Das Draken

Me-110 G2

Country of Origin: Germany
Manufacturer: Messerschmitt AG
Crew: 2; 1 pilot and 1 gunner/radio operator
Length: 13.05 meters (42' 10'')
Wingspan: 16.25 meters (53' 4'')
Height: 4.18 meters (13' 8'')
Weight: 5,094 kg (11,230 lbs) empty, 9,390kg (20,701 lbs) maximum
Powerplant: 2x Turbosupercharged Daimler-Benz DB-605 liquid cooled V-12 inline piston engines with 1,455 horsepower each.
Maximum Speed: 587 kph (365 mph)
Service Ceiling: 9,448 meters (31,000 ft)
Range: 900 km (559 mi)
Armament: 2x 7.92mm MG-17 machineguns, 2x 7.92mm MG-81 machineguns (flexibly mounted), 2x 20mm MG-FF cannons, 2x 20mm MG-151 cannons

Representing the first generation of a then-radical new concept, the Me-110 was the most widely produced example of what became known as a zerstörer, a heavily armed twin engine fighter capable of long distance/endurance missions deep within enemy territory. Originally, the idea was that zerstörers would race into a combat zone ahead of the main strike force in a blitzkrieg attack and destroy enemy opposition before it could mount an effective resistance. Targets were anything that could fly or could fire into the air, thus aircraft of all types and their airfields were the main subjects of attack. Once the air power and air defenses were eliminated, the zerstörers would then fly as escorts for the bombers of the primary attack force and drive away what little resistance might remain as well as intercept any enemy strike craft that might have managed to evade the initial onslaught and mount a counter offensive.

In the late 1930's, both on paper and in practice, this concept seemed to work very well. The Me-110 was faster than nearly all fighters in the world, including its German stablemate, the Me-109. Rate of climb and acceleration were good and in the opening battles of World War II, the Me-110 made fast work of the Polish Air Force and while the French Air Force held back and took a few down, in general it seemed that the 110 was unstoppable, as was the crushing might of the Blitzkrieg. Unfortunately for the 110 however, the "honeymoon" was over after the Battle of France and pilots found this out the hard way.

When the Battle of Britain broke out, the 110s were torn to pieces by the machines of the Royal Air Force. Hurricanes and Spitfires, while a bit slower in speed, had much better acceleration and a higher rate of climb than the heavier Me-110 and when even outnumbering the British 3 to 1, the Me-110s were blasted out of the sky. Although fairly maneuverable for such a large aircraft, the 110 was simply not agile enough for the classic "turn and burn" style dogfighting that took place over Britain in 1940 and though its armament of up to 10 guns was thoroughly devastating, the British aircraft were hard targets to keep in the crosshairs long enough to bring them down.

As a bomber escort the 110 was just as lacking, Hurricanes and Spitfires had no trouble zipping by and blasting both them and the bombers they were supposed to protect; in effect, the Me-110 was an escort fighter that needed a fighter escort. Thus, as originally designed, the Me-110 was an almost complete failure. Where it excelled though was not in an offensive role, but a defensive one as an interceptor.

Withdrawn from the frontline after the Battle of Britain, the Me-110 was deployed as an interceptor to defend German occupied territories as well as Germany itself. Though a disaster as an air superiority machine, the Me-110 was a wild success as an interceptor. Lurking just outside the range of the fighters that escorted British and U.S. heavy bombers over Europe, the 110s would pounce from both above and below the bombers and blast them to pieces with their heavy cannons. Though too slow and not nimble enough to tangle with fighters, the Me-110 was more than quick and agile enough to evade Allied heavy bombers and their multitude of gun batteries.

Attacking from either head on or directly from below, where there were few or even no guns on the bombers, the 110s would race in and could blast apart even rugged aircraft such as Lancasters and Flying Fortresses with just a single pass, often firing its shells directly into the cockpit and killing the crew or firing into the fuel tanks and setting them on fire. So devastating were the Me-110s and their intercepts that the Royal Air Force changed to attacking only at night while the U.S. Army had to abandon their raids all together.

Attacking at night gave the Royal Air Force a small respite from attacks for a short time, but 110 pilots soon compensated. Flying in coordinated strikes by being direct into a target zone by radar and having their targets illuminated with high powered searchlights on the ground, the 110s started to once again rip apart the Allies' aircraft. In 1943, the 110s started to carry their own radar sets on board, allowing them to strike on their own from the black abyss of night, using the very thing the RAF relied on for protection against them. Many Me-110 pilots managed to rack up triple digit kill scores by flying these interception missions. Heinz Wolfgang-Schnaufer for example, racked up an impressive score of 121 aircraft, all of which were scored at night.

**

This Me-110 kit, made by Revell Germany, has caused me no small amount of hell for over three years. Assembly was okay, but every time I filled a seam with putty, either a seam I somehow missed would appear from seemingly nowhere, or I would accidently knock the putty out of the seam I was working on and would have to re-do it, sometimes 3 to 4 times in a row. It got tiresome and downright frustrating, so time and again I would put it aside, take it out for a bit, put it aside again, take it out, etc.

Building this thing was like trying to slay a dragon, although my persistence paid off, and today (Nov. 27, 2012), at long last, the dragon has been slain and the kit finished. I sweat bullets during final assembly of the "fiddly bits" and canopy, but now she can take her place alongside my other aircraft.

Since building her was like slaying a dragon, and its a German machine, I've named her Das Draken.

More Pics:

Cockpit:
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7 o'clock:
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Planform:
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Guns:
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Head on:
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