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Germany's Messerschmitt Me 210 Zerstörer (destroyer) heavy fighter1,2
Messerschmitt Me 210 fighter:
Design
The Messerschmitt Me 210 was designed in 1937.1,2 The Me 210 was to be a replacement for the Bf 110.2
Armament
The Me 210 had remotely controlled barbettes in the sides of the fuselage that fired to the rear.2
Prototype
The Me 210 prototype first flew on September 2, 1939 / September 5, 19392.1,2 It initially had twin fins and rudders.1 It was powered by two Daimler-Benz DB 601A engines.1
Test Pilot Pans the Me 210
Fritz Wendel, test pilot, said that the Me 210 had "all the least desirable attributes an airplane could posses."2
Production
1,000 Me 210s were ordered off the drawing board.2
Construction of the Me 210A-0s started in early 1941.2 Production was halted in 1942.1,2 About 90 Me 210A-1s were completed by this time and another 370 were on the production line.2 Some of these unfinished planes had a deeper and longer fuselage, automatic wing slots, and new air brakes applied to them.2 170 of these were completed.2
- Me 210A-0: 942
- Me 210A and Me 210B: 3522
- Me 210C: 2672
- Produced by DAF in Hungary for the Royal Hungarian Air Force.2
- Delivered between 1943 and March 1944.2
- 108 used by Luftwaffe.2
- Total: 6192
Variants
- Me 210A-0: Pre production.2
- Me 210A-1: Production model.1 Heavy fighter bomber.2 Entered service in 1941.1 Had two 20 mm forward firing guns and two 7.92 mm MGs in remotely controlled barbettes on the fuselage sides.1
- Me 210A-2: Fighter bomber.1 Dive bomber fighter.2 Could carry 4,409 lb / 2,000 kg bomb load.2
- Me 210B: Reconnaissance.2
- Me 210B-1: Photo reconnaissance.1
- Me 210C: Had Daimler-Benz DB 605B engines (1,475 HP).1,2
- Me 210D: Had Daimler-Benz DB 605B engines (1,475 HP).1
Usage
Germany and Hungary used the Me 210.2
The Me 210s were used on the Eastern Front from early 1942.2 The modified Me 210s were used in the Mediterranean late 1942.2
| Messerschmitt Me 2101,2 | Messerschmitt Me 210A2 | Messerschmitt Me 210A-12 | Messerschmitt Me 210C2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Fighter bomber2 Reconnaissance2 |
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| Crew | 22 | |||
| Engine (Type) | 2: Daimler-Benz DB 601F2 | 2: Daimler-Benz DB 605B2 | ||
| Cylinders | Inverted V 122 | |||
| Cooling | ||||
| HP | 1,350 each2 | 1,475 each2 | ||
| Propeller blades | 3 each2 | 3 each2 | ||
| Dimensions | ||||
| Span | 53' 7.25"2 16.34 m2 |
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| Length | 39' 9.25"2 12.12 m2 |
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| Height | 14' 0.5"2 4.28 m2 |
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| Wing area | ||||
| Weight | ||||
| Empty | 15,586 lb2 7,070 kg2 |
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| Loaded | 21,397 lb2 9,705 kg2 |
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| Performance | ||||
| Speed @ 17,820' / 5,430 m |
350 mph2 563 kph2 |
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| Climb to 13,125' / 4,000 m |
7.5 minutes2 | |||
| Service ceiling | 22,965'2 7,000 m2 |
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| Range | 1,491 miles2 2,400 km2 |
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| Armament | ||||
| Nose | 2: 20 mm2 2: 7.9 mm MG2 |
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| Barbettes in fuselage sides | 2: 13 mm MG2 | |||
| Bombs | 2,205 lb2 1,000 kg2 |
Sources:
- Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Editor: Karen Leverington, 1995
- Aircraft of WWII, Stewart Wilson, 1998
