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after hitler came to power, he began to rebuild the luftwaffe. the technical department of the imperial aviation ministry also began to study the development of future fighter aircraft. in june 1934, it proposed four major directions, namely multi-seat medium bombers, tactical bombers, single-seat fighters and twin-engine fighters. heavy fighter.

among them, the requirements for a twin-engine heavy fighter are a speed of 400km/h, a range of 2,000 kilometers, and weapons including a 20mm cannon. it can provide long-range escort for bombers, compete for air rights, and perform reconnaissance, ground attack and other tasks.

▲in 1935, nazi germany rebuilt its air force. it was initially equipped with backward biplanes, but soon developed new models.

after examining proposals from six companies, the reich aviation ministry awarded the contract for the twin-engine heavy fighter to the bavaria company, focke-wulf company, and henschel company.

however, none of these companies had experience in designing twin-engine heavy fighters, and germany had insufficient reliable engines, so the reich aviation ministry was very cautious in advancing the project.

in 1934, there were only three aircraft engine manufacturers in germany, namely daimler-benz, bmw and junkers, and they were shifting from civilian engines to military engine research and development.

willy messerschmitt, the chief designer of the bavarian aircraft company, focused his attention on the development of the bf-109, so the bf-110 project was put in charge of walter reiter.

▲the famous aircraft designer willy messerschmitt, but he was focused on designing the bf-109 at the time. the design of the bf-110 was handled by walter reiter.

although the development work was difficult, all three companies came up with their own plans. the imperial aviation ministry quickly rejected the plans of focke-wulf and henschel. the twin-engine heavy fighter relied entirely on the bavarian aircraft company.

in may 1936, reiter's team had completed the bf-110v-1 prototype, equipped with two db600a engines with a power of 910 horsepower.

on may 12, 1936, the bf-110v-1 prototype without weapons successfully made its first flight. however, due to the lack of daimler-benz db600a engine, the mass production plan was delayed for two years.

due to the imminent war, the designers could only replace the db600a with the underpowered junkers jumo210 engine. the mass-produced version was called the bf-110a/b and passed the tests of the luftwaffe in 1937-38.

▲the bf-110v-1 prototype successfully flew for the first time in may 1936. this type of aircraft continued to fight until 1945.

it was not until january 1939 that the luftwaffe received the bf-110c equipped with the bd601a engine. the aircraft is equipped with four 7.92mm machine guns and two 20mm caliber cannons in the nose, and there are 1-2 7.92mm machine guns in the rear cabin.

type c has a total of 1-7 different configuration functions. for example, c-4b and c-7 models are mainly used for bombing, c-5 is mainly used for aerial reconnaissance, and c-6 is modified with a 30mm cannon.

the bf-110d type is an improved daytime long-range escort aircraft that was put into service by the german army in 1940. the e type is a fighter-bomber type that can carry bombs for sorties.

the bf-110f, which is specially designed to intercept british bombers, has not been modified too much. it is based on the c type and has an enlarged cooler under the engine.

however, the bf-110 did not perform well in the air battle over britain. it was completely defeated by single-engine single-seat fighters. it was later withdrawn to the second line and was partly used as a night fighter.

▲the bf-110c fought in air combat with the british spitfire, but was unable to match it and performed poorly in the air battle over britain.

as early as may 1940, the british army began night bombings of german cities, forcing goering to decide to establish a night fighter wing at a meeting on june 26.

the first commander of the njg 1st wing was captain wolfgang falk of the original zg 1st wing. the 1st and 2nd groups were equipped with bf-110s, and the 3rd group was equipped with bf-109s.

intercepting bombers at night does not require high fighter maneuverability. the key is whether a radar can be installed and whether there can be a stable heavy firepower platform. because the bf-110 has a large body, it is easy to modify, but the process is not smooth.

initially, bf-110c, d, e and other models only underwent a small amount of modifications for night combat. during night combat, the pilots relied solely on the naked eye to search for enemies. during the battle, the bf-110 arrived at the general airspace of the enemy aircraft under the guidance of ground radar, and relied on ground searchlights to attack the enemy aircraft.

▲the german army equipped the bf-110e in april 1941, using the db601n engine. photo: this radarless version of the type e is from iii/njg 1 and was stationed at rhine airport in the northern ruhr in 1942.

▲in the summer of 1942, a ii/njg 1 bf-110e was refueling. you can see two 20mm cannons and four 7.92mm machine guns installed on the nose, which were enough to shoot down british bombers.

the above method is not efficient. it is best to search for enemy aircraft independently. later, an active infrared detector was installed under the nose of the bf-110d-3, which reflected the image after illuminating the enemy aircraft. however, the detection range of this system is only about 200 meters. at this distance, the pilot can even visually see enemy aircraft.

what's more important is that at this time, the aircraft is also within the range of the enemy's self-defense weapons and is very easy to be shot down. despite later improvements, night fighter pilots disliked the bulky detector.

fortunately, radar miniaturization technology had matured in that era. the ultra-high-frequency lynchenstein radar fug202 b/c was installed on the aircraft. four i-shaped radar antennas were installed on the nose of the aircraft. other equipment was installed inside the aircraft, with a detection range of 2,000 meters.

on august 9, 1941, a do-215 of 4./njg 1 equipped with a fug202 b/c radar attacked at night and successfully shot down a british "wellington" bomber, confirming the feasibility of airborne radar. .

▲fug202 b/c radar cathode ray display. the left side shows the distance to the aircraft in front, the middle side shows the altitude difference, and the right side shows the left and right deviation.

▲the four antennas used by the fug202 b/c radar are installed on the nose of the bf-110g-4.

facing more and more night bombings by the british army, the german army planned to install the fug202 b/c radar on the bf-110 to serve as a night fighter. however, troubles ensued.

it turned out that when the bf-110c was put into production in 1938, the imperial aviation ministry instructed the messerschmitt aircraft company (formerly the bavarian aircraft company) to develop an aircraft to replace the bf-110, namely the me-210.

although the me-210 encountered development difficulties, the imperial aviation department believed that it would be solved soon. in addition, the bf-110 performed poorly in the battle of britain, so the production sequence of the bf-110 was ranked last.

in august 1941, the me-210 was initially put into production. the imperial aviation ministry immediately stopped the production of the bf-110, and the radar version of the bf-110 was naturally discontinued.

▲the me-210 was originally the successor to the bf-110, but due to constant problems, it was never able to replace the bf-110.

however, the me-210 had various problems and could not replace the bf-110. therefore, the imperial aviation ministry was forced to re-produce the bf-110f in february 1942, and launched the bf-110f-4 with a radar and a crew capacity of 3. unit.

the bf-110f-4 was in service from december 1941 to august 1944, with a total of 283 units produced. the aircraft is equipped with two 1350-horsepower db601f engines, has a maximum speed of 560km/h, a flight time of 2.5 hours, and is equipped with fug202 radar.

in addition, a 57mm bulletproof glass was installed in front of the pilot. for the first time, two upward-firing 20mm cannons were installed on the bf-110f-4/u1, ​​which was the prototype of the later "slant music" system.

after the suspension and resumption of production, the total monthly output of all bf-110 models is only 50 to 60, and most of them are ground attack and reconnaissance types. the night combat type is ranked last, resulting in the delay in the night combat wing. unable to receive the goods.

▲in january 1942, a bf-110f-4 of 4.njg 1 was being debugged. pay attention to the radar antenna on the nose.

▲the german army's "slant music" system uses two upward-firing 20mm cannons.

in 1942, the bf-110g type rolled off the production line. this was a relatively successful modification. the g-4 type was a night combat version and was equipped with a variety of radars, including fug212, 220 and 227. in february 1943, the g-4 type was assigned to various night fighter units, and until february 1945, g-4 production was 2,191.

the bf-110g-4 uses two db604b engines with a power of 1475 horsepower and a flight time of 3 hours. due to the addition of radar antennas and various equipment, the aircraft's top speed is only 510km/h, which is slightly faster than the "lancaster" bomber.

the bf-110g-4 is equipped with two 30mm cannons or two 20mm cannons on the nose, as well as four 7.92mm machine guns. approximately 20% of g-4s are equipped with the "slant music" system.

the "slant music" system consists of two 20mm cannons that fire upward. british bombers have very little ventral self-defense firepower, so german pilots can attack from underneath the british aircraft.

▲the bf-110g-4 was equipped with a radar and became a dedicated night fighter. four antennas were installed on the nose of the aircraft. it was the main force in intercepting british bombers.

▲bf-110g-4 uses the "slant music" system to attack a british bomber, which can avoid the bomber's self-defense firepower.

from 1942 to 1945, the german night combat version of the bf-110 performed many excellent performances in intercepting british bombers. the british bomber force would not sit still and tried their best to shoot down the bf-110. the two launched a fierce battle. please pay attention to the subsequent british and german night air battles released in this issue.