Many ideas that look good on paper are
not successful when they face the challenges of the real world. One
such idea was the concept of heavy fighter that was popular in the
pre-World War 2 years. The single-engine fighters lacked range to
escort bombers to their target on enemy territory so twin-engine aircrafts were designed to play this role.
One such design was the Messerschimtt BF 110. It belonged to a category that the Germans called Zerstörer,
which means destroyer. It had good range (1094 km ~ 680 mi)
compared to the single-engine Me-109's 600 km (370 mi) . It also had
a great top speed compared to other pre-war planes: 550 km/h (340
mph) . Its high velocity would allow it to escape enemy fighters
that were more maneuverable. Anyway, its lack of agility would prove
fatal when performing its originally intended role.
BF 110 was able to deal with weaker fighter planes during the Polish campaign and the invasion of Norway. However, during the Battle of France, it began to suffer losses to the RAF's Hurricanes and Spitfires. When employed in the Battle of Britain,
it proved to be a costly mistake: a Spitfire could easily defeat the BF-110 being a lot more maneuverable and also being faster than the
bigger Zerstörer. At the time, it was the only choice for the Luftwaffe as an escort for the German bombers, as the BF-109E did not have the range to fly over targets located farther than southeast of England.
However, Bf-110 was able to perform ground attack missions. Thanks to its powerful forward armament (four 7.92mm machine guns and two 20mm cannons), it could attack ground enemy units by strafing them. Some of the models were fitted with bomb racks, increasing its effectiveness against larger targets (such as ships)
In aerial combat, BF 110 was particularly useful in the interceptor role. Unescorted enemy bombers would prove vulnerable to the Zerstörer's array of machine guns and cannons. Later models of BF 110's were equipped with a 37 mm cannon or rockets; a single hit from any of these would destroy any allied heavy bomber. But again, the appearance of escort fighters like the American P-51B Mustangs caused heavy causalities in the BF 110 squadrons.
During its last part of its service life, BF 110 was successfully used as a night-fighter, becoming the backbone of the Nachtjagdgeschwader. For this role, it was fitted with radar antennae in the nose and special upward-firing gun systems.
In the next parts I will analyse the use of BF-110 planes in the Panzer General I and II games. I will also talk about the BF-110 successors: Me 210 and Me 410.
However, Bf-110 was able to perform ground attack missions. Thanks to its powerful forward armament (four 7.92mm machine guns and two 20mm cannons), it could attack ground enemy units by strafing them. Some of the models were fitted with bomb racks, increasing its effectiveness against larger targets (such as ships)
In aerial combat, BF 110 was particularly useful in the interceptor role. Unescorted enemy bombers would prove vulnerable to the Zerstörer's array of machine guns and cannons. Later models of BF 110's were equipped with a 37 mm cannon or rockets; a single hit from any of these would destroy any allied heavy bomber. But again, the appearance of escort fighters like the American P-51B Mustangs caused heavy causalities in the BF 110 squadrons.
During its last part of its service life, BF 110 was successfully used as a night-fighter, becoming the backbone of the Nachtjagdgeschwader. For this role, it was fitted with radar antennae in the nose and special upward-firing gun systems.
In the next parts I will analyse the use of BF-110 planes in the Panzer General I and II games. I will also talk about the BF-110 successors: Me 210 and Me 410.
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