its first Me 410 on the night of 13 – 14 July 1943, when it was shot down by ade Havilland Mosquito ofNo. 85 Squadron. Nevertheless, the Me 410 played a prominent role in the bombing of London during early 1944.[15][16]
The Me 410 was also used as abomber destroyer against the daylight bomber formations of theUnited States Army Air Forces (USAAF), upgraded withUmrüst-Bausätze factory conversion kits, all bearing a/U suffix, for the design—these suffixes could vary in meaning between subtypes. As one example, the earlier Me 410 A-1/U1 designation signified a camera-fitting in the under-nose ordnance bay for reconnaissance use (as the A-3 was meant to do from its start), while the Me 410 B-2/U1 designation signified a mount of a pair of the long barreled, 30 mmMK 103 cannon in the undernose ordnance bay. The /U2 suffix designated a fitment of two additional 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons in the under-nose ordnance bay instead—the A-1/U4 subtype fitted the massive, 540-kilogram (1,190 lb)Bordkanone series 50 mm (2 in)BK 5 cannon, loaded with 21 rounds in the same under-nose ordnance bay in place of either the /U1's cameras or MK 103s, or the /U2's added pair ofMG 151/20autocannon. For breaking up the bomber formations, many Me 410s also had four underwing tubular launchers,two per wing panel, firing converted 21 cm (8 in)Werfer-Granate 21 infantry barrage rockets. TwoGeschwader,Zerstörergeschwader 26 and76, were thus equipped with the Me 410 by late 1943.[citation needed]
The type was moderately successful against unescorted bombers through 1943, achieving a considerable number of kills against USAAF day bomber formations. However, the Me 410 proved to be no match in adogfight with the lighter Allied single-engine fighters such as theNorth American P-51 Mustang andSupermarine Spitfire. In early 1944, the Me 410 formationsencountered swarms of Allied fighters protecting the bomber streams, usually flying far ahead of thecombat box formations as anair supremacy move in clearing the skies of any Luftwaffe opposition, resulting in the Me 410's previous successes against escorted bombers now often being offset by their losses. An example of this—as part ofa campaign started two days earlier by the USAAF—was on 6 March 1944 during an attack on Berlin by 750 8th AF heavy bombers, when 16 Me 410s were shot down in return for eightB-17 Flying Fortresses and four P-51s (which were destroyed by Bf 109 andFw 190 fighters escorting the Me 410s).[17][18] The following month on 11 April, with 8th AF raids hittingSorau,Rostock andOschersleben, II./ZG 26's Me 410s accounted for a rare clear success, initially bringing down 10 B-17s without any losses. During the course of the same raid, their second sortie was intercepted by P-51s that destroyed eight Me 410s and three Bf 110s. Sixteen crewmen were killed and three wounded.[19]
During April 1944, the first Me 410Bs were delivered.[20] Units commonly converted to the type from bomber aircraft, such as theJunkers Ju 88. In response to theNormandy landings, Me 410s were repeatedly dispatched against the incoming Allied forces.[15]
From mid-1944, despite being known to be the favourite bomber destroyer ofAdolf Hitler, the Me 410 units were taken fromDefence of the Reich duties and production was phased out in favour ofheavily armed single-engine fighters as dedicated bomber destroyers, with the Me 410s remaining in service flying onreconnaissance duties only.[21][1]
TheMe 410 B-series was similar to the A-series but replaced the pair of 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17s with 13 mm (.51 in)MG 131 machine guns. The originally planned 1,900 hp (1,400 kW) DB 603G engine had been cancelled in early 1944, so all Me 410 Bs used DB 603A or DB 603AA engines. The DB 603G would have increased the maximum speed to 630 kilometres per hour (390 mph) and cruising speed to 595 kilometres per hour (370 mph), although the weight increased once again. The versions were the same as with the A-series, theMe 410 B-1 andMe 410 B-3 filling the same roles as the earlier A-1 and A-3 versions, also with the option of using the sameUmrüst-Bausätze factory conversion kits as the A-series.[20]
Several experimental models were also developed. TheMe 410 B-5 added shackles under the fuselage to carry atorpedo, and removed the MG 131s in the nose to make room for theFuG 200Hohentwiel 550 MHz UHF-bandmaritime patrolradar. The bomb bay was not used in this version in order to make room for a 650-litre (170 US gal) fuel tank, and the rearward-firing remoteturrets were replaced by another 700 L (180 US gal) fuel tank for long-range missions. TheMe 410 B-6 was a similar anti-shipping conversion, but intended for the short-range coastal defence role only. For this mission, it did not use a torpedo, and was instead a simple modification of the B-1 with the FuG 200 radar. TheMe 410 B-7/B-8 were updated B-3 reconnaissance models that were never actually built.[1]
TheMe 410 C was a high-altitude version drawn up in early 1944, with two new wing designs that increasedspan to 18.25 or 20.45 metres (59.9 or 67.1 ft). The larger wings allowed the gear to retract directly to the rear. A new universal engine mount would allow for the use of any of theDB 603JZ orBMW 801Jturbocharged engines or theJumo 213E two-stage mechanicallysupercharged engines, driving a new four-bladepropeller with very wide blades. The BMW 801radials were air-cooled and the DB 603 and Jumo 213 used an annularradiator, allKraftei (power-egg) engine "modules" onto an airframe for ease of installation and field maintenance, so the normal under-wing radiators were removed. None were ever built, as Me 410 production was cancelled before the engines matured.[1]
TheMe 410 D was a simpler upgrade to the B-series to improve altitude performance than the C-series. It would be powered by the DB 603JZ engines, and had a revised forward fuselage to increase the field of view of the pilot and reduce drag. It also replaced portions of the outer wing panels with ones made of wood to conservestrategic materials. Several were built, but like many other attempts at wood construction by the German aviation industry late in World War II, the loss of the GoldschmittTego film factory inWuppertal, in aRoyal Air Force night bombing raid, meant the acidic replacement adhesives available were too corrosive to the materials being bonded, and the wooden portions tended to fail. Production was eventually cancelled to concentrate onBf 109Gs in August 1944, after 1,160 Me 410s had been built, the month after theJägernotprogramm had gone into effect.[1]
Two Me 410s survive:
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Data fromThe Warplanes of the Third Reich,[27]German Combat Planes[28]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Media from Commons
