Deleted member 1487
What if the Bf110 was not phased out of production in 1941? It had over 1000 units produced in 1940, but only 594 in 1941 and 501 in 1942 and 641 in 1943:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_aircraft_production_during_World_War_II
In 1941 it was supposed to be phased out for the Me210, which was not forthcoming due to its mechanical issues.
Had production numbers been maintained due to say the RLM not ordering the Me210 to be place into production before the prototype flew, exposing its horrible handling characteristics, the Bf110 would probably have had uninterrupted production due to the Me210 not being ordered until mid-1942 and put into production as the Me410 in 1943. In the meantime the Bf110 would probably have improved its output numbers in 1941 due to not winding down production in the second half of the year, which barring further production resources, would have only made gains in output by experience and rationalizing production methods. So from the 1006 of 1940, a non-phased out Bf110 would have resulted in 1200 or so aircraft in 1941. Probably about 1300-1400 in 1942, and a collapse down to 800 in 1943 as the Me410 gets into production. That 600 more aircraft in 1941, ~800 in 1942, and about 150 more in 1943.
Overall a gain of about 1550 aircraft in terms of Bf110s, but the Me210 caused a fall in Bf109 output, due to contradictory orders IOTL and also some lost Ju88 production, so probably an additional 600+ Bf109s during this period and ~500 or so more Ju88s. In all about 2650 more aircraft that wouldn't have been produced otherwise.
So what impact do these make? In terms of the night fighter force quite a lot; they were severely impacted by the loss of Bf110 production in 1941-43, as several units outside of the night fighters required Bf110s and the limited numbers available meant they couldn't get enough all around and the NF forces suffered the most.
Source:
http://www.amazon.com/History-German-night-fighter-1917-1945/dp/0354012479
Overall it would allow a large expansion in 1941-42 of the night fighters, which has a significant impact on the night air war over Europe, as Erhard Milch, head of the RLM, basically mandated the Bf110 as the only major night fighter model, with Ju88C heavy fighters reserved for specialist units both for day and night. As the intruder missions were cancelled in 1941, they ended up flying long range cover for convoys in the Mediterranean.
So the Bf110 increasingly carries the NF force until 1943 when the Ju88 dedicated NFers become a major part of the NF force. The impact of this could be pretty huge, especially for production, as with there being several hundred more NFers operating against the British during their 1000 bomber raids in 1942 they loss rates would have gone up significantly, which would have had a negative feedback loop for Bomber Command in terms of gaining experienced crews and damaging German production. The extra fighters would also enable units based in Germany to have more operational aircraft available, rather than being grounded by lack of working aircraft, which was a continual problem for Bf110 units after 1940. The additional Bf109s and Ju88s really will be only used as replacements, rather than for forming new units IMHO due to the relatively low extra numbers, but that will increase operational rates significantly where ever they are allocated.
Until the end of 1943 the Bf110 was a pretty effective night fighter and even daylight fighter. The extra numbers will only help in terms of operations, but the primary benefit of greater numbers will only be felt in terms of the NF force and for the other daylight units probably just greater operational numbers at any time. Up until the major wearing down in terms of pilots killed in 1944 (and to a degree in 1943) shortages of pilots wouldn't be an issue preventing the usage of the extra aircraft, but from 1944 on things would be problematic. Ironically the extra shootdown of British bombers (or even American over Europe prior to 1944) would increase materials available for German industry, as they harvested wrecks for anything useful.
In terms of increased effectiveness is that any chance that the several hundred extra Bf110s would blunt the night bombing offensive by the British enough to get them taking off that duty and placed into other roles, such as shorter ranged escorted daylight missions in France and the Lowland or anti-sub operations for the Atlantic? Perhaps a greater British emphasis on the Mosquito from 1943 and a shift from city bombing to going after the German oil industry in the Ruhr? AFAIK the British had the ability to bomb that industry with Mosquitos relatively accurately from mid-1943 on. Their accuracy wasn't great, but the cumulative effect into 1944 would take a heavy toll on the Luftwaffe. Would too many losses to Bomber Command cause Arthur Harris to lose his job?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_aircraft_production_during_World_War_II
In 1941 it was supposed to be phased out for the Me210, which was not forthcoming due to its mechanical issues.
Had production numbers been maintained due to say the RLM not ordering the Me210 to be place into production before the prototype flew, exposing its horrible handling characteristics, the Bf110 would probably have had uninterrupted production due to the Me210 not being ordered until mid-1942 and put into production as the Me410 in 1943. In the meantime the Bf110 would probably have improved its output numbers in 1941 due to not winding down production in the second half of the year, which barring further production resources, would have only made gains in output by experience and rationalizing production methods. So from the 1006 of 1940, a non-phased out Bf110 would have resulted in 1200 or so aircraft in 1941. Probably about 1300-1400 in 1942, and a collapse down to 800 in 1943 as the Me410 gets into production. That 600 more aircraft in 1941, ~800 in 1942, and about 150 more in 1943.
Overall a gain of about 1550 aircraft in terms of Bf110s, but the Me210 caused a fall in Bf109 output, due to contradictory orders IOTL and also some lost Ju88 production, so probably an additional 600+ Bf109s during this period and ~500 or so more Ju88s. In all about 2650 more aircraft that wouldn't have been produced otherwise.
So what impact do these make? In terms of the night fighter force quite a lot; they were severely impacted by the loss of Bf110 production in 1941-43, as several units outside of the night fighters required Bf110s and the limited numbers available meant they couldn't get enough all around and the NF forces suffered the most.
Source:
http://www.amazon.com/History-German-night-fighter-1917-1945/dp/0354012479
Overall it would allow a large expansion in 1941-42 of the night fighters, which has a significant impact on the night air war over Europe, as Erhard Milch, head of the RLM, basically mandated the Bf110 as the only major night fighter model, with Ju88C heavy fighters reserved for specialist units both for day and night. As the intruder missions were cancelled in 1941, they ended up flying long range cover for convoys in the Mediterranean.
So the Bf110 increasingly carries the NF force until 1943 when the Ju88 dedicated NFers become a major part of the NF force. The impact of this could be pretty huge, especially for production, as with there being several hundred more NFers operating against the British during their 1000 bomber raids in 1942 they loss rates would have gone up significantly, which would have had a negative feedback loop for Bomber Command in terms of gaining experienced crews and damaging German production. The extra fighters would also enable units based in Germany to have more operational aircraft available, rather than being grounded by lack of working aircraft, which was a continual problem for Bf110 units after 1940. The additional Bf109s and Ju88s really will be only used as replacements, rather than for forming new units IMHO due to the relatively low extra numbers, but that will increase operational rates significantly where ever they are allocated.
Until the end of 1943 the Bf110 was a pretty effective night fighter and even daylight fighter. The extra numbers will only help in terms of operations, but the primary benefit of greater numbers will only be felt in terms of the NF force and for the other daylight units probably just greater operational numbers at any time. Up until the major wearing down in terms of pilots killed in 1944 (and to a degree in 1943) shortages of pilots wouldn't be an issue preventing the usage of the extra aircraft, but from 1944 on things would be problematic. Ironically the extra shootdown of British bombers (or even American over Europe prior to 1944) would increase materials available for German industry, as they harvested wrecks for anything useful.
In terms of increased effectiveness is that any chance that the several hundred extra Bf110s would blunt the night bombing offensive by the British enough to get them taking off that duty and placed into other roles, such as shorter ranged escorted daylight missions in France and the Lowland or anti-sub operations for the Atlantic? Perhaps a greater British emphasis on the Mosquito from 1943 and a shift from city bombing to going after the German oil industry in the Ruhr? AFAIK the British had the ability to bomb that industry with Mosquitos relatively accurately from mid-1943 on. Their accuracy wasn't great, but the cumulative effect into 1944 would take a heavy toll on the Luftwaffe. Would too many losses to Bomber Command cause Arthur Harris to lose his job?
