Curtiss P-36 Hawk/Hawk 75/Mohawk. Part Two. Hawk in Argentina.

 

Argentina was the second country (China was the first) to accept the fixed-landing gear variant of the Curtiss Hawk 75 as a viable option. 
During the mid-1930 the Argentinean Dirección General de Aeronáutica (General Direction of Aeronautics) decided to replace their ageing Dewoitine D-21 fighters sold by France during the 1920s, with newer models. By 1927 there were just eight D-21 fighters and planned license production fell through due to the economic crisis. However, the rights to produce the Curtiss Hawk II were acquired, marking Curtiss' first incursion into the Argentine market. In 1934 the Curtiss Hawk III biplane fighter, competing against the Italian Fiat Cr.30, was demonstrated to the authorities, but none of them ultimately managed to replaced the old Dewoitine D-21s.

In 1935 Argentina began to emerge from the economic crisis, with funds available to resume equipment purchases. This time, however, an official competition was announced, with 21 companies from Europe and the United States submitting their bids, as there was plenty to compete for: Argentina intended to purchase 70 fighters, 67 bombers and 30 trainers. Although the Hawk III had already been purchased as an interim fighter, the competition was officially open in Buenos Aires on 23rd March 1936.
As the result of comparative tests performed at the time, only American aircraft were selected: The Northrop 8A-2 and the Martin 139 bombers plus the North American NA-164P trainers. The Hawk IV (commercial name for the fixed-landing gear variant of the Hawk 75) generated interest too, so a demonstrator was ordered. The final choice was to be made in the next competition in 1937, however the deal unfolded somehow different than before as every European contestant withdrew. The Germans, in particular, were displeased with the cancellation of their aircraft, sparkling with this heated diplomatic exchanges between Buenos Aires and Berlin.
Eventually it turned out that in 1937, American companies had no opponents and the Curtiss Hawk 75 topped the list of contenders, followed by the Seversky P2A, which could function both as a fighter and a trainer. Seversky also decided to demonstrate their P-35 fighter.

The Hawk offered to Argentina was a variant of the one offered to China, the H-75H. It was completed together with the first example and later presented to Chiang Kai-Shek with the registration NR 1277. However, this second "steel chasis" Hawk differed significantly from the first H-75H. First, the Y1P-36 airframe was adopted as a basis, instead of the Hawk 75B, except for the engine) and, therefore, NR 1277 had glass panels behind the cockpit canopy. It was armed with four 7.62 mm machine guns, two in the fuselage and two in the wings. It was equipped with a ventral bomb rack which could carry a single 227 kg (500 lb) bomb. Additional racks were located under the wings, for ten 13,6 kg (30 lb) or six 22,7 kg (50 lb) bombs each. This aircraft arrived in Argentina in June 1937 and was known as the "Argentine Demonstrator", and outclassed its main rival, the Seversky 2PA.
During the early stages of the competition, Seversky's fighter was damaged and, in order to save the situation, they promised to send another P-35, Curtiss, which had practically won the contest, began to fear that the new competitor would delay the Argentine decision. This eventually proved to be the case and on 30th January 1938 a decision was made to purchase 30 Hawks, with a production license of 20 machines to manufactured at FMA's (Fábrica Militar de Aviones - Military Aircraft Factory) plant in Cordoba. 
This decision put an end to Curtiss' stress, when it was discovered that a German Bf.109 fighter, which was around 80 km/h (50 mph) faster than the Hawk, was located in Brazil and it was bound for Argentina, to take part in the contest and win the contract. Eventually, it was found that Messerschmitt's aircraft was not a Bf.109 but a Bf.108 liaison plane, which could achieve only 187 km/h (117 mph).

The aircraft manufactured in Argentina were designated as Hawk 75O. Materials and equipment were purchased from the United States, with assistance from Curtiss. All navigation equipment, flight instruments, engines and armament were also imported to Argentina.
With the gradual establishment of a production line in Argentina, the presence of the "Argentine Demonstrator" became unnecessary, and it was decided to return the aircraft to the United States. The ferry flight was to be used to attract attention from the countries the fighter was going to flight through, specially Chile, Ecuador and Peru. Piloted by Captain Grey, it took off from Buenos Aires, bound to Santiago de Chile, on 5th March 1938. However, it could not reach its destination due to poor weather conditions and landed in Mendoza, Argentina. The pilot waited for the storm to clear and took off again. Unfortunately, during the climb-out, at an altitude of just three meters (9ft) the engine failed and the "Argentine Demonstrator" crashed. Fortunately, Gray escaped without major injuries.
The production version of the Argentine Hawk 75O differed from the "demonstrator" in many aspects. It was powered by either a Wright GR-1820-G3 radial engine rated at 875 hp of at take-off or a GR-1820-G5 which was equally rated. The engine was equipped with an E.160 electric starter, which could be manually started if needed. 
It was equipped with a Telefunken Type 274 radio gear. Armament consisted on three 11.35 mm Madsen machine guns, two in the wings and one in the fuselage. The ventral bomb rack was eliminated, but under-wing ones were not. The airframe was identical to NR 1277, although carriage strut fairings were changed to larger and fully enclosed ones - similar to those present on the Thai Hawk 75N. The surface finish was also improved by the addition of countersunk rivets and the sheet metal was polished to a mirror-like shine, allowing for a 10 km/h (6 mph) increase in top speed.
Between 29th November and 15th December 1938 the first 29 machines were manufactured at Curtiss plant in Buffalo, New York, although Argentine documents mention 30 machines received. The disassembled fighters were sent to the Dirección del Material Aeronáutico del Ejército (Army's Aeronautical Material Directory), where they were assembled and equipped. In the meantime, the FMA factory was preparing to begin independent production, which began in August 1940. On 16th August the first Argentinian Hawk 75O rolled off the assembly line. Over the following months 19 more joined the production line, rolling off the line  at a rate of one per week. Some of these were equipped with gun cameras.
After the end of H-75O production, it was intended to begin the construction of fifty Hawk 75A aircraft with improved engines, equipment and armament, while the production rate of the H-75O was also in mind. In fact FMA factory was expanded to achieve the production rate of one H-75O per day but, eventually, further manufacturing of this aircraft in Argentina was abandoned. 
The Hawk 75O served in the Regimiento Aéreo Nº2 (Air Regiment No.2) under Argentine Army Aviation Command. In July 1944 with the foundation of the Argentine Air Force as a separate branch of the army, they received new codes with the letter "C" in front of the aircraft number. They lived a long lasting career in Argentina as in December 1951 there were still sixteen of them in active service, as part of Grupo 1 de Caza (Fighter Group No.1) and in 1952 they were assigned to VII Brigada Aérea de Morón (7 Moron Aerial Brigade). 
The Hawks were gradually written off active service in 1949 when the Gloster Meteor was purchased. 
According to some sources the last Hawk 75O was scrapped in 1954, while other claim that in 1955 some few surviving ones were present at Jorge Newbery airport (Buenos Aires) during the Revolución Libertadora, a coup d'état which overthrew President Perón, although not in use.

Sources:
1st AJ-Press - Monografie Lotnicze 61 - Curtiss P-36 Hawk Part 1 (translated)
2nd https://www.amilarg.com.ar/curtiss-hawk-75.html (translated)

Curtiss P-36 Hawk/Hawk 75/Mohawk. Part One. The Mohawk in service with South Africa.

 

The Curtiss P-36 Hawk is an American fighter plane which was designed in the mid 1930s. A contemporary of other famous fighters like the German Messerschmitt Bf.109 or the British Hawker Hurricane among others, it saw service with various air forces around the globe, among them, the South African Air Force (SAAF) during World War 2.

By late 1940 it was obvious that the United Kingdom had won the Battle of Britain and the fear of a German invasion began to dissipate from British society. During that battle, the Royal Air Force (RAF) had kept some Curtiss Hawks 75 (taken from France) and some Mohawks (bought from the United States) in reserve "just in case". However, those fighters were no longer needed and were problematic because they required completely different equipment than the Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire fighters, which were the standard frontline fighter of the RAF back then, and, moreover, they were equipped with a radial engine, which was never popular in the RAF's Fighter Command, with the exception of the Gloster Gladiator. 
Thanks to the defeat of the Luftwaffe, Great Britain's production capacity was increased and, although factories kept suffering bombardments, losing many aircraft each time, they were able to increase production output of fighters. At the same time, the Union of South Africa requested requested modern equipment and, since the RAF couldn't get rid of Hurricanes and Spitfires, it was decided to send the Mohawks to South Africa.
The SAAF was to receive 90 aircraft. The initial batch was shipped to Takoradi (Ghana), where a British assembly plant was located capable of assembling 200 aircraft of various type per month. From there they were then distributed to units in India, Sudan and Egypt. This batch was later complemented with another shipment which was initially sent to Aden and was diverted to South Africa.
The debut of the Mohawk IV with the SAAF was, to put it mildly, unsuccessful. The first four machines were assembled right after landing on 17th December 1940. Ground tests and component checks continued for another week and it wasn't until 27th December that the first aircraft, registered as AR673 was ready for its maiden flight. At the controls was Wing Commander A. Sweeney, of the RAF, who took off with any major problem. However those began when the fighter gained an altitude of 152 meter above sea level and the engine began to loose power, crashing the aircraft into the sea half a mile from the shore, killing its pilot.
After the accident the assembled aircraft were grounded and an investigation was carried on. It was quickly realized that Sweeney die because his aircraft had a French-style throttle opening and closing mechanism. The pilot had simply made a mistake, and the low altitude he was flying on, prevented him from correcting the error. The remaining aircraft were quickly re-inspected, and the needed modifications were made to those still equipped with French-inherited throttles. Other sources suggest a different cause for the accident, according to a commission set in June 1941 and led by J. Thomson and L. M. Townsend, the engine failure was due to a seizure. 
Anyway, the oil systems in every Mohawk were replaced and, on 13th July they were cleared for flight.
However, the problems with the Wright Cyclone engines that the Mohawks were powered by, confirmed the opinions of the pilots and mechanics. Parts of the oil system were made with inappropriate materials and the engine itself was often short on lubricator, due to the insufficient oil flow to the cylinders. This lead to another decision made on 3rd October 1941 ground all Mohawks. Curtiss-Wright (the manufacturer company of the Mohawk) quickly manufactured new components, this time from more durable materials and sent them to their users together with a manual called "Do It Yourself: How to Repair a Factory-New Wright Engine", as a joke. 
Additionally, the mechanics made additional holes in the oil ring to improve oil flow to the engine. This solution was never approved by Curtiss-Wright but it worked nonetheless.
After all those setbacks, the British revised the contract with the South African Government and the number of Mohawks were reduced to 70. By that date twenty Mohawks were landed in Mombasa and were transported to Nairobi, with twenty-four still on board the ship and twenty-six still waiting their turn in Great Britain for loading. 
Additional 16 aircraft arrived in Nairobi between April and May 1941. Those 16 machines were not, however, part of the main order, as they were, most likely, part of a batch destined to Greece which couldn't arrive before its capitulation.
The Mohawks were employed by the SAAF's No. 3 Squadron which was committed to aerial support during the East African Campaign in mid-1941 and took place in the Battle of Gondar, which marked the end of that aforementioned campaign. Afterwards, they were employed to patrol the border with Vichy-held Djibouti. 
The SAAF was greatly disappointed with the Mohawk, as was expressed in an official letter sent to the British Air Ministry. The RAF, however, did not want the aircraft back, not even as trainers, and stubbornly insisted on handling over the Mohawks still waiting transport in England. 
After the East African Campaign, most were used by SAAF's home defence units and some training units, with the last of them surviving until 1945.

Sources:
1st AJ-Press - Monografie Lotnicze 61 - Curtiss P-36 Hawk Part 1 (translated)
2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_P-36_Hawk#British_Commonwealth
3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_Squadron_SAAF
4th https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6_Squadron_SAAF

Messerschmitt Bf.110 in service with the Luftwaffe. Part three. Blitzkrieg on the North & the West.

 

During the first 6 months of 1940 the production of the Bf.110 rose to around one hundred aircraft per month on average, increasing this way the number of units employing the type to ten, as was originally intended. Furthermore, as the Bf.110 was available in larger numbers, it could adopt new roles. Thus, during the spring of 1940 a new unit, the Erprobungsgruppe 210 was created, mostly equipped with the Bf.110C-4 and some few C-6s and some Bf.109s, to develop new fighter-bombers methods and tactics. Four additional reconnaissance groups were also equipped  with the Bf.110C-5.

It was also during the invasion of Denmark and Norway when the Zerstörer squadrons were heavily employed, when Germany launched a blitz attack on Denmark and Norway in April 1940. After Denmark was occupied the I./ZG 76 with sixteen of its thirty aircraft available, was assigned to the invasion of Norway with the objective of clearing the skies over Oslo and Stavanger airfields in order to protect German paratroopers and Ju.52 transport planes as they landed. This was problematic as the planes' limited range meant that if they were engaged in combat, they would not be able to return to Germany or even Denmark.
In this campaign, the objective of I./ZG 76 was to help and secure Oslo Fornebu airport by escorting the Ju.52 transports. The Germans were engaged by Norwegian Gloster Gladiator fighters and anti-air fire and, during the ensuing battle, both sides lost two aircraft. The Germans pilots ignored that the first wave of transport planes bound for Fornebu were forced to turn back because of bad weather and the airport was not secured. 
A second wave was launched and this time the Ju.52 transport landed at Fornebu to deploy their troops (instead of paradropping them), resulting in the destruction of various transports due to the risky nature of this procedure. The remaining Bf.110s strafed the airfield and helped the ground troops to secure it. 
During the Norwegian Campaign the Zerstörerwaffe lost twenty machines, most of them over Narvik and also proved that it was an excellent anti-bomber airplane when, on 13th June 1940 a squadron of British Blackburn Skua dive bombers from the Fleet Air Arm was intercepted on their way trying to bomb the German Battleship Scharnhorst. One squadron of Bf.109s and another of Bf.110s shot down eight Skuas with the Bf.110s claiming four kills. Later, in July the Royal Air Force made many raids on Norway and, on 9th July seven Bristol Blenheim, out of a force of 12 were shot down by a mixed formation of both Bf.109s and Bf.110s from ZG.76 ang JG.77, when bombing Stavanger.
The Bf.110D, a extended-range variant, was also used very effectively on this battle, with one staffel (squadron) of ZG.76 equipping it and operating from Trondheim.

On 10th May 1940 Germany launched the offensive over Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg to invade France. By that date the Bf.110 fully equipped every Zerstörergruppe, so they did not have to employ the Bf.109 as an interim. On the first day of the campaign only two Bf.110 were lost, with five British Bristol Blenheim lost. However, as the campaign developed, loss rate was also increasing against stiffening opposition. On the second day, 11th May, four Zerstörers were shot down by French Dewoitine D.520s and on 15th May nine more, with Maj. Walther Grabmann, a veteran of the Condor Legion, being shot down at the controls of his Bf.110 on 18th May.
As the Germans advanced towards the Channel and the North Sea, things got tougher; by day the British increasingly fought them, specially over Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo (the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force) and they had to cope against the Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire, a much tougher enemy than anything they had fought until that date. 
To fight the British fighters, the Zerstörer units invented the so-called 'Defensive circle' tactic, where the planes under attack started to fly in line astern, forming a circle to protect each other with their fuselage guns, enabling this way to avoid the worst. 
It was during this time that the Bf.110 also encountered opposition over... Swiss skies as several German raids violated Swiss airspace, with around five Bf.110 being shot down by Swiss Bf.109s. 
In total, during the Western Campaign sixty Bf.110 were lost, 32 percent of the Zerstörerwaffe's initial strength, with at least 174 enemy aircraft claimed by Bf.110s alone.
However, this campaign showed that the Bf.110 was vulnerable in hostile skies, especially when confronted with the Hurricane or the Spitfire, as the type had to perform a role it was never designed for, close-range bomber escort. In this type of missions the Bf.110 could not take advantage of its superior altitude performance and speed, so it was forced to wait for the enemy to attack, instead of roaming around to find and destroy enemy aircraft, as the initial concept of the Zerstörer had intended. 

Sources:
1st Histoire & Collections - Avions et Pilotes 11 - Messerschmitt Bf.110 & Me.210-410 1939 -1945

2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_110_operational_history

Messerschmitt Bf.110 in service with the Luftwaffe. Part two. The Invasion of Poland and late 1939.

 

The Messerschmitt Bf.110C was the first major production variant of the Bf.110. It was powered by two Daimler Benz DB 601 engines and was employed first at the very beginning of World War 2, when Germany invaded Poland.
When in late 1938 the DB 601 engine, which used fuel injection system and not the usual carburetor, became available the Bf.110C was put into production, so in early 1939 the first pre-production version, designated as Bf.110C-0 was supplied to some units of the Luftwaffe. Of that C-0 variant only ten machines were built but were followed by the C-1, with almost 160 machines manufactured by 1st September 1939.
The DB 601 engines changed the external appearance of the aircraft, especially the engine nacelles, which were now faired due to the main radiator. 
Wing tips were changed too, as they were no longer rounded, but square. This change was kept on every later Bf.110 until the end of the war, as it reduced the wingspan and wing surface, making it more manoeuvrable.
When the war broke out in September 1939 less than one hundred Bf.100C-1s were operational. Of those, eighty were equipping three units: I.(Zerstörer)/LG 1 , which was an operational development unit, I./ZG 1 and I./ZG 76. There seven additional Zerstörer squadrons, but they were still equipped with Messerschmitt Bf.109E fighters due to the lack of Bf.110s.
As the Bf.110 appeared too late to take part in the Spanish Civil War, it was employed first during the Polish Campaign. During this time only I.(Z)/LG 1, based at Greifswald, was fully equipped with the Bf.110C, since the two other groups were still operating the Jumo-powered Bf.110B. The aforementioned three units were immediately put into action by escorting bombers or strafing ground targets, tasks which they carried out with great efficiency with a total of 12 machines lost, reinforcing Luftwaffe's reputation of being invincible. 
The success of the Polish Campaign and the good operational numbers shown by the Bf.110, prompted further development of the Bf.110C. 
This way the Bf.110C-2 was identical to C-1 but had better radio equipment, the Bf.110C-3 was equipped with MG FF/M cannons, which became standard on the following variants, the Bf.110C-4 incorporated every mentioned previous improvement and featured also extra armour, making it heavier. The C-4 was also equipped with bomb racks allowing it to carry two 250 kg (550 lb) bombs and new engines were fitted in order to make it more powerful; the DB 601Ns rated at 1,270 hp. 
The Bf.110C-5 was a reconnaissance variant which got the ventral cannon replaced by a photographic camera, the C-6 was a semi-experimental version of which only twelve machines were made and was equipped with a ventral-mounted 30 mm Mk 101 cannon replacing the original 20 mm one. The C-6 was put into service in the spring of 1940.
The Bf.110C-7 was a Jabo (Jagdbomber - Fighter-Bomber) variant with reinforced undercarriage to carry two 500 kg (1,100 lb) bombs placed side by side under the fuselage. This variant was manufactured in limited numbers as the C-4 was the main production version.

After the end of the Polish Campaign, the during the period of the Phoney War the Zerstörer activity was limited, although they were redeployed to the Western frontier of Germany. 
The first aerial claim of the Bf.110 took place on 23rd November 1939 when various Bf.110s of LG 1 engaged and shot down a French Morane-Saulnier Ms.406 over Verdun. Three week later, on 18th December, one the first major engagements of the war took place, when the British Royal Air Force (RAF) sent 22 Vickers Wellington bombers to attack the German naval base at Wilhelmshaven. The British bombers could not find their targets and turned back... to be intercepted by a formation of sixteen Bf.110Cs belonging to I./ZG 76 and thirty-four Bf.109s. In spite of the help given by the Bf.109s, it was the Bf.110 which showed its great capacity as a bomber destroyer and, by the end of the fight, official Luftwaffe reports counted 38 British bombers shot down, a number clearly exaggerated as actual losses were 11 Wellingtons shot down and six damaged, with some sources claiming a 12th Wellington as destroyed. This disastrous raid convinced the RAF's Bomber Command to abandon day bombing in favour of night raids. 

Sources:
1st Histoire & Collections - Avions et Pilotes 11 - Messerschmitt Bf.110 & Me.210-410 1939 -1945
2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_110_operational_history
3rd https://www.armedconflicts.com/prehled-verzi-t15722

Messerschmitt Bf.110 in service with the Luftwaffe. Part one. The Bf.110 before the war.

 

The Messerschmitt Bf.110 was a German twin-engined Zerstörer (German word for 'destroyer' or heavy fighter) designed by Bayerische Flugzeugwerke and produced by its successor company, Messerschmitt. It was mainly operated by the Luftwaffe throughout the whole World War 2.
Its inception traces back to the early 1930s when the main air forces of the world were transitioning from biplanes to monoplanes. Most of the theorists concentrated on single-engined fighters, but, back then, the range was quite a problem. The Reichluftfahrtministerium (German Ministry of Aviation - RLM for short), encouraged by Hermann Göring issued a request for a new multipurpose fighter known provisionally as Kampfzerstörer (battle destroyer) with long range and internal bomb bay. This order called for a twin-engined, three-seat, all-metal monoplane armed with cannon and a bomb bay. Seven German companies were requested, but eventually only three, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (Messerschmitt), Focke-Wulf and Henschel responded the request.
Focke-Wulf submitted the Focke-Wulf Fw.57, Henschel the Henschel Hs.124 and Messerschmitt submitted the Messerschmitt Bf.110, which skipped the internal bomb load request of the specification to increase the armament of the type. Thanks to this, the Bf.110 proved far superior to its rivals in speed, range and firepower and Messerschmitt was granted funds to to build several prototypes. By the end of 1935 the Bf.110 concept had evolved into an all-metal, low-wing cantilever monoplane of semimonocoque design with vertical stabilizers, powered by two Daimler-Benz DB-600A engines and featuring Handley-Page wing slots. 

Construction of the prototype, called Bf.110 V1, began in the summer of 1935 and took off for the first time on 12th May 1936 at Augsburg-Haunstetten airfield with test pilot Rudolf Öpitz at the controls. It was powered by two Daimler-Benz DB.600As engines rated at 986 hp each. Those engines were the fastest ones available for the, back then, clandestine Luftwaffe and the aircraft turned to be slightly faster than RLM's request, faster even than the Messerschmitt Bf.109B. The next two prototypes, Bf.110 V2 and V3 flew for the first time on 24th October and 24th December 1936 respectively, with official trials being conducted at Erprobungsstelle Rechlin (Evaluation unit Rechlin) in January 1937. Those trials showed two serious flaws of the type. It was too slow accelerating and it was not very manoeuvrable, however, both the RLM and Hermann Göring did not consider those handicaps important compared to the potential of the new aircraft and decided to go ahead by building four pre-production examples, designated A-0, rejecting this way the other competitor's designs. 

The four pre-production series Bf.110 A-0 were built between August 1937 and March 1938. Although they were initially going to be powered by the Daimler-Benz DB.601A engines, they were not available, so they were fitted with Junker Jumo 210 engines, rated at 610 hp, way too underpowered. In spite of the lack of power, those machines were employed for testing purposes.
While awaiting for the DB engines, it was decided to put the Bf.110 into mass production, so the first production version, Bf.110B-0 was launched, powered by the Junkers Jumo 210G engines, with some aerodynamic changes applied in order to fit the armament. This armament, which was only fitted from the B-1 version onwards, consisted on four 7,92 mm MG 17 machine guns in the nose plus two 20 mm Oerlikon MG FF cannons placed in the lower part of the nose. Those cannons could be reloaded in flight by the radio operator/gunners. It was equipped also with a defensive flexible 7,92 mm MG 15 machine gun at the back of the cockpit. 

The Bf.110B were assigned first to the newly created Schwere Jagdgruppen (heavy fighter groups), which were created ad hoc in July 1938 by Hermann Göring himself who wanted to form an elite corps. Accordingly many of the best fighter pilots of the time were put in command of these units causing tensions with the German fighter units, as they were cut of a large number of their pilots and resources. In fact, at the time there were not enough Bf.110 manufactured and many Zerstörergeschwadern (destroyer wings meant to be equipped entirely by Bf.110s) were equipped with the Bf.109C and D. 

The last Bf.110B variants were the B-2 and B-3, which were employed for reconnaissance and training respectively. 
In total 45 examples of the Bf.110B were manufactured, although some sources rise that number to 88. Anyway as the B variant was already outdated at the beginning of the war, many B-1s and B-2s were converted into B-3 trainers and remained in service with various Zerstörer schools until 1941.

Sources:
1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_110#Early_variants
2nd Histoire & Collections - Avions et Pilotes 11 - Messerschmitt Bf.110 & Me.210-410 1939 -1945
3rd https://www.armedconflicts.com/prehled-verzi-t15722

Supermarine Spitfire. At Royal Air Force's service. Part ten.

 

The Spitfire had also a photo-reconnaissance  (PR)variant, the PR sub-types. These were a true revolution for the, back then, traditional reconnaissance procedures as before World War 2, common knowledge was to use converted bombers into recon aircraft, given their longer range and sturdiness, specially when compared with a fighter. Those bombers, which were also equipped with defensive armament as they were an easy target to intercept, suffered heavy losses against the Luftwaffe and the German anti-air fire. 
This was already foreseen by Flying Officer Maurice Longbottom, who, inspired by Sidney Cotton, issued a memorandum about reconnaissance over enemy territory during wartime at the Royal Air Force (RAF) in August 1939, just one month before the beginning of the war. 
In that memorandum he reached to the conclusion that airborne reconnaissance was better suited to small and faster aircraft with high service ceiling in order to avoid detection and interception. He proposed the use of Spitfires with their armament and radios removed and replaced with extra fuel tanks and cameras. Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding approved his idea, so two Spitfires were sent to the newly created "Heston Flight", a highly secret reconnaissance unit. During the Phoney War, while the regular Spitfires flew from British bases, the first PR missions were flown from bases in France, which was initially known as "No. 2 Camouflage Unit". The first RAF high-speed, high-altitude photo-reconnaissance mission of the war took place on 18th November 1939 when Flt. Lt. Longbottom took from Seclin airfield, in France and photographed the German city of Aachen, from an altitude of 33,000 ft (10,000 m).
Those initial Spitfires were later baptised as "Mk. I PR Type A" and practically every single variant of the Spitfire had a PR sub-variant attached, with the Mk. I PR Type D being the first variant manufactured specifically for recon duties and not converted from existing airframes. 
This type was difficult to flight, as the extra fuel altered the center of gravity, but its extra long range made it possible to perform reconnaissance missions over Stettin, Marseille, Trondheim and Toulon. 
The PR Type F was an interim super-long range variant which was put into service in July 1940 while the Type D was becoming available. When operated from East Anglia, this type could reach, photograph and return from Berlin itself. 
The PR Mk. IV were recon sub-variants of the Spitfire Mk. V.
The PR Mk. I Type G was the first mixed fighter-reconnaissance version configured for low-level tactical reconnaissance, similar to the Type E, which acted as its prototype. The first PR Type G were converted from Mk. I airframes and had their Merlin Mk. II engines replaced with Merlin 45s. Late PR Type Gs were converted from Mk. V airframes and were fully armed with 8 0.303 Browning machine guns in the wings. 
In 1941 a new system of mark numbers was introduced for the PR types, so the Type C became the PR Mk. III, the Type D the PR Mk. IV , the Type E the PR Mk. V, the Type F the PR Mk. VI and the Type G the PR Mk. VII. 

Sources: 
1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire#Variants
2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire_(early_Merlin-powered_variants)#Early_reconnaissance_(PR)_variants
3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire_operational_history#Photo-reconnaissance

Messerschmitt Bf.110. Part four. The Bf.110 in British hands.

 

During World War 2 the British managed to capture a great number of German aircraft, among them, many Messerschmitt Bf.110. 
One of them, a Bf.110D (pictured below) was captured in Iraq, after the May 1941 campaign. This particular machine was abandoned in Mosul due to the lack of spare parts, which, just as many other Bf.110 of Sonderkommando Junck, made the machine not airworthy. In fact, by the date the Germans began their retreat from Iraq, there wasn't any Bf.110 in flying condition and were abandoned on the spot. 
After the British forces entered Mosul many machines were captured and at least one machine was put into operational status by Royal Air Force's (RAF) mechanics by cannibalising parts from other aircraft. 
With its new owners, this machine received the nickname of 'The Belle of Berlin' and was used as a communications aircraft and later as an unit 'hack' by No. 267 Squadron. 

Another machine, this time a Bf.110C-4, belonging to 4. (H)/Aufklärungsgruppe 14 was intercepted over Sussex, England by fighters belonging to No. 238 Squadron on 21st July 1940. Its pilot, Oberleutnant Friedrich Karl Runde was taken prisoner and his machine was sent to the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) to be evaluated, after being repaired with pieces taken from another shot down Bf.100, coded 2N+EP. 
The RAE gave the machine a new serial number; AX722 and new colours and, after performing handling trials it was flown to the Air Fighting Development unit at Duxford in October 1941 to be flown in mock-up aerial combats against British fighters. 
In March 1942 this very same machine was sent to No. 1426 (Enemy Aircraft) flight, commonly known as the 'Rafwaffe'. It stayed there until January 1945 when it was sent to the Central Flying School at Tangmere, where it was employed as an educational airframe until November 1945 when it was transferred to No. 47 Maintenance Unit in Sealand until it was eventually scrapped in 1947.

After the war, a total of 37 Messerschmitt Bf.110 were captured by the British but only seven of them received RAF markings and serial numbers. One of them, a Bf.110G-4/R6, was equipped with a FuG.220 radar and was captured at Grove airfield, in Denmark. 
This machine was part of 1/Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 and served in the night defence of Denmark and Northern Germany. It was given the serial number of 'AM34' and was later evaluated by the RAE. This aircraft is nowadays preserved at the RAF's museum in Hendon.

Sources:
1st Scale Aviation Modeller International 2013-07
2nd Histoire & Collections - Avions et Pilotes 11 - Messerschmitt Bf.110 & Me.210-410 1939 -1945
3rd Wydawnictwo Militaria 71 Bf 110 vol.1

Further reading:
https://www.destinationsjourney.com/historical-military-photographs/messerschmitt-bf-110-in-british-service/