Messerschmitt Me410
Me410 'Yellow 5' of II/ZG 76 in Seerappen, east Prussia, Autumn 1944
Me410 of I./SG in Deblin-Irena, Poland, 1943/1944
Background and Technical data is for Me210, Me410 and Me.410A-1 series.
The Messerschmitt Me 410 was based on the design of the prevoius Me210 twin engine heavy fighter. Nicknamed the Hornisse (Hornet), Me410 had wing slats and a lengthened fuselage. Both the Me410 and the Me210 carried a crew of two who were seated in tandem beneath a single framed canopy, Six Me210's were modified to Me410 standards, and these were joined in flight testing by the first true Me410V-1 Prototype in late 1942. During 1943, 291 Me 410s were built, and these were followed by an additional 722 in 1944. The Danau Flugzeugbau in Hungaru also built 34, Me410s in 1943 and 74 in 1944 before the plant was destroyed by allied forces.
The first production version of the Hornisse was the Me410A-1 light bomber. This was followed by several variants and several sub-variants modified for the Zerstorer (destroyer), bomber destroyer, and photographic reconnaissance roles.
The first of the 'B' series was the Me410B-1 which had forward firing 7.9 mm Mg-17 machine guns in place of the 13 mm Mg131's found in the Me410A-1. This was followed by the Me410B-2 variant. Some of the Me410B-1s abd -B2s were modified to the U1, U2, U3, U4 (BK5 Cannon addition), R2, R3 and R4 sub-variants. These designations specified different weapons combinations that could be changed by field modifications. Other Me410Bs were modified to perform anti-shipping and reconnaissance missions.
An unusual feature of most of the Me210s and Me410s was the two (2) rearward firing 13 mm MG 131 machine guns that were mounted in movable barbettes on the fuslage sides. This remote-controlled armament system was designed to provide rear defense from attacking fighters. In practice, it proved to be unreliable and ineffective.
Nation: Germany Manufacturer:
Messerschmitt AGType: 2 Seat Heavy Fighter-BomberYear:
1943
Engine: (2) Daimler Benz DB 603A 12 cylinder liquid cooled inline V, 1,750 hp each
Specifications
Span: 53 ft 8 in (16.3 M)
Length: 40 ft 11.5 in (12.48 M)
Height: 14 ft (4.3 M)
Loaded Weight: 21,276 lb (9650 Kg)
Max Speed: 388 mph at 21,980 ft (625 km/hr at 6.6 Km)
Ceiling: 22,965 ft (7000 M)
Range: 1,050 miles (1689 Km)
Crew: 2
Armament: (2) 20mm cannon, (4) 7.92 mm machine
guns, 2,205 lb of bombs
Color Schemes
Good B/W Photo
Inflight
Refueling
