Hornisse, proud successor of poor Me210. Story of Messerschmitt Me410. Part 1. German Dzib-Compiler-

Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse - (German hornet) heavy, twin-engine fighter and fast bomber of the German World War II, built on a failed plane Messerschmitt Me 210th Due to the very bad reputation Me 210 project, renamed the 410th Me. In 1937, the first draft Messerschmitt Me 210, which was to replace the Messerschmitt Bf 110 Spring of 1938 a contract for the breakdown of the aircraft and its implementation at the same time granted the company Messerschmitt and Arado. The project was based on the aircraft Messerschmitt Bf 110 and consisted of replacing engines on stronger and stronger weapons. Airframe has been modified, but most of its components was the same as the previous design. The new aircraft as the Messerschmitt Me marked the 210th The project resulted in the creation of Arado's a completely new design Arado Ar 240.

Beginning

After the first test flight of prototype Me 210 V1 was decided to significantly modify the structure due to the very bad performance volatile. The machine was too unstable to be able to provide a platform for firing weapons, abandoned because of double vertical rudder, such as the Bf 110 in its place using a large vertical stabilizer.

Even before the completion of testing the command of the Luftwaffe ordered in mid-1940, 1000, Me 210A-type aircraft for testing in combat conditions. In order to test the new machines created a special group of air Erprobungsgruppe 210 (abbreviated ERG 210), which was tasked with the design and development of the tactics of this machine as a fighter-bomber aircraft. 

Me 210 series production began in the spring of 1941, factories in Augsburg and Regensburg, and the first machine was delivered in April this year. One of the more significant of the solutions adopted in the Me 210, and later Me 410 were remote-controlled gun turrets firing MG 131 led by a second crew member using a special type of viewfinder Revie.

ME410 cockpit

With the end of 1941 also completed tests of the aircraft Me 210 which did not meet the hopes pinned on him and he was still unstable in flight. Subsequent modifications of the machine consisting of an elongation of the hull, using additional strips on the leading edges of wings resulted in significant improvement of the stability of the airframe and, consequently, Me, renaming the project on 410th Plane Me 410 fitted with new engines DB603A Daimler-Benz inverted V with a power-off 1750 hp (1287 kW) and 1850 hp at the operating altitude. Application of new power units allowed dispersal machine to speed 628 km / h. Also increased the rate of climb, ceiling and cruise speed to 580 km / h, despite an increase in aircraft weight of 680 kg relative to the original. The plane could carry more weapons than housed in the bomb bay, so the wings were added four catches for 50 kg bombs. Messerschmitt Me 410 was the machine they expected the Luftwaffe. In mid-1943 began delivery of machines for individuals. He was well liked by the crew of an airplane due to its excellent properties of volatile, although the defensive armament was quite weak and did not give fire superiority over Allied fighters.

Hornisse name, was a unofficial, was introduced by the press describing the making Squadron II /ZG 26 flying the Me 410, and called Hornissengeschwader, the squadron of hornets. ⁽¹⁾  

Design and development

Development of the Me 210 had been under way since 1939 but the aircraft proved extremely unstable and was never considered for full-scale production. Modifications to the layout produced the Me 210C and 210D, which proved somewhat superior. As studies progressed on the Me 210D, it was instead decided to introduce a "new" model, the Me 410.

The major change between the Me 210 and 410 was the introduction of the larger (at 44.5 litre, 2,715 in³ displacement) and more powerful Daimler-Benz DB 603A engines, which increased power to 1,750 PS (1,730 hp, 1,290 kW) compared to the 1,475 PS DB 605s used on the Me 210C. The engine performance increased the Me 410's maximum speed to 625 km/h (388 mph), greatly improved rate of climb, service ceiling, and most notably the cruising speed, which jumped to 579 km/h (360 mph). It also improved payload capability to the point where the aircraft could lift more war load than could fit into the bomb bay under the nose. To address this, shackles were added under the wings for four 50 kg (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.

The new version included a lengthened fuselage and new, automatic leading edge slats, both of which 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 sharp turn, the slats had a tendency to open, due in part to the turn

Basic side-by-side comparison of the Me 210 and Me 410 wing planforms

causing a drop in air pressure at the leading edge of the wings, analogous to the low pressure activation the slats were designed for in a slow landing approach (this problem was first observed on the Bf 109V14 and V15 prototypes for the Bf 109E), which added to the problems keeping the aircraft flying smoothly. However, when the problems with the general lateral instability were addressed, this was no longer a real problem. The wing panels of the earlier Me 210 had been designed with a planform geometry that placed the aerodynamic center in a rearwards direction in comparison to 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 unreasonable 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 center further forwards in comparison to 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.

Deliveries 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 Augsburg and Dornier München. When it arrived, it was liked by its crews, even though its improved performance was not enough to protect it from the swarms of high performance Allied fighters they faced at this stage of the war.

 Operational history

An Me 410A-1/U4 with a BK 5 autocannon peels off during attack on USAAF B-17s

The Me 410 night bomber proved to be an elusive target for the RAF night fighters. 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 RAF. The Me 410 was also used as a bomber destroyer against the daylight bomber formations of the USAAF, upgraded through the Available 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 undernose ordnance bay for reconnaissance use (as the A-3 was meant to do from its start), while the same /U1 designation or the later Me 410 B-2 signified a mount of a pair of the long-barreled, 30mm calibre 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, 540 kg (1,190 lb) weight Bordkanoneseries 50 mm (2 in) BK 5 cannon, loaded with 21 rounds in the same undernose 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

They were moderately successful against unescorted bombers through 1943, with a considerable number of kills against USAAF day bomber formations being achieved. However, the Me 410 was 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-17s and four P-51s (which were destroyed by Bf 109 and Fw 190 fighters escorting the Me 410s). ⁽³⁾⁽⁴⁾ 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 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. ⁽⁵⁾ 

From mid-1944, despite being Hitler's favourite bomber destroyer, the Me 410 units were taken from Defence of the Reich duties and production was phased out in favour of heavily armed single-engine fighters as dedicated bomber destroyers, with the Me 410s remaining in service flying on reconnaissance duties only. ⁽⁶⁾ Some Me 410s were used with Junkers Ju 188s during the Battle of Normandy, for high-altitude night reconnaissance. 

Basic side-by-side comparison of the Me 210 and Me 410 wing planforms

causing a drop in air pressure at the leading edge of the wings, analogous to the low pressure activation the slats were designed for in a slow landing approach (this problem was first observed on the Bf 109V14 and V15 prototypes for the Bf 109E), which added to the problems keeping the aircraft flying smoothly. However, when the problems with the general lateral instability were addressed, this was no longer a real problem. The wing panels of the earlier Me 210 had been designed with a planform geometry that placed the aerodynamic center in a rearwards direction in comparison to 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 unreasonable 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 center further forwards in comparison to 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.

Deliveries 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 Augsburg and Dornier München. When it arrived, it was liked by its crews, even though its improved performance was not enough to protect it from the swarms of high performance Allied fighters they faced at this stage of the war.