Messerschmitt Bf 110C-4

Plane: Messerschmitt Bf 110C-4

Weight (Empty/Loaded/Max): / /

Wing Area: 413sq ft

Wing Loading: / /

Length: 39' 7"

Span: 53' 4"

Wing Aspect Ratio: 6.9

Engine: 1200hp Dailmer Benz DB 601 N Inline

Flaps: 3 settings

Visibility:

• Front: (waiting for art)
• Sides:
• Rear:

Control Feel:

• Slow: Sluggish
• Near Sustained: Sluggish
• Fast: Very poor

Stall Speed 1k (No Flaps/Full Flaps) 95mph/85mph

Guns:

Ordnance:
0: none
1: 2x500lb bombs
2: none
3: none

Fuel Time/Percent: 38 seconds/percent

Power/weight (Empty/Loaded/Max): / /

Corner Velocity: 265mph

Durability:

WEP time: 5 minutes

Accleleration:

Climb:
1k-5k: 54s
5k-10k: 84s
10k-15k: 100s

Zoom Climb:
1k 400mph: +3,100ft
1k 300mph: +4,700ft

Dive:

Max Speed

Turn Performance

Corner Speed and Radii (1,000ft)

Speed: 265mph
Radius: 473ft
Sustained Turn Speed: 140mph
Sustained Turn Radius: 584ft
Full Flaps Speed: 125mph
Full Flaps Radius: 539ft

Roll Rate:
150mph: 8.9s
200mph: 6.8s
250mph: 7.7s
300mph: 9.0s
350mph: 13.7s
400mph: 20.8s

Minimum Full-Flaps Full-Power Split-S altitude:
150mph: 1,200ft
200mph: 1,300ft
250mph: 1,400ft
300mph: 2,100ft

Hoof's Tips and Opinions:

When Germany went to war in 1939 two fighter types were fielded, the single-seat Bf109, a small, light fighter designed for air superiority in a battlefield setting, and a long-range escort fighter, the Bf110. The Bf110, or Zerstorer, was designed as a long-ranged fighter that carried heavy armament and could escort bombers to their targets and back. It fought in Poland, Norway, and France with distinction, and only ran into a foe it couldn't handle in the Battle of Britain. If Warbird's modeling is accurate (which I believe it is), then the reason is clear: The Spitfire Mk I.

Contrary to popular belief, the Bf110C4 is a rather maneuverable fighter, able to turn with and outturn many of the later war planes. It can outturn any of the 109's and her instantaneous turn rate is superior to the P38's instantaneous turn rate. This bird was no slouch when it came to fighting, and being a rock-steady gun platform, it can be highly effective in a variety of roles.

It is interesting to compare the Bf110 to the other major two-engined fighter of WWII, the P38. The Bf110 had two engines, nose mounted guns, a rather high wing aspect ratio, and a wide wingspan. Like the non-powered aileron P38s, the Bf110's roll rate is hindered by its long wingspan, limiting it's roll rate and it's agility. Like the P38s that weren't equipped with dive flaps, the Bf110 doesn't like dives, and its controls lock up pretty good beyond 300mph. It would be interesting to see the Bf110 with 1600hp engines like the P38L, with dive flaps or other equipment to help with high-speed elevator control, and with powered ailerons, and counter-rotating props. I suspect the Bf110 could easily have turned into an "uber" plane, at least in the General Arena. Unfortunately it's record over Britain, and the supposed replacement of the Bf110 by the Bf210 (which never happened) guaranteed that this sort of refinement would never be.

As far as the Battle of Britain, the reason that the Bf110C4 failed was the Spitfire (and the excellent ground control for vectoring fighters). Bf110's vs Hurricanes will inevitably favor the Bf110, as the Bf110 is faster, climbs better, accelerates better, has superior firepower, and performs in every aspect better than the Hurricane Mk I (and II) except in roll rate and in turning ability. And for the hit and run offensive tactics (especially in the escort role), turning and rolling aren't as important.

But against the Spit, things are far more different. The SpitI is faster, outaccelerates the Bf110, outclimbs it, outturns it, outrolls it, outdives it, in fact the SpitI is superior to the Bf110 in every aspect other than firepower and aircraft size. There really isn't a good area a Bf110 pilot can exploit vs a SpitI. At least the Bf109E could outclimb the Spit and fly as fast (and faster above 10,000ft). The Bf110 cannot, and the single 7.9mm machine gun as defense is way too inadequate to compete with eight .303 machine guns. From the evidence in the flight models (which are based on real flight test data collected during the war), it is clear that the Bf110 was a good fighter, just the SpitI was superior in combat situations over England and this was IMO the primary reason it had it's poor record over Britain, especially compared to the 109. Had the Spitfire not been available, the British would have had a far more difficult time protecting targets in the Midlands against daytime Luftwaffe attacks. As it was, the Spitfire ensured superiority over the only Luftwaffe fighter capable of escorting bombers to targets beyond southeast England.

In Warbirds, the Bf110C4 should be a capable plane. It's biggest advantage over the opposition is it's reputation. People will expect a 110 to be meat on the table, an easy kill. Frankly, with a good pilot at the controls, this simply isn't so. Fortunately enough people unfamiliar with how to fly the 110 effectively will fly it (and thus subsequently easily killed) to perpetuate this myth. Thus a good pilot can take advantage of an opponent's lack of respect for the 110's capabilities, and surprise them with its capabilities.

As far as those capabilities, there are two major areas: Turning ability and Otto. Most people think that the 110 turns like a B17. Thus you can expect Doras, P51s, F4Us and other planes that can't turn too well to try to turn with you. These you can beat with TnB. The 110 turns equal or better than a 109F sustained, and outturns even the P38L with a bit of extra speed. If you come in above an opponent, you can use that extra speed to turn inside the opponent and get the kill. The other big advantage is Otto. Most people don't know how to deal with a *fighter* equipped with a flexible gun. A P38 or Spitfire may be able to outturn you, but there is a good ninety degrees they have to fly when Otto can point his gun at you. It remains to be seen if Otto can fire at a higher G load than bomber Ottos, but my opinion would be that it should (although not more than 3-4 g's) since the tail-gunner in a 110 is used to flying in a *fighter*, thus would probably be able to operate a flexible gun at 2.5 g's (sustained turn g's for most planes including the 110) where a bomber's gunner would not. So if Otto *can* fire at several G's, a P38 or Spit will have a rain of 7.9mm gunfire all the way into the saddle. This can be most unnerving, and can be quite lethal to a Zero or Ki43 (especially the 110G-2's Otto, as it has almost three times the firepower of the C4's Otto). Plus, with the deflection available to the rear-gunner in such a situation, there is no armor to protect you in virtually any plane (bullet-proof glass doesn't cover the top of the cockpit). Extensions too can put Otto to good use in a BoB situation against a pursuing Spit, simply dive to the deck, and as the Spit closes to convergence, Otto can lay it in strong, forcing the Spit driver to jink and slow down. It is in a sense a good thing that Otto's accuracy was reduced in 2.0, as otherwise most TnB matches with the 110 being in the "losing" position would end up with the 110 earning many pilot kills.

An interesting defensive maneuver done in the BoB and other situations by other planes is the wagon-circle defense. This is where the Bf110s start circling, with the Bf110s equidistantly placed in the circle. This is especially effective against the rifle-caliber-equipped Spitfires and Hurricanes, as the BnZ tactics that bust up this kind of defense don't work too well (Spits and Hurris really need to saddle up to down planes in the BoB timeframe). And anyone stupid enough to try to saddle up behind a 110 is caught between the Otto of their target and the fire of the 110 behind them. Unfortunately this tactic doesn't work to well overall since you actually don't fly anywhere, which is not good :)

The bottom line is don't underestimate the Bf110. It is a good plane, and as with all non-uber/dweeb planes, you will see only two types of people commonly flying them: Experten or newbies. And a 110 with an Experten flying is something you want to avoid.

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