German Air Force

Messerschmitt Me 210

Before the outbreak of war, Luftwaffe doctrine put great faith in Zerstörer (destroyer) aircraft; twin engined, long range heavy fighters. The resultant aircraft, the Me 110, would indeed prove a very effective bomber killer, so long as there were no escorting fighters. Even before war had broken out, work had already begun on its successor, designated Me 210. The new design, which flew the day after the invasion of Poland, was 50mph (80kph) faster, had a longer range and heavier armament. One very advanced feature was the use of side rear firing 13 mm (0.51 in) MG 131 turret guns (barbettes), controlled remotely by the rear crew member. The testing process was however fraught with difficulty; the prototype was highly unstable, prone to stalling and, despite a total of 16 redesigns, the problems were never adequately solved. The chief test pilot commented that the Me 210 had “all the least desirable attributes an airplane could possess.” Despite the glaring deficiencies full scale production was ordered. So unpopular was the aircraft that its service life lasted little more than a month, by which time only 90 had been delivered. It was decided that production should be halted, and the Me 110 program restarted. The debacle badly hurt the reputation of the Messerschmitt company, and forced the 110 to solider on well past its sell by date. Most of the flaws were rectified in later models, yet such was its reputation that they was re-designated the Me 410 Hornisse (Hornet). These improved models initially faired well as bomber destroyers, but were shot down in droves when faced with P-47 and P-51 escort fighters. This wasn’t quite the end the 210’s story, as it was also built under license in Hungary, who were then part of the Axis Powers. 267 further aircraft were built and supplied to the Hungarian Air Force and Luftwaffe. By all accounts the Hungarian pilots thought highly of the aircraft and used it extensively in the close support and dive bombing roles.