Messerschmitt Me 410

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Me_410

The Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse ("Hornet") is a German heavy fighter and
Schnellbomber used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. Though essentially an
incremental improvement of the Me 210, it had a new wing plan, longer fuselage,
and engines of greater power. The changes were significant enough to be
designated the Me 410.

Development of the Me 210 had been under way since 1939 but the aircraft proved
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, and with a separate parallel attempt to
improve upon the 210 with the Messerschmitt Me 310 in the second half of 1943 —
which provided almost no aerodynamic improvement over the 210's risky handling
qualities — 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 interim Me 310 design experiment
actually used the DB 603 powerplant choice first. 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 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 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.


Role
Heavy fighter, fighter-bomber

Manufacturer
Messerschmitt, Dornier

First flight
14 March 1942

Introduction
1943

Retired
1945

Primary users
Luftwaffe
Hungarian Air Force

Produced
May 1943-August 1944

Number built
1,189

Developed from
Messerschmitt Me 210

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 Bordkanone series 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.

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. Some Me 410s were used with Junkers Ju 188s during the Battle of
Normandy, for high-altitude night reconnaissance.

Specifications (Me 410 A-1)

General characteristics
Crew: 2 (pilot and gunner)
Length: 12.4 m (40 ft 8-3/16 in)
Wingspan: 16.39 m (53 ft 9-1/4 in)
Height: 3.7 m (12 ft 2-5/8 in)
Wing area: 36.20 m² (390 ft²)
Empty weight: 6,150 kg (13,558 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 10,760 kg (23,721 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Daimler-Benz DB 603A liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,750 PS (1,726
hp, 1,287 kW) each

Performance
Maximum speed: 624 km/h (388 mph)
Range: 2,300 km (1,400 mi) combat
Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,800 ft)
Climb to 6,000 m (19,680 ft): 10.7 min

Armament

Guns:
2 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns with 1,000 rpg, firing forward
2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon with 350 rpg, firing forward
2 × 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns with 500 rpg, each firing rearward from
FDSL 131/1B remote-operated turret, one per side

Rockets: 4 x 21 cm (8 in) Werfer-Granate 21 rockets
Bombs:
up to 1,000 kg (2,204 lb) of disposable stores




*