Bf110 never built

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Deleted member 1487

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messerschmitt_Bf_110
The Kampfzerstörer was a pet concept of Göring against the advice of his technical staff and Wever, who did not think that a heavy fighter or multi-purpose craft was worthwhile. Assuming Göring listens to his experts and cancels the project, what does the Luftwaffe invest in instead? It still needs a long range escort fighter. Does it try to make drop tanks viable and concentrate on building more Bf109s or does it try and develop a long range single engine fighter? Remember, the reason the tech staff did not like the project is that a heavy, 2 engine fighter was not competitive against single engine fighters.
 
They had alternatives.

focke_wulf_fw_187_falkesmall.png
 
The Germans where not outsiders in aircraft development with the ME-110

Most other nations (UK, USSR, France and USA) of serious war making ability where experimenting with and producing twin engined fighters of medium/long range

The question was role and doctrine... the Germans where the first to put them in the field in combat, so they where going to make the mistakes (such as using them in daylight as an escort fighter) that other nations would learn from

However, this did not prevent the ME-110 from putting in excellent service as a scout, fighter bomber, artillery spotter and most of all as a night fighter

Also based on its design date, it was one of the most advanced aircraft of its day... and the me-410 was a very high quality aircraft

If that fighter doesn't evolve, you would just see Ju-88 variants produced to fill the role (which was done in otl anyway) maybe to meet an earlier need heavy fighter do-17's emerge
 
The Ju-88 was good but if I'm not mistaken, it was not quite as suited for night-fighting as the Me 110, being less maneuverable. Heavy fighter Do 17s would be a disaster. I doubt that the Germans would build them in any great numbers, especially considering the fact that production of the Do 17 stopped in summer 1940 and only ten or so night-fighter conversions were made. If the Fw 187 wasn't built, Me 109s with drop tanks would be a very real possibility in the Battle of Britain. Maybe the He 112 or He 100 would be adapted as a long-range, single-engined heavy fighter with three 20mm cannon and two 7.9mm MGs, but the chances of this are slim in my opinion.
 
The Germans where not outsiders in aircraft development with the ME-110

Most other nations (UK, USSR, France and USA) of serious war making ability where experimenting with and producing twin engined fighters of medium/long range

True. From the Potez 631-637 series to the proposed Bréguet 697, the concept of twin-engined heavy fighter was also adopted in the Armée de l'Air.
 
The Ju-88 was good but if I'm not mistaken, it was not quite as suited for night-fighting as the Me 110, being less maneuverable.

For night-fighting the Ju-88 was much better than the Bf-110, which, although giving good service in the role, was always regarded as a stopgap.
 
the LW knew the design had problems after case white but they where not worried about it because they figured they would use it to chase British bombers back home after raids instead of the improvised role they where used in case white AND it was scheduled for replacement with the me-210... the 210's delay due to engine and other issues and its later poor performance where the reason the original design had to soldier on well past its expiration date
 

Deleted member 1487

the LW knew the design had problems after case white but they where not worried about it because they figured they would use it to chase British bombers back home after raids instead of the improvised role they where used in case white AND it was scheduled for replacement with the me-210... the 210's delay due to engine and other issues and its later poor performance where the reason the original design had to soldier on well past its expiration date

Part of the problem seemed to be doctrine. It was used as a close escort fighter, but it wasn't maneuverable except at 20-30 mph within its top speed thanks to its underpowered status and aerodynamics. Perhaps it would have been better at fighter sweeps where it could operate at its strongest speeds instead of being tied to bombers.
 
Part of the problem seemed to be doctrine. It was used as a close escort fighter, but it wasn't maneuverable except at 20-30 mph within its top speed thanks to its underpowered status and aerodynamics. Perhaps it would have been better at fighter sweeps where it could operate at its strongest speeds instead of being tied to bombers.

Low speed handling was not a strong suit of ANY fighter of the period... the ME-109 was notorious for god awful handling at low speeds

It was useful as a schnell bomber, scout, artillery spotter, and night fighter... the Germans got their money's worth out of the 110 after they figured out its limitations and proper employment

The ME-109 with drop tanks just magnified its short comings... notable problems with ME-109 drop tanks (1st gen) include but are not limited to

1. The tank could not be released in anything but slow and level flight or it would pitch up, strike the tail and damage the aircraft
2. There where air leaks due to poor construction quality so when the pilot would switch to the drop tank, the engine would cut out
3. The release mechanism didn't work reliably... it would get stuck, forcing the fighter to battle with the tank on its belly, or release at really bad times without warning like during take off
4. It made take off and landing more difficult, and this was already the worst feature of the aircraft
5. The fighter still was short legged even with the tank and optimum cruising, and only 10 minutes of combat at full throttle
 
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