Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse

Uncommon card · No. 124706

The Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse (Hornet) is a heavy fighter and Schnellbomber ("Fast Bomber" in English) designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt. It was flown by the Luftwaffe during the latter half of the Second World War. Work began on producing a successor to the Bf 110 in 1937, however, the resulting Me 210 proved to be unsatisfactory, leading to production being halted in April 1942. Various options were considered, including the ambitious Me 310 derivative. Officials favoured an incremental improvement which was represented by the Me 410. Although visually similar to the preceding Me 210 and sharing sufficient design similarities that incomplete Me 210s could be converted into Me 410s, there were key differences between the two aircraft. Chiefly, the Me 410 was powered by larger Daimler-Benz DB 603 engines, had a lengthened fuselage, and automatic leading edge slats. During late 1942, the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) were sufficiently convinced...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Mike Freer - Touchdown-aviation, GFDL 1.2