Messerschmitt Me410B-1/U2/R4
Revell Monogram
1/48 Scale
Start Build Date: 01/26/2003
Finished: 02/05/2003
Total Build Time:10 days
143 Pieces
Colors:
All paints Model Master Acryl. Luftwaffe Fighter Camouflage:Licht Blau RLM76,
Grauviolett RLM75, GrauGrun RLM 74. Mottles are hand painted, Future coat, decals, Dull coat,
followed by some black pastel (charcoal) brushed near exhausts.
The Messerschmitt Me 410 was based on the design of the previous Me 210 twin-engine, heavy fighter. Nicknamed the Hornisse (Hornet), Me 410 had wing slats and a length- ened fuselage. Two 1,750 horsepower, Damlier Benz 603A engines replaced the 1,350 hp DB 601F powerplants found in the Me 210. These more powerful engines required re- designed nacelles which were longer than those on the Me 210. Both the Me 210 and Me 410 carried a crew of two who were seated in tandem beneath a single framed canopy. Six Me 210As were modified to Me 410 standards, and these were joined in flight testing by the first true Me 410V- 1 prototype in late 1942. During 1943, 291 Me 410s were built, and these was followed by an additional 722 in 1944. The Danau Flugzeugbau in Hungary also built thirty-four Me 410s in 1943 and seventy-four in l 944 before the plant was destroyed by Allied bombing attacks. The first production version of the Hornisse was the Me 410A-1 light-bomber. This was followed by several variants and sub-variants modified for the Zerstorer (destroyer), bomber destroyer, and photographic reconnaissance roles. The first of the "B" series was the Me 410B-1 which had forward-firing 7.9-mm MG 17 machine guns in place of the 13-mm MG 131s found in the Me 410A-1. This was fol- lowed by the Me 4108-2 variant. Some Me 410B-1s and - B2s were modified to the U1, U2, U3, U4, R2, R3, and R4 sub-variants. These designations specified different weapons combinations that could be changed by field modifications. Other Me 410Bs were modified to perform anti-shipping and reconnaissance missions. An unusual feature of most Me 210s and Me 410s was the two rearward-firing 13-mm MG 131 machine guns which were mounted in movable barbettes on the fuselage sides. This remote controlled armament system was designed to provide rear defense from attacking fighters. In practice, it proved to be unreliable and ineffective. Your Pro-Modeler kit comes with markings for three different Me 410s. One is an aircraft flown by Major Eduard Tratt, the leading Zerstorer ace who was credited with thirty- eight victories. Major Tratt was the Gruppe Kommander of II./ZG26 in February 1944. The second set of markings is for an aircraft from 8./ZG26 based at Konigsberg, Neumark, Germany, in late 1943 and early 1944. Markings are also provided for an Me 410B-2/R2 from II./ZG-76. This unit was also based at Konigsberg, Neumark, Germany, during 1944.
