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/

Messerschmitt Bf.110. Part three. The Bf.110 in Iraq.

 

Preliminary note: Although strictly speaking Fliegerführer Irak wasn't an Iraqi unit, we have decided to consider it as an independent unit to lighten the number of posts that we will write about the Bf.110 in Luftwaffe service.

After the campaign of Crete, II./Zerstörergeschwader 76 was rebased back to Germany to be retrained in the nigh-fighter role. Only 4. Staffel (flight) remained in Crete to be part of an expeditionary force to fight in Iraq, together with another Staffel of Heinkel He.111 bombers.
In April 1941, a pro-German coup d'état took place in Baghdad, forcing the British forces to act quickly to send troops in order to protect their interests there and take control of the land. Given the imminent beginning of Operation Barbarossa (the German attack on the USSR), the German high command could not send a big force, so the Luftwaffe contended itself by sending a small force made up of bombers, Bf.110s and several transport planes. This force would be coordinated with another Italian contingent. 
The German contingent was unofficially known as "Sonderkommando Junck" (Special force Junck) , after its Chief Officer Generalleutnant Werner Junck and soon later it was officially known as "Fliegerführer Irak" (Aviation Command Iraq). 
The main goal of this force, which operated from Mosul (north or Iraq), was to take control of Habbaniya airfield, west of Baghdad. The fight was brief but violent and losses were heavy, specially on the ground, due to Royal Air Force's attacks on Mosul which destroyed or captured every Bf.110 with the last two surviving Heinkel He.111 flying out of the country on 29th May. 
During the short period of time ranging from 13th May 1941,when Sonderkommand Junck arrived in Mosul, to 29th May 1941, when the German-Italian forces left Mosul, many sorties were flown over Iraq.

Sources:
1st Histoire & Collections - Avions et Pilotes 11 - Messerschmitt Bf.110 & Me.210-410 1939 -1945
2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fliegerführer_Irak
3rd Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 30 - Messerschmitt Bf-110 Zerstörer in Action

Supermarine Spitfire. At Royal Air Force's service. Part nine. The early Mk. IX.

 

In order to cope with the dusty north African climate, the Spitfires were fitted with a large Vokes air filter under the nose, which was detrimental to Spitfire's performance due to the increased drag, this sub-variant, called Mk. Vb (trop) or Mk.Vc (trop), depending on the type of wing, equipped many squadrons of Royal Air Force's (RAF) Desert Air Force during the North African Campaign during the summer of 1942.
On this operational theatre, the Mk.Vc was also employed in the tactical fighter-bomber role, carrying a maximum payload of 500 lb of bombs (227 kg).
One of the main antagonist of the Spitfire on Malta and North Africa was the Italian Macchi C.202 fighter. This fighter was often regarded as superior to both the Hawker Hurricane and the Curtiss P-40, which were, until the Spitfire was introduced, the main Allied fighters in North Africa, as the C.202 was, in terms of performance, a close equal to the Spitfire. 
The Spitfire met the C.202 for the first time on Libya in November 1941 and it was claimed the C.202 could outrun all three types of fighters, although the Spitfire was better armed and had a superior rate of climb. 
The same could be said about the other three main Italian fighters, the Reggiane Re.2001, Reggiane Re.2005 and the Macchi C.205, they had good performance, comparable to that of the Spitfire and the German Messerschmitt Bf.109, but  they lacked heavy armament, which hampered them. 

Moving on to the European Theatre of Operations (ETO), when the German Focke-Wulf Fw.190 was introduced in late 1941 it came as an absolute shock for the RAF. Initially it was thought that they were Curtiss 75 fighters captured from the French, due to their radial engines, however it was soon clear that the new fighter could easily outperform the Spitfire Mk. V and was also much better armed than the Curtiss. In fact, the Fw.190 was a mystery for the RAF until 23rd June 1942 when one Fw.190A-3 belonging to Jagdgeschwader 2 landed at RAF Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, Wales, by mistake. After performing some comparison flights against British fighters, the Fw.190 proved superior to every aspect, except turning radius. 
Given the high number of casualties that was being inflicted on Spitfires, the Focke-Wulf was dominating the skies in the ETO for the most part of 1942. It was during the later part of that year that, in order to achieve some degree of parity, that the squadrons received the Spitfire LF Mk.Vb. This variant featured reduced diameter supercharger impeller blades on the Merlin engine for optimum performance at lower altitudes and the wing tips were removed and replaced by short fairings to improve their roll-rate. 
Meanwhile, on parallel, the Mk. IX was being developed and in April 1942 a modified Mk. Vc, coded AB505 was tested by the Air Fighting Development Unit (AFDU). This variant was powered, at first, by the much improved Merlin 61 engine, which could deliver up to 1,720 hp of power and was armed with two 20mm Hispano Mk. II cannons and four .303in Browning machine guns, in the "C" wing configuration. 
The Merlin engine had also various configurations depending on the altitude, so the Merlin 70 was optimized for high altitudes, the Merlin 63 for medium altitudes and the Merlin 66 for low altitudes. This led to the use of prefixes, applied to various marks, VII through IX, depending on which engine was installed. For instance a Mk. IX with the Merlin 63 and the "C" type of wing, would be officially marked as "Spitfire F.Mk.IXc"
In July 1942 the flight performance of the early Mk. IX was found comparable to that of the Fw.190, at any altitude, although the AFDU noted that the Fw.190 was "a little faster". Although the Mk. IX had better turning radius, it could be outdived and outrolled by the Fw. 190. 

Sources:
1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire_operational_history
2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Spitfire_(late_Merlin-powered_variants)

Messerschmitt Bf.110. Part two. The Bf.110 in Romanian hands.

 

Romania acquired twelve Bf.110C-3 during later 1942 which were assigned to Escadrila 51 Vânâtoare de Noapte (Night Fighter Squadron 51), which was later renamed as Escadrila 1. This unit was, for the time, experimental for the Aeronautica Regala Romana (Royal Romanian Air Force - ARR for short) and was created to defend the country against the fore coming Allied night raids. In spring 1944, however, the Bf.100C-3 was gradually replaced by the Bf.110F-4 which was more powerful.
The Escadrila 51 acted integrated within the Luftwaffe ranks and saw plenty of action during the American raids. One of their first actions took place on 1st August 1943 when American B-24 bombers attacked the country and the ARR scrambled many fighters, including the Bf.110Cs of Escadrila 51, to fight them. During this action the Squadron Commander, Cpt. Av. Ghica' Marin claimed one American bomber, however his aircraft was shot down by the B-24's gunners and he couldn't bail out from the burning Bf.110C, where he perished. His rear-gunner managed to bail out. 
Shortly later, on 10th August 1943 Slt. Av. Mihail Brâncoveanu, an aristocrat from an old family of Romanian rulers, who was married to the daughter of the Spanish ambassador to Bucharest, with his radio operator Maistru Paun Busuioc and rear-gunner Maistru Dumitru Gologan scrambled to intercept another formation of American bombers detected over the town of Nis, Yugoslavia, on route to Ploiesti, Romania. However, due to the lack of experience with radio-assisted direction finding, they got lost and eventually ran of out fuel near Sinaia, north-west of Bucharest, both radio-operator and rear-gunner bailed out safely but Brâncoveanu died.
On the 4th April 1944, another raid took place. By this date the Escadrila 51 had already became the Escadrila 1 Vânâtoare de Noapte and was integrated into Luftwaffe's command as 12./Nachtjagdgeschwader 6. That day two Bf.110 belonging to Escadrila 1 took off to intercept American bombers. The Bf.110 bore German markings and too-off from Zilistea airfield, following orders from the German command. One of those two machines, crewed by Adj. Av. Ioan Popescu as pilot and Serg. Georghe Dumitru as radio operator and rear-gunner took fire in the left engine and made a forced landing west of Caracal, south-west of Romania. The other Bf.110C-3 with Slt. Av. Gheorghe Stânciucu and rear-gunner Serg. Gheorghe Drâgan was shot down six kilometres from the village of Rediu, killing both crew members and completely destroying the aircraft.  
The following day, on 5th April another interception attempt took place, also in Zilistea, when one Bf.110C-3 took-off and joined the aerial battle that was taking place west of Ploiesti, but it was shot down too, killing its pilot. 
On 10th June 1944 a formation of 100 Lockheed P-38 Lightining fighters from the USAAF made a low-level attack, so, in order to protect the fighters on the ground, the German command ordered the fighters to be dispersed on various airfields.
During the summer 1944 the Bf.110F had already replaced the Bf.110C and some other interception attempts took place with similar results, as the ARR couldn't cope with the overwhelming aerial superiority of the USAAF.
When Romania signed the armistice on 23rd August 1944 and switched sides, most of the Bf.110 that were still intact were confiscated by the Soviets. However, at least one Bf.110F was kept and was used for liaison purposes, during April 1945 at Trencin, Czechoslovakia. 
There's only one Bf.110F documented to have flown with Romanian markings, this machine, coded as 2Z+AW was flown by Lt. Av. Ion Simion with Constantin Octavian as his rear-gunner and was part of Escadrila 51. It was based at Otopeni airfield, close to Bucharest.

Sources:
1st Mushroom Model Magazine - White Series 9111 - Romanian Fighter colour 1941-1945
2nd https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/hyperscale/info-on-romanian-bf-110-fs-t201430.html
3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_110#Operators

Messerschmitt Bf.110. Part one. The Bf.110 in use with the Regia Aeronautica

 

In early 1942, Italy had a serious night aerial defence problem. Every attempt to develop a domestic night fighter was fruitless and the night fighters of the Regia Aeronautica (Royal Italian Air Force), namely the Fiat Cr.32 & Cr.42, were clearly outdated. 
The Regia Aeronautica asked to their German ally for help, so in January 1942 an aeronautical commission led by gen. Attilio Biseo visited some German anti-air installations, such as radar sites and night fighter units of the Luftwaffe. 
That commission reached to the conclusion that the purchase of twenty-four Bf.110C-3s was urgent, as an interim night fighter, while Italian aircraft, such as the Caproni Ca.331B was put into mass production. 
During this time the Regia Aeronautica's night fighter operational structure was deeply modified too; On 15th February 1942 the Comando Intercettori Leone was formed, based at Tortona, in Piedmont with two operational training units assigned, 1º Nucleo Addestramento Intercettori, with base at Treviso, in the Veneto and the Scuola di Volo Senza Visibilità (Blind Flying School) at Linate airfield, Milan. All those units were intended to train personnel for the 41º Stormo (the Italian unit equivalent to a Wing in the British Royal Air Force -RAF-), for which the unit was changed from a bombing unit to a fighter one, composed of two squadrons, the 59th and the 60th Gruppi (the Italian equivalent to a squadron).
In June 1942 the first Italian crews were sent to Germany to train and obtain the qualification on the Bf.110C-3, which they got the next month and came back to Italy, with the first two Regia Aeronautica's Bf.110C-3.
During July, a German commission suggested to change the remaining undelivered Bf.110Cs for the Dornier Do.217J, as Messerschmitt had ceased production on the Bf.110C-3. This decision wasn't well received by the Italian pilots as the Do.217J had some setbacks in the night fighter role, owning to their bomber nature and were , just like the supplied Bf.110s, second-hand machines, in spite of its heavier armament and being radar-equipped. 
In August the 235ª Squadriglia (the Italian unit equivalent to a flight in the RAF), which was part of 60º Gruppo, was equipped with both Bf.110 and the Do. 217. 
On 15th September 1942 the 59º Gruppo was rebased to Venegono Inferiore airfield and assigned to the night aerial defence of Milan and Turin and on 21st October the 60º Gruppo was rebased to Lonate-Pozzolo.
When the 235ª Squadriglia achieved its combat readiness, it was composed of two Do.217J-1 and two Bf.110C-3 plus one unserviceable Bf.110C-3.
The first operational order for the unit took place on 25h October 1942 and the Bf.110Cs were kept on the night fighter patrols, without much success or activity of the Bf.110Cs as they were barely employed because most of the unit was equipped with the Do. 217J.
When the Italian armistice took place, the aircraft of the 235ª Squadriglia were taken over by the German at Lonate-Pozzolo and moved to Germany.
It seems that in 1943 a single Bf.110G-4/R3 was offered to the Regia Aeronautica for night-fighting evaluation purposes and later, in the spring of 1944, the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana (the air force of the Italian Social Republic) received at least two Bf.110G-4/R3, which were assigned to the 170ª Squadriglia Caccia Notturna, based at Albenga-Villanova, on the Gulf of Genoa. However, as we couldn't find any graphical evidence of those fighters, we decided not to draw them.

Sources:
1st Bancarella Aeronautica - Ali Straniere In Italia 4 - Gli Altri Tedeschi (translated)
2nd https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_110 (translated)