The Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter (Zerstörer — “Destroyer” in German) was a pre-war design that went through many upgrades during the Second World War. The aircraft was one of the few long-range fighters the Luftwaffe possessed but, while heavily armed, could not compete with smaller and more nimble Allied planes. Its heavy armament and the extra space its airframe afforded made it a good candidate as a night fighter, fighter-bomber, and long-range reconnaissance aircraft.
Specifications (Bf 110F-2)
Type: two-seat heavy fighter
Powerplant: two 1007kW (1350hp) Daimler-Benz DB 601F 12-cylinder inverted-Vee engines
Performance: maximum speed 565km/h (351mph); climb to 6000m (19,685ft) in 9 minutes 12 seconds; service ceiling 10,900m (35,760ft); range 1200km (746 miles)
Weights: empty 5600kg (12,346lb); maximum take-off 7200kg (15,873lb)
Wingspan: 16.20m (53ft 2in)
Length: 12.10m (38ft 8in)
Height: 4.13m (13ft 7in) with the tail up
Armament: two 20mm (0.79in) forward-firing cannon and four 7.92mm (0.31in) fixed forward-firing machine guns in the nose and one 7.92mm (0.31in) trainable rearward-firing machine gun in the rear cockpit
The following Luftflotte 2 units flew Messerschmitt Bf 110s in defence of Sicily:
Night Fighters (Bf 110 or Ju 88)
- Nachtjagdgeschwader (NJG) 2
- II/NJG 2
Twin-Engine Fighters (Bf 110 & Me 210)
- Zerstörergeschwader (ZG) 1
- II/ZG 1
- ZG 26
- Gruppenstab ZG 26
- III/ZG 26
- X/ZG 26
EAGLES OVER HUSKY 