The project was initiated in response to a 1941
Reich Air Ministry requirement for a new
Zerstörer (destroyer) to replace the
Bf 110 in a minimum time and with a minimum of new parts. Messerschmitt's response was the
Me 609, which would use the failed Me 309 project to form the basis of the new fighter. The Me 609 would have joined the two Me 309 fuselages with a new centre wing section. Only the two inner wheels of the joined Me 309's main
landing gears would have been used and would retract into the centre section. This resulted in an unusual four-wheel arrangement. The pilot would have sat in a cockpit located in the port fuselage, with the starboard being smoothed over. Two versions were planned: a heavy fighter with four or six
30 mm MK 108 cannons, and a
Schnellbomber (fast bomber) variant with two
30 mm MK 108 cannons and a bomb load of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) carried beneath the fuselages. However, by late December 1942, Messerschmitt Me 609 project was cancelled at the drawing board. == Designation ==