Messerschmitt Me 410

Messerschmitt Me 410
Type:	twin-engine destroyer
Design country:	German Empire
Manufacturer:	Messerschmitt AG
First flight:	March 14, 1942
Production time:	1942-1944
Number of pieces:	1189

The Messerschmitt Me 410 "Hornisse" was a two-seat, twin-engine destroyer- class fighter aircraft used by the German Air Force in World War II .

development

From 1937, the development work began at Messerschmitt to create a successor model for the Bf (Me) 110 . This aircraft, known as the Me 210 , was delivered from the beginning of 1941.

However, it soon became apparent that the model tended to stall and spin , which resulted in a number of serious aircraft accidents. In March 1942, a production ban was therefore issued after 261 copies. A total of 325 aircraft had been built by the time production was stopped. The Ministry of Aviation had before the start of the actual flight test issues a series order for 1,000 machines, which is why even 370 Me 210 were in the construction phase and were ready for another 800, the material and the equipment. In order to improve the flight characteristics of the machine and to be able to use the existing assemblies, the fuselage was lengthened, automatic slats and a continuous spar were built into the wings and the machine, now called Me 410, was equipped with type DB 603 A engines. The elongation of the fuselage corresponded to the length of the original design. The fuselage length of the Me 210 was shortened during development to save material.

The first 460 aircraft (without prototypes) were made from Me-210 assemblies and were delivered from January 1943. In November 1943 the series production of the Me 410 A-3, in January 1944 the new building of the Me 410 A-1 / U2 and in February 1944 the new building of the A-1 started. Since the Augsburg Messerschmitt factory was busy with production, part of the production was transferred to Dornier Munich from spring 1944 (delivery of 20 Me 410 A-1, 61 B-1, 87 B-2 and 111 B-2 / U4).

The second main version appeared in 1944, the Me 410 B with two 13 mm MG 131 instead of the two 7.92 mm MG 17 in the bow. The development of the high-performance engine DB 603 G, which was actually planned for the B series, was discontinued in 1944, so that only the DB 603 A already used in the A series or the DB 603 AA equipped with a better height loader were used.

In August 1944, it was decided to discontinue production of the Me 410. A total of 1189 hornets with various weapon configurations were produced in around ten series by September 1944 . The Me 410 was used, among other things, over sea to mine English fairways, to bomb the English south coast, to repel the Allied bomber groups (where it suffered high losses despite some successes) and as a reconnaissance aircraft. It could never completely replace the Bf 110, the successor of which it was, which is why the Bf 110 remained in service as a night fighter until the end of the war .

There are also frequent reports of a variant of the Me 410 produced as a night fighter. These reports are presumably based on a false identification of a reconnaissance unit with sea target radar of the type FuG 200 Hohentwiel or the use of some Me 410 by night hunting groups that were used for bombing at night.

production

version	use	production	comment
V pattern	Prototypes	18th	from Me-210 assemblies
A-1	Rapid combat	260	from Me-210 assemblies
A-1	Rapid combat	134	New building
A-1 / U1	Makeshift scouts	6th	New building
A-1 / U2	Makeshift destroyer	200	from Me-210 assemblies
A-1 / U2	Makeshift destroyer	77	New building
A-3	spotter	74
B-1	Rapid combat	61
B-2	destroyer	165
B-2 / U2		48
B-2 / U4		111
B-3	spotter	35
TOTAL		1189

A significant proportion of the Me 410 A-1 and B-1 were subsequently converted into reconnaissance aircraft or destroyers, so that certainly no more than 300 Me 410s were used as high-speed combat aircraft.

Source: Documents from the Federal Archives / Freiburg Military Archives

Versions

Me 410 A : first series version, built as
- Me 410 A-1 (high-speed bomber)
  - Me 410 A-1 / U1 (makeshift reconnaissance aircraft)
  - Me 410 A-1 / U2 (makeshift destroyer with WB 151 A (2 × MG 151))
  - Me 410 A-1 / U4 (makeshift destroyer with BK5 (only conversions))
- Me 410 A-2 (destroyer, not built)
- Me 410 A-3 (reconnaissance aircraft) as well as in various subgroups
Me 410 B : Series version similar to the Me 410 A with MG 131 instead of MG 17
- Me 410 B-1 (high-speed bomber)
- Me 410 B-2 (destroyer with 2 × MK 103)
  - Me 410 B-2 / U2 (destroyer with WB 151 A (2 × MG 151))
  - Me 410 B-2 / U4 (destroyer with BK 5)
- Me 410 B-3 (reconnaissance aircraft)
- Me 410 B-5 torpedo bombers, not built in series
- Me 410 B-6 attempts as a submarine fighter
- Me 410 B-7 day reconnaissance aircraft, only prototype built
- Me 410 B-8 night reconnaissance aircraft, only prototype built

Me 510 : projected variant

Technical specifications

Parameter	Me 410 A-1 / U2
crew	1 pilot and 1 shooter
length	12.48 m
span	16.35 m
height	4.28 m
Wing area	36.20 m²
Wing extension	7.4
Empty mass	7518 kg
Takeoff mass	9651 kg
Wing loading	-
Marching speed	587 km / h
Top speed	507 km / h near the ground, 624 km / h at an altitude of 6700 m, 600 km / h at an altitude of 8000 m
Climb performance	650 m / min (10.7 min / 7000 m)
Service ceiling	10,000 m
Range	1690 km
Max. Flight duration	3 h 30 min
Engines	2 × 12-cylinder V-engines Daimler-Benz DB 603 A with 1750 HP (1287 kW) starting power and 1580 HP continuous power
Armament	2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 (350 rounds each, firing forward in the bow), 2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 (350 rounds each, firing forward in the bomb bay), 2 × 7.92 mm MG 17 (1000 rounds each, forward-firing in the bow), 2 × 13-mm MG 131 (500 rounds each, back-firing on remote-controlled lateral FDSL mounts), optionally dropping weapon container under the fuselage with two forward- firing 20-mm MG 151/20

commitment

Me 410A-1 / U2 (W. Nr. 420428, 9K + AM) Obfw. Hermann Bolten 4./KG 51, June 1944

The V group of Kampfgeschwader 2 took part in the Steinbock operation with 27 Me 410A . In addition, the III. Group of the Destroyer Wing 1 from June 1943, the Destroyer Wing 26 from October 1943 and the Destroyer Wing 76 from June 1944 the Me 410A in their inventory. A few examples served as training aircraft in the 101 long-range reconnaissance wing .

Preserved copies

Me 410 A-1 / U2 in the Royal Air Force Museum , Cosford

A Messerschmitt Me 410 A-1 / U2 is on display at the Royal Air Force Museum , the United Kingdom's Air Force Museum . The aircraft with the serial number 420430 was captured by British troops in May 1945 near Værløse in Denmark and flown to Farnborough on October 13, 1945 .

A Me 410 A-1 / U1 (often incorrectly named A-3) with the serial number 10018 is in the American National Air and Space Museum . What is remarkable about this machine is that it was created using existing Me-210 assemblies (like much of the Me-410-A series).

Web links

Commons : Messerschmitt Me 410 - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ German fighter planes of the Second World War. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1996, pp. 18–24.
^ Andreas Parsch: German Military Aircraft Designations (1933–1945). In: designation-systems.net. Andreas Parsch, November 23, 2009, accessed on January 21, 2020 .
↑ Ulf Balke: The aerial warfare in Europe 1939-1941 . Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-86047-591-6 , p. 390 (1057 pp.).
↑ Messerschmitt Me 410 A-1-U2. (No longer available online.) In: rafmuseum.org.uk. Royal Air Force Museum , Cosford, 2008, archived from the original on July 6, 2008 ; accessed on January 21, 2020 (English).
↑ Individual History Messerschmitt Me410A-1 / U2 W / NR.420430. (PDF; 66 kB) In: rafmuseum.org.uk . Royal Air Force Museum , Cosford, 2012, accessed January 21, 2020.

[1] German fighter planes of the Second World War. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1996, pp. 18–24.

[2] Andreas Parsch: German Military Aircraft Designations (1933–1945). In: designation-systems.net. Andreas Parsch, November 23, 2009, accessed on January 21, 2020 .

[3] Ulf Balke: The aerial warfare in Europe 1939-1941 . Bechtermünz Verlag, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-86047-591-6 , p. 390 (1057 pp.).

[4] Messerschmitt Me 410 A-1-U2. (No longer available online.) In: rafmuseum.org.uk. Royal Air Force Museum , Cosford, 2008, archived from the original on July 6, 2008 ; accessed on January 21, 2020 (English).

[5] Individual History Messerschmitt Me410A-1 / U2 W / NR.420430. (PDF; 66 kB) In: rafmuseum.org.uk . Royal Air Force Museum , Cosford, 2012, accessed January 21, 2020.