Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse

Background The origins of the Me 410 are closely associated with the preceding Me 210. Development of this aircraft had been projected back in 1937 as a multi-purpose successor to the Bf 110, which had some identified shortcomings even prior to seeing combat service. 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. 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. Various modifications to the design were explored, including the Me 310, a radical high-altitude derivative that incorporated a pressurised cockpit and more powerful engines. 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. Design The principal difference between the Me 210 and Me 410 was the adoption of the larger (at displacement) and more powerful Daimler-Benz DB 603A engines. These engines each provided compared to the of the DB 605s used on the Me 210C. The extra power increased the Me 410's maximum speed to , greatly improved rate of climb, service ceiling, and the cruising speed, the latter being raised to . The more powerful engines also improved payload capability to the point where the aircraft could lift a war-load greater than could fit into the bomb bay under the nose. Consequently, shackles were added under the wings for four bombs. The changes added an extra 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 of Ferngerichtete Drehringseitenlafette FDSL 131/1B turrets 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. The new version included a lengthened fuselage and new, automatic leading 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 high angle 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 the Bf 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. 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. The wing panels of the earlier Me 210 had been designed with a planform geometry that placed the aerodynamic 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. Into flight During late 1942, six Me 210As were taken off the assembly line for conversion to Me 410 standard. Near the end of that year, the Me 410 V1 prototype performed its maiden flight. Shortly thereafter, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) was suitably convinced by its performance to place a sizable production order for the Me 410. 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 performance Allied fighters that it routinely confronted at this stage of the conflict. == Operational history ==

peels off during an attack on USAAF B-17s , shot down June 6th, 1944 When performing night bomber missions against the British Isles, the Me 410A-1 proved to be an elusive target for the opposing night fighters of the Royal Air Force (RAF). 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 a de Havilland Mosquito of No. 85 Squadron. Nevertheless, the Me 410 played a prominent role in the bombing of London during early 1944. The Me 410 was also used as a bomber destroyer against the daylight bomber formations of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), upgraded with Umrüst-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 mm MK 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, 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 of MG 151/20 autocannon. 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. Two Geschwader, Zerstörergeschwader 26 and 76, were thus equipped with the Me 410 by late 1943. 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 a dogfight with the lighter Allied single-engine fighters such as the North American P-51 Mustang and Supermarine Spitfire. In early 1944, the Me 410 formations encountered swarms of Allied fighters protecting the bomber streams, usually flying far ahead of the combat box formations as an air 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 of a 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 eight B-17 Flying Fortresses and four P-51s (which were destroyed by Bf 109 and Fw 190 fighters escorting the Me 410s). The following month on 11 April, with 8th AF raids hitting Sorau, Rostock and Oschersleben, 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. During April 1944, the first Me 410Bs were delivered. Units commonly converted to the type from bomber aircraft, such as the Junkers Ju 88. In response to the Normandy landings, Me 410s were repeatedly dispatched against the incoming Allied forces. == Variants ==

A-series aircraft were armed with two 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns and two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons in the nose and delivered as the Me 410 A-1 light bomber. The Me 410 A-2 heavy fighter was cancelled because the dual 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 103 cannon mount, also available for the later Me 410 B-2 subtype as the Umrüst-Bausatz /U1 factory kit available by 1944, was not ready in time. The Me 410 A featured a bomb bay for carrying bombs. Though by fitting conversion kits, this could be used for other equipment. Initially, three Umrüst-Bausätze (factory conversion kits) were available: the U1 which contained cameras for photo-reconnaissance, the U2 with two 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon with 250 rounds-per-gun for the heavy fighter. And the U4 with a 50 mm (2 in) Bordkanone, BK-5 cannon with 22 rounds (21 rounds to load and 1 extra round in the breech). The purpose of this was to convert either an Me 410 A or B-series aircraft into a bomber destroyer. The Me 410 A-3 entered service in small numbers in early 1944 and equipped three long-range reconnaissance squadrons, usually grouped larger, three or four-squadron (one Gruppe on the Western Front and the other two on the Eastern Front). The Me 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 and cruising speed to , although the weight increased once again. The versions were the same as with the A-series, the Me 410 B-1 and Me 410 B-3 filling the same roles as the earlier A-1 and A-3 versions, also with the option of using the same Umrüst-Bausätze factory conversion kits as the A-series. Several experimental models were also developed. The Me 410 B-5 added shackles under the fuselage to carry a torpedo, and removed the MG 131s in the nose to make room for the FuG 200 Hohentwiel 550 MHz UHF-band maritime patrol radar. The bomb bay was not used in this version in order to make room for a fuel tank, and the rearward-firing remote turrets were replaced by another fuel tank for long-range missions. The Me 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. The Me 410 B-7/B-8 were updated B-3 reconnaissance models that were never actually built. The Me 410 C was a high-altitude version drawn up in early 1944, with two new wing designs that increased span to . 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 the DB 603JZ or BMW 801J turbocharged engines or the Jumo 213E two-stage mechanically supercharged engines, driving a new four-blade propeller with very wide blades. The BMW 801 radials were air-cooled and the DB 603 and Jumo 213 used an annular radiator, all Kraftei (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. The Me 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 conserve strategic 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 Goldschmitt Tego film factory in Wuppertal, in a Royal 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 on Bf 109Gs in August 1944, after 1,160 Me 410s had been built, the month after the Jägernotprogramm had gone into effect. == Operators ==

; • Luftwaffe was the Me 410's primary operator, using it between 1943 and 1945. • Stabsschwarm & 2.(F)/Aufklärungsgruppe 22 • 1.(F)/Aufklärungsgruppe 33 • 1.(F)/FAGr.121 • 1.,2(Ekdo).,5.(F)/Aufklärungsgruppe 122 (later FAGr 122) • Seenotgruppe 80 (sea recon and rescue) • ''9.,20./ZG 1 'Wespen''' • ''2.,4.,6.,Stab/ZG 26 'Horst Wessel''' • 1.,2.,3.,/ZG 76 • Eprobungskommando/(Z)25 • 5.(nacht),14.(nacht),15.,16./KG 2 (night intruder) • ''1.(Jagd),2.(nacht),5.(Erg/jagd),6./KG 51 'Edelweiss''' (long-range night ops) • 1./NJG 5 (Mosquito chaser) • 3./NJG 1 (Mosquito chaser) ; • Royal Air Force received at least two captured aircraft during war and shortly after. • No. 1426 Flight RAF operated a single Me 410 A-3 (WNr.10259, RAF serial TF209) during the war. == Surviving aircraft ==

Two Me 410s survive: ; Me 410 A-1/U1 (W.Nr.10018, converted from Me 210 airframe) : This aircraft, held by the American National Air and Space Museum and awaiting restoration, is at the Paul E. Garber Preservation, Restoration, and Storage Facility, located in Suitland Maryland. It was found intact at an airfield in Trapani, Sicily, in August 1943 bearing the markings of the Luftwaffe's 2.Staffel/Fernaufklärungsgruppe 122 and was shipped to the United States in 1944; it was given the US serial number FE499. ; Me 410 A-1/U2 (W.Nr.420430) : This aircraft is part of the collection of the RAF Museum and is publicly displayed at the Royal Air Force Museum Midlands, Cosford. It was built in late 1943 by Messerschmitt in Augsburg. There is evidence it served with Zerstörergeschwader 26 before being surrendered at Vaerlose, Denmark in May 1945. It was one of six Me 410s that were taken to the UK in 1945 for evaluation, but the only one to be later selected for preservation and to avoid being scrapped. It underwent restoration in 1986, after which both engines were successfully run on the ground. It was moved to Cosford in 1989 and has remained there since. == Specifications (Me 410 A-1/U-2) ==